The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1916-01-21
THE GIRL WHO
WORE HIS COloRS
Romance That Came Of a
Broken Shoe Lace.

broken Sn0e Lace.
A girl with an umbrella in her hand
and q reticule on her arm was vainly
e~ndeavoring to tie her shoe on a crowd
ed sidewalk.
win you permit me?"
A young man spoke the words in a
well modulated voice and with a def
erential tone. Then, without waiting
for a reply, he dropped IN one knee N
the sloppy stone, regardless Of the mud
or the crease in his trousers, and en-
deavored. to tie the shoestring. Alas, it
was broken in the middle!
II an united shoestring in the street
LEA misfortune, a broken shoestring Is
a tragedy. The girl, seeing the state
Of the case, would have been appalled,,
but for that reliance on the sterner sex
natural to women. She waited for him
tbs get owe the difficulty without in
the least concerning herself about 1t.
The gallant fellow looked at the bro
ken string, thought rapidly, then plung-
ed his hands into each Of his dozen
pockets. From one Of them he drew q
corn colored ribbon that had bound to-
gether packages Of cigars; then, get
ting rid Of the broken shoestring, he
laced the shoe with the ribbon.
"There," he said, rising and standing
with lifted hat: that will serve till you
reach home"
The girl gave him a smile and a,
THANK you" and went on her way.
Grafton Hatch watched her retreat
ing figure till it had passed out Of
sight He was not conscious Of the
impression she had made on him; it
simply occurred to him that he would
like to meet her again, and when it had
occurred to him once it occurred to
him again and again.
Months passed before he was re-
warded by another sight Of the charm
er. 1t was springtime, and he was rid
ing in an open electric car. A car CON-
ing from the opposite direction sped
past him, and he had such q vision as
one may gain from a fash of lightning
on a dark night. It was the girl whose
shoe he had laced, and in a %buttonhole
Of her corsage was the bow Of corn COL
ored ribbon he had used for a shoe
string. w.. ..-.
The fire %smoldering in Grafton
Hatch's bosom ut seeing this evidence
Of the impression he had made burst
into q fame. But the pleasure he took
in the discovery vas marred by the
thought that living as he did in a great
city the chances were that he might
never meet the girl again. or, II he
did. possibly under circumstances pro-
hibitory to his having a word with her.
The distressing complication well nigh
threw him into a fever.
Hatch spent q great deal of time try
ing to conjure up q method Of COM
municating with the girl who wore his
colors, but could think Of none except
q personal advertisement, and from
this he shrank. Nevertheless, after a
long period of distress, he tried It, but
whether his ad. never met the girls
eyes or she did not ARE to reply he did
not hear from her.
During the following summer Hatch
visited the seash0re. There were q
number of resorts scattered along the
coast, and the place where Hatch was
stopping was separated from the n
adjoining it on the north by an inlet.
It was not very broad nor very deep.
but there was no bridge across It, and
unless a boat was handy there was no
way to cross 1t except by swimming.
One afternoon Hatch went with a party
Of friends to the inlet for crabs. The
lines were baited, and the crabs were
hungry. One Of the ladies Of the par.
ty, q girl who dotted on Hatch, got a
crab within reach Of her landing net
: she was trying to land Hatch as well
but. was unable to get the crab into it
She called on Hatch, who was also in
the act Of landing a crab, to help her.
Hatch was about to relinquish his prize
to hasten to her assistance when, sud-
denly darting a glance at a party on
the opposite bank of the inlet who
were gathering up their nets and crab
lines preparatory to departing, he saw
a sight that changed the whole current
Of his intentions-the girl whose shoe
he had laced. And still she his
c0l0rs. y
Hatch took In the situation as q gen
eral who perceives that without a des-
perate. sortie his enemy will escape
him. The girl struggling with the crab
heard q splash and, looking on the dis
turbed waters. saw Hatch swimming
IN d straight line for the opposite bank.
She watched him till she saw him
clutch the bank. draw himself up and,
dripping. hat in hand, stand before .
girl with a bow Of corn colored ribbon
in her buttonhole. Then she gave up
hops. The crab meanwhile had got
!. away.
I That was the last seen Of Hatch by
any Of his party that season. He walk
ed away with the girl with the bow Of
ribbon and did not return to his hotel
TIL late at night. He was soaking wet,
but the weather VA hot, and he was
- quite dry. Besides, what were
and rumpled garments to Q man