Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-05-31

say in stories, and vent quietly out.
How l ached to 60 with he-. I've
seen Ted cry once, and l couldn't
bear to have her all alone now, and
yet I knew she would rather die than
have anyone see her cry. Besides l
had TO stay in class.
1t was the most attentive class Mr..
Benner ever had. We girls Just kept
our eyes glued to him. That awful.
horrid, bitter cynic with the read
beard to insult Ted like that, And
to have her lash at him so that he
apologized to her and to us all! It
overwhelmed us all. and we were
scared to death.
l don't know how we ever got
through hat fifty minutes. but when
We did. we just pitched out of the
room and we didn't go and hunt up
Ted either. We knew she'd be at
gym as usual, when the teams as
sembled for basket ball.
/ And she a She was still white
and unsmiling, and she played like a
whirlwind. Nobody could get the
ball. She was everywhere, shooting
the ball for baskets, and never miss
ing any she tried, and never failing
to get the ball from the other centre
each time it went up. 1t was terrific.
When the practice was over, she had
got her color back, and she was Just
plain wilted, like the rest of us. And
when she said Come on, Annielove,
let's go into the pool after we've had
our shower. Let's swim the length
down and up again, and then let's
ask Miss @ IL we can't cut dinner and
go out in the school woods for a
little walk" l said "'Course I will
Ted, only let's get into our suits and
go over to the darlingest tea room
that l just discovered, and have a
little dinner. I'm dying to give a
party. and you're the one I want to
give it to. You go on up and get
ready and I'll ask Miss O."
1t was all right, and we did have
the heavenliest little dinner. Ted
never knows what to order, - she
doesn't know caviar from pearl
onions. SO / ordered the dinner. She
got awfully interested in the "un-
c~atalogued Species" as she called all
the things 1 ordered, and she ate as
hungrily as a boy. and just loved it
all. 1t made me s happy.
When we were finishing. with just
a teeny cup of coffee, she said,
"Annielove, you adorable and pre-
cious friend, L don't know how l
shall ever get along without you
when we leave school. I am so
downright, and so horribly outspoken
that your blessed friendly tact saves
me from all sorts of disasters. Please
know that I do understand it, and
that l love o for it."
You car just imagine how fused
I was, because I wanted TO squeeze
! hnr and naHtl6nfF CO + 5.,-A --TI
We'll, Ted, l don't know any other
old Benner what you did. He was
positively human all the rest Of the
class hour. II was uncanny. But
Ted, we just beat it out after the
first sound of the bell"
Well. when we were walking into
the Hall, we made a fatal mistake.
We looked into Miss Q's office. as
usual,-we had to, to let her know
we were in as per agreement,-and
there sat Benner. My heart stopped,
1 know, but Ted walked straight in
to Benner, and said" Mr.. Benner, I
can't say that I'm sorry that I was
SO angry, but I am ever so sorry that
I forgot you were my teacher"
Mr.. Benner smiled, and he looked
/ Q0Alt oliItIt lils 41lG1 - lie cdlQ
in the incest voice, II quite deserved
what you ave me. But I hope IT
isn't too late for us to be friends. I
am asking Miss G if 1 may take a
small party of my Math class over to
the observatory tonight to see the
new star. 1t is going TO be a per-
feet night for observations"
Now wasn't that lovely? Right
off Ted said, "Oh. how lovely, Mr..
Benner! You will include Annielove
and Helly and Gloria and Crusty,
won't you?" Not the least bit like a
victorious Amazon who had just
plunged a giant down into the moat,
So Mr.. Benner said he would be
delighted, and was going to suggest
just those four, with herself and Miss
Q, and Miss Q beamed over her
thick glasses, and said that it was
a. special privilege.
Well, We had the loveliest evening,
and Mr.. Benner seemed to know
every star in the heavens at least by
sight, and many of them intimately,
from the way he told all their family
histories, We really forgot that he
was "Old Benner," whom we hated
to go to for our Math. and we all
wondered, on the way back to the
Hall, il perhaps some terrible sor-
row had made him so bitter. Helly,
OF course, suggested that he had
been disappointed in love. Gloria
thought IL wasn't quite patriotic in
that case TO grow a RED beard. But
Ted didn't say a word. I knew she
was just grooming inside to think she
had been so horrid to a person that
was really a regular person after all.
So when 1 told her goodnight, 1 said
1t vas lucky for all Of us that she
had told old Benner what she did.
because he was certainly a changed
man.
That pleased Ted, and she called
me a blessed little seraph. Dear
Mary G.. please do forgive my Eek
eessive p%rolixity," as Miss Gates
would call it in English Comp. Next
time I'll be brief.
Yours sincerely,
ANNIELOVE.
What a good letter. Annielovei
We shall expect more sometime soon.
from o and Ted. both and we'd
love TO have the others of your crowd
join us too. And won't Billy and
Margie and Slim and Shorty, and all
the other blessed company that We
haven't seen in some time. flock
back soon?
A4Anv