The Topeka state journal., 1908-03-14
THE EVENING STORY
Curley's Rescues.
lBy Henry Rossmore. j

Ben5y, racing down the street.
brought himself up with jerk as a
gong sounded out it's brazen alarm.
Then he hurried toward the building
with the great wide doors In the middle
of the block.
The gong was still sounding and now
could be heard the trample of feet and
hoofs, The Jingle of metal work on the
harness.. the cries Of the men. Then
came the lesser note Of the repeat"
bell and a hoarse cry of "AlI right"
from the captain, followed by the tram
pie of hoofs, sounding hollow upon the
wooden floor as the fire horses returned
to their stalls.
Benjy's face fell Somewhere in the
city horses we're dashing madly over
the pavements in their race to answer
an alarm, but here the great green
doors would remain closed. 1t was
only a practice hitch for Thirteen"
company.
In the summer time practice bitches
were the best fun, for the doors stood
wide open, and he could watch the men
again, and lifted the great straps off
the three big grays. Then, too. the fire.
men lounged in front of the house, and
he could hear them talking about the
fires they had gone to, brave tales OF
valorous fights that lost nothing in the
telling.
Benny trotted down the street again
to his own doorstep, and carefully
backed himself into the vestibule. His
shrill treble rose in imitation of the
clangor of the big gong, and with many
a screech and shout he dashed off in
the direction Of the hydrant on the cor
ner, pretending that he was Thirteen"
company answering an alarm
AS he neared the fire house second
time the gong sounded again, and this
time the number was followed by three
strokes, thrice repeated. Thirteen COM
pany made quick hitch. A third
alarm, following so closely upon the
first, meant a fire well worth hurrying
to- They went out on the third alarm
from that station, and Lieut.. Curley
sprang to the big doors and threw them
open just as Benny, running up, slipped
on the pavement and fell full length
in the path of the excited horses.
There was no holding back the grays,
but Quinn, the driver, forced them over
to the left while Curley sprang forward
and caught the child by the arm,
throwing him to one side Just as the
tender came up to the door, and the
wheels of the steamer almost grazed
Curley's arm. Then he sprang to the
tender steps, and they were turning
the corner before Benny found his voice.
Bessie Borden, who had seen the in
cident from the steps where she had
come in search of Benny, hurried to
him and presently she was bearing the
sobbing child in her arms, and ming
ling with his tears of terror her own
tears of gratitude Beyond a barked
knee, Benny was none the worse for his
experience
That night Benjy's father went down
to the fire house to discover the name
of the man who had saved the boy, and
after that Lieut.. Curley was frequent
visitor at the Borden home. Mrs. Bor-
den could not do enough for him, and
it was at her suggestion that ne BOARD
ed with them, taking his meals lneIe ear
in his three Swings" and spending the
remainder of his liberty with Bessie
Borden, while Benjy gazed solemnly
and admiringly at his hero.
Curley's days off, too, We're devoted
| to Bessie. He had neither kith nor kin
in the city, and he was glad indeed to
find so pleasant a way of spending MS
time. AS regularly as his day OF ND
erty came around it was vaudeville
performance in the afternoon with a
melodrama in the evening except IN
summer, when the delights OF the su-
burban resorts proved more tempting.
But Bessie was not minded to be so
easily won. In the fall when the dane
ing classes opened and Dick Curley had
begun to put on airs of ownership,
Pete Bracy came to trouble the hith-
erto smoothly running course of true
| love.
| understood such things, were balls
without the refreshments and without
| the necessity for such elaborate dress.
Before the weather grew so cool
|
shut Pete used to escort Bessie past
| the house in the hope that they would
meet Curley. Often they did, but he
| scarcely gave heed to them as he went
| about his work. He would not let
Bessie see how hurt he was. and she.
| womanlike, was the more demonstra-
| tive toward Pete because Curley would
not show his anger or regret.
| Dick Curley gritted his teeth, and
tried to meet his disappointment like
| man, but there were nights when ne
| Law awake in quarters and longed for
! tho call that would take him out to q
fire where he could forgee ; ms, ms own tTa
flames The ride on the tender
| through the cool night air always
steadied his nerves and his unrest
| found ease In action
So he lay one night trying to forget
that a couple of hours earlier he had
seen Pete and Bessie pass the house
| on their way to a dance. 1t nao peen
a hard day for Thirteen and the men
| had turned In early. most of them
praying that they would be able to
| sleep undisturbed. But the clock had
| iust struck the half hour after 10,
when the big gong began to count out
In an instant the room was In or
derlv confusion. The men sprang
from their beds into their night boots.
pulling their trousers up over the legs
/ of the boots as they ran toward the
The man on desk and one or two
! others who had not yet turned In had
! the horses hitched. and as the great
doors swung back and Quinn grasped
the trip to release the harness hangers
| the captain called out:
| Make it in a hurry, ne shouted.
| aThat's the box nearest the Orpneum-
| If the fire is there
The rest was drowned In the clang
! of the tender bell as it followed the
| steamer from the house, but curley
bad heard enough He had not real
/ ized at first that three-seven-three was
| the box nearest the Orpheum, where
/ pete and Bessie had gone.
/ The dance hall was aflame some OF
electric plant had failed and recourse