The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1909-01-12
A Thread lin
the Wool.
BY WALLACE SNOW.
Copyrighted, 1908, by Associated
Literary Press.

Pietro vincenzo Riga was discour-
aged. 1t had been bad day. In fact,
1t had been a bad month. Generally
when he and Gambietta took to the
road and travelled through this section
the nickels and dimes and quarters
fell into Pietro's old felt hat in most
alluring stream.
But this year the weather had been
for the most part rainy, and somehow
Gambietta seemingly had lost his
knack Of coaxing coins from stubborn
pockets.
What few pleasant days there had
been had proved far from profitable,
for the dimes and nickels and quar-
tiers were conspicuous by their abb
sence, and Pietro and Gambietta must
both eat, fair weather or dull
In vain did they plod the dusty
highways; in vain whenever they
could find a possible audience did
Gambietta do his cumbersome tricks.
Waltz, turn somersaults, die, go
lame, wrestle with Pietro as he would,
but a few scattered pennies had lodged
| In the old felt hat Bankruptcy, grim
and CHASTITY, stared them in the face.
Moreover, Gambietta was growing
painfully thin, even as If he had but
recently come from one of his long
maps Of Information, and Pietro was
beginning to learn all too frequently
that a handful of berries gathered
from the roadside made most unsat-
isfactory repast.
They plodded up the long hill slope,
the man shutting along with his Shout
ders stopped and his head bent and
| the bear following along at the end OF
his chain, his head rolling from side
to side and his scuf1ing feet sending
up choking clouds of dust that set him
to wheeling and coughing in miserable
fashion.
They were nearing the top Of the hill
when a wagon with a portly, well fed
man on the seat drew up beside them.
The well fed man glared at them in
undisguised contempt
'Hey, you dago," he called, what
yer dom with that bear here on the
highway? Don't you know there's a
regulation against it In this town?
Scares bosses, it doesl Take him
through the woods or the fields, but
keep off the roads-you hearY'
Pietro pulled off the old felt hat and
bowed respectfully. Then as best he
could in broken English, plentifully
interspersed with Etruscan dialect, he
tried to make 1t plain that neither he
nor Gambietta would willingly or
knowingly transgress the law. But
the man in the wagon understood no
word of the servile harangue.
"None Of your lip, now" he inter
rupted irritably, at the same time
pulling open his coat to display tin
star. Pm a deputy sheriff, am.
You and that bear keep off the roads
or I'll run you both in. SeeI"
He waved his arm meaningly to-
ward a little wooded path that led
from the highway to the left and sat
in his wagon watching the sorry pair
until they had turned into it and were
lost to view in its shady depths.
Beneath a giant oak tree that stood
beside the little path Pietro sat down
miserably, his head in his hands and
a great despair in his tired eyes.
Gambietta collapsed beside him,
rolled about luxuriously for mo-
ment, then turned on his side and
went calmly to sleep,
Pietro sat there for a time, prey
to his bitter musing. Then he, too,
stretched himself beside Gambietta's
rusty brown bulk and fell into trou
bled slumber.
Now, it happened that the path-a
winding wood road-which the. two
had chosen, or, rather, which the well
fed man had chosen for them, as a re-
treat led to cascade, where little
stream fell over a series of granite
lodges.
1t was one of the beauty spots of
the vicinity, a place much frequented
by the summer people who came to
the little town.
Even as Pietro and Gambietta slept
in the shadows Of the oak smart
trap came slowly down the winding
road from the cascade.
! In the trap were a stern faced young
man and an unsmiling young woman.
And it took no very great intellect to
see that everything was not entirely
pleasant between them.
Indeed, they had fallen into silence
that bitter silence which is harder to
endure than threats or recrininations
or open censure. For some time they
drove along, the beauties of the
shaded wood road lost to their eyes
The man finally broke the silence.
Perhaps 1t would be better if got
out and walked" he suggested grimly.
perhaps it would" said the girl,
and, refining in the horse. she watched
him climb down from the trap, after
which she ficked the cob with the
whip. and the trap sped down the road.
The man stuffed his hands into his
pockets, grunted something inartieu-
late and strobe on In her wake. He
was pleasant looking young man.
The frown that furrowed his forehead
seemed sadly out of place.
But there was something about the
mouth which said he had viii of his
own and somewhat more than his
share of stubborn pride.
Presently, by way Of soothing his
overweight nerves. he pulled from
his pocket a well worn brier pipe and
began to fill it from his tobacco pouch.
But scarcely was the task completed
when from ahead there arose sud
den commotion, a cracking OF under
brush, jabbering Of Etruscan dialect,
q nalI smounered FEMININE scream
| sounded through the stiffness.
The young man pricked up his ears,
and as the scream sounded once more
be dropped the pipe and tore down the
path at a pace that had won him rec
ords on the cinder path.
Around bend in the path he sped,
and there before him he saw fran
tically plunging horse, an Etrusean
wringing his hand and jabbering help
lessly, while a badly frightened bear
crawled through the underbrush with
many whoofs of genuine alarm.
The young man jumped for the bit,
caught 1t and chung on desperately.
The horse, thoroughly frightened,
snorted and plunged and acted gener-
ally like a beast bereft of his senses
With all his strength he strove to
free himself from the young mans
grasp, but that stubborn will was
equal to the emergency. Men with
mouths like the young mans don't let
go once they have gained hold.
For several minutes it was battle
royal for the mastery; then the young