The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1914-11-06
A Band of
Velvet Ribbon
BY JOHN Y. LARNED

At II summer hotel in the Adirondack
mountains, where there were the usual
quantum of young girls and the usual
deficit Of young men for them to firt
with, Albert King, who needed recre-
alton after too much work, found him
a ladies' man, md he demurred.
Nevertheless. there was one girl who
attracted him. She was not II OF the
rocking chair brigade, as the ladies who
sat on the piazza were dubbed, for she
was not admitted to their charmed cir
ele. Why, King did not know.
King made her acquaintance and
was thereafter taboo by the patrician
girls, who had no use for a man who
would divide his attentions to them
with one Of another caste. But he did
not mind this, for Ellen Bickford, the
young lady in question, interested him
! and relieved the monotony Of his stay
in the mountains. Besides, he discov-
cred her superiority in n respect.
| courage. for when a large party were
caught out on the lake in q terrific
| squall and it looked as II their boat
would be swamped Miss Bickford dis
played no terror whatever, while other
girls were desperately frightened.
Miss Bickford v wore short
sleeves to her dresses except Mt the
hotel dances, when she displayed a
we'll rounded neck and arms. But at
such times her right arm was inva-
riably encircled with Il broad strip of
velvet. The fact that this part Of her
arm-midway between the shoulder
and the elbow--was W exposed
soon began to excite comment. That
there was something on her arm to
be concealed was evident; curiosity
stepped in and would know what it
a But there was a dignity about
Miss Bickford that caused curious per-
sons to abstain from making inquiries.
20 the matter remained unexplained.
King was ignorant Of the gossip con-
corning what kind Of blenaish was
hidden under the velvet. He had noticed
the fact Of Miss Bickford's wearing it,
but had not troubled himself as to the
cause. If he thought of it at all he
very likely set it down to the conceal.
ment of a scar. probably caused by
vaccination. But one day the rumor
reached his ears that Miss BickfOrd
was the daughter Of a common sailor
who. when she was a child, had tat
tooed on her arm an anchor. Since
King had been smitten with the young
lady this report naturally interested
him.
Whatever he may have thought of
Miss Bickford's origin. it seemed to
him unlike her to conceal any mark
of it. He would rather expect her to
permit the whole world to know her
for exactly what she was.
Miss Bickford, it seems, was IS much
attracted by Mr.. King as he was by her.
Moreover. she noticed that after a GER
tain period he seemed disposed to draw
away from her. She knew that what
she was %concealing was causing a
smothered commotion among the young
ldOleS VI TIC LUIGI anu IA0S
some one of the many stories that were
floating about concerning it had reach
ed him. One day she frankly said to
him:
mfr. King. have you heard the story
that l am the daughter of a common
sailor who tattooed an anchor on my
arm?"
II have"
You are the only person in this
house whose opinion l care for, but l
do care for yours and do not wish, so
far as you are concerned, to sail under
false colors. My father is OF was a
Iandsman and had nothing to do with
what is under the circlet l year.. But
I do wear it to conceal something that
has been tattooed on my arm"
THANK you very much for the pref
erence you have shown me and your
frankness. For the first time my Gu
riosity as to that ribbon has been ex-
cited. and since you have caused 1t
look to you to crafty it."
II assure you that it is nothing to be
ashamed Of"
'Is it anything to be proud Off"
10 this she assented haltingly.
"In that case l insist upon seeing 1t"
After some persuasion she pulled the
ribbon down toward her elbow. and
there in blue ink under the skin were
the letters Heroine"
King looked at the word, then up at
the girls face and, with a smile, said:
Come; tell the story. am dying to
hear it."
ut is not much of a story. For years
my family had a cottage OH the sea-
coast. My summers were spc,t there
from the time l was six years old. I
learned to swim like a duck and could
handle a boat as well as a boy. Our
cottage was on one side of a neck Of
land, and a life saving station was on
the other side. One day on u side a
ship came ashore. The life men did
not know of her being there. and there
was not time in which to tell them.
There were six men about to drown.
I pulled out in my boat and saved
A.