The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1874-10-29

l
through the debris across her two
hands, which lay clasped at her side.
One of her fingers she saw was gone
it was the finger which held Dicks lit
tie engagement ring. The red beam
lay across her forhead, and drops drip
ped from it upon her eyes. Her feet,
still tangled in the gearing which had
tripped upon her, were buried beneath
pile of bricks. A broad piece of floor
ing that had fallen slantwise rooted her
in, and saved her from the mass of iron
work overhead, which would have
crushed the breath out of Hercules.
Fragments Of looms, shafts, and pillars
were in heaps about. Some one whom
she could not see was dying just be-
hind her. A little girl who worked in
her room-a mere child-was crying,
between her groans, for her mother.
Del Ivory sat in little open space,
cushioned about with reels of cotton
she had shallow cash upon her cheek ;
she was wringing her hands. They
were at work from the outside, saving
entrances through the labyrinth OF
planks. A dead woman lay close by,
and Sene saw them draw her out. One
of the pretty Irish girls was crushed
quite out of sight; only one hand was
free, she moved it feebly. They could
hear her calling for Jimmy Mahoney,
Jimmy Mahoney; and would they be
sure and give him back the handker-
chief2 Poor Jimmy Mahoney | By
andbye she called no more, and in q
little while the hand was still. The
other side OF the slanting flooring some
one prayed aloud. She had little baby
at home. She was asking God to take
care of it for her. "For Christ's sake" "
che said. Sene listened long for the
amen, but il was never spoken. Be-
yond they dug a man out from under O
dead body unhurt He crawled to his
feet, and broke into furious blasphemies.
X r
Del cried presently that they were
cutting them out. The glare OF the
bonfire struck through an opening /;
saws and axes flashed voices grew dis
tinct. The opening broadened, bright
ened the sweet night wind blew in /;
the safe night sky shone through.
Sene's heart leaped within her. Out in
the wind and under the sky she should
stand again after all. She worked her
head from under the beam and raised
herself upon her elbow. At that mo-
ment she heard cry
"Fire fire God Almighty help
them The ruins are on fire I"
A man working over the debris from
the outside had taken the notion, it
being rather dark just then, to carry o
lantern with him. "For Gods sake, +"
o voice cried from the crowd. "don't
stay there with that light" But while
his voice yet sounded, it was the
dreadful fate of the man with the Ian
tern to let it fall--and it broke on the
ruined mass. That was nine O'Clock.
What there was to be seen from then
till morning could never be told or for
gotten.
A network, twenty feet high, of rods
and girders, of beams, pillars, STAIR
ways, roofing, ceiling, walling, wrecks
of looms, shafts, twisters, pulleys, bob.
bins, mules, locked and intertwined /;
wrecks of human creatures wedged in !;
face that you knew turned up at you
from some pit, which twenty-four
hours hewing could not open; voice
that you knew crying after you from
God knows where; mass of long, fair
hair visible here, foot there, three
fingers of hand over there the snow
bright red under foot; charred limbs
and helpless trunks tossed about !;
strong men carrying covered things by
you, at sight of which other strong men
have tainted; the little yellow jet that
hared up and died in smoke. and hared
again, Ieaped out, licked the cotton
bales, tasted the oiled machinery,
crunched the netted wood, danced on
the heaped-up stone, threw it's cruel
arms high into the night, roared for
Joy at helpless fremen, and swallowed
wreck, death and life together out of
your sight-that thing stands alone in
the gallery of tragedy. =
The child, who had called for her
mother, began to sob out that she was
afraid to die alone. "Come here,
Molly" said Sene, "can you crawl
around? ?" Molly crawled around.
"Put your head in my lap and your
arms about my waist, and 1 will put my
hands in yours-so, there 1 guess
that's better, isn't it ?"
But they had not given them up yet.
In the still unburned rubbish, at the
right, some one had wrenched an open
ing within q foot of Sene's face. They
clawed at the solid iron pintles like
savage things. A fireman tainted in
the smoke. "Give it up p cried the
crowd from behind. "It can't be done !
Fall back r'-then hushed, awe-struck.
An old man was crawling along on his
hands and knees over the heated bricks.
He was very old man. His gray hairs
blew about in the wind.
ST want my little gal !" he said.
"Can't anybody tell me where to find
my little gal?"
A rough fellow pointed in perfect ST.
lence through the smoke.
"I'll have her out yet. L am an old
man, but I can help. She's my little
gal, ye see. Hand me that there dip
per OF water it'll keep her from chok-
ing, maybe. Now, keep CHEEKY, Sene.
Your old father'l get ye out. Keep up
a good heart, child. That's it."
cts no use, father. Don't feel bad,
father. 1 don't mind it very much. 4"
He hacked at the timber he tried TO
laugh ne bewildered himself with his
cheerful words.
"No more ye needn't, 'Senath; for
it'll be over in a minute. Don't be
downcast yet. Well have ye safe at
homo before ye know it. Drink lit
tie more water do now. They'll get
at yc now, sure |"
But out above the crackle and the
roar a woman's voice rang out like a
bell:
Were going home to die no more"
A child's notes quivered in the chorus.