The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-04-24
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By ALBERT w. T0LMAE.

From a furnace glowing in dusky
corner grimy Swede, with long
handled tongs, continually plucked
forth red-hot rivets. These he firted
In fiery twenty-foot parabolas TO a
comrade. who deftly caught them in
scoop, whence they were removed
by the rivet tender and inserted, all
glowing, in their respective holes, to
be driven into place and shape.
1t was the scoop-man who told me
this story that night in his home, after
his days work was over.
'In July, 1885, said he. 81 was
working on a steel-framed sky-scraper
In one of our large coast cities. We
had reached the eighth story and as
the floors were somewhat more than
ten feet apart, the top beams were well
up in the air.
zone afternoon | was inside an ele-
vator we'll between the seventh and
eighth stories, fastening the guide to
the sheet-steel wall. One of the 9TH
or sides was also covered with steel,
but the other two were open. Charley
Hoff, Dutch Charley we called him,
was driving rivets outside the wall,
while held the dolly to head up the
inner ends
"This particular dolly was round
steel bar three feet long, weighing
about fifty pounds. From its top ran
chain ending in hook, which had
caught over the top of the wall few
feet above, so that the bar hung sus-
pended against the guide, and all
had to do was to hold it against the
rlvet ends as they came through.
"At half past eleven we reached
get of holes six feet above the seventh
floor. To get 5t these was obliged
to sit upon a board supported by two
tall wooden horses, standing on planks
laid across the shaft and forming a
loose scaffoldlng. Through its open
fngs | could look down clear to the
basement, more than seventy feet be-
low. Behind me, on the opposite side
of the shaft, were lashed short perpen-
dicular ladders, up and down which
the men we're constantly passing, for
the elevator we'll was the main thor
oughfare of the huge steel skeleton.
81 found that the holes would have
to be reamed out before they would
receive the rivets, so l teld Dutch he
needn't drive any more till after din
ner. Meanwhile I went to work with
my reamer, and by twelve had nearly
finished.
moon struck. In less than min
ute the ladders were covered with men
climbing down. There were lot of
'twelve-o'clock' fellows on the job, who
would rather leave a bolt half-driven
than work second overtime. A gang
right over me had just put heavy
steel header in place on the elge of
steel header in place on the edge of
driven into one end, but the ether
was as yet unfastened. 1t would have
taken only a few minutes at the most
10 make everything secure; but at the
first stroke of the hour they dropped
their tools and hurried to dinner.
81 paid no especial attention to
them. for I was putting the finishing
burns on the last hole. BY the time
Il was done there was not another
man left on the building. | had been
sitting in the middle Of the board, fac
Ing the wall about eighteen inches off.
Now I laid down my reamer, and
started to hitch myself along toward
one of the horses, so that I might
descend.
"A sudden strong hot wind swept
through the frame, making the loose
planks rattle. Something grated above
my head. / looked up and for a mo-
ment my blood stopped running. The
rust had struck the nicely balanced
eader with just enough force to make
It totter Slowly its loose and swung
downward; then it lurched quickly,
and slid into the well!
"As 1t dropped it just cleared my
head. 1t sheared through the middle
pf the scaffolding as If the thick
planks were rotten paper Down it
shot gaining momentum with every
foot, its lower end raking the oppo-
site wall clean Of ladders.
Smash. Bang! Grind! All was
over In few seconds. Dust rose. And
when the turmoil had subsided there
was I, sitting on my board with sew
enty-lve feet OF empty air between me
Ind the debris at the bottom of the
well.
For brief space sat motionless,
gripping the wood with my fingers, too
dazed for thought. Then l looked
cautiously over into the abyss. Far
below could see tumble of splintered
timbers, like heap of broken jack
straws. with the header sticking
straight up out Of their center.
II shuddered as l thought of what
would now be lying under that mass
had the catastrophe occurred five min
utes before. when the ladders were fill