Evening star., 1909-05-30

been the innocent cause of the Colonel, ruin
Nv dream, of doing him a good turn had all
gone up IN a cloud We found my cx-landlord
looking gloomy and dressed IN nice new
hand-me-down suit. He started IN to tell me
all about It.-quiCk alarm. lots OF smoke, hor-
r,ble rush. burned like tinder. narrow escapes
and all that rubbish. when | interrupted him
Do you know what became of a man named
Howe. who had just been put on as assistant
Jantor in the other bunldinge'
say | never heard a plutocrat turn himself
loose the way he did. He couldn't speak Of
Howe without tears in his eyes 1t appears the
veteran had played the star part. My landlord
and Others. befuddled by smoke. had been
dragged to the pavement before it dl,coy-
cred that the two little girls were still in the
building which was about due to fall The fire
men round to the escape: but the
Colonel had thought of it first and was there
before them. He ewas bringing the two little
kIddeS to the ground when they arrived. and
about all in How he did 1T no one knows
but 1t must have taken some grit to climb those
IRON ladders IN the teeth of the smoke and the
flame, gain the third story. crawl through burn
ing halls. and rescue the tots But. though the
irons were hot when he brought them down,
half-cnging. half-held. he succeeded. and then
keeled over when he got to the bottom. My
ex-landord swore he was the greatest hero ever,
and that SO long he lived he should never
want for anything.
The odd part of it is. he concluded. that
couldn't get him to accept money Wouldn t
even go to the hospital till his bllsters healed
All he would accept WAS another job.
Where the Congressman and asked to-
gether
He's down in the basement OF this house
now-shovellng coal
W/E all rushed down to find him. 1t was a
W better dungeon than the one he had
worked in before We poked back through the
dusk until we reached the boiler room. ani
there he was both hands swathed in bandageS,
clumsily stoking an open furnace. He whirled
round when we hailed him, and scarcely recog-
nized him His beard eyebrows. and some OF
his hair had been snged off. and his face shone
with some kind of ointment to relieve the bis
teTS
Good Cod" heard the Congressman NUT
ter. and he bumped back against a Stea1npipe
and knocked off his silk hat He didn't stop t.
pick it up: Just ran over and put his arms
round the old chap.
Well we got him back into his new den. and
burst out bemoaning the loss of his docu-
ments He tried to pacify me and make me
believe it didn't matter
But you can't get a pension now | Said
in despair
Pension Pension Who wants a pension,
he asked. abruptly coming to his feet and
throwing out his chest I've never asked for
one never should have done SO. even though
the papers had not been lost as long as | am
able to earn my own living!
| tried to check him, but he was very Dig
nified and stood very erect.
Stop!" he commanded. and BY Jovc' |
could understand how. in The strength of his
youth. men had obeyed him Stop. sir My
Government owes me not one penny! fought
for the flag because it was mine Mine. SIR
The embodiment of cause believed in That
it still floats is reward enough for any man
something that cant be paid for in dollars and
cents You insult the motive for my service :
Furthermore, you belittle my physical capabil-
ties when you insinuate. sir, that | am not
abundantly able to take care of myself