The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-07-11
THE TWO VANREVELS
nv BOOTH HARRINGTON
Copyright by Mcclure, Philips g. Co.


ed, threatened the town itself. There was
work for the volunteer brigade that night.
! They came down Main Street with
rush, the figure of the chief swa ying over
them on his high perch. while their shout
Ing was drowned In the louder roar of
greeting from the crowd, into which they
| plunged as diver into tho water, swlrls
and cddies of people marking the wake.
| A moment later section of the roof Of
| the burning warehouse fell in, with a
sonorous and reverbating crash.
The "engine company" ran the force
pump out to the end of one of the lower
wharves: two lines of pipe were attached;
| TWO rows of men mounted the planks
| for the bumpers, and, at the word Of
| command, began the up-and-down of the
hand machine with admirable vim No
thing happened the water did not
come; something appeared to be wrong
with the mechanism. AS everyone felt the
crucial need of haste, nothing could have
been more natural than that all the men,
bers Of thef "engine company" should
simultaneously endcpvor to repair the
defect; therefore ensued upon the spot a
| species Of riot which put tho engine out
| OF Its sphere Of usefulness.
III the meantime, fifty or sixty men
and boys who ran with the machines
put who had no place in their operation
neing the bucket brigade. had formed a
water In the general direction of the
southernmost warehouse. which It was
now impossible to save; while tho gentle
men of the "hoot-and- Ladder company"
abandoning their wagons, and armed with
axes. heroically assaulted the big door
n ran l.. l...i1 H.
whence they were driven by the exasper-
ated chief, who Informed them that the
only way to save the wheat was TO save
the building. crailey Gray. one Of the
berated axemen. remained by the shat
tered door after the others had gone, and.
struck by sudden thought, set his hand
upon the iron latch and opened the door
by this simple process. It was not locked
Crailey leaned against the easement and
laughed with his whole soul and body
Meanwhile by dint OF shouting In mems
ears when near them. through the trumpet
when distant, tearing axes from their
hands imperousy gesticulating to subor-.
dinate commanders. and lingering In no
one spot for more than a second, Mr..
Vanrevel reduced his forces to sem.
blance Of order in a remarkably short
time, considering the confusion into which
they had fallen.
Tho space between the burning ware
house and that next 1t was not moro
than fifty feet In width, but fifty feet
so hot no one took thought OF entering
there; an area as discomfiting In appear
ance as 1t was beautiful with the thick
rain of sparks and frebrands that fell
upon 1t. But the chief had decided that
this space must be occupied, and more;
must be held. since 1t was the only point
of defense for the second warehouse. The
roof Of this building would burn, which
would mean the destruction of the ware
y, ,1c-e, go
cause the streams OF water could not
play upon 1t from the ground. nor. from
the ladders. do much more than wet the
projecting caves. It was a gable roof,
the caves twenty feet lower on the south
side than on the north. where the ladders
could not hope to reach them. Vanrerel
swung his line OF bucketeers round to
throw water not upon the flames. but
upon the ladder men.
Miss Carewe stood in the crowd upon
the opposite side Of the broad street.
Even there her cheeks were uncomfort-
a spark from her shoulder, though she
was too much excited to mind this She
was watching the beautiful fiery furnace
between the north wall OF tho burning
warehouse and the south wall OF It's
neighbor. the fifty feet brilliant and misty
with vaporous rose--color. dotted with tho
myriad red stars, her eyes shining with
tho reflection Of their fierce beauty. She
saw how the vapors moved there. like
men walking in fire. and she was vaguely
recalling Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-
nego, when, over tho silhoutted heads OF
the crowd before her, long black ladder
rose. wobbled tilted crafty then lamely
| advanced and ranged itself against tho
south wall of the second warehouse, Its
| top rung striking ten feet short OF the
| caves She hoped that no one had any
notion of mounting that ladder.
A figure appeared upon 1t Immediately,
| that of gentleman. bareheaded and In
evening dress, with a brass trumpet
swinging from a cord about his shoulders;
the noise grew less: the shouting died
away. and the crowd became almost
silent, as the figure. climbing slowyA
drew up above their heads. Two or three
rungs beneath, came a second-a man In
helmet and uniform. The clothes of both
men, drenched by the bucketeers, clung
to them, steaming. AS the second figure
mounted, a third appeared: but this was
the last. for the ladder was frail and
sagged toward the smoking wall with
| the weight of the three men.
(ro be continued to-morrow)
|