The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-04-28
geleet Mistellany.
On Wings Of Steel.


pain as his skate struck something
snaggly in the snowy ice, then stag
geringly recovered is balance, aided
by timely grasp from the fur-gloved
hand of DR.. Melford, who had been do.
ing a neat outer edge alongside and
grumbling heartily the while.
"What rotten luck!' he had been
saying every five minutes, as the mer-
ry skaters whizzed by, always in sat-
isfying pairs. "And We have had our
shingles up whole month in this con-
founded burg and still don't know a
single, solitary girl in all this giddy
phantasmagoria Of whirling skaters
Then he was interrupted by Dor
tons fall.
care you hurt, old mat? What've
you hit?" be demanded, anxiously
peering through his frosted glasses at
his disabled friend, who stopped pain
fully to pick up something from the
Clipped Ice before hobbling slowly
shOreward.
"Struck?' echoed Dorton, sinking
onto bench under lamp-post and
nursing his ankle "The United
States Steel Trust, l think by the
feel of my foot! Here it is!' And he
held up to view the obstruction which
had interrupted his fantastic gyrations
in The center of the lake where the fig
ure skaters bad been performing.
1t was good sized number | 0 boy's
skate Of the club variety: and it's pol
ished nickel blade shone like frozen
moonbeams as he surveyed it critical
ly. Melford glanced at it with inter-
est and put the laconic query:
"Gender masculine, feminine or neu.
tel?"
"Feminine," promptly decided Dor
ton, holding it closer. It's got some
initials engraved on it-J. NJ. T. No
boy was ever so sentimental as that.
And no chappie ever wore clubs, so
by the process Of elimination We ar
rive at the remaining and only posi-
BILE sex of Jimty, its owner. And, by
Jove! from the size of it she's no Gin
derella, either-it fits number 5 foot,
or I'll eat my hat. Girls are so eman-
cipated these days. lie went on whim-
sically. Even their feet are throwing
off trammels and spreading out OF
alp
"1f you have quite finished Sher-
lock-Holmesing my skate" broke in q
high, cool voice out or the black re-
gion hey ond the rim Of light rays from
the arc lamp. "will you be kind enough
to return it to mty'
"The DEVIL" circulated Dorton un-
der his breath, start guiltily and drop
ping the unlucky skate to the ground.
1t fell gathering under the bench and
the doctor dived after it with ostenta-
tieus haste.
"You foot he sworc in Dorten's 8
uncomfortable car as he went down on
ell fours in his quest. "And this was
our only chance-first woman's voice
that's ever addressed US since we came
West-we might have scraped an a.
quaintance, but now you've made
mess of it!'
"Biggcr fool you'll Dorton rejoined
6crcely, humping heads with his col-
league as he, too, stopped to recover
the bone of contention, hoping in some
measure to retrieve himself in the eyes
of the invisible unknown. "She's not
that sort at all. can tell by her
voice"
"W-l!, even nice girls sometimes
under such circumstances" s"-began
Melford in an injured tone, but Dor
ton cut him short, having found the
skate and held it out toward the voice
N question. Bat the young woman
helon. ing I" ii male n" 'nov' r. cov-