Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1893-01-05
NO MORE FIRES FOR HIM.
MI. Belts Wants No More Experience as
Volunteer Fire Laddie.


Volunteer Fire Laddie.
81 say, boys, this volunteer fire bust
ness isn't what it's cracked up to be, !"
remarks a suburbanite. ''If fires would
only break out at reasonab BILE hours it
might do very well, but when a man is
yanked out of bed at five o'clock on a
cold winters morning-oh. no, not any
more for me, thank you"
whats the matter, Ed?'' asked one
Of the boys one day last week, as Mr..
Belts was discussing with them the
merits of suburban volunteer fire SER
vice. Mr.. Belts, by the way, is a resi-
dent OF Mount Vernon, n. Y, and there,
too, his popularity is no less well estab-
lished than here.
''Matter?'' responded Mr.. Belts.
Matter enough. You see, I'm a char
ter member of the Mount Vernon vol
! unteer fire department OF course,
when the fire bell rings, no matter
what time, I'm expected to be on hand
with the rest of the boys. There's a
| fine of seventy-6ve cents for every time
fail to put in an appearance And
I've got red flannel Shirt and a white
fatigue cap, a bugle, and all that sort
of thing. 1 felt kind of leery at first
about running with the machine (Mr.
Belts weighs upward of two hundred
| and ten pounds) and so I just paid my
! little fine right along.
But then thought, What's the use?
I might as we'll go out with the boys
| I didn't like to shirk the thing, you see,
and so I resolved that the next time
there was fire, why, I'd be in it with
the rest.
! ''Well, you know the kind of night
we had last night? Whew! how it
rained! and along toward morning it
began to snow, and my! but wasn't it
raw and cold? Well, was sleeping the
sleep of the just in my warm, comforta-
BILE bed, when the fire bell started
agoing and woke me up.
| '''Why, Ed said my wife, there's a
| big fire down the block. Just see the
famesl'' It was pitch dark outside, but
I could see the fire from my bedroom
window. Remembered my resolve and
| just made up my mind that I would
take in that fire if it was to be the last
act of my official career as a fireman.
Just then the machine came rafting by
| the house.
! "Get up Betts!' yelled the boys as
| they ran by and one of them chuclxed a
billet of wood against my door. Well,
that settled it. I jumped into my trou-
sers as quickly as L could and then
| pulled on my boots. They We're both
rights belonging to different pairs, but
1 couldn't stop to change. Now for my
shirt I'd show 'em.
| tBut what do you think? My wife
had put that shirt up in camphor so as
the moths couldn't get at it. And it
was packed away in the garrett But L
found some sort of 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 eX-
element didn't mind it a bit.
! "'Throw some water on it, said l. as
soon as / had reached the burning
| building. I'm an officer of the com
pany, you see, and L just wanted to let
'em know that was on deck.
"'Why, here's Mr.. Belts cried one
| of the boys, in establishment. We hol-
| Tered at you as we passed your house. ,
'''You did, did you?' said L; why. I've
-ahem-been here for the last hour.
| You boys will have to be more-ahem-
prompt. just throw stream into that
| front window
s'Well, soon found that the hydrant
was out of order, so we did the bes. we
could with buckets and tubs. Did we
save anything? Oh, yes The house
| next door, about seven ty feet away,
| was saved, and one of the boys saved a
| flower pot with some chrysanthemums
| in it that was on the porch of the burn
! ing house. The latter, though, was a
| goner. The fire made a clean scoop.
| 'sNow, tell you, boys. when l got
| home / was a wreck-a dripping, sop
ping wet wreck; but" and Mr.. Belts
| eyes sparkled with pride as he said this,
81 went to that fire, though. Will I go
| again?
''Gentlemen, the next fire that breaks
| out in Mount Vernon will cost me just
| seventyfive cents. IN. Y. Herald.