Red River prospector. (Red River, Taos County, N.M.) 1900-190?, 1902-04-24


husbands cruel words.
It was not till they were ready to
sit down to their dinner at $3.50 o'clock
that the two members Of the Dawkin
family became even partially recon
ciled. Tom, looking silent and seri-
Gus, had just begun to cut the steak
when they were both startled by the
shrill sound of a womnn's Shrek.
Twice it was repeated and then, before
they could rise from the table, there
came a wild pounding on the front
door.
Tom rushed to open the door. There
in the hall stood the fat and courage
u Mrs. Elliot, crying and wringing
her hands.
What's the matter, Mrs. Elliott"
he asked.
Il can't get in there" she cried
wildly. Il can't get in"
Get in where?" asked Tom, trying
to keep cool. Whats the matter?"
Il can't get in there" shrieked Mrs.
Elliott, meaninglessly.
Then she toppled over in a dead
faint. Tom and Mary carried her into
the fiat and laid her on the bed. Then
Tom rushed upstairs while Mary hur-
ried to the kitchen to get some restora-
tives. Tom came downstairs again on
the fly and only cried to his wife, as
he few past the open door, 'The fats
on fire. I'm going to turn in an
alarm"
Mary noticed when she went to the
kitchen that water was ~trickling Town
through the ceiling and that the ce-
ment itself was beginning to flake of.
Then she hurried back to the still UNI
conscious Mrs. Elliot. BY pouring
cold water on her head, %unloosing her
collar, and holding a bottle of harris
horn to her nose, Mary was able to
revive Mrs. Elliot, who sat up and
stared around wildly.
Il can't get in there" she still re-
peated feebly.
Mrs. Elliott" said Mary, where is
little John?" John was the Elliot
baby.
Il can't get in there" answered Mrs.
Elliot.
Mary left her and hurried up the
stairs. From the door a cloud of thick
white steam poured out into the hall.
She wrapped her apron over her
mouth and dashed into the fat. The
air was thick and sitting, but Mary
noticed as she ran that it did not
smell like smoke.
She found the baby gasping on the
floor in the front room and carried him
down to her own fiat. The she re-
turned to the floor above to make a
more careful investigation. She saw
that the steam seemed to come from
the Elliot kitchen, but when she tried
to make her way out through the long
hall she soon found that the atmos-
phere was too thick. Then she thought
Of the back porch and hurried down
again to her W fiat and out through
the kitchen door to the porch. Up
the steps she ran and in a minute
stood just outside the window opening
into Mrs. Elliot's kitchen. The air in
side was thick with white steam and
she could hear from within the sound
of running water. Then in a fash she
knew what had happened.
Mrs. Elliot had turned the hot water
faucet, the sink had been stopped up,
and was now overlooking, and the hot
water flowing in torrents, had filled
the fiat with steam.
Mary broke one of the window panes
and the steam belched out in clouds
Then, with her arm and hand wrapped
in a rug picked up from the porch.
she reached into the room and turned
off the hot water. In a few minutes
the steam disappeared and she hurried
down to prevent the flooding Of hel
own apartment.
Presently the sound Of the fire gong'
rose from the street and Tom in the
lead of three or four iremen cam
rushing up the stairs.
Mary met them and explained wha.
had happened. Then the fire captain
made her revenge complete.
Say" he said, turning to Tom, 81
you had as much nj as your wifi
you wouldn't get us out for a littl,
thing like this. You get excited to,
easy"
After they had gone Mary could no
resist the temptation to rub it in"
little on Mrs. Elliot.
81 got little John out of the stean
just in time, Mrs. Elliot" she said
! and then 1 went out on the bacI
porch, broke a window pane, an
, turned off the hot water faucet. Every
things all right now. Brace up an
, try not to be so foolish. It don't do
{ bit of good to go all to pieces tina
D way, you know"
r Mary" said Tom, as he started t
go downtown to work, you are tn
S bravest woman in the world. If tha
= fool of a Mrs, Elliot ever NEEDLES wit
S you again I'll send her about her bus
o ness. Chicago Record-Herald.
e Ping Pong.