Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-02-20
CHAPTER vi.

|dSMa6I possessed of petty sense of
S13d1 cause and effect, brought an
illuminative simplicity to bear upon
the problem Of the force pump, and a
multitudinous agitation greeted his dis
covery that the engineers had forgot
ten to connect their pipes with the
river.
This naive omission was fatal to the
second warehouse. The wall burst into
fame below Crailey Gray, who chung
to the top of the ladder, choking, stified
and dizzily fighting the sparks that COW
cred him, yet still clutching the nozzle
of the hose line they had passed to him.
When the stream at last leaped forth,
making the nozzle fight in his grasp, he
sent 1t straight up into the air and
let the cataract fall back upon himself
and upon the two men beneath him on
the ladder.
There came moment of blessed re-
lief, and he looked out over the broad
rosy blur of faces in the street, where
no one wondered more than he how the
water was to reach the roof. Suddenly
he started, wiped his eyes with his wet
sleeve and peered intently down from
under the shading arm. His rowing
glance crossed the smoke and fame to
rest upon a tall, white figure that stood
full length above the heads Of the peo-
pie upon a pedestal wrought with the
grotesque Images of boys; girls fig
ure, still as noon, enrapt, like the statue
of some young goddess for whom were
made these sacrif1cial pyres. Mr.. Gray
recognized his opportunity.
A blackened and unacceptable face
peered down from the caves, and the
voice belonging to 1t said angrily:
why didn't they send up that line
before they put the water through it?"
Never mind, Tom," answered Graf
ley cheerfully, "I'll bring it up"
you can't. I'll come down for 1t.
Don't be every kind of a fool!'
You want monopoly, do your"
And Crailey, calling to Tapplngham
Marsh, next below him, to come high
er, left the writhing nozzle in the lat
ter's possession, swung himself out up
on the graphing ladder, initiating the
chiefs gymnastics, and Immediately,
one hand grasping the second rung, one
knee crooked over the lowest, leaned
head down and took the nozzle from
Marsh. 1t was a heavy weight, and,
though Marsh supported the line be-
meath it, the great stream hurting
forth made it difficult thing to man
age. for it wriggled, recoiled and strug-
gled MS If it had been alive. Crailey
made three attempts to draw himself
UP, but the strain was too much for his
grip, and on the third attempt his I'm
gers melted from the rung, and he
swung down fearfully, hanging by his
knee, but still clinging to the nozzle.
Give it up, Crailey. It isn't worth
It," Vanrevel called from overhead, not
daring the weight of both on the light
graphing ladder.
But though Crailey cared no more for
the saving Of Robert Carewe's property
than for butterfy's wing In China, he
could not give up now, any more than
as lad he could have forborne to turn
somersaults when the prettiest little
girl looked out Of the schoolhouse win
dow. He passed the nozzle to Tapping
ham, caught the second rung with his
left hand, and, once more dangling
head downward, seized the nozzle;
then, with his knee hooked tight, as the
gushing water described a huge semi
circle upon the smoke and hot vapor,
he made mad lurch through the air,
while women shrieked, but he landed
upright, half sitting on the lowest rung.
He climbed the graphing ladder swift
~, in spite of the weight and contor-
tions of the unmanageable beast he car
ried with him. Tom leaned far down
and took 1t from him, and Crailey, pass
Ing the caves, fell exhausted upon the.
roof. Just as he reached this tempo
rary security lady was borne, faint
ing, out Of the acclaiming crowd. Fan
chon was there.
Word had been passed to the gentle
men Of the engine company to shut OF
the water in order to allow the line to
be carried up the ladder, and they re-
ceived the command at the moment
Tom lifted the nozzle, SO that the
stream dried up in his hands. This
was the last straw, and the blackened,
singed and SCARED chief, setting the
trumpet to his lips, gave himself en-
tirely to wrath.
It struck Crailey, even as he lay
coughing and weeping with smoke, that
there was something splendid and large
in the others rage. vanrevel was or
dinarily 80 steady and cool that this
was worth seeing, this berserker ges-
ture; worth bearing, this wonderful
profanity, like Washington's one at OF
cursing, and Crailey, knowing Tom,
knew, too, that 1t had not come upon
him because Carewe had daughter
into whose eyes Tom had looked; nor
did he rage because he believed that
Craileys life and his were in the great
er hazard for the lack of every drop of
water that should have issued from the
empty nozzle.
Their lungs were burdened with
smoke, while the intolerable smarting
Of throat, eyes and nostrils was like
the incision Of thousand needles In
the membranes, Their clothes were
luminous with glowing circles where
the sparks were eating. The blaze
widened on the wall beneath them,
and Marsh was shouting hoarsely that
he could no longer hold his position on
the ladder, yet Crailey knew that none
OF this was in Toms mind as he stood,
scorched, blistered and haggard, on the
edge Of the roof, shaking his ast at the
would IT was hacnuea his hhapoa of