The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-02-13

time Noonan had managed to wrench
himself free from the ruins. and he
and Berquist now turned their atten-
ton to Shrine. They slitted his boot
down the leg with an ak. Then
Shrine planted his uninjured foot on a
gave an arm to each Of them. They
braced themselves, and Shrine came
from under the ioist with the sharp
snap OF a loosened ankle.
Shrine dragged himself painfully
around the confines of their niche in
the ruins, The fallen timbers formed
an immovable arch above them, with
no opening avenue Of escape. Below
them the water was creeping up, and
over them the fire was creeping down.
Already the SIN oke was so dense and
sutfOcating that they gasped and
choked, with their faces held close to
the floor. And yet Shrine saw sim
gle desperate chance of escape. He
crept as high up on the slanting floor
as the ruins would permit, and Moo
nan passed him an ak. Shrine
crouched on his knees, and began with
swift, powerful strokes to chop a hole
thru the floor in the forlorn hope that
in the other part of the basement.
The water continued to pour into the
basement from a dozen hose leads By
straining hard, Hall lifted his head the
width Of a finger higher, but the
creeping water still Tapped his chin.
Again Nelson wrenched desperately at
the tinbers above him.
TITS no use, boys Hall said, calm
ly.
A moment later Shrine heard a sud-
dent sharp gasp. When he turned to
look he saw Nelson holding the Ian
tern significantly over the pool. Hall
had disappeared.
Berquist, who had been crouching
on the floor shook from head to foot
his knees and began to tear frantically
at the ruins with his bare hands.
Shrine shouted at him, fearing that he
might dislodge the rubbish and bring
it down upon them. Berquist was one
Of the Quickest men on the force, but
he could not stand the fearful strain
of waiting for the inexorable, creeping
death which had come to Hall. It
was the ungovernable terror Of a man
penned. Shrine seized Berquist's
shoulders with grip OF iron and bore
him backward to the floor.
"Thith won't do, Berquith," he
drawled, lisping, and he choked him
until his eyes bulged.
Then he let Berquist up and gave
him the ak. With something to do,
Berquist became fireman again
cool, determined, and brave-and the
chips flew from the tough floor.
1t seemed hours to them that they
lay on the slippery slant Of the floor.
They were drenched and numbed, the
smoke ate their eyes and burned and
griped In their Threats, and yet each
pecked away until he was too dizzy
and weak to see, and then he passed
the ak to his neighbor. And the water
crept higher and higher. Before the
hole was well thru, Noonan, weak with
pain and half suffocated, fell limp and
unconscious. Shrine pushed him to
one side without word and went on
furiously with the chopping. Ber-
quist went down next and Nelson sue
cumbed just as he was ready to crawl
thru the hole, which was now COM
pleted.
skrine's head was splitting with
see the dim glimmer Of the lantern
and his legs were numb with cold and
pain, but he set his teeth and dragged
himself thru the hole. In the other
part of the basement the water was
over two feet deep, but the air was
better.
Shrine turned and dragged Nelson's
limp body out thru the hole and
propped it on a pile OF boxes. Then
he returned for Noonan and Berquist.
He knew that the basement was filling
rapidly and that unless they escaped
at once all their work would go for
nothing.
Shrine reeled like drunken man
and at every step his crushed foot
panied him terribly But he seized
Noonan and Nelson and hobbled with
them toward the front of the building.
He held the lantern in his teeth. At
last he saw the faint glimmer from a
basement window. He shouted again
and again, but in the pandemonium
of roaring fire and rushing water no
one heard him. He held UP his Ian
tern and waved it around his head.
"A lieutenant and two men, running