Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-03-06

"Hail vanrevel!' painted Tapping
ham Marsh to Eugene Madrillon Us the
two, running in the van Of the hose
company" splattered through q mud
puddle. You'd think he was Carewe's
only son and heir instead Of his worst
enemy. Hark to the manv'
I'D let it burn IL I were he," return
ed the other.
1T was all Crailey's fault" said Tap
bingham, swinging an arm free to
wipe the spattered mud from his face.
"He swore he wouldn't bulge without
his uniform, and the rest only backed
him up, that was all. Crailey said
Carewe could better afford to lose his
shanties than the overworked depart
ment Its first chance to look beautiful
and earnest. Tom asked him why he
didn't send for fiddle" Marsh fin
ished, with a chuckle.
"Carewe might afford to lose little,
even warehouse or two, II only out Of
what he's taken from Crailey and the
rest of us these three years."
"Taken from Vanrevel, you mean.
Who doesn't know where Crailey's-
Here's Main street. Look out for the
turn"
They swung out Of the thick shadows
of Carewe street into full view Of the
f1re, and their faces were Illuminated
as by sunrise.
The warehouses stood on the river
bank, at the foot Of the street, just
south of the new covered bridge"
There were four Of them, huge, bare
sided buildings, the two nearer the
bridge of brick, the others of wood and
all of them rich with stores Of every
kind of river merchandise and costly
freight-furniture that had voyaged
from New England down the long
coast. across the Mexican gulf, through
the fat delta and had made the wind
ing journey up the great river q thou
sand miles and almost thousand
more, following the greater and lesser
tributaries; cloth from Connecticut that
had been sold in Philadelphia, then
carried over mountains and through
forests by steam. by canal, by stage
and six mule freight wagons to Pitts
burg, down the Ohio and thence up to
Rouen on the packet; Tennessee cotton,
on it's way to Massachusetts and Rhode
Island spindles, lay there beside huge
mounds of raw wool from Illinois,
ready to be fed to the Rouen mill;
dates and nuts from the Caribbean sea,
lemons from groves Of the faraway
tropics, cigars from the Antilles, to-
bacco from Virginia and Kentucky;
most precious of all, the great granary
Of the farmers wheat from the level
fields at home; and all the rich stores
and the houses that held them, as well
as the wharfs upon which they had
been landed and the steamers that
brought them up the Rouen river. be-
longed to Robert Carewe.
That 1t was her fathers property
which was imperiled attested to the
justification of Miss Betty In running
to fire. and as she followed the crowd
Into Main street she felt a not unp!eas-
ant proprietary interest in the spec.
tacle. Very opposite sensations AMI
mated the breast of the man with the
trumpet. who was more acutely con-
scious than any other that. these were
Robert Carewe's possessions which
were burning so handsomely. Nor was
he the only one among the firemen who
ground his teeth over the folly Of the
informs, for now they could plainly
see the ruin being wrought, the dev.
astatiOn threatened. The two upper
stories Of the sOuthernmOst warehouse
had swathed themselves in one great
fame, the building next OIL the north,
also of frame, was smoking heavily,
and there was wind from the south
west which, continuing with the fire
unchecked, threatened the town itself.
There was work for the volunteer brl.
gade that night.
They came down Main street with q
rush, the figure of their chief swaying
over them on his high perch, while
their shouting was drowned In the
louder roar of greeting from the crowd
Into which they plunged as diver into
the water swirls and eddies Of people
marking the wake. A moment later q
section of the roof Of the burning ware
house fell in with sonorous and rever.
berating crash.
The engine company ran the force
pump out to the end of one Of the low
er wharfs, two lines of pipe were at
tached, two rows Of men mounted the
planks for the bumpers and at the word
Of command began the up and down of
the hand machine with admirable vim.
Nothing happened; the water did not
come; something appeared to be wrong
with the mechanism. AS every one felt
the crucial need of haste, nothing could
have been more natural than that all
the members of the engine company
should simultaneously endeavor to re-
pair the defect. Therefore ensued up.
on the spot species of riot which put
the engine out Of it's sphere Of useful
ness.
In the meantime fifty or sixty men
and boys who ran with the machines.
but who had no place in their opera
ton, being the bucket brigade, had
formed line and were throwing large
pals Of water in the general direction
Of the southernmost warehouse. which
it was now impossible to save. While
the gentlemen Of the hook and ladder
company, abandoning their wagons
and armed with axes, heroically as
saulted the big door of the granary,
the second building, whence they were
driven by the eXasperated chief. who
informed them that the only way to