The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1905-07-05

OnOS and towels and hair all flying
As likely as not. this evening parade
would end on the tire-wal staircase.
There was one at each end Of the build
ing,where the wings join the main cor
rldOr. The staircase IS little nara ".
winding affair of iron, and it is shut
in by iron walls and has Siding doors
of sheet iron on every door. The fire
wall stairs are chilly and narrow
there's just room to so down in single
file. Sometimes. no matter how sleepy
and cross we were. Esther would keep
us marching up and down those stairs,
and actually out-of-doors when we got
TO the bottom. until l really believe
we could have done it in our sleep.
1t grew to be awful tiresome. be-
| lieye even some of the teachers
thought Esther was too energetic. and
went to Mrs. Sinclair about it; but she
would not interfere. and she would not
let any of the teachers be present at a
tire-drill. We were to have it all our
own way, or rather Esther was to
have it all her own way.
You may imagine our crowd was not
very nice to Esther dt this time. But
no matter what you did or said to
Esther, she never seemed to notice: she
was so full Of her old notions about
self-government and school spirit and
the tire-brigade that she did not seem
to feel anything for herself at all.
One night a lot of our girls were ia
| my room. and we just decided then and
there that we would not put up with
it any longer The next time those
old bells rang for fire-drill, we would
not go. Who in the world could make
us?
We did not have long to wait. That
very night. just as l had fallen to
sleep. all those bells suddenly went off
like mad. Sheer force of habit pulled
me out Of bed and into my klmono,
still too sleepy to know what L was
doing.
was taking up my towel when
remembered our resolution, and sat
down on the edge of the bed wide
awake and determined not to bulge.
| found afterward that exactly twenty
girls We're acting in just the same way,
all our third centre corridor, in fact.
l could hear the girls scurrying out
over our heads. out in our corridor |
could hear the hall guards repeating.
Rally on the third north, Gre-wall
stairsw Fire-wall stairs. and it was
as cold as Christmas!
Pretty soon came a pounding at the
doors. Nancy Voorhees,, our corridor
captain shouted:
Girls, girls, wake up! Didn't you
hear the bells? Where are you:'
Then the doors began to open. "Oh,
you are awake" cried Nancy. do
hurry"
Nobody stirred Nancy's face looked
queer. what is the matter, glrls?'
We began to come out Of our rooms
and gathered together. 1--WE aren't
corhlng? l said.
Nancy looked at rs. then turned and
flew. An instant afterward we saw
Esther's red bath-robe come scudding
down the corridor toward us. She
stopped a second because Miss Edger-
ton had appeared, and had said in her
usual fussy way:
"Can | help you, Esther?"
Esther laughed back at her
NO, indeed. Miss Edgerton We are
not used TO having you at dre-drllls.
The poor little dears might think II
was a real fire ~ you came"
Then Esther stood before us. her red
bath-robe tied In tight about her waist.
her long braids falling over her shoul.
ders | shall never forget her face. 1t
was all ablaze with color. and her eyes
We're like steel, and her lips had a reg
ular NapOleonlc set. At first she was
eoing TO make us 90.
II she had ordered us TO 20 then. l
do not know what would have hap
pened-for we would not have moved,
Then her face changed. / never saw
any face look quite so sweet; It was as
if all the self in It just went out.
Girls she said, won't you please
come? I'm not ordering. I'm just ask
Ing just as a favor, this once, please. "
And we went, but we We're pretty
sulky.
We marched 10 the third-ioor fire.
wall staircase. The fire-wall doors on
the third had been drawn one Of them
was left open just enough Tor us 70
squeeze through to the little dark, cold
staircase. The door down on the first
noor, leading right out-of-d0ors, was
open, and the wind whistled up.
Halt the girls were already down
ana out when we s-arted from the top
Esther was at the very end. as usual
AS we went down, she called I'm that
ringing voice of hers:
When you get down. shut the fire
wall doors into the flrst-hoor corrldorr
She was ordering us agalnl LET'S
not!' said to the girls behind me. and
we did not. Esther was still on tn,
third floor. We were all shlyering II
the night air outside at the bottom
Esther opened the window, just as sht
was about to start down. and called
rs everybody down safer"
Yes" somebody answered.
We could see Esther just as she put
her hand on the door to squeeze
through to the stairway. Then there
was sudden report and roar. and q
great sheet Of flame went sucking uI
the fire-wAl stairs as II through .
great funnel
Il TWAS real drs! Ithad spread from