The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1881-10-08

| 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 firemen 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 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, III 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
b ONE was broken up? cts blanked
| hard, it is, 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 7 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 "All's 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.
ltwas just at this hour that a 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 atl-
thorities, no receipts were given. Hav-
ing IN this way accepted barrel of naph-
tina to secure trifiing 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
1t would not be q source of danger. He
took up lighted tallow candle for this
purpose, and tried to lift the keg with
one hand. But it was heavy and slipped
out of his grasp, causing him to STUN
bic and drophis 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
filled the shop with flames. 'sFire ?"
shrieked the affrighted Jew, opening the
door and rushing into the street with his
hands scorched aud his beard singed;
"Fire Fire p Then seized with a 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 q
furnace.
An engine arrived on the spot in about
five minutes. Down it came laundering
through the streets at the gallop of its
two horses, It's red sides flashing and a
dozen helmeted firemen clustering on It's
roof. Bill Dolittle was the first to Jump
down and unwind the hose. Never was
man SO inappropriately named, for as
regards his duties there was not a fire
man IN the brigade more active than he,
or Drawer. On this occasion, however,
| it was obvious that the burning house,
full ofcombustible rubbish, was doomed,
and that the only thing to do was to
| isolate the ire, SO that it should not
spread to adjoining houses. 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: 81 gan not get town stairs De
staircase ish on fire Oh, my Gott, help
me p
Up to that moment Bill Dolittle.
intent upon his work and moving about
amid the confusion of crowd, had not
noticed that the burning shop was that
of his hard creditor-the man who was
| 'DOilO W ItlI1 ll1ul. I1c SdW III HOW, ana
through his mind, like vivid flash of
! lightning, shot the thought that if the
house was burned, with all it contained.
including the Jew himself, the ESQ bill
would be consumed, and no trace of this
debt would remain. This thought
| flashed, but itdid no more, for in another
minute a fre-escape ladder had been
placed against the house front, and Bill
Dolittle, ascending it as nimbly as a cat,
reached the top, clambered through the
open window, aud jumped into the room
whence Greindhardt had screamed for
help. The Jew, however, had now fled
to a back room, and apparently crazed
with fear, was making last idiotic at
tempt to collect his valuables. He had
filed his carpet-bag with watches,
brooches, bracelets, a bundle of bills, a
cash box and two bags full of sovereigns.
On seeing Dolittle he did not recognize
him, but tottered forward with his
heavy load, Numbering. "Shave dish,
it'sh all | have, s'help me Gott. Oh,
dat shmoke." Then, suffocated by the
smoke that was rushing up from below,
he was seized with fit of coughing, and
fell to the floor in swoon.
How easily might it have been then,
for Dolittle to toss the Jews bills into a
corner and to slip into the bosom of his
tunic bagful of that gold which he
needed so sorely. But he never even
thought to do it. Catching up the
heavy bag, he shot it down the canvas
| shaft of the fre-escape. bills AMI all