And then like someone pulling a marlin from the sea, the rescuer yanks the boy free of the muck. Others grab him, but it seems they're too late. Rescue crews waded knee-deep through the sticky ooze. Finally, as the wave spreads it begins to slow down. But now, in the cold air, the molasses starts to congeal.
Rescuers already are on the scene.
The first ones, men from the harbor patrol ship Nantucket , clamber over ruined buildings and plunge knee-deep into the mess. Soon blue-coated police arrive, followed by wagons of military men from a nearby Army base and then ambulances of Red Cross volunteers in smart white shirtwaists. They have their work cut out for them. Several horses, trapped like flies on flypaper, are shot by the police. As the rescue crews trudge through the thickening muck our train backs down the track and we get off at the next station.