The story
“A successful young author has sketched out a book which hugely pleases his publishers, but the trouble is that he cannot seem to write it. He knows what he wants to say, and just how to say it, but he is annoyed by callers, who bother him in all sorts of subjects. Finally in despair he decides to go into the wilderness, where no one could annoy him. He owns a little islet, known as Lonely Island, and there he goes determined to spend a summer in solitude, and complete his work. The first thing he does is to put up a sign, warning all trespassers not to land. Then he lives a happy outdoor life, and congratulates himself on the success of his plan. If a certain pretty young woman had been an accomplished sailor, or rather ‘sailoress,’ the solitude of the island’s owner might never have been disturbed. But this girl, who generally had her own way, decides to sail a boat, and induces an old boatman to take one of his crafts out all alone. Of course she upsets the boat, but with her usual luck, is not drowned. She managed to clamber to the top of the overturned boat, and placidly awaits future developments, confident that everything will come out all right. And although Cupid has never been pictured as a Sea God, it must have been him who guides the vessel to Lonely Island.
“The girl gets ashore there, and after a very brief investigation finds a cute little camp, where she discovers dry clothes and warm drink and food. So she makes herself very much at home, and when the rightful owner came along, she greets him pleasantly. She offers him some coffee, and when he solemnly refuses she gives him one of his own blankets, and tells him he can sleep out under the trees. Then she placidly goes to sleep in his comfortable tent. In the morning she provides an excellent hot breakfast, made from his own provisions, and when rescue comes a little later thanks him for his delightful hospitality, and sails away, as placidly content as ever. The girl does not know that she has been a nuisance. And the more the man thinks about it, the more he believes that she was not. For the average man likes to be bossed gently, although be may not always admit that such is a fact. The young author decides to see the girl again. He calls, and she receives him pleasantly. He becomes more and more impressed. And then, well—There used to be a sign on Lonely Island reading, TRESPASSERS, KEEP OFF. But the girl always has her own way and superintends the installation of a new sign which reads THIS ISLAND FOR SALE. For the young author has decided that loneliness is no longer to be a part of his life, and that when the right girl comes along, it is time for a man to buy an engagement ring.”
Summary from The Moving Picture World · 19 August 1911
