Birmingham state herald., 1897-04-25
70, about your running"

"Why, yes, that was true enough Jimmie It was my first fight, and there was an awful lot of noise, you know"
 Jimmie seemed dazed that this idol, of it's own will, should so totter. His stout boyish idealism was injured
 Presently the grandfather said: " Sick les colt is going for a drink Don't you wish you owned Sickles' colt, Jimmie?"
 The boy merely answered: He ain't as nice as our'n" He lapsed then into another moody silence.
 * *
 One of the hired men, a Swede, de- sired to drive to the county seat for purposes of his own. The old man loaned a horse and an unwashed buggy. It appeared later that one of the purposes of the Swede was to get drunk.
 After quelling some boisterous frolic of the farm hands and boys in the gar ret, the old man had that night gone peacefully to sleep, when he was aroused by clamoring at the kitchen door, He gra bbed his trousers and they waved out behind as he dashed forward. He could hear the voice of the Swede screaming and blubbering. He pushed the wooden button, and as the door flew open, the Swede. maniac, stumbled in- ward, chatteling, weeping, still scream ing: De barn fire fire. Fire Fire. De barn fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!'
 There was a swift and indes scribable change in the old man. His face ceased instantly to be faca; it became mask, gray +llng, with horror written about the mouth and eyes. He hoarsely shout ed at the fcpt of the lf,rtle ricke'ty s.airs, and immediately, it seemsd, there came down an avalanch of men. No one knew that duiilng th.s time the old lady had been standinG in her night clothes at li'the bedroom door yelling: What's tn matter? Whats tn matter? Whats Tn matter?"
 When they da :hsid toward the barn it presented to thsdr eyes its usual appear ance, solemn, rather mystic in the black night, The Swede's lantern. was over turned at a point some yards from ia fl0nl- of ths barn doors. It contained a wild little conflagrution of its own, and even in their excite tement some of those who nan felt gentle secondary vibra- ton of the thrifty part of their minds a. sight of this overturned lantern. Under ordinary circums tances it would have been calamtty.
 But the cad,la in the barn w.q-e tramp ling. ttamplng, and above this u-tse could be heard humming Nike the song of, innumerable bees. The old man hurl- edastda the great doors, and yellow flame lsaped out at one corner and sped and sped and wavered frantically up the old gray wall It was glad. terrible this single flame, like the wild banner of deadly a1'iumpha nt foes.
 The motly crowd from the garret nau come Wltn all the pals of the farm. They flung themselves upon the well. It was a leisurely old machine, long dwell- ing in incidence. 1t was in the habit of giving out water with sor; of relua:- arce- The man stormed a, it, cursed it, but it continued to allow the buckets to be filled only after chA wheezy windlass had howled many protests at the mad handed men.
 With his open knife in his hand old Fiemming himself had gone headiong in tl the barn, where the stifing smoke whirlsd with the air currents. and where could be heard in it's fulnass the terrible chorus of the flames, ladsn with tones of hat and death, q hymn of won- 9erful ferocity.
 He flung blanket over an old mares h; ad, cut the hal;er close tc the manager, led the mars to the door. and fairly kicked her out to safeJy. He returned ws5h the same blanbet and rescued one of the work horses. He took five hors;s ori, and then came out himself with his clothes bravely on fire. He had no wrsskers and very little hair on his head. They soused five pailfuls of wa er on him. His oldest son made a clear, miss with the sixth palful because the old man had turned and was running down the decline and around to the tnssment of the barn where were the sta nc..! Ions of