BLACK IVORY _By_ POLAN BANKS [Illustration] Black Ivory By POLAN BANKS [Illustration] A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by arrangement with Harper & Brothers Printed in U. S. A. BLACK IVORY _by_ POLAN BANKS COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY HARPER & BROTHERS PRINTED IN U. S. A. First Printing January 1926 Second Printing February 1926 Third Printing February 1926 Fourth Printing March 1926 C-A TO MY MOTHER _JEANNE ISABEL BANKS_ SWEETEST DAUGHTER OF THE HOUSE OF _Abravanel de Polan_ PREFATORY GESTURE As a background for an American historical romance Louisiana between 1810 and 1816 appears a very apt selection, and New Orleans about the time of the English invasion a judiciously chosen stage. Even more happy seems the choice, for a hero and protagonist, of Jean Lafitte, smuggler and slave-trader, also strongly suspected of piracy and near-piracy at not infrequent intervals through a considerable period of time, but not certainly any sort of rascal, and indubitably very much of a gentleman; popular, admired, even beloved. _Black Ivory_ is a felicitous title. An historical romance is likely to interest its readers in proportion to the enthusiasm of its author for his plot, his characters, and their environment. (What measure of success my El Supremo has had has been due largely to the completeness with which I was carried away by what I had read in the writings of the Robertsons and others concerning Paraguay and Francia.) In any historical romance the blaze of the author’s delight in his material is what kindles the glow of enjoyment in his readers. Considering what I know of the author of _Black Ivory_, of his absorption in his work, of his flair for what is worth writing about, of his plot and characters, I forecast that readers of _Black Ivory_ will find themselves interested, entertained, and rewarded. EDWARD LUCAS WHITE. _January 16, 1926._ CONTENTS _Prologue_ CHAPTER THE FIRST _Wherein Lizette Fondac Makes a Great Sacrifice and One Jean Lafitte Makes a Momentous Decision_ CHAPTER THE SECOND _How a Gentleman Pirate Catches a Tartar, and the Personage in the Moon Is Proven to Be a Woman_ CHAPTER THE THIRD _In Which the Black Fox Encounters an Old Acquaintance_ _Book One_ CHAPTER THE FOURTH _Wherein a Gentleman Blacksmith Arrives upon the Scene_ CHAPTER THE FIFTH