The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-02-15


easement and laughed with his whole
soul and body.
Meanwhile, by dint Of shouting in
mems ears when near them, through
the trumpet when distant, tearing axes
from their hands, imperiously gesticu-
latlnS to subordinate commanders and
lingering in no one spot for more than
a second, Mr. Vanrevel reduced his
FORCES to semblance of order in a re-
markably short time, considering the
confusion into which they had fallen.
The space between the burning ware
house and that next it was not more
than fifty feet in width, but fifty feet
SO hot no one took thought of entering
there, an area as discomfiting in ap-
pearance as it was beautiful with the
thick rain Of sparks and irebrands
that fell upon it. But the chief had
decided that this space must be occu-
pied and more, must be held, since it
was the only point of defense for the
second warehouse. The roof Of this
building would burn, which would
mean the destruction of the warehouse,
unless it could be mounted, because
the streams Of water could not play
upon 1t from the ground nor from the
ladders do much more than wet the
projecting caves. 1t was a gable roof.
the caves twenty feet lower on the
south side than on the north, where the
ladders could not hope to reach. Van
revel swung his line Of bucketeers
round to throw water not upon the
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-
tortab]y 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
tlful fiery furnace between the north
wall OF the burning warehouse and the
south wall of it's 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 lire. and she was vaguely recalling
Shadrach. Meshach and Abed-nego,
when over the silhouetted heads Of the
crowd before her u long black ladder
rose. Wabbled. tilted crafty, then lame
~ advanced and ranged itself against
the south wall Of the second ware
house, its top runs striking ten feet
short of the caves. She hoped that no
one had any notion of mounting that
ladder.
a figure appeared upon it Immediate
~, that Of a gentleman, bareheaded
and i'll evening dress, with brass
trumpet swinging from a 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 a
second, man in helmet and uniform.
The clothes of both men, drenched by
the bucketeers, chung to them, steam
ing. AS the second figure mounted a
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 a stifed 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 rang from the top. Here he
f11r.,nI Sof+ II l,oa 10
lifted the graphing ladder high over
his head SO that it rested against the
caves above him and brought it down
sharply, fastening the spiked 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 rurg little above the
level of the chiefs shoulders.
Miss Betty drew in her breath with
little choked cry. There was a small
terraced hill of piled up packing boxes
near her. possession Of which had been
taken by company of raggamuffinish
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 thither, 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 it? All, if
Betty had been Fanchon, and mad wo-
man enough to have accepted this mad
man, she would have compelled him to
come down at 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 We're dancing up
from the shingles, where frebrands
had fallen. their number increasing
with each second. So Vanrevel raised
his arms, took hard grip upon the
lowest rung of the graphing ladder
ArsS