Scarlett of the Mounted

by Marguerite Merington

"Scarlett what?"

"It's what Scarlett."

"Eh? What do you sign yourself—that is, can you write?"

"Oh, I manage to make me mark with my fist on any human document that gets in my way. I sign myself J. Scarlett."

"Oh! And what does J stand for?"

"Gerald."

"Gerald! How do you spell it?"

"The usual way. G-e-r-a-l-d."

"Then, why do you sign it J?"

"Oh, that's just a mistake other people make in the pronunciation," the owner of the name elucidated, to his own if not to his hearer's satisfaction. "It once nearly cost me a lawsuit to establish it."