The St. Johns herald., 1896-12-05


 wife's got stacks of clothes in her drawers that Dan Doyle's mother saw when she cl aned house there-more nor she could wear out in two lifetlmes- and here we bees half naked. Look at my ragged pantsl See my shoes! Old Mowry wears good ones on his diviIs hoof Why don't he share his money with us workingmen? We're the pro- ducers His foundry belongs to us. We made the money that paid for it. Manu- lecturers ought to divvy up the profits that the men makes We've got to scare them into it, Don That's what we've got to do. They grind us poor mems faces till our noses are worn flat. Ye don't think as 1 do, Don, but it's Gods truth that I'm after tellin to ye."
 There's some truth in what ye're sayin, Luke" admitted Don.
 Truth? I'll tell ye more yet that's true, Don. have tramped it, and ye know it. Why did tramp? Because no man under heaven can stand foundry smoke long, and ye know it. When ye have your big melts of zinc, I'm just about crazy after breathing the smoke. Poor Bob McEvoy has been loony twice from the effects of zinc and is in the hospital now. If I didn't get out into the fields and breathe the fresh air, I'd be stark crazy too. Sleepin on the ground seems to take the pizen out of me. The smoke don't strike to every
 s% &<D nd I'd ruther have it there than in my kid neys, as others does. And what does Mowry care for us poor diVils? I've worked for him, and knows him. The little core boys asked him once for raise of 10 cints day. They was gettin 75 cints. Mowry discharged them on the spot. And that same week he bought his great hound and paid $1, 900 for it. A thousand dollars, man, for dog, but no 10 cints for boy! That $1, ,000 would buy me a fine little shanty, and then would marry Birdie Hamilton, the purity little girl, and settle down and be stiddy. Dye know what Now ry's new house cost? Ninety thousand dollars he paid, and haven t money to buy pigstyl. He wouldn't put in blower to save his polisher's lungs be- cause it cost too much. "
 'Things ain't right" said Don, who was listening with darkened face.
 ''They Il lose some of their fine things the night, though" said Luke angrily. "Goodby I have business on hand. Pm going to engage the Water Witch. The fremen are friends of mine 7"
 Luke lurched down the street toward the engine house on Dover street, and Don went past the foundry.
 At o'clock in the morning follow ing this conversation terrible alarm of fire sounded through the city of Riv- erbank. Springing from her bed and throwing on a heavy blanket gown, Mrs. Sterns raised her curtain and look ed out. The whole street seemed wrap ped in fire. Mowry's handsome house opposite was blazing mass From the houses on her left and right lurid tongues of flame shot upward to the sky. Supposirg her house to be also on fire, she ran in her alarm to her door. There in the shadows of the broad front piazza she saw figure crouching. Big Luke's voice whispered: "Go back, missis. We're watchin your house be- fore and behint The Water Witch is on the way and will stand before yer house, whoever else's burns, and wet down the roof and walls. We've been good to us. We'll take care of ye."
 Mrs Sterns retreated In three min utes more the Water Witch' pulled up before her gate. Though ostensibly playing on the burning houses, she per ceived that the sharpest lookout was ex- ercised over her home, and it escaped unscathed, although all around was wall of fire. Never before in her expe- rience had she been so terrified. Yet the conflagration so fascinated her that she could not turn her eyes from the terri ble sights without. As she stood at one of the long French windows of her drawing room she saw throng of la- boring men rapidly passing down the street and distinguished the rude words of their low chanting:
 Smoke High street louts
 Burn her out,
 Burn her outl
 She recognized Dick Flanaghan and Paddy O'Shea in the crowd. Opposite her granite steps @ dark, wild faced man glowered at the house moment Then, raising petroleum torch, he was about to hurl it on the roof of her ve- randa. Dick Flanaghan's strong arm knocked the torch into the street. "Let alone, man," he commanded. ''The missis lives there. Cheer, boys, cheerl Cheer for the missisp' A yell as if from the throats of thousand Tamma- ny tigers went upward.
 "Oh. God," moaned the woman standing at the window, protect me from the horrors of this night!" The mastiff, bolt upright and growling low, stood by her side. Her old colored serv- ant was shaking with terror in the rear of the room. "It's the judgment day." she groaned. ''De Lord has come. My ole man allus said the world would bust and burn up like stubber. Oh, come, Lord Jesus! Send the golden chariot fo' mel"
 All that dreadful night, which seem- ed endless to Mrs. Sterns, Big Luke was her self constituted sentinel Several times she heard him saying in low. distinct tone: "Move on, boys. She's all right.
 At o'clock Luke tapped on the pane. Mrs. Sterns cautiously opened the door. ''The cops is after us,'' he whispered. "I'll stay till daylight if can. Leave yer doors unfastened, missis, so 1 can