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Show ONLY A PAPER PROMISE ; . By Gil Uhrig IT WAS Ma who saw It In the paper first. "Apgustl" she howled, "Bertha's engaged." "Who's she engaged to?" I sked, lazy like, thinkln' it was one of Ma's Jokes. "So you don't believe me." She handed me the paper and almost poked a hole through It, polntin' out the Item on the society page with Bertha's picture too. "Bertha Sondheim," It read, "announces her engagement to the well known polo player and Wall Street tycoon, Watson Kilo Cycles." Cy-cles." I walked out of my tinkering hop and I walked straight down Church Street right past the office of the Weekly Call. I had a notion to go In and see exactly what was what about this piece In their paper pa-per but I rememberd that Ollie Moore was away on his vacation. Maybe it was the real thing. That's what I had to find out. My Bertha always was a scatterbrain, always makin' up silly daydreams. When I got to the grocery store where I expected to find her behind be-hind the counter this was usually the time she sent her folks up-talrs up-talrs to eat I had a story of my own all figured out. "What's matter, Augle?" she sked me, Innocent like. "What goes on around here?" I asked. "Just when I was ready to elope with you and take you to South America with mel" "Elope? South America?" I had her stopped for a minute there. "Sure. I've had a very good offer to be the head electrician for a new development, a power development In fact, not far from Caracas." "Gee!" she said. "I hope you and Mr. Cycler are yery happy." "Yeah," she said, not looking straight at me. "I hope so too. Where's Caracas, Augie?" "It's the capital of Venezuela, the fastest growing country In the whole Southern Hemisphere. We could have fun there, but well, you'll be busy buying your trousseau trous-seau and everything. Besides I gotta get home and pack. So long, Bertha. It's been nice." I started for the door. 1 "Augie," she callea fitter me. "Wait. Are you really goln' to South America?" "Sure. First thing Monday morning." morn-ing." She bit her lower lip. "Want-a want- a take someone along?" "Meanln" who?" "Meanln me." "I can't, you're gittin' married." She laughed nervously. "Augie, there Isn't any Watson Kilo Cycles. Cy-cles. Couldn't you tell that was a phony name7 Everybody'! been kiddin' me about it. That's what Dad calls you when you're not around because you're so all wrapped up In electricity. You think more about electricity than you do about me. And Mr. Moore was away and Clara thought up the Idea to make you come to your senses. She'll probably lose her job but she's gonna get married mar-ried herself and she wants me to get married too to you. That's why we tried to Jolt you Into It-sort It-sort of. But now oh dear maybe -my folks wouldn't let me marry you and go to South America, not by, Monday anyway," "That's all right Bertha hon-ey," hon-ey," I said. "Mayb I can postpone post-pone my trip. In fact I'm pretty sure I can postpone it for a long time if you'll marry me." "Will I?" She was in my arms and I heard wedding bells. |