Marion Marlowe in Omaha, or, Held up by Accident — page 10: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

MY QUEEN. “Ts every one safe, Bert?” The comedian could not answer, He laid the child that he was carrying down upon its mother’s lap; then turned and went back to look again at Marion. : Suppose she should die? . As Bert asked himself the question his mind turned involuntarily to Miss Ellis, and he caught himself wondering what his feel- ings would have been if Miss Ellis had been badly injured. a | For the: first time he realized that he would have felt it more than he cared to say, and he turned in Miss Ellis’ direction, in- tending to speak to her. | “She is reviving, thank Heaven!” It was the doctor’s voice. - ; Bert turned away to hide his tears, but there. was no place there to turn for solitude. Bright tongues of flame were darting from _the splintered coaches nowy and the ground for yards around was a veritable hospital. There was only one thing to do—that was ~ to make himself useful. He took a swift glance over the scene to see where he was most needed; then dashed over to where he saw a man lying, apparently wounded and neglected. | _ As he gazed down into his face, he recog- nized him at once. It was one of the three men of whom he had suspicions. But the icllow was bleeding profusely from a severe scalp wound now, and Bert did not falter in his humane efforts. He took a hand- kerchief from his own pocket and bound up the wound; then ran to one of the trainmen whom he saw had a pail of water. “Time enough to settle with him later,” he muttered to himself; “I’ll give him a drink, and then go on to the others.” Orrin Olcott had revived from a simple faint, and Miss Ellis was sitting up, ban- daging a sprained wrist as best she could, so _ that she could be ready later to do her share of nursing. © . As Bert passed her on his rounds among the injured ones, he stopped and fastened the bandage; then bent and kissed her injured hand tenderly. / “Sit still a minute and rest, dear,” he said, in a low voice. “There’s nothing you can do. We haven’t any more bandages.” In an instant, the young girl drew off a white skirt, and the two tore it into strips; then Bert went back to his duties. After that Miss Ellis recovered rapidly. She had made a discovery that filled her heart with joy—Bert Jackson, the youth whom she adored, was really and truly in love with her. . Ten feet from Miss Ellis, Bert came upon Mr. Temple. He had just succeeded in mak- ing the soubrette, with her badly sprained arm and two lacerated fingers as comfort- able as possible. Ida Inez smiled at him cheerfully, but that was all she could do, besides keeping her eye and hand on her badly frightened youngster, A new danger crept upon the scene as the cars began to catch afire, and the fear of an explosion added greatly to the horror. As Bert worked, shoulder to shoulder with the other male passengers and the trainmen, he was constantly on the lookout for the - jovial. ranchman. Where was he? [It was a question that no one could an- swer. Lhe sleeper “Ardath” was ablaze and burn- ing like tinder. As they were carrying her back to a place of safety, Marion suddenly opened her eyes and stared about her. There was just one brief instant of dazed bewilderment; then the blood rushed to her white cheeks and her hand clutched the doc- tor’s. “What is it? What has happened ? Oh, 1 sce! The train is wrecked. Put me dow> this minute! I must go to the rescue!” COMIC SOOKS.COMM