The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1893-01-14
NO M ORE FIRES FOR HIM.

NO M ORE FIRES FOR HIM.
Mr.. Belts Wants No More Experi-
enoe az a Volunteer Fire Laddle.
II say, boys, this volunteer fire
business isn't what it's cracked up to
be-" remarks a suburbanite in New
York Herald. eff fires would only
break out at reasonable hours it
might do very well, but when a man is
yanked out OF bed at S o'clock on a
cold winter morning-oh, no not any
more for me, thank you."
whats the matter, Ed," asked
one OF the boys, as MI. Belts was dis.
GUESSING with them the merits OF sub.
urban volunteer fire service. Mr..
Belts, by the way, is a resident Of
Mount Vernon, New York, and there
too, his popularity is no less well
established than here.
MATTER" responded Mr. Belts.
Matter enough. You see, Pm a char.
ter member of the Mount Vernon Vol.
unteer Fire Department.. OF course,
when the fire bell rings, no matter
what time, Pm expected to be on
hand with the rest of the boys.
There's a fine of Is cents for every
time I fail to put in an appearance.
And I've got a red flannel shirt and a
white fatigue cap, a bugle, and all that
sort of thing. Ifelt kind of leery at
first about running with the machine
(Mr. Belts weighs upwards of 21O
pounds) and SO I just paid my little
fine right along.
"But then I thought, Whats the
use? l might as we'll go out with the
boys I didn't like to shirk the thing,
you see, so I resolved that the next
time there was q fire, why I'd be in it
with the rest. When / told the boys
that they laughed, but I said that I'd
show 'em; so I just waited.
"Well you know the kind OF a night
we had last night? Whew! howit rain
ed! and long toward morning it be-
gan to snow, and my! but wasn't it
raw and cold? Well, I was sleeping
the sleep of the just in my warm, com.
Portable bed, when the fire bell start
ed agoing and woke me up.
"Why, Ed,' said my wife. There's
q big fire down the block. just SEE
the Hames!' 1t was pitch dark out
side, but I could see the fire from my
bedroom window. I remembered my
resolve and just made up my mind
that I would take in that fire if it wal
to be the last act of my official career
as q fireman. Just then the machine
came rafting by the house.
"Get up Betts!" yelled the boys a.
they ran by and one of them chucked
q billet OF wood against my front
door. Well, that settled it. l Jump,
ed into my trousers as quickly as
could and I pulled on my boots
They were both. rights belonging to
different pairs, but 1 couldn't stop to
change. Now for my shirt. I'd show
'em.
"But what do you think? My wife
had put that shirt up in camphor sc
as the moths couldn't get at it. And
it was packed away in the garrett
But I found some sort of a fire outfit,
anyhow, and soon I was tearing
through the mud and rain to the
scene of the fire. I was soaking wet,
too, but in the excitement J. didn't
mind it a bit.
Throw some water on it, said ],
as soon as I had reached the burning
building. I'm an officer of the com
pany, you see, and I just. wanted Tia
let en- know that I was on deck.
why, here's Mr.. Belts cried one
of the boys, in establishment. awe
hollered at you as we passed your
house,
"sYou did, did your said I; why,
I've-ahem-been here for the last
hour. You boys will have to be more
-ahem-prompt. just throw a
stream into that front widow
"Well, I soon found that the hyd'
drant was out of order, SO we did the
best we could with buckets and tubs
Did we save anything? Oh, yes. The
house next door, about seventy feet
away, was saved, and one of the boys
saved a flower pot with some chry'
santhemums in it that was on the
porch of the burning house. The lat
Ter though was a goner. The fire
made q clean scoop.
CHOW, I tell you, boys, when l got
home I was a wreck; but" and Mr.
Belts eyes sparkled with pride as he
said this, II went to that fire, though
Will Ieo again?"
gentlemen, the next fire that
breaks out in Mount Vernon will cost
me lust ~ CENTS"
"John,.' she said earestly. II am