The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1878-12-19

The blazing house Mas now almost
visible.
. The reflection vas caught hy the
wafer Just beyond me. On sscnddpd
round the bend of the bank, the stream
: huTTying me down, and now / have
; opened mp the town reach, and the
{ burning and half demolished building
is cracking and roaring half mile
) of. The smoke, dotted with million
sparks, flies up Ia heaven, while
screams and cries and the roar Of fall
= ing timberS ascend with them 10 the
lurid sky. Those tiny jets OF water
only serve to aggrayate the thirst in
that fiery throat, and not To quench it ::
no man can live near such a fire as
that; the heat even in my gig Was
soon felt distinctly, and the two planks
beneath my feet win6ed To each other
in the glare, and gliStened side hv side
at the thought Of what WAS coming.
A yell, roar, -Four people had got
upon the crumbling pdrapet, some feet
above the stable roofs, and were cry
ing and shrieking for assistance.
Twenty men at once rushed in to offer
ropes and help. What could they do?
The unhappy inmates, clad i'm evening
dress, looked weird and unearthly in
the fiery glare. One was 4 lady, three
were nen. Taking of their coats.
they knOtted them by the sleeves, and
let down the lady 10 the lower roof in
safety. such a cheer arose for this.
Well done. brave men, well done!
British chiYalry is not vet dead when
Englishmen and Irishmen can act like
this. | watched and waited; pulling
in, the heat was great. | pulled away
TO the opposite wing, abutting on the
river, now almost wholly clad in
flames and smoke. hut still itself not
burning.
What is that: Can if be q man or
woman kneeling there, and unObSerVed
amid the ShrOudTng smoke by all the
rest, who are gazing at the gallant
men around the stables! The soldiers
had arrived, and were doing service;
but no one else perceived the solitary
form wrapped in an ulster coat, and
trembling on the wall above the river.
Not moment WAS to he lost. |
pulled in hastily.
Leap" | shouted, leap" As Il
spoke / rose mp in the boat. The
planks winked once more ami ratified
l~Jumpr / yelled III my excitement.
| One look to heaven-a glance down
to the swiftly running river, and the
person l addressed leaped feet first.
Unthinkingly, moved suddenly; the
light gig rocked. In vain L attempted
to recover nv balance; the boat tipped
lover, and | fell headlOng into the
water, now covered with debris.
The two planks started after me to-
gether from beneath the thwarts.
/ sank; and as did so thought of
Rosie, and made mp my mind to die, if
! must, but | struggled manfully for
life the while
! When OneIS unWillingly under water
the brain seems to become buster than
at all other times. | know not why
but in that half minute or 50 that |
was underneath / saw many acts of
my life. Circumstances looked, from
my mental point of view, very differ
ent from what they had 10 my bodily
eyes. had plenty of time to repent
of my rashneSs. TO utter a prayer, and
to forgive my enemies; and then
struggled, knocked my head, half sank
again, put out my right arm and
| gT;lSped something. Ii wIS Il plank.
| Seeing 4 body rising up close by,
raised the head. The person i had
tried to save was sensible, evidently
| was delighted to ind that he, too,
was floating on a plank, the twin sup
porter of my arm; and how those good
friends tossed about, and drove upl
against each other in sheer delight, as
We all iiOated away fast down the
stream together, battles description.
| impelled my plank toward the 9TH
CT, and, no doubt aided by the wOndrOus
law of attraction and sympathy which
| exists even in wood, | succeeded in |
| getting close to my companion. Lean
| ing my arms upon the trusty plank,
managed to support the form near me
but all this time we neither of us spoke |
4 word, nor could we discern each 9TH
ers features. The fast sEESidin@ fire
was far behind us now.
The steady planks kept floating with
us toward the bank, but was not very
anxious to go ashore Just then, as the
river sides were steep, and certain curl
ing eddies did not look attractive.
| The moon had been ObScured by
| heavy clouds: but we could diScernthe
| stones which here and there rose up i
from out the water from ashOal in mid
stream. We should soon be in safety.
The planks apparently thought other
wise. They bObbed about, and grew
very impatient to reach the shore
There's distant thunder! A storm is |
coming up. No il must be a train |
passing the bridge above. No; the |
noise Increases the sound is borne
iaway continuously on the wind. The |
| planks got very restless now. The |
banks came even closer to us, but the |
stream ran all the faster. The noise |
was getting louder every minute.
knew what is was at last. | knew
too well. Ii was the Mill Weirl
If the sluice were open to the huge
Over-shOt wheel our doom was sealed. |
| Nothing much short of a miracle could |
save us. Striking out for the bank, L
called to my companion To do the 1
same, but incumbered with the ulster |
! coat his progress was not great.
| We would find footing on the lasher, 1
probably the eddy would assist us.
We tiOated round the turn in the /
stream. The wheel was revolving. /
could plainly hear the splash of |
its mOnOtOnOuS ciank and dash the /
water dripped and ran away from the
| grinding woodwork, and gladly es-
capped beneath to save being crushed |
to air on the top Of those mighty pad |
dies.
We had two channels 10 choose from |
one over the weir, the other beneath |
/ the wheel. The suction to the latter |
was tremendous. | swan strongly for |
the former. / reached the slippery |
piles and caught them. \ bright light |
was burning in a small window in the |
mill, twenty wards or so away. We
were in an eddy for u moment. l |
called out loudly. 4 head was put |
out; yelled again. The plank where
on lay Slipped from beneath me, rose |
up again, and carried me headlOng
down the fOaming laSher like an arrow |
from bow. while my companion was |
wrenched away and darted for the |
wheel. \ loud cry escaped me rs we |
| parted. All was over now. Death at |
last. -Oh, Rosie, my darling Rosie |
| TIL we meet IN heayen-fareWellF l |
had time to think so much-nO more. l
Hes all right; don't YOU lubbers |
keep around like that; sheer off. can't 1
yerp Let chap have a mouthful of
air. HuTrah. yer SOWlsi he's hreathinr
He was. Ii was ], But how weak. |
how very i'll, mentally and bodily, !
| felt when | aWOke again To life and |
asked for Rosie.
-SIIre he's Wanderin' in his mind, 50
is Dinny, run up and tell the captain
the gintleman's alive. Hurry, nOwP'
| | remember nothing more until /
found myself i'm barracks, in my broth |
er'S quarters. Then ! suppose 1 fell !
asleep. But when | again aW0ke TO |
consciousness. they told me in muffled !
tones that l had only just pulled