The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-24
The Story of Fighter of Fires.
Ry EPPs WINTHROP SARGENT
COPYRIGHT, 1902. BY S. S. MCCLURE co.

We're brought out of the building.
Every little while a changing of the
gong would tell that another firemen.
too badly hurt to be cared for on the
spot, was being rushed off to the
nearest hospital.
Hansen came running up.
Hale" he shouted, there are some
men in the cellar on the Front street
side. Chief Corbyn says go get 'em.
We're short of men, and you're star
life-saver."
The order was unusual, for drivers
are seldom called on, but Hansen
drove for Corbyn and Dan promptly
obeyed. Fastening a belt around his
waist, he started for the rear of the
building.
Hansen, white with fear, looked
about to see that he had not been OBJ
served and hurried back to the chiefs
buggy. No such order had been is
sued, but men were dropping all
around him and ne saw a good chance
to rid himself of Hale.
Dan saw no trace of trouble when he
got around to Front street. The fire
was on the River street side of the
building. The lines of hose were run
there and on Jones and Snadhurst
streets.
No one saw him go down the ladder
through the grating or drop down on a
freight elevator that had been anchor
ed on the first level. The place was so
full of smoke that he could barely
breathe even with the grating just
above him. The pungent smoke of the
blazing varnish made his eyes water
till he could scarcely see. Once he
started TO turn back, but-Hansen had
said that there were men in there. He
wet his handkerchief in a pool of water
and CT rli he crnnlyn ~
as he wriggled across the floor fiat on
his stomach
No matter how heavy the smoke.
there is always a layer of pure air at
the bottom of the heated cloud. To rise
above this would be the same as
plunging into water as far as breath
ing was oncerned. so Dan worked his
way along, his nostrils almost touching
the floor.
Suddenly his cropping hand encoun-
tered something soft. II was an un-
conscious fireman lying with his face
to the floor. Dan seized him by the
collar and slowly made a painful
course to where the grating showed a
dim yellow square, through the cloud
of smoke.
Six times he made the trip, over the
few feet of space that it took so long
to cover. He was too exhausted to
carry them up the ladder, but he hail
ed a man from Seventeen who was
passing. After aiding Dan to lift the
rescued men up to the sidewalk. the
fireman ran to River street for the
surgeon. One of the men was barely
conscious. Putting his face close, Dan
asked if there were more. Slowly the
question penetrated the others befud-
died brain.
How many?" he asked. Il got up
six"
"One more" And the head sank
back on the cold stone.
| When two ambulances dashed up to
| the curb Dan was nowhere in sight
| He had gone after the zone more"
The smoke was getting thicker and
even the thin layer of air was becom-
ing exhausted. Dan struggled on
choking and coughing, while his eyes
smarted and stung as if there were
live Goals in the sockets. In an ever
widening sweep he worked until the
man was found.
Now the light from the grating was
barely visible, like the vision of a ray
that has just been eXtinguished, vel
seems to linSer for a moment. 1t was
20 feet away, and the trip took what
| seemed to be as many minutes. Oar