The Richfield recorder. (Richfield, Idaho) 1909-1931, 1909-06-10

the darkness
At the fourteenth story light OF
flames was already glimmering be
hind the broken pane. The smoke
poured out on them as they beat In
the glass and hauled up the ladder.
They went ahead, however, and while
they were climbing up the wall from
that window they heard the rush of a
back draft below them and looked
down to see the flames in the thir-
teenth story cutting them off.
A cry of warning from Captain Ball
was answered by a faint shout above
them. They looked up to see German
peering down over the edge of the
water tank. Captain Ball shouted to
them, "Come down the roper They
looked down to see him waving to
them They looked up to see that
German had disappeared
"Jim,' the upper man said, 1--WE can't
reach EN-" They tied the end of
their rope hurriedly around the shaft
of the ladder, and each took a twist
of it in the hook of his belt and
dropped
They slid down through fire and
smoke, blistered and blinded, to Cap
tain Ball, who caught each as he
came and drew him in the window.
A fireman sent by the lieutenant came
up shouting, "Fire's at the elevator
shaft" They turned and ran.
German had gone down to the roof
to get Hanrahan and found him lying
on his face on the bricks.
'The men re comm up the lad
ders," lie said Hanrahan sprang to
his feet with this new hope of life
and followed him around the tank to
the parapet.
They looked down, to see the empty
ladder, twenty feet below them, hang
ing in the flames, with a blazing rope
dangling from the center of it into the
smoke. "Henr' German said disgust
eddy.
Hanrahan stared at the abandoned
apparatus. Il guess" he said in
new voice.
He turned back with German to the /
front Of the tank again. There was a +
lull in the wind; the smoke and the
flames rose up straight on two sides
of the roof, and the bricks were hot
under their feet There was no es-
cape now. 1--WE got one chance left"
German said 1--WE can get in the
tank
Hanrahan shook his head. mo use,
Bull" he answered. Il got to cash in,
I guess"
German cursed him. well, amt"
he said. "Get a-hold of this ladder"
He braced himself with a foot
against the tin covering of the tank,
bent his back and tugged to loosen the
ladder from its fastenings. Hanrahan
helped him. They strained and strug-
gled with all the strength of every
and the great screws in the
sockets of the uprights came out slow
", as if they had been sunk in Wa.
Once having loosened its hold, they
evered the ladder, twisted it and
Hrenched it free German crawled I'M
Ter the steel beams and turned off the
;topcock there. Then they both climb
ID aIoft, lowered the ladder into the
ank and slid down, one on each side
If the rungs, into the water They
frank together sunk to the teeth.
German ducked. You'd better tie
vourself on he spluttered. "We'H be
attn smoke here before long"
The scuttle was a red square of light
bove them, and they could see each
'ther's face as pale blurs of no recog-
liable feature IN the darkness. They
tripped off their upper clothing and
'ound Themselves under the arms to
he ladder. :
They could hear the craclzle and roar L
f flames outside. There was peck
ng of scattered rain on the tin above 0
hem.
81 wish 1 had somethin' t. eat" Cor {
ian said. :.
Hanrahan sighed again. I'D like :, :,
omething to breathe better" =
He was choking with heat and Il
noke. He rested his chin on the rung g
{ the ladder. He was tired and dizzy. II
lie seemed to be drifting on clouds Of L
noke, blown about in storm and heat, :, :,
glowing spark above the flames. His L
ind wandered in delirium of suffo- "
ltion He heard Germans voice, at a
reat distance, say, wind changed -
,uth." u
Daybreak found the "ireproof' ,,
ansard building q smoking and - -
shell above it's tenth story, -
it'll the firemen putting out the last ~
holder in the Quilted rooms. They -
ught their way up slowly from ~
,or to floor until by noon Captain 81
al and squad of his company, " ~
oking for their dead, reached the ~
airs leading to the roof. W
They found there the blackened ns
zzle which German had abandoned liz
the fire. They went up the stairs "
pelessly and burst open the door, '"
see German himself, red eyed and
ipping and stripped to the waist, re
ting on the edge of the tank, beat III
3 with his heels on its sides and ne
lgipg crazy nothings in the voice Of no
sanity. M
captain Ball went over to him and WI
led up, where's Hanrahan" W.
80,