The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-05

! tremendous. II was as if half the town
had been blown up. and the conclusion
was terrific. The street was swept ar clenn
| as If regiment had been AT il with brooms.
The whole front of the shop across the
street swayed a little and then fell in with
| a crash and cloud of smoke rose as big
as II we had set fire to an elevator.
Fortunately for us, none Of the frag-
| merits thai flaw around had come our way
and none of us was hurt bu: we had a
mighty narrow escape up the street. There
! was "a man coming down the sidewalk
| toward us, fellow just rubherng around
10 see what was going on, and n big piece
Of that wheel sailed out after him inst as
If 1t meant to get him or perish in the at
tempt.
HE saw it coming just in time TO drop
and he was the --LATEST man ! ever saw
| when looked up the street NV stars but
J he was hot. He came down there threaten-
ing TO whale the whole crowd Of W. so that
| we couldn't stand for week, and guess
! he would have tried il il there had not been
in the ncighborhood had cone around
and we could have given the man good
hard argument when il came to fighting.
But Mike Gallagher was the finishing
| touch. He owned saloon up the street
| about fifty yards from where we were firing
The row had started him up IA little earlier
than usual and he was in the barroom
polishing up the glasses, getting ready
for the days rush.
| THE bar ran along the room on the side
nearest to ,is and Mike stood there with his
| back our way. Well, sir. a piece of that
wheel that weighed about ten pounds set
/ sail for Mikes head and came within half
an inch Of getting il.
1 ut went smack through the side of the
building, which was Il flimsy structure of
pine with thin Misunderstanding sides,
| and drove clear across the room. 1t went
squarcly over Mikes head. not half an inch
from it, ~ We could tell when Mike stood
| under the hole TO show us, and the con-
! cussion knocked the glasses all over the
place.
Maybe Mike wasn't mad; but am much
| mistaken ii lie wasn't. | surely thought
at the time that he was and it looked very
much to me for while as if we We're bound
for the Jail as straight as we could go.
| But Mike was "A good-natured fellow
4 after all and 1t came over him by and by
that il would be all right if we settled for
| the damages. But that was q Fourth Of
July Weakening as was wakening."
| George, said the doctor, "how about
blowing up the city cistern that time when
I got caught and you didn't"
THAT was another time was the reply
| But that Was something Of Il celebration.
| too. That was before we did the anvil
| firing We were small boys wien We did
| that
you folks who have always lived in
| New York don't know what city cistern is,
but any one who has ever been a resident
| OF small town, especially out West, Will
| understand. You see, the Fire Department
in such place is on small scale. In the
town where the doctor and lived there
| was no system of water supply, so that
when the old hand-pumpins fire engine
was bought there was big cistern dug at
| the crossing of the two main streets of
the village, a cistern that would hold three
| or four hundred barrels of water. II was
all cemented up and covered with round
| iron top such as those used here on the
| manholes Of sewers.
-Some of the boys conceived the great
| idea Of blowing up this cistern early on
the morning of the Fourth, il being our
notion that the report would be some
thing very unusual in the way Of noise
maker Well, it was. There was no doubt
about that.
-We got a can of giant powder and a good,
long fuse. Then we buried the powder
in a box Of dirt just as large as we
could let down through the opening at the
There was a lot Of argument as to how
far down we should let it, as some of us
thought that if We sent it down near the
water most of the effect would be lost and
we would only damage the cistern without
making much noise. 1t was noise we
were after rather than injury to the cistern.
Then, too, we found that if we let the box
down very far the fuse would be likely to
drop into the wafer and go out, spelling
the whole scheme.
well when night came everything was
ready for the business We all went 10
bed as usual and pretended to go to sleep,
but as soon as it was quiet in each boy <
house he got up and sneaked out carefully
so as not to let any one know what was
going on.
I'VE all met at the place we had agreed
on and very soon had the box in position
in the cistern. Then we set fire to the
fuse and ran.
my fathers house was in the outskirts
Of the village, and it happened that there
and the crossing where the cistern was.
This broke the sound and was probably
responsible for my escape.
There was a terrific row when the thing
went off II blew the cover high in the all
and there was a roar like the discharge OF
big gun. We boys were afraid to GO
up 10 sec what the result had bee n, because
there was night Waterman whom We had
been lucky in avoiding SO long and it was q
pretty good guess that h. would I've around
in the neighborhood of the cistern very
soon.
$50 we all lit out for our homes. each
fellow anxious to get in as quickly and
quietly as possible. We we re desperately
afraid, after it was all over, that the NOISE
had reused our families and that we should
all be caught.
when got to my home was very mucl,
pleased to find no evidences of any acfiylty
and concluded that no one had been awGk-
cned by the row. My brother knew that
had gone out and had some suspicion
naturally AZ to what was m, b,It ] kn"%
he would keep still about il. for had been
an accomplice in his schemes too often to
have him give me away.
al took OFF my shoes and crept np 10 the
front door, had come out that way be
cause il was farthes away from my father
bedroom which was on the ground fo"r
I had left tho wooden door open when
came out. because 1t squcaked "A l'tI" on
its hinges and having safely passed th'
risl, of opening il I did not car" To tcmuI
fate by shutting II only TO hav" ii aII I'D
GO through again in coming IN,
"But the screen door lad to be reckoUed
with both times and II was q bed one, for he
stiff spring creaked dsmally in spit" of an
that I could do. | got II op"n TAR enough
for me to slip through without making
too much noise, and stepped in, but hy
what I yhen thought to he an extremely
nnlucky slip il got Away from NO and the
stout spring slammed II shut with Il
bang.
"Great Scot,l wha a noise that door
/ made. thought had never haerd such 2
racket. OF course knew it war all "a
with me as soon as chat Happened Ny
first impulse was TO jump oNlt and run
in the hope Of fooing the folks into the
belief that burglars had been there but
didn't make up my mind to do it quickly