Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1905-09-09
On Wings Of
Steel
BY Lillian c. PASCHAL
CopWi0h, i7o5. hp LtIidn e. Paschal

gcringly recovered his balance. aided
by timely grasp from the fur goved
hand OF Or. Melford. who had been do
ing Il neat outer edge alongside and
grumblng heartily the while
what rotten luck he had been say
inE every five minutes as the merry
skaters whizzrd by. always in satisfy
ing pairs. And we have had our
shingles up a whole month in this con
founded burg. and still don't know a
single, solitary girl in all this giddy
phantasmaEoria of whiring Skaters'-
Then ne was interrupted by Dortons
fall.
Are YOU hurt old man? What've
you hit?' he demanded. nnxiouSly peer
ing through his frosted glasses at his
disabled friend, who stopped painfully
to pick up something from the Clipped
Ice before hohhlimg Shorcward
struck" echoed Dorton sinking
on to bench under a lamp post and
nursing his ankle. The United States
steel trust, | think, by the feel of my
foot, Here it is.'' And he held no to
view the obstruction which had inter
ruptcd his fantastic gyratIons in the
center of the lake where the figure
skaters had been performing
1t was a good sized No 10 boys
skate. Of the club variety, and it's pol
iShed nickel blade shone like frozen
mOonbcamS rs he surveyed it critically.
M"lford glanced ut it with interest and
put the lacOnic query:
"Gender masculine, feminine or neu-
trail"
"Feminlne," promptly decided Dor
ton, holding it CLOSER. It's got some
Initials engraved on it-'J. NJ. r. No
boy was ever so sentimental as that
And no Chappie ever wore clubs, 50 by
the process of elimination we arrive
at the remaining and only possible sex
OF Jimty, its owner. And, by Jovc
from the size of it, she's no Cindcr-
ella either. 1t fits No. ; foot, or I'll
eat my hat Girls are SO cmanciputed
these days" he went on whimSically,
"even their feet are throwing off
trammels and spreading out of ALL
IF you have quite finished Sherlock
Holmesing my skate" broke in Il high,
cool voice out of the black region be-
yond tn" rim Of light rays from the are
lamp, will you be kind enough to re-
turn it to me-"
The dcVil. calculated DOrtOn under
his breath, starting guiltily and drop
ping the unlucky skate to the ground
rl IN nriI M
the doctor dived after 1t with ostenta-
tiOus hnste.
You fool"' he swore in Dorton's un-
comfortable ear as he Went down on
all fOurS in his quest. And this was
our only Chance-tirSt womans voice
that's ever addressed us since we came
west. We might have Scraped an ac-
quantancc, but now you've made a
mess of it,"
Bigger fool YOU, DortOn reiOined
Gcrc"ly. humping heads with his col
league rs he, too, stopped to recover
the bone of contention, hoping in some
measure 20 retrieve himself in the eyes
Of the invisible unknown. She's not
that sort at all, can tell by her
voice"
"W"ll, even nice girls sometimes un-
der such circumstances"- began Mel
ford in an injured tone, but DortOn
cut him short, having found the skate
and held it out toward the voice in
question. But the young woman be-
longing to it made no move to recover
her property, remaining obdurately in
the friendly darkness
'Will You be so good as to bring II
to me" Her tone was as silvery and
distant as the strains from the band
stand on ;he other side of the lake
1--WE got to see her face" thought
the big fellow TO himself, ''and gain
time to square myself somehow"
ii" took Il step forward and suddenly
measured his full length at her ma
ligned feet. with the skate still clutch
cd in his hand.
"My ankle" he moaned when she
bent over him, all womanly solicitude,
her m0mentary pique gone. Only anX-
ity and pity were visible in her lovely
faCe-Quite the lOveliest he had ever
seen, Dorton thought, as he closed his
eyes.
"Oh, I'm afraid he's tainted. He's
hurt, and it's my fault cried the girl,
tearing off her mittens to rub snow on
the checks that looked so pale in the
white light. Cant you do something
for him? He wouldn't have been hurt
If 1t hadn't been for my skater she
quavered, feeling in some way to
blame. please 90 for a doctor"
II am doctor-a recent arrival in
The city" replied Melford. "If we could
get him somewhere and cut his shoe off
and bandagc his foot
Yes, yes,' put in the girl eagerly
call cab and take him to my home
It's just around the lake yonder."
Janet Tuttle, where are you? We've
been looking for yOu-and your skate
everywhere. Did you find it?'
The girl was still explaining, amid
furious bushes, to her friends, who had
gathered in curious circle around her,
p'hen, to her relief, the doctor ap-
preached and announced that a cab
man was waiting
With the help of Janet's brother, who
was in the party, Melford got his dis
abled chum into the carriage. Janet
gave the driver her address and seated
herself with sort of defiant shyness.
At the door of the big house where
they drew mp her mother greeted, with
CONSERVATION, her early appearance