Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-06-07

Margery spent the first hour in tbs
kitchen, making peanut taffy. When
at last she returned to the front of .he
house she was greeted by an odd pung-
ent odor.
Il wonder" said she, "if l could
have burned my candy? No. the
smell seems to come from the front
hall. Perhaps something is burning
upstairs"
She stopped appalled, when she had
reached the top step. Something GER
talnly was burning. The upper hall
was full of thick, gray smoke.
THE children!" gasped Margery.
darling through the smoke and into
the nursery.
Here the smoke was dense, and
through it at the far end of the room.
where a closet door was standing open
Margery could see a dull red glow,
Quick! Quick!" she sobbed, drag
glng the heavy, half stupefed child.
rem out of their beds, out of the suffo-
eating room, through the hall and
down the stairs. "Oh, do hurry! The
house is all on fire! There!" said
she, 'snatching vase of flowers from
table in the lower hall, and dashing
MOVERS, water and all into the faces
OF the poor, astonished children, there
by producing two indignant bowls.
There your lungs are all right if
you can cry like that! Now go sit on
the carriage block, and don't you dare
to come into this house again until
call. you, and don't you tell soul
that this house is afire I'm going to
put it out myself. Oh, must-I must
90 1t! cried Margery, Selling the two
heaVy pals of water which Mrs Dan
Vers kept ready in her little conser-
Vatory for the purpose of watering her
plants. "The fire is all in that one
room. If I let the f1remen in they'll
ruin the new floors with their muddy
boots, and they'll flood the whole
house with water. Oh, I can't let
them spoil that lovely pale-green pa
per and those lovely foors!"
So, never thinking that her mother
would rather lose a thousand beauti-
full parlors than one little loving
daughter, Margery rushed into the
dense smoke and hurled the contents
OF her pals straight at the scarlet
glow.
The smoke stung her throat and
almost blinded her, but she CROPPED her
way from the room, felt her way
across the hall, ran down the stairs
and ref1lled her pals at the kitchen
sink The bath room was nearer, but
Margery remembered that the faucets
there were small, and knew she would
save time by going to the kitchen.
She drank little cold water, fill
ed her lungs with fresh air at the
| open door and tucked up her skirts.
Then up she went with her heavy bur-
den, not splitting drop on the prec-
ious floors. After the third journey
Margery noticed that the scarlet spot
had diminished in size, although the
smoke was quite as dense.
Il must be careful not to put on
scrap more water than l need"
said this model fireman, as she toi1ed
upward with her heavy pals. 81
mustn't spoil the dining room ceiling.
| believe the fire is in the pillows and
bedding stored in that closet. I'll
open the window and throw them all
out, if l can
And she did, but it was not pleas
ant task. The smoldering quilts burst
into flames as she pulled them apart,
and the sparks burned her wrists and
hands. But with the window open it
was possible to breathe, and when
the reel1ing pillows had been added
to the blazing heap on the lawn below
the atmosphere was decidedly improv-
ed, although .rill by no means clear.
AS they discovered afterwards, tne
fire started from few oiled rags used
in polishing the hardwood floors, and
tucked into the closet by careless
maid. It had burned almost through
the Dashboard, and would in a few
moments have eaten it's way into the
partitions, where it would have been
beyond control.
Margery had undoubtedly saved the
day and a great many dollars although
she had, without realizing it, risked
something far more precious.
She had bathed her face and hands,
had opened all the windows to let out
the disagreeable odor of burned
feathers, and was going down stairs,
we'll satisfied with her evenings work
when her father and mother appeared
at the front door. Perched on the
newell post in the front hail. she told
them all about the catastrophe.
Where are the children?" was Mrs.
Danvers's first question.
Goodness" said Margery, "They
must be outdoors on the stepping
stone yet I told them to stay there
until | called them.
And there Mrs. Danvers found them
sound asleep in their little white
night dresses, but none the worse for
their unusual experience, for the night
was warm.
Mr.. Danvers opened his mouth and
closed it several times before he man.