The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1912-03-08
A BOY AND
A GIRL
BY JOHN L. PURDY

lad Of ten. Bertha year younger.
| was too much of boy to appreciate
Bertha, having very little use for girls
and setting great store by football,
baseball, tennis and kindred games.
have a photograph Of her when she
was fifteen, and when ! look at that
charming little face with those maiden
ly eyes | wonder how ! could have
been Indifferent TO her.
Bertha seemed to like TO be with
me. She was always glad when 1t
stormed so hard that | couldn't play
outdoor games and was obliged to stay
in the house and play dominos or
checkers with her. games | considered
very dull. And when ! was kept in
on account Of some indisposition she
would sit by my lounge or my bed or
whatever rested on and read to me. 1t
did not occur TO me to be grateful for
this. ! simply regarded ii as a very
natural thing that the inferior being
girl. should minister to the superior
being. boy.
remember that though manly in
some things | was inexpressably weak
in others. i regret to say that it usual
!y took me from half to three-quarters
of an hour to get a dose Of medicine
into my stomach. Threats, contempt.
irony. were insufficient to put enough
courage into me for the purpose, On
one occasion, after being alternately
bribed and threatened to no purpose.
l finally made up my mind to have the
thing over with and took the dose
down at gulp. When a little later
was asked If | had taken 1t Be tina,
who was sitting beside me, said, ''Yes,
and he took It very well too"
That was the first realization had
that there was anything admirable in
a girl Indeed. I was very much
ashamed of myself and just a trifie
grateful to Bertha for standing up for
me who didn't deserve anything but q
spanking.
As we grew older came to consider
myself a sort of protector to Bertha
looking upon her as something very
weak that needed something very
strong to keep her out of trouble or
danger, l didn't know exactly what
The truth Is that Bertha didn't need
my strong arm at all, while l needed
a certain moral courage there was In
her very much.
Then | went away to boarding
school. and when / returned at six.
teen it occurred to me for the first
time that Bertha was rather a pretty
girl. l felt just a little proud of her
and wouldn't mind some of my boy
friends seeing her. When two years
later l brought one of my classmates
home with me there was something |
about the admiration he expressed for |
After that instead of wishing my
friends to see her / preferred that
they keep away. In fact, / was mean I
enough not to invite them to my home.
One Christmas while I was at col. /
lege some one gave Bertha an es
crltoire. When I came home for the
spring recess she was wearing a tiny
gold plated key on narrow velvet
ribbon about her neck. / asked hei
what the key unlocked, and she said
1t was a drawer in her desk. / asked
her what that drawer contained that
was so precious, and for reply she
gave me only blush.
This was worse than introducing a
friend and enduring his admiration
of her. Some fellow had been snoop-
ing around, and I wished to know
who he was. OF course didn't want
Bertha for myself. / had seen sew
eral girls wtne at college who could
cut a much finer swath than she.
But what business had any other man
to come into the house, and-well. 1t
was dead wrong.
When l returned the next June
only budded. but bloomed. She was
past twenty. She still wore the key.
| didn't see any fellow hanging round
her, but supposed that he was some
where else. was dishonora BILE
enough to lay plans to get into the
One day saw Bertha's desk standing
open, and on the blotter she used to
write on was the little key. | knew
had no business to pry into her af-
fairs, but either ! did not realize what
a contemplate thing it was to do or
| was too deeply interested to refrain
from obeying the dictates of jeal-
ousy. l took up the key and. insert
ing it in the lock. opened the treasure
drawer On the top of what was in 1t
was the rascars photograph. but in an
envelope could feel 1t. yielded to
and took it out 1t was my
own picture taken when between boy
and youth
Investigating further. found a scrap
Of my writing and on reading it rec
ognized something complimentary
had written her ten years before.
From an overweening concelt drop
ped into a bottomless pit of unworthi-
ness So great was the change that II
was a long while before | could screw
lp my courage TO tell Bertha | loved
ler But when recovered my equa-
limity regained my rascality. | told
ler that | had loved her ever since
the was little girl.
After all. IL doesn't do for man to
Freak a woman's idol. When was
10Y without enough pluck to take a
lose of castor oil she regarded me as