The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1910-04-14
The Heroic
Role

Its nothing short of a miracle that
am spared to my friends and rela-
tveS, declared Patty. with lugubri-
Gus air. as she proceeded to unload
.he millinery creation of birds and
animals from her head. ITS a won
ar that my sad and sudden end"
My. Patty. what in the world has
Aarrtnvd?n asked Corinne, Pumping
Gown On the hatrack seat and draw
ias her caller to the place beside her.
7 came over to tell you the whole
'Avllirg tale" said Patty. You know,
dear, that all my life | have longed
10 do something worth WHILE mean
10 put my own powers and resources
% the test. wanted to know Just
3 hat | should do under circumstances
calling for GOODNESS and quick decision.
Well, yesterday my opportunity
came"
Why, what in the world hap
pepeGs" exclaimed Corinne. DO get
into your story quick, Patty and leave
out the preliminaries."
No story is good without the prop
er introduction returned Patty, re-
Z pYoyiEgly, and this is just like the
stories YOU read in books"
4 Seeing that her listener was proper
4 y Impressed, Patty went on: Il had
+ promised Merrill that would press
uut his muller, so put an iron on
that little stove attached by a hose TO
( The jet near mothers dresser and
/ then went down to the library to
4 Rad. while ii was heating. Only n
lew minutes later there came smell
oi burning stuff and the room began
10 fill with smoke"
Why, Patty, it was a fire."
Please don't interrupt, Corinne, but
you guessed correctly. Instead OF
rushing wildly into the street or
screaming for Hida in the kitchen, |
ran upstairs and by some instinct
made for mothers room, There the
seething roaring flames met my
gaze"
You didn't go in?" cried Corinne,
Il did" declared Patty grimly,
though well pleased with the effect OF
her recital upon her listener. 'Oi
course. the fire was over in the cor
ncr, where Merrill's muller, dangling
from the dresser. was a mass OF
flames. Without a cry, but with my
, face deadly pale-l could see myself
in the mirror rushed into the midst
, Of that terrible conhagration and
turned of the open gas jet, The
, IN Chtful heat and smoke aid odor al
aoSt oyercame me. | fell back only
. to come on again with renewed de
, termination, dragging mothers new
, Markets which had lain folded on thu
couch. dashed the bundle with al
, my strength on that wicked blaze
2 Why, what If you had caught OF
/ fire."
I In such moments of peril" sal
= Patty grandly, "one must not thin
e Of ones self. Next | rushed to tn
e telephone and told the operator tina
e our house was burning to the groun
I. and asked her to ring the alarm fo
' me. In an another second or two
had Merrill on the wire. To him
had barely reported that our HON
4 was in flames and | was battling wit
r them all alone when | heard the re
, ceiver drop at his end of the line.
). by this time was faint and gle
). DIV with the smoke. ran to the viii
+. iows and threw them open just a
the hook and ladder wagon came teal
ing along. | waved to the driver t
: stop and the firemen yelled to me nc
+, 10 jump.
There came a horrible crashin
!. and falling. 1t proved to be our fror
. door, which they had broken dow
= Then the house Immediately wa
n filled with the firemen
Il had scarcely finished shown
them the smoking debris when Me
. rill came dashing wildly into the hal
> grabbed me and carried ME out in h
arms to the street.
Il succeeded in explaining to Merri
in just few more minutes thatl a
unaided. had quelled the blaze. 4
he had rushed down in a taxica
q without his hat or coat, we went bat
Il into the house to get thawed out.
It Honestly, after he came and W;
D. holding me hardly swooned at all.
n The fremen we're all filing dow
n the steps and every one of them W;
" smiling and chuckling as if please
with my heroism. Still, one horr
n fireman said as he passed that 1t W;
n a pity didn't have sense enough
|, thrown glass of water on the muffl
n instead of making bonfire of II
"a mothers blankets. But the othe
r told him to hush and Merrill said
~ was a brave, coolheaded little her