The Roswell daily record. [volume] (Roswell, N.M.) 1903-current, 1907-10-29

ant NO use Dr1ng1n more lines up
herer' he shouted "Windows IL be
breakin'. There amt a shutter on the
whole blamed buildin'. Fireproof?
She's matchwoodi Back down to the
twelfth floor! Get lines stretched to
the air shaft therel''
The men went back with their hose.
De the best you can up here be
advised German. Chiefs orders to
wet her down. Look out for the air
shaft"
German caught the first of these in
structions, but. the wind carried away
that last warning of danger, and the
captain turned and left the two men
unconscious of the catastrophe which
was preparing for them.
The air shaft, in fact, was acting as
a sheltered flue for the flames. 1t cut
a deep groove into the wall of the
mansard building at Germans left,
and the wind, rushing into it, rose
straight aloft, blowing up sparks like
the draft of a blast urnace. German,
watching only the wall and the win
dows below him, pitied the crews at
work in the street. He was wishing
for a quid of chewing tobacco, and he
remembered with evaporation that
Hanrahan would have none. That was
one of Hanrahan's social limitations
he did not chew. He had been nick
named Delicate Pete by his fellow
p~robationers at fire headquarters, and
German, who was known as Bull Cor
man, being the big man of his class,
had deSpised him from the day hat
the instructor, having pitted them
against each other in a race with seal
ing ladders, had her publicly com
pared German to a baby hippopotamus
in point of nimbleness because Han
rahan had run away from him.
These two were being broken" to-
gether with all the hard work of the
company, but there was no friendship
between them. They rarely spoke to
each other, for German had found
Hanrahan's conversation all hot air
an free silver" and had q%uarreled with
him about this wearisome enthusiasm
for politics. They continued stolidly
at their work now in the silence of mu-
tual Indifference. The growing strength
of the stream threatened to tear the
nozzle from their hands, and they
raised the hose to their shoulders to
bend it in a swans neck arch thai
SCAl Liz dtCL hLSoAbS II liz ~
They were busted so when they saw
a blush green flame flash in the red
of the fire in the roof below, and a
belch of smoke rolled up to them on
the burst and echo of an explosion.
Before it reached them they heard an
other roar beneath it. The cloud of
smoke was split with flame, and they
leaped back from the parapet as if
from the crater of a volcano and threw
themselves on their faces as the burn
ing gases, freed by the collapse of the
roof, f1aring 0 feet in the air and
licking up the side of the mansard
building, to break every window glass
in its upper ten stories and ignite ev-
cry window curtain, window sash and
trim" in its north wall, rolled Over
them in a heat that nipped their ears
like a froStbite and was o
German pinned down the pipe that
was thrashing about the roof and
staggered back to the parapet with it.
The beat of heat was uncomfortable.
and he could see nothing for the
smoke that blinded him with tears.
did not know that the gale was
carrying a solid tongue of fire into the
hidden air shaft and that every win
dow on that shaft was already spit
ting flames. He could just see that
the woodwork of the window below
him was ,afire, and he called Hanrahan
to train the pipe on it with him.
They doused 1t black at &C. and scat
tered the smoke to see another blaze
below. Then suddenly the stream from
their hose weakened and fell short. It
~InSn chat tho 1r4--- ,,-;nx /
the water on the lower floors.
"We're wanted down below" I
guess" Hanrahan said. We're no
good up here now"
German nodded. They shut off the
nozzle and turned to drag the line to
the door of the stairs.
They were too late. German saw
the blaze in the air shaft and cried out
an oath. That shaft, he knew, lit
stairway from the ground up and
them off from the elevator shaft
in the center of the building. They
dropped the line and ran to the door.
Smoke was pouring from it, and flame
vas behind the smoke. German ran
back for the hose, turned the neck
guard of the helmet over his face and, |
with the water to open the wa for
him. fought down three steps into a
blaze that could not be faced.
Hanrahan pitched forward on his
GormaS braced himself
against the weight, turned to catch
him under the armpits and carried
him up, himself half s~uffocated, to
lay him on the roof. They We're
greeted by the fierce purring of the
flames. Hanrahan groaned.
"Y' all rightE'' German asked him.
He rolled his eyes Lets get down |
of this he gasped.
German Strengthened up and looked
him. The doorway was the
only entrance to the roof. He walked
to kick the useless hose down
the staircase and shut the tin sheath
ed door on the blaze below. He went |
to the stone railing that surrounded
the cornice on the front of the build
ing. The coping overhung the lower
in n sheer drop to the street.
hurried to the south wall. The win
dows there were twelve fee down.
there was no pipe-no foothold.
went to the back of the roof and
found another coring.
He turned to see Hanrahan running
from parapet to parapet. now hidden
in a cloud of whirling smoke, now
i'm the red glow of wind blown