The Washington herald., 1914-03-08

breath as they saw the top ladders hook
take q grip on the window of the eighth
floor. Finnegan did not move until the
gas Jet of the seventh story window
fiickered and drew In. Then he scram-
bled upward with the agility of trick
performer. which he was. He was OBJ
scured for a moment when a great pun
Of blue fame shot from the window. but
the watching fremen saw the lower lad
der moving upward and they knew that
he was safe and still working.
The fire chief dug his finger nails into
the palms of his hands. He wanted to
yell, to yell exultantly and cheeringiy.
The men about him did II for him. and
the slowly climbing Finnegan heard the
shout and felt pleased.
Could he make It? Could he clear each
window between the eighth and the
twenty-ffth floors? Would his tight lit
tie muscles. would his lungs, his nerve.
his luck hold out over that long, fire.
belted. perpendicular stretch? The cut
ting on of his breath for a second or two
by the window gas Jets would mean the
end for Finnegan. The burning or break
ing OF one OF his two scaling ladders
would mean that he would be caught
sticking to the wall between fires. help
less. He was already far our of reach Of
the aerial ladders.
The chief. thinking always Of the life
Of his brave little Tad. ordered the truck
pulled away. leaving clear the street be-
low the rescuer. Then he ordered the
strongest and largest OF the life nets
made ready for use. and to the company
captains he sent word to pick out the
heaviest and most powerful Of their men
for special service. II the net would
hold he wanted to be sure that the arms.
hacks, and fingers of the net crew
would not fail, even IL Finnegan jumped
or fell at the twenty-fourth floor.
Finnegan passed the twelfth floor.
Eight times he had watched his chance
and had scurried across the windows OF
hell. His helmet did not shine so bright
ly as II did at his start. He was passing
the zone OF efficiency of the searchlight.
as he had long passed the field OF opera
tons of the other tools of the men of his
craft. The men on the street no longer
cheered. Their necks were stiH with
craning. and they took II turn about in
watching the progress of the little black
human speck. The chief never lowered
his head With a pair of night glasses
he watched every move OF hand and foot,
every bend OF the swaying scaling lad
ders, and when one OF them swung with
the increasing wind he found himself run
ming over in his mind little prayers for
aid and comfort that he had thought lost
with a forgotten childhood.
The foreman OF the net crew stood be-
side the chief waiting a word that would
throw his men into position with taut
muscles and wide-apart legs.
He is between the fifteenth and twen-
tieth coors." the chief announced. finally
from the top of the ladder on the twen-
tieth. He can't rest long"
Five seconds had been enough for Fin
negan. but when he made the next floor
the chief saw that the second ladder he
was hauling after him was blazing This
menacing little tongue OF flame was made
all the more distinct because of the fact
that the searchlight rays were now very
faint.
Finnegan managed to put out the fire
on his scaling ladder. He smudged Il
with hands that were covered with cal
louses from hard work until they were
as II gloved with horn. He reached the
twenty-second floor. when again the
charred scaling ladder took fire. This
time he lost a good two feet of it before
he could beat out the fame. At the
twenty-third he was again compelled to
stop to rest: again the ladder caught fire
and again he put it out. The original
eighteen-foot length Of the ladder was
now cut to fifteen, leaving him barely
enough to reach the window above on
the twenty-fourth floor. He still had the
full length Of the other ladder, although
it. too. was charred at one end.
Five minutes. full of the agony of sus-
pense, and then there came from the dry
lips OF the chief a cry that was half
curse. 1t was the signal to the foreman
OF the net crew.
Thirty of the most powerful men in the
sprang into position in a
circle. The net drew taut.
Finnegan had reached a point just un-
der the sill Of the twenty-fourth floor and |
was cropping for the twenty fifth with his |
rharred and burned scaling ladder. He
could not reach 1t. He was trapped upon |
the wall.
Finnegan. finding himself trapped. re-
called, with that abundant hope of the |
Celt, that a chum of Engine Company y |
had been buried alive under a burning /
building for nearly two days in Elizabeth
street during the winter of 1901 After /
The collapse OF the building an under
takers wagon was kept waiting within
The fire lines for his friends body. But
his friend came out OF ii alive. There was
Always a chance.
Below the little Irishman was the great
,ity Of New York stretching in a pano-
anna OF lights. He could not look straight
downward because of the gas fumes.
rom which he protected himself, as best
,e could. by breathing in the crook of his
light arm. The burned ladder ne had
hooked to one of the crosspieces OF the
me he had in place above him on the
floor window sill. He would
lold 1t In reserve. II his iron hook melt
ID and began to sag too dangerously he
would use the fragment OF the other lad
Ter to hang to iOr a while longer.
An aeroplane might save him II an
Ieroplane could Craze a skyscraper with
nut breaking a wing-a thing II could not
'ossfbly do. parachute would do. hut
here was no parachute to be had. A
ope might be the very thing!
He had one about his waist. but Il was
cry thin. though strong. and would be
A I