On April 2, work on the corduroy road to the port, which had been suspended, was resumed under the capable supervision of D. E. Lowell. Mr. Lowell proved to be the best roadmaker who had taken a hand at the game up to that time, and, considering the little he had to do with, accomplished a great deal. His workmen were from among the colonists and he rarely had more than ten or twelve at a time, and usually less, but in five or six weeks he had done much for the betterment of the highway. No one realized better than Mr. Lowell that this was only a temporary road, but it was the best to be had at the time. Later in the year, a fine, permanent highway to the port was begun by Chief Engineer Kelly, and when completed La Gloria's great drawback will be removed. Kelly's is a substantial, rock-ballasted road, twelve feet wide, and graded two feet above high-water mark. It will make La Gloria easy of access from the coast. [Illustration] CHAPTER XIV. THE FIRST BALL IN LA GLORIA. Meanwhile, the sale and allotment of plantations and town lots steadily continued, until on April 9, six months from the day the surveyors began their operations, about twelve thousand or fifteen thousand acres of land had been allotted, besides nine hundred and thirty-three city lots. Many of the lots had been cleared, and parts of some of the plantations. Quite an amount of planting, in the aggregate, had been done. The survey corps and the colonists agreed that the semi-anniversary of the coming of the surveyors to La Gloria should be marked by a celebration, and the bold project of a grand ball was set on foot. When I first heard of it, I thought it was a joke, but when I saw a long list of committees conspicuously posted on Central avenue, and had been requested by "Albany" to announce the coming event at the regular meeting of the Pioneer Association, I realized that the talk had been serious and that Terpsichore had actually gained a footing in La Gloria. I was authorized to announce that the ball would be in charge of a French dancing master, which was the fact, for Floor Manager Messier ("Albany") was a Frenchman by birth. The ball and the accompanying supper were free to all, but the women of the colony had been requested to contribute food--and most nobly they responded--while the men, particularly the surveyors, hustled for fruit, sugar, etc. It was a cheering sight when big Jack McCauley drove in from Mercedes with the mule team, bringing a whole barrel of oranges. These were some of the oranges which had been saved by Jack's "influence."