The Advocate and news., 1898-05-25
BY LENORE DOsTER.
Continued from last week)
CHAPTER vi.

There was a strange rumbllng, and a
fire company dashed around the corner
AS the horses went tearing by their hOofs
struck fire from the pavement and the
engine to which they were hitched left
trail of sparks behind it.. The voices of
men were heard calling directions to
each other, people talked loudly chill
dren were crying and above all the other
noises in the darkness a woman could be
heard screaming. The fire was now seen
through the front windows and forks OF
flame shot above the roof. Streams or
water were pouring every way and the
street lamps, the forms Of the people
and the red blaze were all reflected In the
wet street, which was beginning to look
like a river, while high above against the
fiery clouds of smoke the dark forms OF
the firemen could be seen running across
the roofs Of the adjoining houses, drag
ging lines OF hose, and sizzling, kissing
noise was heard as the water struck the
fire.
It was fearful night to Tom, who
had never seen such fire before.
"Is our house going to burn, too, Uncle
WHIP"
"Well, | hope not, but you had better
pick up your clothes and be ready If we
should have to move out, said Uuncle
viii, as he started to pick up his wife's
jewel case and put in the shoe blacking
instead.
Tom hurriedly got together his Sun
day clothes, but his aunt and uncle did
not have to move out, for when the fire
seemed at its worst, when the fierce cold
wind Whirled flames and smoke in the air
and glowing cinders fOated across the
dark sky, almost in front of the window
where Tom stood, tower Of long lad
ders was raised. At the top of this tower
stood a fireman clinging to the ladders,
which swayed unsteadily In the air, and
holding a large hose, sent an immense
stream of water right through the win
doWs and into the fire. This drove 1T
from the front Of the house and kept 1t
down. The flames had made the street
warm, but now as they began to die
down the heat vanished, the water in the
street frOze, and as Tom watched the
fireman on the swaying tower he could
feel him shiver and see icicles hanging
from his clothes. 1t was getting light
now, and by morning they had put the
fire out and the cold and WOrn-Out fire.
men left the ruins and went home, know
ing that If they had not saved the one
building they had kept many, many 9TH
ers from being burned.
In the long winter evenings, when he
didn't have to study his lessons Ga task
he "just despised") Miss Vinton some
times told him fairy stories. Now,
Tom had never heard a fairy tale
in fact, had never had any one to tell
him stories of any kind, and he never
knew till then how much he had missed.
Hers were such good ones that Fred,
who had never liked her very much be-
cause Of her glass eye and her poodle
dog, came over to hear them too. She
told so many and such wonderful tales
about Jack, the Giant Killer" Clnder-
ella and Aladdin, clear on up through
the whole list of stories about giants,
mermaids, magic shoes and good fairies,
that the boys used to wonder where she
could find room in her head to keep
them all
"Ah, but there is not word of truth
in all those tales!" Lhear some good old
Aunt Severity say. WelEthey are not one
bit more improbable than some stories
many people used to believe and some
people still believe and would teach us
to believe are absolutely true. Aunt
Severity will tell you there are no
giants. Why, you have seen them,
yourself, in a circus, and some were
seven or eight feet tall, and have seen