Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-02-16
By BOOTH TARKINCTOr
COPYRIGHT. 1902, by $. $. Mcclure Co.
rest of us these three years"
tlernan From Indiana" and g

- NS@(
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
fire, 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 fiat delta and had made the wind
ing journey up the great river a 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 its 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 we'll
IS 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 not unpleas-
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 Carews's possessions which
were burning so handsomely. Nor was
he the only one among the Aremen who
| ground his teeth over the folly Of the
uniforms, for now they could plainly
see the ruin being wrought, the dew
astation threatened. The two upper
stories Of the southernmost warehouse
had swathed themselves in one great
fame, the building next on 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 bril-
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 a
section Of the roof of the burning ware
house fell in with sonorous and reyer-
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 its 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
1t 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 exaspsrated chief, who
informed them that the only way to
save the wheat was to save the build
ing. Crailey Gray, one Of the berated
axmen, remained by the shattered door
after the others had gone and, struck
by sudden thought, set his hand up
on the iron latch and opened the door
by this simple process. It was not
locked. Crailey leaned against the
easement and laughed with his whole
soul and body.
Meanwhile, by dint Of shouting in
mems ears when near them, through
the trumnat when distant famine, VOC,