The Elbert County tribune., 1902-10-09
,ick's day. no mattor what the


was not in sight. the daily paper had
been exhausted. and as a last resort
he sauntered out to watch the crowds.
Never once did he wander far from
the hotel. which fact. later ou, he was
inclined TO believe was n special dis
pensation Of Providence.
The magnet was there that held
him.
he smoked and walked. and so
the time dragged by until tie hour OF
fate arrived.
Charlie. the better TO see and be out
OF the anticipated jam. had mounted
a convenient carriage-stone standing
in front OF n dwelling house half n
block from the hotel.
Great as was the excitement around
him, It seemed to be doubly intensi-
fed further along the line of march,
especially In front of the hotel
He saw the procession break at this
point-melt away as It were.
Men ran toward the hotel in squads,
waving their arms wildly.
Was 1t an opportunity to qrench
the thirst that frequently burns Irish
throats ON this glorious holiday?
Charlie knew OF yore all about
the battle OF the Boyne. and how an
orange flag arouses the hatred OF n
st. Patricks day parader even es the
red flag stirs the maddened bull to
frenzy.
Had some bold and incautious soul
dared to Invite immolation by thus
Haunting In their faces the color they
despised?
He supposed this must be the case.
To his surprise. however, the ex-
citement spread-the crowd pressed
mndly forward. mounted officers came
| galloping back, shouting out some
thing that at first he could not catch.
Never to his dying day would Char
lie Stuart forget the intense anxiety
of that moment when he seemed TO
| feel as though the fate OF empires was
at stakc-and then he heard distinctly
above the roar the stentorlan voice of
a leathern-lunged officer:
"Turn out The avenue is impass'
able, The Windsor hotel is on iirel
Turn outl"
Doubtless that stentorian shout
sent shuddering chill to many a
heart when those who heard II glanc.
ed up at the massive pile and compre-
hended the hundreds of precious lives
that were endangered.
To none could II appeal with more
irresistible force than to Charlie
Stuart
All his hopes and ambitions on earth
were centered there-the girl he
With art nd tyn n
in the doomed structure, perhaps
asleep. under the influence of an
opiate. after wakeful night with an
aching brow.
At first his blood seemed CONCEAL
ed into ice.
Then II leapcd through his veins
like boiling lava. fresh from the
throat OF Vesuvius.
Charlie did not waste time in re-
nection.
Time was worth more than money
now, worth all the world to him.
He had leaped TO the pavement
the hotel in great bounds.
Some men would have lost their
wits. but II seemed that the greater
the emergency the keener became his
mind.
Even as he ran and elbowed his
way through the excited crowd with
irresistible force. he was mapping out
n plan of campaign.
Really there seems no limit to the
human mind-its capacity is astonish.
ing-it rises to meet the emergency
regardless OF what is needed.
Now, even when thus fighting his
the hopelessness OF attempting to
reach the main entrance on the ave
nue.,
The space for half n block was
densely packed with whooping mass
OF humanity. partly imbued with the
eager curiosity that always distin.
guishes crowds the world over. and at
the same time a chivalrous desire to
be of use somehow.
II he desired to reach that door
he must perforce walk over the heads
of the packed crowd.
A better plan suggested itself
He remembered a side entrance
which would admit him much more
easily.
Now he was at the corner.
He took one look up and around.
The picture was impressed upon
the tablets of his memory forever.
No longer were handkerchiefs and
green ribbons waving from the
numerous windows of the hotel in
stead. panic-stricken girls threw out
their arms appealingly and shrieked
in terror.
The wand of an evil magician had
touched the scene. and transformed II
in n twinkling.
Smoke already oozed from severa
openings. proving to Charlie that his
hopes of the fre being trifiing were