The San Francisco call., 1895-11-17
TOMMY BECOMES A FIREMAN AND PHYLLIS TURNS ARTIST.

engine, and everybody was scampering to
| get out of the way. l found | was fas-
tened in my place by strap that
reached around my waist, and at first
was mad at being fixed as If 1 was
baby in its carriage. Then l got
chance to look at the driver, who was
sitting close beside me, and l saw that he
was fastened in his place by two wide
stout straps.
If he hadn't been Nip and Tuck would
have pulled him down from there sure pop.
They just took the bits IN their teeth
that's what somebody said anyway-and
they put down their heads and just pulled
for dear life. 1t was good thing we had
stout pair of lines, and don't know how
in the world the firemen managed to hold
on to their places along the sides of the
trucks that came along after US.
forgot to tell you that the first thing
that went out of the engine-houSe was the
chemical engine.
1t always is the first, and if it isn't very
awfully big fire the chemical engine most
always puts it out all by itself.
They have some sort of stuff-alkali,
believe it is-in the tank of the engine.
and they turn a faucet when the alarm
sounds that turns something else into the
tank that sets the stuff to fizzing. They
can squirt that fizZy stuff right onto fire
and 1t puts IL right out.
They have a pump to make it go, a
pump right on the engine. And they have
a special kind of hose lined with some
thing ike tar, so that strong stuff can't
eat holes in it.
The chemical engine hasn't been in
vented very many years. But you see
hremen have so much time to sit around
the epgine-house and do nothing that they
go on inventing things all the time.
A. g
of different cities in the world go around
and visit each other sometimes, and that's
the way they all find out all the new tricks.
A little while ago very polite gentema n
from Paris came to visit US, and our chief
tried to be just as polite as his company,
and showed the Frenchman some tricks
that | suppose the Paris Fire Department
has learned to do by this time.
The fire that we went to was in China
town. 1t was in the top of tall building
that had the windows full of Chinese
lanterns and paper signs to keep away all
sorts of trouble, and especially fire.
That shows how much good it does to
believe in things that are not SO.
The fire reached out of the windows and
grabbed hold of the paper things that were
put there to scare it away, and it had just
lots of fun burning them up.
Ihe IRE looked Hne from the street, and
the horses stood as still as posts without
being htched. They watched the fire as
much as they could and crowds of people
stood on the sidewalks aad in the street
and watched it. too.
The streetcars couldn't pass the fire and
so every body had to wait and watch the
fire, which seemed to make them laugh
and joke good deal.
Once l saw house on fire in the coun-
try. There wasn't any fire department
there, and so all the neighbors came run
wrung their hands, ana the men shouted
and got red in the face. Every body rushed
In and out of the house carrying out fur
niture and smashing it outside.
Two big, strong men brought out large
mirror and carried it quite ways to
where there was tree. Then they pulled