Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-10-05

| humble business for himself. He had
first kept a small rag shop, but his
house having been demolished for
metropolitan improvements, he had re-
moved to st. Giles, where he now kept
an all-sorts shop, and carried on clan
destine traffic as pawnbroker and money
lender. A filthy, sinking place was old
Greindhardt's warehouse. Old clothes,
rusty firearms, grimy pictures and dogs
cared looks were displayed outside it,
and inside it was incumbered with every
species of shabby property, the Hotsam
and Jetsam of wrecked homes. Nobody
ever passed Greindhardt's threshold ex-
cept under pressure of direst need; and
it might have been said metaphorically
that every bill he held was wet with
tears, and that every article pawned
with him could have told tale OF
hideous distress and sorrow. But If
Greindhardt had taken to conduct the
business on sentimental principles, If he
had turned relenting ear to stories of
affection, he soon must have shut up
shop. After ALL he acted with no more
harshness than corporate institutions,
banks, etc., any of which would have
sold up William Dolittle pretty quickly
had he owed them any money. Nay.
would the iremen have got any quarter
from the queen if he had owed her
majesty anything in the way of taxes ?
So Bill strolled out of Greinhardt's
shop with his hands buried deep in his
blue trousers, and he set his face home
ward softly whistling. There are some
men who go to meet calamity whist
| ling, as soldiers march to the sound
of music. Bill Dolittle was ruined-of
that there could be no doubt. For want
of ESQ he would have to let his furniture
be seized, and as he was not worth ESQ
the chances were that he would have to
go to prison afterwards-not for his
debt, seeing that imprisonment for debt
is supposed to be abolished, but for his
contempt of court in not complying with
the judges order to pay, which, of
course, in the eye of the law, is very
different thing. Bill was disposed to
see all things gloomily this afternoon.
He felt disgraced by his ruin, as if it
were crime, and fancied he should be
turned out of the fire brigade when his
bankruptcy took place. And what
should he do then? How would he
provide for his children when his poor
h ONE was broken up? cts blanked
hard, it isl muttered Bill as he went
along; "dashed if we amt going down
with all hands aboard, and it amt no
use flying distress signals either-who's
to see 'em ?"
Bill had to go On duty at o'clock
that evening for the night He repaired
to the station, sat down by the fireplace
in the mems room. and for long while
gazed at the Goals, and cracked his fin
ger-joints thoughtfully. Some of the
men who were not on watch lay curled
up, DOING on wooden camp-bods. At
9 o'clock a superintendent came in, heard
| the report from Bill "Alls we'll" and
walked out again. Bill was at that time
still sitting by the fire alone with his
thoughts, alone with the memory of his
| faithless wife.
It was just at this hour that great
calamity was Detailing Nathan Greind-
hardt. This Hebrew money-lender who
had taken out no license, was in the hab-
it of accepting pawns for the money he
| lent, and to avoid trouble with the arl-
| thorities, no receipts were given. Hav-
ing In this way accepted barrel of naph-
tina to secure trif1ing loan, he careless
| ly placed the combustible material in
dangerous proximity to the rubbish in
his store-room. After the business of
the day, while counting his gains, he
suddenly thought of his naphtha, and
determined to remove it to place where
it would not be source of danger. He
took up lighted tallow candle for this
purpose, and tried to lift the key with
one hand. But it was heavy and slipped
out of his grasp, causing him to STUN
BILE and drop his candle. Instantly there
was ahare up. The kegs bung having
got dislodged the liquid poured out in a
torrent, caught fire from the candle, and
filed the shop with flames. "Fire !''
shrieked the affrighted Jew, opening the
door and rushing into the street with his
Z" Fire Fire p Then seized with sud-
den terror for some valuables which he
kept in an upper room, he darted into
his shop again, right through the flames,
leaving all the rooms open behind him,
whereby draught was caused which
soon made the blazing shop roar like a
furnace.
An engine arrived on the spot in about
five minutes. Down it came laundering
through the streets at the gallop of it's
two horses, It's red sides flashing and a
dozen helmeted fremen clustering on it's
roof Bill Dolittle was the first to Jump
down and unwind the hose. Never was
a man so appropriately named, for as
regards his duties there was not fire
man in the brigade more active than he,
or Drawer. On this occasion. however,
it was obvious that the burning house,
full of combustiblerubbish, was doomed,
and that the only thing to do was to
isolate the fire, so that it should not
spread to adjoininghouses. just as this
conviction had forced itself on the fire
men in command, one of the upper win
dows in the house was thrown open and
Nathan Griendhardt appeared scream
ing: "I gan not get town stairs De
staircase ish on fire Oh, my Colt, help
me p
Up to that moment Bill Dolittle,
intent upon his work and moving about