The Red Cloud chief., 1902-07-18

Deen cNnallStpu. ana rs Il last resort
he sauntercd out 10 watch the crowds.
Never nee did he wander far from
the hotel. which fact, later ON, he was
inclined To believe was a special dis.
persation of Providence.
The magnet was there that held
HIN.
He smoked and walked. and 50
the time dragged by until the hour of
fate arrived.
Charlie. the better to see and he out
of the Anticipated jam, had mounted
a convenient Carriagc.stonr standing
in front of a dwelling house half a
block from the hotel.
Great as vas the excitement around
him. it seemed to- be doubly intensi.
fed further along the line of march,
especial! In front of the hotel.
He saw the procession break at this
point-mClt away as it were.
Men ran toward the hotel in squads.
waving their arms wildly.
Was it an opportunity to qucnCh
the thirst that frequently burns Irish
threats on this glorious holiday?
Charlie knew of yorc all about
the battle of the Boync. and how an
rang flag arouses the hatred of a
st. Patrick's day parader even as 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
dcspised?
He supposed this must be the case.
To his surprise. however. the eX.
element spread-tho crowd pressed
madly forward. mounted officers came
g~alloping back. shouting ont 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 stake-and then he heard distinctly
above the roar the stentorian voice of
a lcathern.lunged officer:
Turn out. The avenue is impass.
able. The Windsor hotel is on fire.
Turn OUT"
Doubtless that stentOrian shout
sent o shuddering chill to many a
heart when those who heard II glanc.
ed up at the massive pile and compre.
hcnded the hundreds of precious lives
that were endangered.
To Zone could it appeal with more
irresistible force than to Charlie
Stuart.
All his hopes and ambitions on earth
were conferred there-the girl he
loved with heart and SOU was far ny
in thc doomed structure, perhaps
asleep. under the influence of an
opiate. after IA wakeful night with an
aching brow.
At first his blood seemed CONCEAL
cd into ice.
like boiling lava. fresh from the
throat of Nesuvius.
Charlie did not waste time in re
Election.
Time was worth more than money
now, worth all the world to him.
He had leaped to the pavement
like a deerhound. and dashed toward
llc nOtel Ill great DOunuS
Some men would have lost Their
wits, but it seemed that the create,
the emergency the keener became his
mind.
Even as he ran and clbowed his
way through the excited crowd witt
"A 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, eve when thus fighting his
way through the crowd. Charlie saw
the hopelcssness OF attempting t
reach the main entrance on the ave
nue.
/ The space for half a block was
densely packed with "a w~hooping mass
Of humanity, partly imbued with tn,
eager curiosity that always distin
cuisines crowds the world over, and a
the same time a c%hivalrous desire L
be of use somehow.
Ii he desired to reach that doc
he must perforce walk ovcr the head!
OF the packed crowd.
A better plan suggested itself.
He remembered a side entranc,
which would admit him much NOR,
easily.
Now he was AT the corner.
He took one look up and around.
The picture was impressed upol
the tablets of his memory forever.
No longer were handkcrchiefs an,
green ribbons waving from tn,
numerous windows of the hotel in
stead, panic-stricken girls threw on
their arms appealingly and shrieke'
in terror.
The wand of an evil magician ha,
touched the scene, and transformed /
in a t%winkling.
Smoke already oo2ed from severa
openings, proving To Charlie that hi
hopes OF the fire being trihing wer
groundless.
II was nos serious.
The holocaust of the ParisiaI
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