The Washington times., 1922-10-01

pany No. 9, in Jersey City, thirty
fremen, members of that company, think
of their arms. Because Cecilia wears
beneath her stocking just $40 pieces of
skin that were once worn beneath the
coat sleeves of those same husky firemen.
Blond haired and black, red haired and
brown, this crazy quilt of human skin
was all that saved Cccilias life.
Not long ago she was preparing break
fast for her two brothers, who are also
members of ladder company No. 9, when
n jet of flame from the gas stove caught
her kimono and, in an instant, Cecilia
was wrapped in sheet of fire. This fire
burned her flesh so deeply that it left
cruel livid scar reaching from her ankle
to her hip. The burn was too deep and
too widespread to heal at FIRST inten-
tion," as the doctors say.
In other words, the burn could not be
covered with skin by the natural healing
process alone, and grating had to be re-
sorted to. That is why the $40 pieces of
skin from thirty fremen's arms were
skillfully grated on Cecilia's burned leg
and in time, grew there, taking the place
of the natural skin.
Of course, there was very good rea-
son why these thirty firemcn made such
sacrifice of their skin for Cecilia Starkey.
They gave it as a reward to little Cecilia
because, before her accident, she helped
the firemen raise money, and also be-
cause of her unhagging courage after the
accident happened. -
In the long night watches at the fire.
house the other men heard her brothers
talking of Ccciia's struggle to get well.
The burn was stubborn and did not seem
to heal Her determination to get well so
stirred the admiration of the fremcn that
they willingly offered many inches of their
own skin to help her For several weeks
they went under grating operations and
afterward every man in the company
nursed a sore arm for Cecilia's sake.
To-day Cecilia sometimes feels twinge
of pain and the voice that once charmed
money from the audience that attended
the fremen's benefit is not quite what it
used to be. She has suffered much, but is
still young, and the members of No. 9
have made her the mascot of the company.
And why not? Every man feels he owns
a little part of her, and for that very
reason should take a personal rather than
friendly interest in her welfare.
"Why is it that strong, husky pen want
to be firemen?" is what Cecilia Starkey
wants to know. as she rCcollects the acci-
dent.
If her brothers were not fircmen and did
not have to get up so early in the morning
after their "day Off" she would not be now
wearing a mottled coat of borrowed skin.
On the day of her accident the alarm
clock rang at six. This was her call to
duty Her mother was not quite so young
as she would like to have people believe,
and so scventccn-ycar-old Cecilia assumed
the early morning duties of the household
She sprang out of bed, realizing that
there was scarcely a moment to spare.
She must hasten that breakfast for her
two brothers before they set out for their
day in the fire station.
Over her nghtgown she slipped kimo-
no whose blue was aCCcntuatCd with white
flowers, and hurried into the kitchen. On
a rug in the hall her sleepy feet tripped
She smiled and kicked the rug back into
place Then taking match from the box
on the shelf she struck light to the gas
let of the stove. After filling the coffee
pot she placed it on the stove and sat
down waiting for it to boil.
That walt nearly proven 10 oe ldIdl W
little Cecilia. With the sleep not yet
busted out of her eyes, her head gradually
nodded and she fell into forgetful slum-
ber. Presently a burning pain shot
through her and she awokc with a scream
Then another and another followed in
Quick succession. Her mother arose from
bed and her two brothers, Herbert and
Patrick, rushed to the kitchen with wild
fear in their hearts:
Arriving at the kitchen threshold the
sight that met their eyes was almost too
much for their steady nerves. Their sister
was wrthing in awful pain on the floor,
rolling round and round in an Intellectual
effort to beat out the flames that were
devouring the cotton kimono and sheer
nightgown, which burned like so much
tissue paper. All the while she filed the
house with screams from the terrible
agony she was suffering.
1t was clear what had happened. While
she dozed beside the stove a stray breeze
playing in through the open window had
caught a fold of her blue kmono and
whisked it toward the flaming gas jet. A