The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1900-04-28

blanket directly beneath us.
MY Cod" groaned Oglethorpe;
Its suicide to jump from this height.
1t makes me dizzy to think of it,
Proctor was as cool as the proye-b-
ial cucumber, and talked to us as calm
ly as if discussing a business scheme in
my private Office.
Its a east of roast or jump" said
he, as we came together for a final con-
ference. that's the whole thing in a
nutshell. The only redeeming feature
in the ease is that each of us can choose
the way it suits him best to die. Per-
sonally it makes little difference to me.
Death by fire isn't really SO horrible as
it appears, and as for jumping you will
lose consciousness long before you
reach the ground. After all, my case
is much worse than yours. gentlemen.
Your families will be well provided for,
but God only knows what will become
of my wife and children when I'm
gone"
See here, young man" Oglethorpe
exclaimed, grasping Tom by the arm,
81 can't be roasted in this hell-hole
like a rat, and to jump is still worse!
Why, man alive, I'd give a million dol
lars-a million, do you hear?-to be
landed safely on the ground!"
L glanced at Tom-for an instant
forgetting Jul perilous situation
and noted that. unmindful of Ogle-
thorpe, he was gazing intently to one
side; then suddenly his face lighted up
with a CLEAN of hope.
"AIl right! L accept the contract.
No time now for any business formal
tiles. Shake hands on it. You witness
this. Mr.. Burrows" said he, nodding
his head in my direction, at the same
time extending his hand to O~glethorpe.
They hastily grasped each Others
hand, and l bore witness of the strang-
est business transaction on record
That's as binding IS if drawn up by
a regiment of lawyers" exclaimed
Oglethorpe when the simple ceremony
was completed. Then he added: My
word is good for that amount. never
fear, if l get out of this place alive"
Pushing the millionaire aside rough
ly, Proctor a to a case of drawers
under the counter a few feet away.
On the upper drawer was tacke a
white card which bore the simple le-
gend: "Fish lines" 1t was only the
work of a second to pull the drawer
out and select a heavy, strong line.
about the size used in codfishing. The
drawer underneath was labeled Sink
ers." and from this he grabbed a lead
sinker. which he deity fastened to the
end of the line. From the wall he tore
down a sign which read: NO smoking
allowed" on the back of this caro- he
wrote in plain letters: Hitch on a
rope. quick!"
Making the card fast to the line
near the LEAD he rushed to the wlndow
followed by O%glethorpe and myself.
We watched the descent of that white
messenger with breathless interest, for
our lives were in the balance and time
was precious. Three souls hanging to
a cod line and a piece of common every
day cardboard.
A man on the ladder seized the ard
and read its message. Waving his hand
upward to signify that he understood,
he ran nimbly down the ladder, darted
across the street to a ladder truck, and
with the help of a comrade seized a
coil of rope. which they flung on the
ground directly under our window.
To prevent the line from chafing
- rn1nr tho vim
dow sill, Proctor leaned far outward
and carefully obeyed the command to
'haul."
This is a kind of a fish worth fish
ing for" cried he, with enthusiasm;
sort of a goldfish, hey, Mr.. Ogle.
thorpe? All, my beauty, now I've got
YOU fast!" he exclaimed. as the enc
of the rope slipped into his hands.
I believe that Tom had been to sea
a couple of voyages when a %youngster
and evidently the old sailor instinct
returned the moment he got hold of
hat rope.
He yanked it in over the window sill
hand over hand till it fairy hummed.
When the last fathom fell at our feet
Tom grabbed it and with a quick turn
of the hands tied a loop, which l
think sailors call a "bowline." Slip
ping this bowline over Mr.. Oglethorpe's
head and down t o the hips, he said
to him, tersely: Now. then. Mr..
Og%lethorpe. you're to sit in this bow
line; hold onto the rope with a death
grip. Don't be afraid; you can't fall
out if you try. Mr.. Burrows and l
will lower you down. and all you have
to do is to keep yourself away from
the building with your feet. You
may bark your shins. but that's moth
ing. Lively now, there's not a mo
ment to lose!"
After a few more instructions and
no little urging. the man of money
laboriously crawled W. the sill; we
Stacked away on the rope and his
head disappeared from view. We had
a turn of the rope around a steam
pipe and had no difficulty in holding
Oglethorpe's weight, although he
was a heavy a
Presently we heard a tremendous
cheer from the crowd below, which
told us that Oglethorpe was safe.
Running to the window, we saw him
descending the ladder with the help
of n fireman.