The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-23
myself pretty for lunch. I wonder where
others have been all the morning"

1t was more than an hour past mid
night; the men of the party staying at
| Winners court were still lounging i'll the
| smoking room. There is an entirely base
| less superstition among all men in all
country houses that their combined con-
versational powers arc equal to the task
| of keeping each other amused for three
hours or so nightly. 1t is a superstition
to break In upon the boots of goodnight
around him to draw attention to it.
"Iou may bet your life, Spencer, my
that will never die, though it is proved
to be an absolute fallacy in hundreds Of
houses night after night. The flow of
talk had gradually died away into spas
modic inapities when the signal was
given for abrupt departure by the re-
mark: ST wonder whether any of you
men remember that red setter of mine
called 'VictorT" The drowsiest of smok-
ers jumped to his feet with miraculous
promptitude and made a dash for the
| hall. The dreariness and glazing impos-
sibility Of the after-midnight dog story
are beyond human endurance. Fishing
exploits stimulate healthy imaginative
rivalry, but dog stories are funereal. The
yearning for bed was universal
There are two or three little details
which are never omitted at the ADJOURN
| ment Of the smoking room parliament
Liz llISI lulLS IL IOr everyone TO express
his surprise, in an almost injured tone,
at the lateness Of the hour, and then, in
Difference to the sleeping household
| heavyweight men creak about on exas-
peratingly noisy tiptoe and exchange
| hoarse shouts of good night with one an
other in what they fondly imagine to be
subdued whisper. AS these interesting
| ceremonies We're being performed witch
all due pUnctilio, some one noticed a
GtTnnp of 6,try ,i,,er "a
was so strong that he actually Ventured
boy, that this old barrack of yours is on
| fire. You had better touse the servant 8
and get the womenfolk down stairs
quietly
Don't be an ass, Ted; 1t is no use
| frightening the ladies out of their lives
perhaps for nothing. 1t Is probably only
something smolderipg in the kitchen;
| there can have been no other fires lighted
in this weather. Let US see where we
| are first. Come along, you boys, I'll show
| you the way
When the smoking room party invaded
the sacred precincts OF the kitchen there
was no longer room fcc doubt about the
fire. The roar of flames could be heard
in the enormous cavern OF the old-fash-
| toned chimney, and a brilliant red light
shone upon the hearthstone and the
kitchen floor. AS the fire brigade so
quantity phrase it, the kitchen chimney,
was well alight"
| "Cut over to the stables, Charlie will
you, and get them to saddle Quickstep
for you, and hurry into Lifted as hard
as you can go. The fire engine is at the
town hall. They may perhaps turn out
little quicker for you than they would
for a groom, and you needn't mind knock
| ing the horse up; it can't be helped
| Send the men from the stables over here
as soon as they have saddled your horse"
Come along, you men, we can do moth
ing down here. I'll take you up on the
room by the back stairs. Come UP as
quickly as you can. We had better get
| try to stif1e the chimney. There are some
water jugs in that pantry; they'll be use
| full"
All efforts to extinguish the fire WERE
| however. in vain, the most that could be
done was to check its spreading from
| the west wing Of the house by keeping
| possible with stable buckets upon the
rooms adjoining the outbreak. The fire,
| however, continued to extend it's borders
in all directions, as the now white hot
bricks of the chimney communicated de-
| struction to the paneling of all the rooms
that surround its glowing shaft. For
! tunately, it was calm night. with scarce
| ly a breeze stirring.
The noise of these proceedings had in
! the mean time reused the whole house.
Amy Ashton had hurried into a peignoir
| and pair OF slippers, and was Just hesL
| tating at her door before making az dash
over to 'ner aGnts bedroom for consola-