Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-29

He came into Capt. MeaghanS once ABOUT
noon, carrying his turnout OF fire nat anu
rubbers in a bran sack over his shoulder.
He wore his cap slanted down on an ear
that had been nipped and SCARED with fire
He had the face of veteran from the reg
ular army in the west, deep-eyed and lean,
as if heat and exposure had tried him out
TO bone and sinew. He introduced himself
briefly: I'm Brunton. l been transferred
here" And the captain was so absorbed
In an admiring scrutiny of this unbeautiful
recruit that he did not answer.
From the tales he had heard of Brunton
he had expected a thick-set, burly gorilla;
and Brunton was tall and loose His neck
rose from his collar as long as the neck of
a plucked turkey. and he had trick of
htching up his chin. every now and then.
with a nervous twist of that neck. as If his
collar pinched him.
1t was a mannerism that appealed to
Meaghan for obscure reasons. ct had been
the mannerism of friend of his earlier
days-a red-headed daredevil of boy who
had led the gang to which Meaghan had
belonged) "Feelin all right again?'' he
asked, affably.
'Yes'r," Brunton said. "Feelin' fine
Much do!n'?"
mo. Not much. What KEEP yuh late?"
Brunton replied vaguely that there had
captain accepted that unsatisfactory ex-
PLANTATION without suspicion and swung
around in his swivel desk chair. Gallagher
ii nix yuh up when he comes in, he said
Yum find the boys upstairs" And hav-
Ing waited for Brunton to go out he drew
a cigar from his pocket and presented it to
himself with an air of fattered self-con-
graduation. For Brunton was the popular
hero of the whole fire department
He had been only eighteen months In serv-
Ice, but already he had been entered seven
times on the roll of merit. He had first
distinguished himself, as Meaghan remem-
bered, by climbing up the back of a burning
house. without a scaling ladder, from sill to
shutter and from shutter to molding to res
cue d child from a third-story window. He
had made himself famous in the department
by diving into the steaming drip of flood
ed cellar to bring out a suffocated pipeman
He had made himself famous with the pub
lie by crawling In among the burning tim
bers of house that had collapsed and
working there with ak and handsaw for an
hour-a stream of water playing on him to
Keep his clothes from catching fire-until he
had released a fireman who had been pinned
down in the wreckage
He had been a scout in "th' Iniun wars !"
II was said. He could lift the tail of a five
ton truck with his shoulder" He could
go down the leader pipe from a burning
roof like a Guinny's monk" In short
there was nothing that he could not do-if
ne had not already done 1t; and Capt
smoked and smiled.
He had no misgivings. Latterly he had
been receiving all clumsy proba tioners as
recruits; II was new and grateful compli-
ment TO have Brunton transferred to his
rolls. He had no suspicious Brunton had
been injured In his last exploit and had been
sent to the Bronx to rest in the compara-
tive quiet of a suburban engine house. this
was his return to active DUTY evidently
The captain smoked and smiled
He was still smoking when his Iieutena n +
returned from dinner; but the look of COM
placent satisfaction had left his face and he
was listening impatiently to the shouts of
laughter that sounded from the sitting room
upstairs.
'Brunton's here" he said. See WHAT
goin' on up there"
Lieut.. Gallagher hung up his coat and
cap and went to investigate. The noise
stopped at once.
He came back with his face divided be-
tween a smile and a frown
IT just that Brunton," he reported
Hes been showing them a trick of swal-
lowing money-and then bringing it up
again"
"Brun-ton?" Meaghan said with sur
prised ScOwl.
Gallagher laughed apologetically. .oWe1
it was Donnelly's fault. l guess. Brunton
was doing 1t 10 catch Donnelly."
'Huhf the captain grunted, Modified.
"Donnelly, was it?'
The lieutenant nodded He said Rr,,nton
l.
lowing 1t. And Brunton stumped him TO
mark quarter and give it to him And he
swallowed it all right, but now he saws he
can't get 1t up again-and Donnelly's out p
cents"
The captains mouth twitched. Serve
him right DOnnellys been gettin' too wise
round here, anyway. He thinks he knows
IT all. Serve him right" He reached for
his cap. Give Brunton the bed down nv
the window an move Donnelly up nearer
the pole.''
He went out for his three hours off duty
being "One-mealer Lieut.. Gale
gher drew a package of fine cut" from his
mp pocket, rolled a ball of il between
thumb and forefinger and sat down to chew,
over his doubts of Brunton
1t was evident that the new man was a
peculiar genius. as Sergt. PIN. privately
interrogated. had confessed; and It was evil
dent too, that his reputation gave him n
prestige among the men that would be DOW
erful for good or evil Gallagher had tenn
pered CID MeaShan's absolutism by allowing
the men a degree of liberty in their leisure
hours and a license of unusual freedom dur
ing the captains absence every afternoon
from O'Clock till ). He began to fear that
Brunton might lead in an abuse of the COM
panys privileges, and he listened with I'M
easiness to the growing uproar that began
to echo from above stairs.
The sallow Donneuy-"Long Tom" Don
nelly-put his head in the door in the midst
of these reflections. That mans crazy ="
he said. Hes sittin up there with strips
of paper pasted all over his face an a paper
funnel on his nose, maxim faces at him
self -
Gallagher recognized the personal bias OF
this report and said nothing. Long Tom
shrugged a shoulder and withdrew
Sergt. PIN dropped in, quite casually, a
moment later. "Bruntons a reg lar goatr'
he laughed He's got Long Tom on the
run, pretendin' he's crazy. It's Is good s a
niger show up there"
Don't let him get too gay Pim" the
lieutenant said. Hell be making trouble
for us all with the old man If he amt care
fuI."
PIN dutifully smoothed out his grin "Oh,
he's all right. It's been pretty slow feY. IN
up in the Bronx, l guess. He's feelin' his
oats. gettin' back downtown. He's
after Donnelly. that's all. Donnelly tried
to come the lofty on him, an he wouldn't
stand fer it
The lieutenant shifted his cud. Tell him
to go slow on it,, he said. somewhat re-
assured
Sure" PIN promised. Hes all right"
The lieutenant rested on that promise I'M
til another of the men. his way out to
his dinner, looked In. laughing, to report:
"Brunton's more fun n cage of kittens, u
he said PINS putin him on to Donneliy
-getlin' back at him fer settin the cop wise
on that trick he played the kike down the
street He's got Long Tom goin fer fair
"ptIn haS?' Gallagher said