The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-08-23

| fall in a grateful cascade upon Crailey
and himself, three manly voices were
heard singing, as three men toiled
through the pillows of rosy gray, be-
low the beleaguered pair;
"Oh, the noble Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up the side Of
house,
And marched them down again!"
A head appeared above the caves,
and Marsh, then Eugene, then Cum
mings, came crawling over the cornice
in turn, to join their comrades. They
were a gallant band, those young
gentlemen of Rouen, and they came
| with the ironical song on their lips,
| and, looking at. one another, ragged
and sacrificed, burst, into hoarse but
indomitable laughter.
Two others made an attempt to fol-
| low, and would not be restrained. 1t
was noticed that parts of the lower
ladder had been charming; and the lad
dermen were preparing to remove 1t to
less dangerous point when old Gen.
Trumble and young Jefferson Bareaud
made a rush to mount it, and were
well upon their upward way before
the ladder, weakened at the middle,
sagged splintered and broke. Tumble
and Bareaud falling with it. And
there was the graphing ladder, dang
|
there We're five upon the roof.
The department had no other ladder
of more than half the length of the
shattered one. Not only the depart
ment, but every Soul in Rouen, knew
that; and there rose the thick, low sigh
of multitude, sound frightful to
hear. 1t became a grOan, then Swelled
into a deep cry of alarm and lamenta-
ton.
And now, almost simultaneously, the
west wall of the building, and the
south wall, and all the southwestern
portion of the roof, covered themselves
with voluminous mantles of flame,
which increased so hugely and with
such savage rapidity that the one
stream on the roof was seen to be but
a ridiculous and useless opposition.
Everybody began to shout advice to
his neighbor; ana nobody listened even
to himself. The firemen were in as
great turmoil as was the crowd,
while women covered their eyes. Young
Frank Chenoweth was sobbing curses
] upon the bruised and shaking Trumble
and Jefferson Bareaud, who could only
stand remorseful, impotently groaning,
and made no answer.
The walls of the soutbernmost ware
house followed the roof, crashing in
ward one after the other, a sacrifical
pyre with its purpose contaminated;
and in the seeth and flare of it's pass
ing, Tom Vanrevel again shaded his
eyes with his hand; and looked down
across the upturned faces. The pedes-
tai with the grotesque carvings was
still there; but the GROWING figure had
disappeared-the young goddess was
gone. For she, of all that throng, had
an idea in her head, and, after scream
ing it to every man within reach, only
to discover the impossibility of making
herself understood in that Babel she
was struggling to make her way to-
ward the second warehouse, through
the swaying jam of people. 1t was a
difficult task, as the farther in she
managed to go, the denser became the
press and the more tightly she found
the people wedged, until she received
involuntary aid from the firemen. In
turning their second stream to play in
effectually upon the lower strata of
name they accidentally DETECTED it to-
ward the crowd, who separated wildly,
leaving big gap, of which Miss Betty
took instant advantage. She darted
across, and the next moment, unno-
ticed, had entered the building through
the door which Crailey Gray had
opened.
The five young men on the roof were
we'll aware that there was little to do
but to wait, and soon they would see
which was to win, they or the fire; Sc
they shifted their line of hose to the
eastern front of the building-out OF
; harms way, for little time, at least
and held the muzzle steady, watching
! it's work. And in truth it was not long
before they understood which would
conquer. The southern and western
portions of the building had flung out
great flames that fluttered and far
ed on the breeze like Titanic flags, and
| steadily, slowly, at first then faster as
the seconds flew, the five We're driven
backward up the low slope of the
| roof toward the gable-ridge. Tom YAH
f revel held the first joint of the nozzle
and ne retreated with a sulky face lift
ing his foot grudgingly at each step.
They were all silent now, and no one
: spoke until VIII Cummings faltered:
t Surely they'll get a rope up to us
some way?"
{ Will knew as we'll as did the others
that there was no way; but his speech
struck the sullen heart of the chief
with remorse. He turned: Il hope
you'll all forgive me for getting you
up here"
A sound, half sob, half giggle, came
from the parched lips of Eugene Mad
rillon, as he patted Tom on the Shout
der without speaking and Crailey nod
ed quietly, then left the group and
went to the eastern edge of the roof
and looked out upon the crowd. Cum
mings dropped the line and sat down,
| burying his hot face in his arms, for
they all saw that Vanrevel thought at
was no use" but a question of a few
= minutes. and they would retreat across
the gable and either jump or go down
with the roof.
Since the world began, idle and in
: dustrious philosophers have speculat-
ed much upon the thoughts of men
about to die; yet it cannot be 100 in
genuous to believe that such thoughts
vary as the men. their characters, and
conditions of life vary. Nevertheless
pursuant with the traditions of min
strelsy and romance, it is conceivable
that young, unmarried men, called up
on TO face desperate situations, might
= at the crucial moment, rush to a COM
mon experience of summoning the Wis
ion, each of his hearts desire, and e
: meet, each his doom, with her name
= upon his lips.
An extraordinary thing occurred In
the present instance. for, by means OF
l some fragmentary remarks let fall al
the time, and afterward recalled-such
! as Tappingham Marsh's gasping, "At
r least II will be on her fathers roof
I and from other things later overheard
! an inevitable deduction has beer
reached that four Of the five gentlemen
In the perilous case herein described
, were occupied with the vision OF the
! same person, TO wit: Miss Elizabeth