Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1902-06-12

been clawing out handfulS. See here!!'
he yelled. Didn't I tell you to get in
the Tubville social before midnight?'
It's almost ready said the Duke and
bent over her typewriter in a little
heap.
After the Tubville was in and work
Stacked up a bit l carried in a sand
witch and made her eat it while l
ground out some rewrite for her. While
l was working the fire gong sounded an
alarm, but the presses We're going, and
l never tried to count it. Anyhow,
Bobby always did fires alone unless
they We're very big one
after awhile KNAPP bolted into the
room. His face vas white as chalk.
Els mouth opened onc or twice, but
he couldn't speak. At last he gasped:
We're cut off! The fires up to the
third story l jumped to the window,
and there the street was filled with en-
gines and trucks, and we had never
heard a thing.
Miss Wellington turned pretty
white, but her voice was steady as she
asked, Are there many of us up here?'
'Three in the telegraph room and
four or five in the local. said KNAPP,
moistening his lips. we didn't think
it was serious, and l forgot your being
here
"We all went down the hall to the
local room. The fire was belching from
the fourth story windows now, and the
smoke was getting thick. One of the
telegraph men kept his desk and was
actually sending an account of the fire
over the Associated Press wire. We
wandered from window to window for
hours. it seemed to me, but it could not
really have been for many minutes.
The smoke was coming in clouds, and
we could hear the fire now.
"At last the crowd in the street saw
us. | hope III never hear that sound
again. My God! l wake up sometimes
now with that moan in my ears, and it
nearly drives me mad. 1t seemed the
essence of human misery and made us
: realize what was before us. We had
been stunned before, but then bedlam
broke loose. Some moaned and cried.
Some shrieked and swore. And still
the man at the key clicked out his mes
sage, giving our names, we found aft
erward. He had a pistol lying beside
his hand.
"Knap raced from one end of the
building to the other. shrieking for
help, but even we could not near MIN
In the increasing roar Of the fire. The
sixth story was a mass Of flames, and
we We're on the eighth.
"All at once the little Duke began
dragging at our sleeves. At last we
understood that she wanted us to fol.
low her. She thought she had a chance.
We followed her, all but the telegraph
man,, who shook his head Eopelessly
and held up the revolver.
'The Duke ran to her rom and
threw open the window. Beyond and
: extending to the end of the building
was the art room, which had no Win
doHs, but was above a corner Of the
building not yet reached by the fire.
Pointing to an ornamental stone cor
nice which ran some six feet below the
window, the Duke motioned along it
toward the corne farthest from the
fire. We caught the idea, but it seemed
q slim chance, and no one moved.
FINALLY the little Duke screamed,
You towards, follow mev She swung
herself carefully over the sill and,
hanging by her hands, just touched
the cornice with her toes. Getting as
firm a foothold as possible on the mar
row ledge, she steadied herself and
moved to n side, waiting. We let
KNAPP out next. When he was finally
on the c%ornice, he chung to the wall
and refused to move. At last the Duke
seized his hand and began feeling her
way along the wall, gently pulling him
after her. KNAPP followed somehow,
and the rest of us swung out after him
in a hurry, for the floors were culver
ing and the smoke was rolling in vol
umes from the windows below us.
Just as | swung out | heard a pistol
shot and knew the telegraph man had
talsan tbn WAY he thnnght- hest.
I'VE chung to the wall and crept along
like flies. We We're fairly steady ex-
cept KNAPP, and my heart was in my
mouth for fear he would lurch off and
carry the Duke with him. But his
knees stiffened at last, and he did bet
ter, though he eve for a moment let
go the girls hand. The bricks were
getting hotter and hotter to the touch,
and the flames seemed to be sweeping
toward our end of the building.
Eat last the crowd saw us through a
rift in the smoke. and a shout went I'D