The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1893-01-06
No MoRE FlREs roR HIM.
1Ir. Betts wants No sIors Experience as a
Volunteer Fire LadGre-

/ aLr. Betts wants No Store HzperIsucs as a
Nuluuteer Fire LadGte-
y say, boys this volunteer fire busi-
ness isn't what it's cracked M TO be-
remarks "a suburbanite- ''If fires would
I only break out at reasonable hours it
might do very well, but when man is
I yaulzed out of bed at i've o'clock on a
cold winters morning-oh, no. not any
more for me, thank You.
whats the matter, Ed2- asked one
I 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
I too his popularity is no less well estab-
I lished than here
Matter responded AIr. Belts
Z Matter enough. You see, Pm q char
I 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
I with the rest of the boys There's a
fine Of seveuty-hve cents for every time
! I fail to put in an appearance And
| I've got q red flannel shirt and white
[ fatigue cap. a bugles and all that sort
/ of thing. 1 felt kind of leery at first
about running with the machine (Alr-
/ Belts weighs upward of two hundred
and ten pounds and so 7 just paid my
I little fine right along.
But then j thought. What's the use?
/ ] might as well go out with the boys
I / didn't like to shirll the thing, you see,
/ and so / resolved that the next time
there was "a fire, why, ia be in it with
the rest. When 7 told the boys that
they laughed, but I said I'd show emf
[ SO just waited
-'Weu, you know the kind of a night
we had last night? Whew! how it
eaiued- and along toward morning It
/ began to snow, and myl but wasn't it
raw and cold? Well, 1 was sleeping the
sleep of the just in my warm, Comforta-
BILE bed, when the fire bell started
agoing and woke me up.
"'Nhy, Ed said my wife, there's a
big IRE down the block. just see the
hames' 1t was pitch dark outside but
l 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 housa-
"'Get up BettsV yelled the BOYS as
they ran by and one of them chucked
billet of wood against my door. Wei,
/ that settled it. I jumped into my trou-
seTs as quickly as I could and then I
pulled on my boots They were both
rights belonging to different pairs, but
I couldn't stop to change. Now for my
shirt. I'd show 'em.
''But what do you think? My wife
bad put that shirt mp in camph0r SO as
the moths couldn't get AT it. And it
/ was pacized away in the garnet But I
/ found some sort of a fire outfit, anyhow,
and soon 1 was tearing through the
I mud and rain to the scene of the fire.
/ I was soaking wet too but in the ex-
-itemeut I didn't mind il a bit.
I Throw some water on it, said l. as
! soon as / had reached the burning
/ building I'm an officer of the com
pauy, yuu soc, and just wanted to let
/ en- know that L was on deck
Why, here's Mr.. Belts cried one
I Of the boys, in ustouishmeut We hoI-
/ Tered at you as we passed your house
You did, did you? said /; why, I've
/ -ahem-beeu here for the last hour
/ You boys viii have to be nore-ahem-
l prompt just throw stream into that
/ front window
| "Weu, I sooa found that the hydraut
| 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 chrysauthe mum $
/ in it that was on the porch of the burn
: ing house. The latter, though, was "a
/ goneE The fire made a clean scoop.
''Nows tell you boys, when / got
( home / was a wreck dripping, sop D.
/ ping wet wreck; but" and Ar. Belts
/ eyes sParklcd with pride as he said this
( 81 went to that FIRE, though. VIII go
againP
Gentlemen, the next FIRE that breaks
out in Mount Vernon viii cost me just
/ seventy-fve cents-"-N. Y. Herald