The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-04-27
THE Dan
sH0 RIT STORY
BERTHA GOES TO
THE DANCE
By Jane Osborn

By Jane Osborn
L was the day before the all
important junior ball at Tllton
Y College. On the spare room"
ted IN the DENLY farmhouse lay
he pink chiffon frock that Bertha
bad bought for the great event.
Silver slippers and stockings lay
z beside II and the band OF pink
fosebuds that were to hold her fair
curls low on her forehead.
The whole house was In an air
Of expectancy and even the cows
and chickens In the barnyard and
pasture must have suspected that
something was In the air from the
Sappy preoccuppied air Of Bill
DENLY, gruft and usually indlffer-
ent as he went about his daily
chores. Bill DENLY was Bertha's
* brother. her elder by ten years,
who, though he avoided society
himself, never seemed more con-
tent than when his pretty sister
was included in tho festivities at
nearby Tllton College.
Then George Fulton came with
the news that changed all this air
sof pleasurable expectation TO one
Of gloom and detection. George
found Bertha in the kitchen OF the
farmhouse mixing cake batter.
He sat down morosely on a stool
beside her and kept his eyes upon
the mixing spoon rather than on
Sertha's face.
il "rye done the thing that seems
llfost honorable" he announced.
tmeans that l can't take you to
p BALI" And with much falter-
Ing and many hesitations he pro-
ceeded.
Last summer met a girl who
lives out in Wyoming. She was a
little older and didn't even care
for her except a good pal. We
played tennis together and went
STimming and sailing and-before
We parted | asked her to go to my
Junior ball with me. That was
before ! had met-you. / Just said
II that way-.:You must 20 to- my
Junior ball with me- and she said
all right Well we wrote once or
twice and nothing more was said
Z about the ball. and then We didn't
write any more. / had met you
sand she didn't seem to care wheth-
er I;wrote or not. This morning I
Ahad letter from her-you may
read It IL you will. 1t Just says:
I'm coming for the ball. will
arrive at 5 Friday. Arrange
somewhere for mo to stay for two
orsthree days and meet me at the
station. know you haven't for
gotten your invitation
Its too late to prevent her
eomtng-shc is almost here. I
didn't know what to do. or course
want to take you more than
anything else. But ! made up my
mind that the right thing for u
fellow to do in tho circumstances
was to so 10 the girl he really
cared for, the one who-well, the
zone who trusted him and under
stood him and telll her. There.
viii be q lot more dances for lis to
goyto. and as I'm chairman OF tho
ball committee we couldn't have n
very good time anyway-I'lI be so
busy thinking about the musicians
and caterers and everything"
Bertha had not quite come up to
the part George had given her to
playso well as he eXepctcd her to
do She had assured him that he
y had done the right thing and that
she didn't care about the dance.
But there was an air OF defiance
in her tone, and when she snapped
her fingers to show him how little
she did care George saw only the
ire that lighted in her eyes and
not the tears that were ready to
burst forth behind the fire.
E3a It was not till George had gone
and Bertha had gone to nurse her
grief In sight Of the pink frock
laid out 80 neatly that she really
did permit those tears to flow. Bill
j DENLY, who had looked in vain for
his sister downstairs. found her
there In the spare room. Bertha
explained.
It's lucky I wasn't there" said
Bill I'D have broken his neck for
him. The coward, the dog"
Bertha clapped her hand over
2ill's mouth and would hear no
y more.
w Il don't care so much about
gbing with him." she tibbed, but
wanted to wear the dress.
y never had such a pretty dress, be-
fore. She raised the tilet Of pink
rosebuds to her hair. aren't they
pretty?@ she asked. And then Bill
was ready to shed tears himself.
GO with some one else." he
\ said. There were other fellows
that would have taken YOU"
Yes, but they all have girls OF
their own now. There isn't a
junior or senior who hasn't got
some sort OF girl. and the under
classmen aren't allowed to 60
Can outsiders go?" asked Bill.
mot unless they are graduates
OF Tflton. They don't mind out
isiders, only there isn't room
enough for everybody-but don't
know any one TO so with, anyway,
Men are SO scarce nowadays.
"1in man." announced Bill,
and 1t was all Bertha could do not
to express her dismay at the
thought that this big, heavily
s booted, callous-dngered brother
OF hers. VINO had never gone TO
college and who avoided all So
ciety, should think Of himself as a
possible dance escort.
49, -llItll a.