The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-03-26

ancestors did fight in the Revolution.
You don't know how much it means to
me to find that soldier. Those people
are so patriotic that they think more
of having Revolutionary ancestors than
of having money or prominence"
Tom Strengthened himself up under
the umbrella. do you mean to tell
me that those people would think oil
that Of some remote, forgotten soldier
of 70, when they have soldiers of 1918
real, fesh-and-blood, lonesome,
heart-sick fellows-right out there on
their own bridge; that they"
II know" said the girl almost In
whisper. "They haven't done a thing
for you boys, but'-this more cheer
fully-"they're talking of having
special series of prayer meetings for
you"
Tom stood still and held the girl
under the umbrella by the arm, and
looked at her in the rain.
you can't be like them. Honestly,
you must understand, you must know,
that men that have been used to
human sort Of time-dances and harm
less fun with nice girls, and just lit
tie show Of human concern once In a
while-aRen't going to be satisfied with
that. If the boys Of re came back you
wouldn't treat them that way. But
these people would. They wouldn't
know they were patriots If they saw
them, and they would warn their
daughters not to speak to them in the
streets. But you're not blue-blood;
tell me you're not blue-blooded," he
commanded.
They began to walk again. The girl
was laughing q little nervously.
"No, I'm not-that's the trouble I
wanted to find that l was, but can't
find any Revolutionary ancestor, and so
can't be blue-blooded. That's the
test"
There was a silence as they walked
on in the rain. Then the girl touched
the arm of the soldier at her side
ever so lightly.
"Would you care to drop In for sup
per at our house?" she asked. Mother
would be so glad. I'll tell her could
not find the soldier OF re, but that I
have found patriot of 1918. / know
mother will like you better. Mother is
really very human"
Ten days later something happened
in the town by the bridge that sur
prised everyone. A dance was given
at the home of one of the leading citi-
zens-not one of the very oldest fam
flies, but still one highly respectable
and conservative-and the guests Of
honor were a dozen or so men In khaki
who lived In a tent on the bridge. All
the pretty girls were invited, and
enough other men to make couples.
equal. 1t was an early dance, with a
late supper following, and at the sup
per the leading judge made a little
speech about the Importance of APP
preciating the work Of "our own Ameri-
can patriots right in our midst" in
stead Of thinking so much about the
patriots who had long gone to rest in
the old burying ground.
A toast, drunk off in grape Juice
punch, was proposed to 'the little tent
on the BRIDGE" and weekly dancing
class was organized, with the soldier
boys as honorary members, which
meant that they would be exempt from
dues. And just as the supper was over
and the guests were going back into
the drawing room for one last dance
"Home, Sweet Home" before they all
left-something else happened.
The daughter of the house-one of
the prettiest girls in town-was pre-
scented with q bunch of white orange
blossoms, which is the conventional
way in that small town of announcing
an engagement. And the man in khaki
who sat beside her rose with her on
his arm and bowed to the guests
around him, and smiled as if he were
the happiest man anywhere in the
U. S. A.