Alpena argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1893-1909, 1894-04-18

long silence between them.
Mr.. Stenlake coughed and wink
ed. The man in possession did the
same. The room was full of smoke;
a great deal more smoke, surely,
than could possibly have been
caused by their pipes. Griffith
opened the door. The passage was
full of smoke, too, and at the same
moment the servant-maid came
positively flying down the stairs
wildly shrieking:
Sire! FIRE.
"Halloa!" said Bill Sangster, start
ing up, his utterance a little thick,
for he had absorbed nearly as much
whiskey as was good for him.
whats this? What's up? Is
this some dodge?"
II know no more what's the mat
ter than you do"
"And the childrenp Where are
theyp" cried Bill, passing his hand
over his eyes.
SIN the top front room" Stenlake
replied mechanically. He was not
a person gifted with presence of
mind, but the idea struck him at
the time, how did this man know
there were children in the house?
He had not seen them, and no one
had told him of them. But Sang
ster had not stopped to think. He
had rushed upstairs, and Griffith,
going after, met him coming down
again. 1.-THE fires in there" he OK
planned; "the doors locked! My
God! They'll be burnt alive-the
poor little children. Where's the
key?"
II don't know. We lock them
in for safety. l don't know where
my wife put it"
"Ahw cried the brokers' man,
clasping his hands in evident an
guish, YOU'RE not their father
you don't care; but at least, she's
their mother-she must love them
a little, after all, and-Jane!" he
yelled, rushing into the kitchen,
"a hammer, a Ratchet, or something
to burst the door open with, for the
love of Heaven!"
Jane was not there. She had
flown up the street to give the alarm,
but Sangster soon found a kitchen
chopper, armed with which, he ran
upstairs again. On the landing he
met Stenlake, who had tried to as
cend, but had been beaten back,
choked and blinded by the dense
volumes Of smoke.
I'LL go up again." he said in
gasps; 'it's very good of you-but
don't attempt tits simply mad
ness"
LET me passw cried the man in
possession authoritatively, and dis
appeared in the darkness.
Griffith Stenlake, although not
such bad sort of easy-going, weak
fellow in the main, was not the
man to actively prevent other peo-
pie from making heroes of them
selves.
Meanwhile, at the top of the
house, the agonized cries Of the
children could be heard, and the
determined crash! crash! crash !
against the panels of the door.
That is like a human sound, too.
1t seems to say, ~ will conquer or
die"
Quick! quick! or it will be too
late. The devouring flames are fast
gaining ground. Oh, Heaven help
that brave heart! Yes, just one
more vigorous blow. The door is
flying in splinters. The smoke and
flames burst out, but he is inside.
All this happened in a very few
minutes, and by that time the en-
gines were there and playing on the
house. They lose no time when
they are summoned, that gallant
brigade, which for true heroism can
beat all your soldiers, from Alex
ander downwards.
"Quick," cried Stenlake, "the es-
cape! There's a man and two
children in the top ROOM"
In twinkling the ladder is set
up, and one of the men is ascending
it. At the window he can see a
sort Of demon-a blackened form
illumined by the glare of the flames
holding in either arm a terrified
little girl. They were safe and
sound. The fireman caught them,
and babe their prescrver descend.
But his only thought had been for
them. Somehow, his foot slipped,
and he fell backward. Then there
was an appalling crash. The floor
ing of the upper story had given
way, and brave Bill Sanpster was