The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1877-02-08

I've grown fond of it. It's face that
tells how much your life lacks to make
it pleasant. Let me bring the lacking
pleasure, Lois. Will you be my wife ?"
A confused vision of pictures and
flowers, OF rich dresses and books, and
the sound OF music went whirling and
surging through her brain to the accom-
paniment of the grinding, pitiIess
wheels.
II cant think now" she cried, put
ting up both her hands to her throbbing
brow. " Don't ask me to answer you
now; some other time I'll tell you"
You are killing yourself here" he
said, tenderly. Try to think favorabIy,
Lois"
She put on her bonnet and shawl and
went out into the cool air. Oh, which
to choose (which to choose The
words made a little verse of themselves,
and set themselves to the monotonous
hum of turning spindles and the click
claeking of darting shuttles. She went
toward home in a slow, roundabout way.
Suddenly the factory bell smote the
air, there was cry of fire, and all at
once a great black cloud of smoke broke
from the upper windows of the building.
She turned about and went back.
A great cry rung out from the crowd.
At the window of his Office, up stairs,
was Leverson's frightened face. He must
have been asleep, and undreamin Of the
awful danger 50 near by.
"PlI try to save him" cried a voice
she knew-Dick's voice-and then she
saw him fighting his way through the
flames, and the last glimpse of his face
showed how brave be was, in the wild
tempest Of fire and smoke. She held
her breath, pale and still, and waited,
while her heart kept saying over:
Dear Dick, oh, God, save him :" in a
prayerfuI kind of way.
She knew then that the lover who was
risking his life so nobly was more to her
than the lover he was risking his life
for could ever be.
Suddenly she caught sight OF Richards
face at the window of Leversons room.
He had LeversOn in his arms, for the
master had tainted He fastened the I'm
conscious man to a rope, and let him
down Just as the flames burst out of the
window below him, wrapping the whole
front of the great mill in a seething sheet
of fire.
a groan went through the crowd. He
had saved life and lost his own.
"Dick, Dick" rang out a woman's
voice, wild, sharp and shrill with pain,
try to save yourself for my sake"
He heard, and leaned far out of the
window, in a wild desire to save his life
for the sake of the woman he loved.
He saw the wire of one of the lightning
rods not foot away from the window.
Lois had called him, and he would make
wild, desperate, almost hopeless effort to
save himself.
He leaned out and grasped the rod, and
swung himself over the window sill, and
slipped down, down.
The rod blistered his hanls but he
chung to it. The flames beloved up
around him, and broke over him, but he
held his breath and slipped down, down!
And the last he remembered, he was
slipping down, and the thought had got
into his brain that he was always going
down, down, down.
The first thing he remembered after
that, wOman's face was bending over
him, and a womans tears were dropping
on his face, and weman's kiss was on
his lips, and woman's voice was saying
ooh, Dick, poor, noble, brave, dear
Dick" in broken way, and heopened
his eyes to see Lois above him, and he
thought it must be heaven, and whis-
pered;
" Isit yes, Lois? ~
And she answered eyes" with a great
thankfuInesS in her eyes and voice.
They told him he was a hero.
And Leyerson came and took his poor
wounded hands in his, and told him he had
saved his lite, and that he would dO
great things tor him TO prove his graft
tude.
And he did.