Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-01-10


young woman who was addicted to the
wearing of blue ribbons in her hair"
You may feel perfectly safe so far
as l am concerned" assured Hester
viii you be here tomorrow morning
at o'clockT asked Ralph Turner
Yes" she replied and went away
happy as bird at the idea of once
more being among the workers.
The next morning when Ralph Tur-
ner passed through the QUITE. office on
the way to his sanctum he nodded APP
prevail with a good morning to the
slender. dark eyed girl sitting at her
desk. He noted that she wore simple
dress of some dark material and that
she wore no jewelry, and her abundant
hair was neatly dressed.
He spent considerable time showing
her what to do and explaining the ma
ture OF the work she was to perform.
She was to be his especial stenogra-
pher, and instead OF working In the
large room where half n dozen other
girls clattered away at as many ma
chimes Hester Dorman had a small pri-
vate office near that Of Mr. Turner
Hester soon fell in line with her new
work and grew to like 1t. She grew
to like Ralph Turner as well and to
understand that his outward air of
gruffness covered an unusually warm
heart and a whimsical turn of mind
that made him most interesting COM
panion-
1t was easy to see that Mr. Turner
was not interested in women. To him
they lived and moved and had their
being quite apart from him. The girls
in the outer office chartered with their
tongues, clattered at the type machines
and coquetted with the callow clerks
under his very nose, but he saw them
not. So long as they turned out good
work and obeyed the rules Of the Office
he appeared satisfied. He accepted
them as inevitable results of woman's
hunger for buster life. As for his
personal stenographer, there he was
particular to fault. But he found lit
tie to criticise in Hester Dorman's ex-
quisite neatness Of attire and her fault
less work
Hester had been there three months
before Ralph Turner looked up from
his letters one day and really saw her.
He started impercepibly when he re-
allied that she was pretty-nay, more
than pretty; she was beautiful To
gaze at her was like looking at some,
lovely picture painted from life.
Hester Dorman never knew when
the transition from his indifference to
interest took place In the breast of
her employer. She only knew that she
no
Ply in all her life before.
One morning as he passed her desk
Ralph Turner paused.
Miss Dorman"- He hesitated.
"You will recollect that when I en-
ployed you 1 asked you If you ever
wore blue ribbons in your hairT'
Eyes, Mr.. Turner" she answered
wonderingly.
1T was merely a passing fancy on
my part that my stenographer should
not do so. If you-er-care to wear
them pray do 50. 1 would not place
too many restrictions upon you," he
said awkwardly and went into his Of
fee.
How funny" thought Hester as she
resumed her work. "Why should he
concern himself over the color of our
ribbons?"
Indeed, why7 Because Ralph Tur-
ner realized that he loved for the first
time. He loved Hester Dorman, but
he doubted whether she could ever
care for him in the same way. There
We're younger and more attractive men
In the Office, and perhaps IL Hester
had had fair chance with the others
If he had not demanded that she
dress plainly or hint that such was his
wish-perhaps her beauty would be
more apparent to the other chaps.
Hester ought to have her chance
He waited several weeks, and Hes
ter Dorman never wore a blue ribbon
in her hair. But she wore pink sig
mails in her cheeks whenever she spoke
to him, and he was too obtuse to I'M
derstand their significance One day
he accidentally overheard two Of his
clerks talking
'Old Turner viii be advertising for
another stenographer OF the nonrib-
bon sort" remarked one flippant youth.
why
Because he'll be marrying Miss
Dorman before long They certainly
like each other pretty WELL" grinned
the first youth.
Like each other pretty WELL"
The words sang themselves into Tur-
ner's heart. That must mean that
Hester might like him too In spite
Of his grouchy ways and his bannin9
OF pretty ribbons in his Office it was
possible that she did care. He resolv-
ed to ask her.
He did. and her reply had nothing
to do with blue ribbons.
The new stenographer was a young
man. and he had curly hair and wore
baby blue neckties, and nobody cared.
because everybody was so happy.
And Ralph's young wife always
wore broad band of pale blue RIB
bon about her head at the breakfast
table-because he liked It.