Middletown transcript., 1905-11-18


which he was gazing mp at one Of the
houses in the row. l was walking along
Massachusetts, Avenue, in Washington,
one morning in the early Summer, When
I came upon him standing BY tree near
the curb.
I naturally followed the direction OF
his gaze, but could see nothing unusual
about the house. II was one OF the many
handsome residences OH that fashionable
thor ,ughfare, standing back from the
sidewalk and fronted with an open lawn.
saw that the blinds were all tightly
closed, indicating that it had been va
Gated for the Summer, like most oil It's
neighbors. There was surely nothing
strange about this, and evidently must
have shown that | was puzzled to know
what was attracting the mans attention,
for as was about to pass on he said:
ssDo you see that house there-nunber
1922
"Yes,' | answered, with that inquir-
ing infection that invites further lnfor-
nation.
"WelI, sir, if you have little time to
spare you will see that house catch fire III
the next two or three minutes" /"
"How do you know that y ! asked,
taking up my stand by the tree and look
ing at the house with renewed interest.
"By past experience" lie answered,
again leyeling his gaze upon tile maifsard
roof OF the building.
''Do you mean to say that it catches
fire at regular intervals :"
.eYes, sir. Regularly once a year, on
this particular day, between the hours of
ten-thirty and eleven A. NJ"
sIs that so? What's the cause OF it =
sThat's what am trying to find out. ;"
ssIs there ANYBODY in the house r.
Hasn't been soul inside the door for
month"
"Then you mean to say the house
catches fire Of itself?''
"That's apparently what it does"
"But why don't you turn in an alarm,
il you know that fire is going to break
out. and have the firemen on hand to
prevent it and discover the cause Of III?
The man smiled serenely. Il have
learned not to meddle in other peoples
affairs. It's not my house and it's moth
ing to me il it catches fire or burns down.
Two years ago l called the attention OF
the police to the regularity Of the fire IN
this house and they told me it was only
a coincidence, and intimated that | mind
my own business, and the man chuckled
softly to himself.
'tStrange it hasn't burned down" re-
marked. continuing to stare at the house
with increasing curiosity and expectancy
"No; each year the tiremen have ar
rived in time to put out the blaze before
it has done any damage, thanks to the
fact that | always turn in an alarm as
soon as the smoke appears. All, there 1t
is now r. he exclaimed suddenly, and the
next instant he was hurrying across the
street to the fire-alarm box on the corner.
1t was a moment before | could see the
smoke. Then caught sight Of small
cloud Of it issuing from the cracks OF one
Of the attic windows on the side of the
house. l instinctively shouted Fire T.
for have a habit Of giving way to my
emotions, and as consequence I was
surrounded in less than minute by a
swarm Of breathless men and boys, who
insisted that point out the fire and en-
tighten them on various matters connected
with it, under the assumption that was
in charge Of the affairs.
Having performed his mission Of turn
ing in the alarm my companion rejoined
me and smilingly awaited the arrival OF
the fremen. They appeared in short
order and so promptly did they do their
work that hand extinguisher was all
that was necessary to put out the fire.
A policeman on the beat, supplied with
key to the house, had appeared OH the
scene moment or two after the alarm
was raised and had opened side door,
by which the fremen entered. Impelled
by an eager curiosity to investigate the
cause OF the confagration attempted to
enter also, but was summarily repulsed
BY the command OF policeman to "get
out !"
"All right" answered. II am sim
ply looking for information. Perhaps
you can tell me the cause OF the fire."
II don't know notlin' about it, was
the surly response.
'sBut isn't it rather strange" pur-
sued, that an empty house should catch
fire? ?"
''Taint the first one seen. There's
plenty Of 'em does it,"
With this as my only satisfaction !
withdrew; but with determination
nevertheless to probe the matter to the
bottom in one way or another, and dis
cover, if possible, the meaning Of this
evident mystery.
began by consulting the records Of
the fire department and was not little
surprised to find that, with only two ex-
ceptions, an alarm had been turned in
for house No. 1852 Massachusetts Avenue
on the same day each year, and at about
the same hour, for the past eight or nine
years. This was certainly remarkable,
and corroborated what my !curbetone
acquaintance had told me for / am free
to confess that | did not altogether be
lieye him wien he confided this strange
fact to me.
I discovered also that on each occasion
of the fire the house was unoccupied, the
owner being out Of the city and that moi
only was the building securely fastened
but was also connected by an electric
burglar alarm system with police head
quarters, SO that had anyone entered the
premises the fact would at once have
been known. Il was evident that moth
ing of this sort had occurred, for ths
records Of the department contained aftel
each entry Of the fire in this house tht
Observation-Disclosures nf (; 70 r,nkuaun