Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-12

| button below the gong.
The three horses burst from their stalls
| with hoofs thudding on the planks. Before
| they had reached their places Waters and
| the firemen from the sitting room had "hit
| the floor" By the time PIN and Gallagher
| had backed the horses into position the
| driver. In his seat. had released the harness
| with a jerk on the rens. Capt. Meaghan
| cried from the sidewalk. "An rfght!'-the
| horses strained against their collars-and
PIN caught the step of the truck as the
| wheels scraped past his toes.
! When he got his helmet on his head he
| glanced at Waters. who was on the other
| side of the truck. and saw him excitediy
fighting his way into his turnout coat. PIN
| smiled. I've put a bat in his belfry,' he
| thought.
When they drew near the fire he recog-
| niZed the burning building one of the few
| tenements left in that district between the
| water front street of sailors boarding
| houses and the warehouses that had crowd
ed them out. He also that the alarm
had come In late, for the smoke was now
| pouring out of all the windows of the third
| floor, md the occupants of the upper stories
| were throwing pans, bedding and furniture
| into the street. A crowd had gathered at a
safe distance to laugh and enjoy the excite
| ment. Lieut.. Gallagher turned to PIN
| Send in an alarm he ordered. and PIN
| dropped from the step at street corner to
| run for a fire box a block away.
| He doubled back on a steady lope with
| policeman numbering along behind him. The
| arrival of the company had drawn crowd
| that blocked the street He shouldersd his
| way through them, caught up an ak from
| the truck and darted into the doorway of
| the burning house. He met the crew pour
| ing down from the upper landing. Whole
! floors afire. the first man told him.
| He turned back with them. The police
| had cleared the sidewalk. The rain of bed
ding from above had ceased. The women
| who had been throwing 1t out had found
| that the fire had cut them off from the
| stairs, and they leaned out of the windows
fenn
| fat Italian matron had straddled the sill;
| she kicked at the wall with a shoeless foot
as If she were going to jump. Capt. Mea-
CHAN roared at her: D you! You jump
f, down here an I'll have yuh put in the lock-
| upi' She CAPPED silenced. He cried to the
| squad of men with whom Waters was stand
/ ing: Get up there with yer ladders" He
| called to his lieutenant: Gallagher. open
| up the roof Take ropes with yuh.'
Gallagher snapped his fingers at PIN, Parr
and two of the other men They buckled
| on their life belts, picked out a coil of line
and light ladder, took axes hooks and
crowbars. and disappeared in the door of
the adjoining house just as Waters caught
the hook of his scaling ladder the sill of
the first-story window and went up the pole
of II nfmbly.
Capt. Meaghan said, Steady there"
Waters straddled the sill of the first win
dow, with his left leg in the room. turned
the hook of the ladder out from him, raised
the forty-pounder with a sure arm-his
hands far apart, his left hand uppermost to
steady the weight-and put the hook in the
second-story window with the precision of
timed drill The hook of the ladder below
him touched his toes he stood up.
Good enough" Capt. Meaghan said.
Good enough. Steady, therer'
Waters had the top of mis- ladder in the
smoke of the third-story window before the
man who was following him had fairly grip
ped his sill with his knees. Shake yerself,
there. Meaghan called to the latter. Don't
let yer leader get away from yuh like that
Who is that first mani he asked
the remainder of the squad.
Waters" they said.
Waters was sitting in the belch from the
| third-story window. He called down some
thing unintellisible- GO up, go up" Mea-
CHAN ordered.
Waters went up. The head of his ladder
rose steadily along the red brick wall until
the fat Italian woman caught 1t at arms
length. She shook 1t and yelled. Mea CHAN
beloved: Hi, you! Drop that" She at
tempted to put her foot on 1T, and In doing
SO she released her hold. Waters wrenched
the ladder free, jabbed 1t up with both
hands and struck her with the hook with
such force that she fell back into the room
Before she could get righted he was in the
window. She attempted to throw her arms
about him: he held her back with a hand al
her throat; and she fought like a drowning
woman.
Capt. Meaghan, stamping in the gutter
bawled: Good enough! Good enough! Get
her down, now, boys. All up there! All
up!'
The chain of ladders was completed from
the ground to Waters, and the men clam
bered up TO their stations. Waters caught
the frantic woman about the waist and
despite the strangle hold she took of his
neck, despite her screams and her kickings
and despite her 200 pounds he got her down
to the man below him with the loss ONLY of
his helmet, which she knocked off when he
closed with her. She was passed down from
man to man. struggling and more
q @aI &C.
voluminous and fluttering skirts She col
lapsed, breat hless, on the sidewalk Waters
went back for the next woman, who came
quietly.
The smoke was thckenlng from the third
story window, so that the man below
waters had to go down beneath 1t and take
his station there. AS the last woman was
passed down her dress caught fire In a squirt
OF flame and the firemen beat il out with
their hands. Waters went back TO the
fourth-story window. He climbed in
through II.
fire engine came blowing shrilly down
the street, with its tender turning the cor
ner behind 1t. They were slow enough"
Capt. Meaghan growled.
He was watching the edge of the roof for
Gallagher. Get yer thirty-fiVe-f foot ladders
up he ordered his squad. and they began
to get out the heavy ladders TO carry the
lines of hose.
He watched the roof for GaIlegher's
squad. He heard the blows of axes on A
scuttle and the crash of glass in a skylight
Then PIN appeared on the cornice with a
line In his hand and looked down at the
flame below him. A puff of smoke burst
from the fourth-story window through
which Waters had entered Capt. Meaghan
waved to PIN to get his line over the cor
nice. There's man in there" he shouted
"Waters!'
PIN ran back to tie his rope
Gallagher and the others of the squad
who had been making smoke vents in the
roof, had found that the fire was fierce in
the rear OF the building. where both the
third and fourth stories were abaZe When
they got the scuttie off the smoke rose in a
great "whoof" 1t was impossible TO de-
scend into It. They turned at PINS shout
from the cornice and ran to help him loop
the life line to chimney.
Waters g down there" he said He's
cut off. Wen have to haul him up Darn
fool!'
! He took several turns OF the rope around
! the shaft of the snak hoop on his life belt
| dropped over the cornice with the slack of
| the rope drawn over his thigh and slid down
| deftly TO the window. II put a bat In his
| belfry. all right, all right he was mutter-
| Ing. He lifted Waters scaling ladder from
| the sill and raised it TO catch on the cornice
| Then, having released himself from the
II