The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-03-05
'Bert'sReSCue
BY JAMES CONLEY.
Copyright, 1905, by E. G. PARCELS.

Don't rub 1t in" pleaded Bert Ben.
than. This Is my punishment for
seeking to astonsh the natives with
frock coat and silk hat The train was
so late that no one beheld my glory,
and as my trunk will not be here until
tomorrow I'm afraid that l shall have
to go without my skating"
But we're the same size" insisted
Charlie. Put on some of my duds'
Bentham WINGED 1t was his quarrel
with nature that she had made him
but two inches taller than Ave feet
His little cousin was only thirteen yet,
and, as he said, Bert could wear his
things. For a moment pride fought
with desire, and desire won. He had
always been passionately fond Of the
ice, and it had been couple of years
since he had enjoyed an opportunity
Of skating. This chance was too good
to be lost. 1t was a beautiful night,
and the probabilities We're that no one
would recognize him. He could slip
into the crowd and quickly lose him.
self.
Proceed he said, with mock trag-
edy. Il shall enjoy my second child
hood rather earlier than most men;
that is ALL
Half an hour later they were on the
river. Already crowd had assem-
bled, for the moon was full and the ice
a perfect glare Charles simple MY
cousin, fellows" was regarded as suf-
ficient Introduction, and presently Bert
was Swimming over the Ice with an
easy swing that betokened the expert.
enced skater.
He shot straight up the river, speed
ing along with no thought of anything
save the enjoyment of the skimming
motion, and it was half an hour before
he realized how far he had gone,
Skating back against the wind was
a slower process, and by the time he
reached the ferry road again the Ice
was crowded. He hunted up Charlie
and then contented himself with short
er flights, though he kept away from
tnC hOot SAON0C0 PeAAA VI bhS w. ~
had been skating In artificial Kinks for
SO long that the broad stretch Of CLASSY
ice fascinated him, and he had no use
for the parties of skaters that chung in
groups.
He had just wheeled for trip up
the river when tiny form shot past
him, and almost unconsciously he gave
chase Apparently she was mere
child, but her strong, graceful strokes
carried her along with a speed that
tested his own qualities, and he skated
after her.
sluiceway from the cotton mill emptied
into the stream, and for a space the Ice
was thin. Bert had kept away from
this side Of the river after the discov-
cry, but now he was so intent upon his
chase that he did not realize that the
child was bearing dangerously in to-
ward shore until she gave little cry
as she felt the Ice crack under her feet.
Instead of keeping ahead she seemed
paralyzed with fright and dug her
skates into the ice to stop herself. He
could hear the new ice giving way as
the strain of her weight continued, and
with a sudden swerve he dashed In to-
ward her
He was powerfully built for his size,
and it was an easy matter to catch the
child up in his arms and carry her out
Of the danger zone. AS they swept
along he could feel the ice give under
him, and the ominous crackle seemed
to follow him. Then the noise stopped
as he shot out on to the firm ice, and
he ceased skating, coming gradually to
a halt.
''That was risky thing to do" he
said sharply as he set her on her feet.
Don't you know about the sluiceT
II should have remembered" she
said as she chung tremblingly to him,
''but | heard one Of the boys coming
after me, and l wanted to beat him.
forgot all about the danger"
Il guess that's the last time you'll
forget this season." he said.
Il should say So" she agreed at
was awfully good of you to act SO
quickly. Who are your" she added as
he changed position so that the moon
shone on his face.
I'm Charlie Bentham's cousin" he
explained
"Oh, yes. she smiled II remember
Mrs. Bentham telling us that Charlie
had little cousin coming to visit him.
You're good boy. and I'm awfully
grateful to you"
She stood on tiptoe and kissed him
squarely on the lips. For moment
he sped after her.
Cant / skate with your" he asked.
Lets skate up as far as the railroad
bridge"
Come ahead" she called as she put
out her hand Bert grasped 1t, and
they gided off. For a few minutes
nothing was said They skated togeth-
er as perfectly as though through long
practice, and they were almost at the
bridge
You are newcomer in MaridaleT
he asked. breaking the silence. q
don't think l remember you"
1--WE moved here two years ago" she
explained
That's it," he declared. II pride my
self on my memory for faces have
not been able to get up here for 6
couple Of years My business has kept
me pretty close to town"
your businessT' she echoed, losing
her stride and stopping. why, Mrs
Bentham said you were the same age
as Charliev'
That's Ned Collins" he explained
Neds coming down for the holidays
I'm Bert Bentham."
his clothes.
Il see." he laughed you thought
was a boy because ! was wearing one
of Charles suits. You see, l got 0
foolish idea that it would be funny to
come down all logged out When
Charlie said skating l realized that q
frock coat was scarcely a skating cos
tune, 80 | put on one Of his suits
guess 1 look pretty much like Charlie
That's the worst of being so short"
"And you let me kiss you" she re
preached.
That's all right" he smiled. tive
had little girls kiss me before, you
know"
But I'm not she began. Bert
started.
"You don't mean to tell me thai
you he gasped.
I'm nineteen" she said, her eyes
filling with tears. There's nothing tC
laugh about" she added as Bert shout
ed. "You let me kiss you, and 1t was
real mean"
"It was real nice" he contradicted
"and | didn't let you. You kissed me