The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1905-05-04

fubttr, And be would 30 t3f gtf oe nhse
hold the dames Ia thtck. He did not dsr
10 siismp, 10 mEya the EEc usaiaod, TO
fear tia, be might lose cCnuol OF the lie
Yet, impsriea as Scott was. the Though
Of sbsbdetlng bic post rsver entered hi
brsin. No mater lal lords haid him there
He hsd but TO drop the nosf'e &nd siel
aside three or four paess would carry hin
safely beyond the resch o' the searir,
stream. Ia that lhisk tsrkrsss no or'
would be the wissr for Il. Bat the inyisi
Bile lie Of faltLfalness TO the daty entrusted
to him shsIred hlm to the spu, with band
stronger than steel.
To desert bis post now would mean e
sllow the fire TO gsin hesassy bereaih hil
eolrsdes, as they lsbond to ssve ih,
scores Of fsln,ipg women above. The only
exit was by the stairs. The IRE thr atentd
them. He held the nrs 10 check. II b
blepched, human lives would pay for Il
Although bis ruddy fsoe grew pale, be did
not move
Surely By this 'lma ~, elory must b.
almost ,mytird u igs 6fE,rs The sound
Of feet upon the stairs came less frequent.
Is. Jepiias might sppesr At suy minute
to order him elseshtre Scott hoped with
with sll hIa heart u at biz chief wcu'd come
a. itkly.
Scattered drps, hard nii & toto shot pei
lets ss they Eel, pa,tered dowD iourd the
4 eman. 0ecssonsllg ote struck bis bel.
met or shouldr Thrte or four blTned
through the ht Sc. al d Il rec little geysers
burst through i's closely woven tex ure.
A circle OF Sow about six feet IA diameter
was sbowered by the dropping lead. Scott
could not see the roof from which Il start
ed. He did not dare to look up, fearing
lest he might b, struck In the face
The stream vetrd Without warning
a eush OF seelbic liquid fell on his h,l net.
The polisted leather bat turned 1t aside,
ard In second it lsv or his right shoulder
Before he could shake 1t 6fl 1t had caught
fast hold ard sunk through his clothing to
his skin, burning him fiightfully.
The Yorkshlreman writhed 10 agony.
Both hard were bruised with the nozzle,
and he could mske no motion toward brush.
Ing the lead away. He shook himself and
his shoulders, but he did not lift
bis hat ds from the cold steel pipe. Oh,
that some one might come and relieve him !
But not an inch dii be retreat. Ga three
sides the high, solid brick wall rose blank.
", hemming him In on the fourth stood
the invisible wall Of duty, higher and firm.
sr than that Of material brick.
The cascade dwindled to mere trickliDg
thread Then q Il nal deluge OF white-hot
irops burst over the head of the new re-
cruit, raining down like fiery hailstones,
eating through his clothes and burning him
,ruelly In dczen places. The limit Of his
endurance was almost reached. Sex with
pain, he reeled, about to fall. For the last
lime the thought Of his duty brought him
,sck to consciousness.
As be stood there, fsint staggering, suf-
'ering overwhelmingly from his barns, but
'till dire ctirg tie nozzle into the broken
window, shout reached bis care, and
black figure burst through the smoke. 1t
was jenkins.
It's all right, Scott cried he They're
III out
The strength Of nerve and muscle that
lad Carried the hoseman through his trial
when no longer needed. and be
10 dead faint, lie came to just
q time to hear jenkins telling the story Of
lis vigil to an interested group. The last
sentence Of his captain was the one that
pleased Scott most:
Well kept him on ,he force. II we have
o make an extra place for him.