The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-03-30

little in his sleep as vague roulila-
tions Of his wrotchcd life and empty
stomach visit his dream.
Suddenly he starts up, nose in air,
and listens. There is nothing musuNi,
Jags The river gurgles ON softly,
the stars twinkle undimmed, there is
no variation Of sight or souud that hui
map mind can detect. Not human
mind, perhaps, but dog instinct
Jags quivers, he shifts the air and
walks about uneasily. He stops and
whines, tries to push in the barred
door and fails. Then he breaks into h
long, plaintive howl Surely that Will
awaken some one in that narrow
street, that crowded house But there
comes no other sound but the ripping
river, the roar Of the far away, sleep
less streets.
Again and again hehowls. Silencoi
What is that? A mere shadow of
sound, faint, stealthy, as if some one
had stepped lightly on dry twig and
snapped it. 1t rouses Jags to frenzy.
Scores of human beings, men, women,
little children, sleeping calmly in q
Undertook, that tindcr-box on fire and
only he, Jags, a dumb, helpless ami
NAL, to know and save them And he
his idolized tyrant, in therel
Jags throws himself against the door
with yell of agony. 1t falls open. A
thin puff of smoke waivers TO meet him.
Barking, bowling, fairly shrieking,
Jags tears straight for the room where
he and Blinks have their kennel. He
isn't there Out again, jumping
against doors in his frantic search,
choked with smoke, rushing through
curling tongues of flame, goes the dog
Are they all dead in there! His mas
ter, where is he? 1t is well that one
in that vast hive is not too tired nor
too drunk to awaken. Big Andy
rouses to realize that the dog is making
, "a fuss" takes in the situation in u
flash, and bounds out of the smoke
filled room.
| Great God The house is on fire -
5 "Fire, fire, fret"
Somewhere wire vihrates above
t the city streets. A great bell tolls out
t on the night. Clang, clang, clang
! Rattle, rattle, rush Streams of spark,
+ in the wake of flying engines. SHARP
= and clear the engine and patrol gonge
strike, in time with rafting hoofs ant
e wheels. Over all booms slowly anC
( solennly, with pauses between The
| strokes, the great bell.
e All this time dog was flying, Will
Y feet scorchcd now by the heated floor
e from room to room, hunting for ont
object He finds him at last, in the
; second story, coiled up in a drunken
heap on the floor. He springs upon
5 him, tugs at his clothing, banks, whine
e and tries to drag him toward the door
e At last the man awakes, stolidly, sta
/ pidly, then to a vague terror and alb
iect fright. He bounds to the door
T. 1t is a wall OF flames. He reaches TN
t window; DO thought of the creature
{ who saved him comes to the brute
1 mind. he raises the sash and leap
out. 1t falls behind him. Jagsh i'm
G prisoned i'll tomb OF fire.
T. The people have swarmed out, dirty
daHed, half-dresscd. The Gordon i
4 thrown ont; the engines throb ant
scream. The tiremen work quietly
d streams of pcrspiration dripping be
meath their helmets. Floods ot waite
t glitter like liquid fire in thered flames
J. The Old Mill is doomed.
n lis every one out !" asks the Chic
II brusquely, gazing up toward the tot
a tering furnace.
n As if in answer there is crash o
breaking glass at a second-story win
f dow and 4 living thing appears there
d pitiful, pleading, ablaze with littl
= tongues OF flame 1t whines implor
= ingly.
e Big Andy has private reasons Of hi
own for preferriug to remain incog
. among swarm of policemen. Blu
y now into the full blaze of light h
dsshes forward.
"The dnwg, the dawg that saved al
t our lives! Git i'm, boys; git i'm out
My Godl / hain't got no money
boys, but look hyar! They's a re
o ward of $500 out fer me! I'm Bi
p Andy, the safe-cracker. You kno'
l. me! I'll give myself up to anybod
ie thatll save that dvwg. ! mean il
:. boys"
1t There was good in Big Andy; h
n was sobbiEg aloud. For the credit {
d human nature be it said, no one eve
claimed that reward.
?, A quiet order through the Chief
st trumpet, and stream of water froI
the hose dyove the crazy window il
$, The dog sprang to the sill and tottere
weakly. 4 fireman ran lightly mp tn
as ladder and carried him down to tn
p cool earth. There he fell, bleedin
Of and scorched. He reused himself t
f. Gaze lonainply around. DRAGGED hi