The Washington herald., 1914-03-08

| Ing against the heat pouring over the
hreproof sill. Something strange caught
| his eye A thin black object was dan
Cling toward him from above. lodging the
gas sheets as they shot from the win
dow. He was getting help from aboy<-
from the twenty-fifth floor. There was
something doing for Finnegan.
Let II come, I gotcha, Steve!' he
shouted at the top Of his voice.
He unloosened the stout rope about his
l waist. made one end fast under his arm
pits. and reached for the black object
that was being dangled to him He caught
IL and fornd II homemade cord. fash
ioned Of silks and ribbons and strips OF
wool and cotton. a pretty enough thing
for the halter Of a harlequin, perhaps,
| but not strong enough for a fireman's
wornout body He had become skilled in
watching and playing against the dan
gers OF the gas-filled windows. and he
managed to get his rope tied to the patch
work cord without having either burned
He gave a shout and the cord and rope
were hauled until they were taut.
Finnegan would have tried to scale the
4 thin rope hand over hand. but every liv-
| ing thread in his body ached. Suddenly
feet left the scaling ladder. His helmet,
reversed, covered his face. He held his
breath as he swept upward through the
flame. Then black curtain dropped
/ over his eyes.
When he awakened he found himself
| in a room crowded with men.
what's the natter" he asked, sitting
up.
The room was filled with gas and he
/ was choking.
shut that door," he ordered. TITS the
outside air makes the gas take fire."
He scrambled to his feet.
A sensible working fireman was in ac-
| ton.
Shut every door and window on the
! windward side" he commanded Leave
! just little air come in on the leeward.
Be quick Where you got the women?
On the top floors? All right Do the
same thing up there, bue do IL in a hurry.
This gas will burn out down below. Have
you cut on the ventilators? No? All you
men get busy and cut 'em on. Keep your
eye on that rope for me. I'll take look
Finnegan found half of the elevator
shafts covered with roughly fashioned
buIkheads and keeping back the smoke
and fumes. Office furniture. books. rugs.
carpets, had been used for this. Blake
the superintendent. who had directed this
work, was at his elbow.
Come" said Finnegan. hurrying back
to the room into which he had been
drawn. Write me a motel don't spell
much and when 1 do spell nobody can
get me-"
Blake was ready with pencil and paper
in second.
Send up block and fall and one ak in
hurry" Finnesan dictated. Keep rope
clear of Window Get mattresses. bed
ding. boards to cut on elevator shafts
from gas Then we're all right.-Finne-
gan"
The quick eyes Of the fireman saw q
long curtain pole stretched between two
rooms of the office suite. He jumped
for II and tore 1t free Of its fastenings.
With one of the rings he made a simple
pulley attachment and through this
passed the thin rope he had brought with
him up the front of the building.
Blake had put the message in a book
and had made the book fast to the free
end. Finnegan then put his curtain pole
over the sill and extended it as far as he
could away from the windows and to one
side. Down shot the message.
In a short while he got a signal from
below. 1t meant for him to pull away.
With quick, steady strokes he and a doz-
en- men drew in the line.
Finnegan grabbed the ak as he would
have grabbed a brother he had thought
dead. With muscles, a clear head. a
piece Of steel well tempered. and a tough
bit OF wood with which to WELD his steel,
a fireman can tackle any phase of his
enemy's fury. He found a massive d.
rectors table in one OF the Offices 1t
was built OF black oak. He knew the
strength OF English oak, and from this
elegant piece of nonsense he cut a beam
that would replace the curtain pole. To
one end OF this beam he. soon had his
block and fall made fast. and in a few
minutes his thin rope was replaced with
a thin steel hawser that his chief had
requisitioned from a construction COM
pany.
When the earth end Of this appeared
at the window on the twenty-ffth floor 1t
brought the chief himself with supply
of boards and materials for making bulk
heads.
He had reouisitioned from the whole
Salc hOuSSS III SHdiuDtISs DudIt, anu
Warren streets. west Of Broadway. hum
dreds of horse blankets. bale of felt ma
terial and other stun of the trade that
would serve the needed purpose. Better
still, once he was sure Of the stoutness
Of the overhanging oak piece and its
fastening. he could put in use a hastily
rigged platform which would bring his
men after him and. IL necessity came,
serve as a car fo- the rescue of the i'm
prisoned
where's Blake?' asked the chief. when
he landed safely inside the building.
Here. boss"
Finnegan pointed out his whilon
amaruensis.
Get busy with this stun. and bulkhead
the other shafts" ordered the chief.
I'm going to hitch a car to this block
and fall and in ten minutes therell be q
Of men to help. I'm going for
them."
The men In the room Joined Blake In
pulling In the material for cutting OF the
gas at the twenty-fifth floor. The chief
made wide moose In the end Of the steel
nawser and slipped his foot In u as he
,rawied over the window sill and swung
20 the left. free Of the menaceful win
lows below.
SAY Finncgan." he called. this res
,ue IH going to be clnch. Bo.a the 100