The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1910-04-02

cant office and the incessant murmur
from the great city. which could not
even sleep quietly.
The bodiless whispering had ceased
at last, but at about three o'clock IN
the morning a dull, persistent roar
began to hammer her ear drums. Her
half-dazed brain became gripped by \
spasm of terror. Was she going mad?
She abandoned the switchboard and
moved across to one Of the windows
glazing palely with the reflection of
the street lamps. She looked down
on the sidewalk far below-noted the
stagnatlon, saw a solitary pedestrian
and heard the tramp of his feet on
\ the pavement. Still the roar surged
/ against her ears. 1t was sinister
She swung away from the front win
/ dow and turned her attention to those
commanding the freight yard. Down
! somewhere in that intricate mass of
men and machinery was the yard fore,
man, Carl Meurer There he was
king Her heart swelled with pride,
! but as abruptly contracted With teal'
Gus pain.
! She suppressed the cutlery of agony
that pressed against her clinched
teeth and forced herself to sit once
more at the switchboard. For a full
half-hour she settled down to routine
work, but at last the nerve-ending roar
that seemed to permeate every corner
of the room became intolerable With
a desperate gesture she spranE erect
and began TO pace the floor
This could be no mere hallucina.
ton. She halted in the center Of the
Office, then suddenly shrieked aloud
as the reason for this dreadful tur.
MOL swept across her faculties, clear
ing them instantly.
The freight house was on fire.
panther-like spring across the
floor and one glance through the
doors revealed sinuous coils of with
ing smoke ascending the air currents
How long had the fire been al
work? Had she time to escape by the
stairs? Her foot was on the landing
when It occurred to Milly that all Of
the workers in the yard were in the
greatest eopardy-trapped literally
by the towering walls of the freight
house. And Carl was there-Carl!
She dashed across to the switch
board and began notifying the men il
the yard of the fire. She called VI
Meurer as calmly as the others
heard his slow, deep voice merging
into a shout of excitement. Suddenly
her blanched face went winter thar
ever.
Cali up Miss Donnelly; you car
get her before any of the rest of us
Hur-"
But Milly flung the receiver from
her with maniacal laugh and leapeC
toward the door once again.
So the little senseless chit was II
peril-eXtreme peril, perhaps. So be
IT, The ground floor might be {
mass of flames before she had al
inklng. No one could reach her
either. at this hour except over the
switchboard In the main office, anC
NIilly controlled that.
well.like stairs, then skinned d0wl
the broad steps. One fight was ac
mplished-another was bcgun-nov
she was at the third landing Here
the smoke was more dense.
She could hear the rending snarl o
the flames catch a sickening Whit
from the cellars where the stored mer
chandise was burning. A burst o
fresh. outside air dispersed the
smoke-clouds an instant. Milly gupeC
greedily, was refreshed and with re
turning vigor, a full appreciation O
her own detestabie conduct, passed
through her heart Ike the thrust of {
sword.
Had she time left in which to war;
the girl?
She wheeled and took the stairs
with frantic speed. The ascending
flights seemed endless. To breathe
meant acute pain-her muscles refused
to obey, her limbs to bear her up. Mid
way on the last flight she sank tc
her knees hot gust swept up from
the inferno beneath but it stirred hel
heavy limbs so that she could craW
the remainder Of the distance
Somehow she reached the switch
board and stirred, schooling herself
to be rational, laying fast hold of her
reeling brain, she called up the super
= intendent's Office Would the opera
tor never perhaps she-Mar
rorr+ ,,.og oIrpa6y No CT human ai1-