Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-21
Copyright. 1897. by Robert Barr')

self very busy, now the men had come BACK.
Although he dismissed none who had taken
part In the strike, he rearranged with a
logged ruthlessness the whole service OF the
works. Few men got their old Jobs back
again, or their old wages. There were pro-
motions and retrogradations, although no
one was discharged. At first 1t seemed TO
the men that this was a mere brutal display
OF power, presided over by wanton caprice
but as time went on they began to see the
glimmering OF a method in the weaving OF
the web. Those who were degraded 10 the
meanest and most poorly paid work the trm
had to offer were the men who had oeen
most hot-headed in bringing on the strike
and the most persistent In opposing It's CON
clusion. The soberer heads among the men,
who had been thrust into the background
during the agitation, were in every instance
given promotion and higher pay; ana as
these changes took place one after another
for Sartwell was not the man to disorganize
the works by any sweepingly radical changes
the general conclusion was that the man
ager merely desired to show the men that
those whom they had valued lightly were
the workmen whom he priced. Yet 1t could
not be denied, even by those VINO lost IN the
game of reorganization, that the more con-
s~ervative men thus advanced were among
the most capable workmen In the factory
They were the men who had most 10 lose
bv a strike, and had naturally been most
reluctant to enter into a contest the end of
which no one could foreseo. BY and by 1t
began to be suspected that the manager
must have in his possession a complete anu
accurate record of every action and speech
during the strike, so entirely did his shift
ing about of the pawns, which he played WIN
such cool and silent "reminiscences, cOlnclue
with the doings Of each piece during the
trouble they thought was past and hoped hau
heen forgotten. In some instances 1t seemed
as If Sartwell had deliberately marked the
contrast by bringing the degraded and the
elevated into purposeful juXtaposition, so that
his design In showing that he held the future
of each man in his hand could not be mis-
understood by even the most stupid OF MS
employees. 1t was a grim object lesson, ap-
parently intended to convey Sartwells deter
mination to stick by the men, VINO, even
remotely had sympathized with him in the
late struggle; for not a word was spoken,
and when a man protested humbly against
d~ebasement, the manager made no reply, ana
the workman knew he had either TO submit
or to apply for his wages at the ONCE.
In no instance was the evidence OF Sart-
wells silent wrath more manifest than in the
cases OF Braunt and Scimmins. the Two
men had been equal in position when the
strike began, although Sclmmins received
rather more money than Braunt. NO"
Braunt was made superintendent of the upper
floor, whore most of the employees were
women and boys, while Scimmins was given
the work which one of the boys who did
not return at the end of the strike had
done. Scimmins had the double Illumination
of being under the none too gentle orders OF
the big Yorkshireman whom he mad noutcu
during the strike, and also OF having to ac-
cept little more than a boys wages. lie
cursed Sartwell loud and often; but the man
ager was a man who paid little heed TO tne
curses OF others, and Scimmins was not III
a position to refuse the small pay he re-
ceived.
Sartwell had at least arranged the interior
economy of the factory to his liking, ana
was Just promising himself a few days free
from upprry Inun AT EnSfhD1rnp Wnen a
most unlooked-for disaster overturned all
his plans. Shortly before the dinner hour
he was coming down the stairs from the
upper floor, when a Shrek, which seemed
TO be the combined voices of those he had
left a moment before, paralyzed him where
he stood. The first thought that flashed
through his mind was that Braunt had
gone suddenly mad, and, perhaps, killed
some one, for the manager had noticed,
since Braunt's promotion, that he some
times spoke wildly, while now and again
there was a dangerous maniacal CLEAN In
his eyes which betokened latent insanity.
Before he could turn around two dlsheVeled
screaming women passed him.
whats wrong?' he shouted after them.
"Fire!" they shrieked back at him as
they fed.
AS Sartwell bounded UP the stairs he met
no more coming down. He heard outside in
the yard a mans deep voice hoarsely shout
ing Fire! fire." The managers heart
sank as he thought OF the numbers on the
upper floor, the narrow stairway, and the
single exit. The other floors were reason
ably safe, with broad stairWays and WIDE
doors; but the upper floor, which formerly
had but few occupants, had long been G
source of anxiety to him. fearing, as he
did. just such a catastrophe us now seemed
imminent. The remedying of this had Otter
been agreed upon by both the owners ant
himself, and was among the good intentions
which were at various times postponed u
a more convenient season-and now the cry
of "Fire!' was ringing in his ears, and The
narrow stair was the only means or es'
cape.
He found the open doorway blocked by
a mass of bowling human beings, each WIG
to escape and making escape impossible
They were wedged and immovable. man,
too tightly compressed to struggle. WILL
others further back threshed wildly abou
with their arms, trying to fight their wa!
TO safety.
The dangerous aromatic smell of burning
pine filled the air, and smoke poured VI
through the lift shaft and rolled in ever-in
creasing density along the ceiling. There wa
no flame as yet: but If the jam could not q
broken. it would not need the fire itself t
smother the life out OF those in the hopeless
contest.
stand back there cried Startwell. "Ther
is no danger If you keep cool. All of you &
back to your places. I'll go in with you an
be the last to leave, So there's nothing I
fear"
A red tongue OF flame flashed for tn
twinkling of an eye amid the black smoke
disappearing almost as soon as 1t came, Du
sending a momentary glow like sheet light
ming over the rapidly darkening room.
was a brief but omlnous reply to Sartwell
words, and he saw he might as well nav
spoken to the tempest, He tried to eXtricat
one of the girls, whose wildly staring eye
and pallid lips showed she was being crushe
to death, but she was wedged as firmly In tn
mass as II cemented there. Sartwell with
groan OF despair, saw he was powerless In tn
face OF this irresistible panic. He was at
lacking the wedge at lis point, and so wa
at a tremendous disadvantage.
An angry roar, louder than his shout ha
been, called his attention to the fact tina
Braunt was making an assault on the wedg
from the rear, The big man, using his in
mense strength mercilessly, was cleaying hi
way through the mass, grasping the wome
with both hands by the shoulders and hing
ing them, with a reckless carelessness {
consequences, behind him, fighting his wa
inch by inch toward the door.
stand back, ye villain" Braunt roared
Scimmins, who, craZed by fear, was tramI
ling down all ahead OF him in his frantic e
forts TO escape,
ITS every one for himself screame
Scimmins. IL have as much right to my III
as you have to yours
stand back, we ruflan, or Ahll strangI
ye when All get ma hands on ye. Stan
ye there, Mr., Sartwell, an catch them whe
An throw them L ye. The women frs
An