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

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flames, but upon the ladder men.
Miss Carewe stood In the crowd upon
the opposite side Of the broad street
Even there her cheeks were uncom-
fortably hot, and sometimes she had to
brush spark from her shoulder,
though she was too much excited to
mind this. She was watching the beau
tiful fiery furnace between the north
wall Of the burning warehouse and the
south wall Of its neighbor, the fifty feet
brilliant and misty with vapOrous rose
color, dotted with the myriad red stars,
her eyes shining with the reflection Of
their fierce beauty. She saw how the
vapors moved there, like men walking
In fire, and she was vaguely recalling
Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego,
when over the silhouetted heads Of the
crowd before her a long black ladder
rose, wabbled, tilted crafty, then lame
ly advanced and ranged itself against
the south wall of the second ware
house, its top rung striking ten feet
| short Of the saves. She hoped that no
one had any notion Of mounting that
ladder.
A figure appeared upon 1t immediate
ly, that Of gentleman, bareheaded
and in evening dress, with brass
trumpet swinging from cord about
his shoulders. The noise grew less, the
shouting died away, and the crowd be-
came almost silent as the figure, climb
ing slowly, drew up above their heads.
Two or three rungs beneath came
second, man in helmet and uniform.
The clothes of both men, drenchcd by
the buckcteers, chung to them, steam
ing AS the second figure mounted
third appeared, but this was the last,
for the ladder was frail and sagged to-
ward the smoking wall with the weight
Of the three.
The chief. three-fOurths Of the way to
the top. shouted down Il stihed com.
mand, and Il short graphing ladder,
fitted at one end with pair Of spiked
iron hooks, was passed to him. Then he
toiled upward until his feet rested on
the third rung from the top. Here he
turned, setting his back to the wall,
lifted the graphing ladder high over
his head so that 1t rested against the
caves above him and brought it down
sharply. fastening the s.,il:ed hooks in
the roof AS the caves projected fully
three feet, this left the graphing lad
der hanging that distance out from the
wall, its lowest rung little above the
level of the chiefs shoulders.
Miss Betty drew in her breath with
little choied cry. There was small
terraced mill Of piled up packing boxes
near her, possession of which had been
taken by company of raggamufiinish
boys, and she found herself standing on
the highest box and sharing the sum-
nit with these questionable youths, al
most without noting her action in
mounting th;ther, so strained was the
concentration Of her attention upon the
figure high up in the rose glow against
the warehouse wall. The man, surely,
surely, was not going to trust himself
to that bit Of wooden web hanging
from the roof! Where was Miss Ba-
reaud that she permitted 1t? All. II
Betty had been Fanchon. and mad wo-
man enough to have accepted this mad
man, she would have compelled him to
come down mt once. and thereafter
would lock him up in the house when
ever the bells rang!
But the roof was to be mounted or
Robert Carewe's property lost. Al
ready little flames Wee dancing mp
from the shingles. where tircbrands
had fallen. their number increasing
with each second. So Nanrcvel raised
his arms. took hard grip upon the
lowest rung Of the graphing ladder
and tried It with his weight. The iron
hooks bit deeper into the roof; they
held. He swung himself out into the
air, with nothing beneath lin. cai:ght
the rung under his knee. and for mo-
ment hung there, while the crowd with
held from breathing. Taen cloud OF
smoke swirling that way made him the
mere ghostly nucleus Of Itself. blottcd
him out altogether. and. rs 1t rose SOW
ly upward. showed the ladder free and
empty, so that Mt first there was III in
slant when they thought that lie had
fallen. but. as the smoke cleared. there
was the tall figure Oh the roof
1t was an agile and daring thing TO
do. and the man who did 1t WAS might
ily applaudcd. The cheering bothered
him. however. for he was trying TO
make them understand below what
would happen to the engine company
In case the water was no. sc"t through
the lines directly. ana what lie said
should be done to the engineers inciud'
ed things that would have blanc.eu the
cheek of tie most Inventive Spanish in
uuisitor th't ever live:!.
MISS Betty mace Il sof'tue as II ~
q person within whispering distance.
"Your coat is on fire." she said In an
ordinary conversational tone without
knowing she had spoken aloud. and
Mr.. Vanrevel. more than a hundred
feet away, seemed particularly con-
sciOus Of the pertinence Of her remark.
He removed the garment with alacrlty,
and for the lack of the tardy water
began to use it as fail upon the fire.
brands and little flames about him,
the sheer desperate best Of man In
rage doing what he could when others
failed him. Showers Of sparks fell
upon him. The smoke was rising ev-