The Red Cloud chief., 1906-03-09
(CONTiNuED.)

justification of Miss Betty in, running
to \ fire. and as she followed the crowd
into Main street she felt u not unpleas-
ant proprietary interest I'm the spec
taclc. Very opposite sensations ami
mated the breast Of the man with the
trumpet, who was more acutcly con-
scious than any other that these were
Robert Carewe's possessions which
were burning 50 handsomely. Nor was
he the only one among the tiremen who
ground his teeth over the folly Of the
uniforms, for now they could plainly
see the ruin being wrought, the dev.
astu,ion threatened. The two upper
stories of the so%uthernmost warehouse
had swathed themselves IN II great
flame, the building next OH the north,
also of frame. was smoking heavily.
and there was q 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.
2 They came down Main street with a
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 a diver into
the water, swirls and eddles Of people
marking the wake. A moment later a
section Of the roof Of the burning ware
house fell in with u 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 a 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 u line and were throwing large
pals of water In the general direction
of the southernmost warehouse, which
1t was nov impossible to save, while
Tho rantIan,nn IF tho hnnk 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 tC
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, strucl
by Il sudden thought, set his hand up
on the iron latch and opened the door
by this simple process. 1t was moi
locked. Crailey leaned against the
easement and laughed with his whole
soul and body.
Meanwhile, by dlnt of shouting in
illtl - tdlO Wuth htul tiltIil, thlOubI
the trumpet when distant. tearing axes
from their hands, imperiously gesticu
lating to subordinate commanders ant
lingering in no one spot for more thar
Il second. Mr.. Vanrevel reduced his
forces to a semblance Of order in a re
markably short time, considering thu
confusion into which they had fallen.
Tho cnann hot yaan tho lnpnip1 xya ra
house and that next it was not more
than fifty feet In width. but fifty fee
SO hot no one took thought Of entering
there. an area as discOmfting In ap
pearance as 1t was beautiful with thu
thick rain OF sparks and firebrands
that fell upon 1t. But the chief hat
decided that this space must be occu
pied and. more, must be held, since 1
was the only point Of defense for thu
second warehouse. The roof of thi'
building would burn, which would
mean the destruction of the warehouse
unless 1t could be mounted, becaus,
the streams Of water could not pla!
upon 1t from the ground nor from tn,
ladders do much more han wet tn,
projecting 1t was a gable roof
the caves twenty feet lower on tn,
south side than on the north, where tn
ladders could not hope to reach. Van
revel swung his line of bucketeer
round to throw water not upon tn
flames, but upon the ladder men.
Miss Carewe stood In the crowd upoI
the opposite side of the broad street
Even there her cheeks were uncom
fortably hot, and sometimes she had t