The Washington herald., 1914-03-15

Il 81
to her don't know. Anyhow, she GOT
her nerve back in a few seconds and
give Duffy the baby. He caught it by
| its two fat wrists and I could hear Il
bawi as il swung out from the window.
Now, / says to myself, "can
| Johnny Graham, the ten-thousand-dollar
beauty Of Number Twenty-nine. yank
up my Mick and the kid. I believe he
is going to do it. but it will be differ
ent when the woman gets on the far
end of the line"
With a mighty tug Johnny got one
tof Duffys feet to shoulder and Duffy
made fast with a toe-hold. Then
Johnny got the other foot up and they
were braced good and fast to the sheet
metal work Then, instead of trying to
crawl back and drag up Duffy and the
kid. Johnny begins to roll on his belly
| and Duffy begins to swing like a pen
dulum. There amt many men with the
nerve and the strength to get away
with the human pendulum, but It has
been done before.
The arc Eidened as Duffy and the
baby swung from side to side, until
both men give a shout and Duffy tossed
the kid safely over his shoulder TO the
roof and caught hold himself He
skinned over.
Between smoke clouds and sheets of
cinders / could get glimpses of Annie
Graham on the window sill. The poor
thing didn't have any too much time,
for the fire was coming out of the win
dow below and reaching up for a grip
on her skirts. She kept making tie
sign of the cross and | knew she was
saying the Litany Of the Blessed Vm-
gin.
On the roof Graham and Duffy didn't
take much time to rest. / saw Graham
examine his baby and then tuck it close
to chimney He stretched his arms
and Duffy did little clog to get the
kinks out of his knees. They talked
for a moment and Duffy seemed to be
bossing the job. Then the two OF them
unbuckled their waist straps and / saw
as fine a piece of life-saving strategy
as ever was pulled off by two smoke
eaters in New York. They both squat
ted on the roof and with the belts and
. buckles Johnny made fast his wrists to
the ankles of Duffy, his enemy. Tied
together, they wriggled to the cornicc,
and over went my driver.
In 4 minute two links of real man
was stretched from the roof TO the one
| girl the two of them loved
Ny lieutenant came and reported that
the men had the FIRE driven back and |
told him to send what men he could
spare to report TO the battalian chief
| turned again to the window, and
the heat from below was so fierce that
| wondered that my driver hanging
heaG down. could breathe | saw his
face come close to tie face of Johnnys
wife again and her arms outstretched
to- his shoulders. They stayed that way
for a few seconds that seemed hours.
And-they were kissingi
Their / noticed that there wasn't so
much red hair on my drivers head and
| knew that the heat from below was
| singeing il. How he stood it no human
being could tell. He caught hold of
Johnnys wife's wrists and she took hold
OF his. My big Mick lifted her up by the
strength of his biceps and shoulder
! muscles until she was clear OF the sill,
lifted her until her face was against his
again, and then lowered her, and the
pendulum begun to swing once more
This time instead OF a baby at the
end of the pendulum there was a good
LIS pounds OF girl | held my breath.
The whole strain was on Johhny's back
bone, his elbows, and wrists, distributed
over the angle made by the elbow
brace on the sheet metal
Annie Graham skirts tapped as she
swung farther and farther on each
, side, the arc widening. Now it would
be up to Duffy when he would try to
heave her over the edge OF the roof
If anything broke the three OF them
would plunge intS the white-hot pit, the
men strapped together.
could see blood trickling from/Duf-
fy's nose and big gout Of it struck
the uplifted face of the woman he was
trying to save. | thought It was all
over-when | heard both men shout
and Duffy's great shoulder muscles
swelled up like they'd pop. and over the
edge went Annie Graham. Duffy
hands snapped for and caught the tin
cornice. There was savage yank
from Johnny and nv driver was on
the roof lying fiat with the man he was
tied to.
Just then two streams of water shot
through the windows of the Graham
fiat, and | knew company had beaten
out the fire in that building just as We
had beaten out the one in ours.
turned my command over TO the lieu
tenant and ran around the block to
Park street and up ladder TO the top
floor and then to the roof over the
Graham fiat. Three firemen had al
ready reached the roof and had cut the
straps that held Duffy and Johnny to-
gether. Johnny staggered to his feet.
but Duffy lay still. Halt of his fine
red hair was singed off and his eye
brows were gone.
| got down on my knees.
.How's it. old man." | asked in his
blistered car.
There was a slow choking sound
from deep down in his great chest.
He tried to lift his hand. and lifted
it for him and he groped for his heart.
"Somethin' broke, Cap he whisper
ed. "Somethin' broke-Cap. Good-by."
His face come gray like the gray that
fills the streets when company's wash
ing down ruin aftc- az all-night fight.
The hand over his heart fell to the tin
roof and the big biceps flattened out.
A fireman was taking Annie and the
baby to the ladder, for there was FIRE
still burning below, when Duffy shud-
dered and died.
! heard a strange whimper behind me
and turned from the body of the brav-
est and finest laddie that ever wore the
blue. Johnny Graham was on his knees
with his face hidden in his hands and