Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-21
THE LADDER
BY onARLEs G. D. ROBERTS
Copyright. 1914, by the Newspaper En-
fcrprise Associationl

,copyright. 1914, by the Newspaper En-
fcrprise Association)
The bare, three-storied, barn-dkt
structure which served the millhands
for a bo8rding- house was on fire
Tho old FIRE hose. brought hurriedly
from the mill, had burst under the
first strain. The flames were having
it all their own way.
But suddenly a groan of horror
went up, and the calm of the crowd
broke into a tumult. A child's form
had appeared in the topmost win
dow at the right. Men raced for lad
aers. But one tall figure. in shirt
sleeves and top-boots. had dashed
straight for the front door
TITS Mart Block went the Woro
among the crowd. IF anybody KIN
hen git through.
A ladder was thrust into place, hello
almost perpendicular by the men al
its foot 1t did not quite reach the
window sin but no one doubted that
Block could get to it with his burden
Nevertheless, he seemed to hesitate.
t'Come mp and get her, someone,
shouted Block. A river-man was hall
Way up the ladder before the sen
teaee had passed his lips. Bloeb
resTehed out, put the child into ms
hands and watched her being carried
down to safety.
But he made no motion to follow
A light flashed into the room behind
him. He turned and looked al it,
Was he mad? Suddenly he shouted
"a rope. Fling me a rope.
In a moment coil came circling
up to him. Block seized it and made
II fast TO the bedstead in the room
Then he slipped out from the window
and to the speechless beHilderment
of the crowd came swiftly down the
rome hand over hand, ignoring the
very existence of the ladder beside
him.
An hour later Martin Block. his
sc6rched face and hands shining with
sweet oil, was sitting in the back
room of the Mills store. The store
keeper Sandy MaeNutt. was there,
and big Steve Corrigan and jim
Sayres. the river boss.
Martini" drawled Sayres. what
dfdaye do it for?'
DO what for asked Block, after
pause.
Sayres grunted impatiently.
i was afraid to come down the
ladder" answered Block, quietly.
unexpected statement
sits true, SO help me-" persisted
Block. Boys, it was just something
] couldn't do. I'd have jumped out
sooner. I'm scared of a ladder.
.sOnce upon a time. ] was just about
ten years younger than l am now,
and more than ten years foolisher,
down at Progresso, on the Gulf of
Mexico, I hadn't been overly lucky.
but I'd found enough gold to give me
ire taste for it. And just now my
head was huzzing with fool yarns OF
buried treasure. When one gets that
bee-in his brain he's ready for most
any kind of nonsense that's put up to
him.
Il was sitting alone in front of a
little posada. looking out over the hot
shining water. all streaked blue and
green so lovely one never gets tired
staring at it, when up came couple
of. hard customers. ] knew they were
bafr ones. all right. | knew there was
lots of rope looking for the both OF
them MP along New Mexico and Arr
IONA. where the climate had got I'M
healthy for them.
'aDne of the two, and 'greaser =
Antonio, he called himself never
seemed to need any more name than
lean with dash of everything else
vot, can think. He was not bad look
ilrp. except for his mouth. which was
INST a. kind of a hard-edged gash
across his face The name ne an
swered to was Badly
stNell. I was glad to see them, ana
they came right to business.
ait was a mans job, all right that
they we're putting up to me. And it
vas a rank one. too; but I'm ashamed
20 say that. desperate as l was ana
seeing yellow and in a land where
right and wrong seemed to get mixed
nj at every turn, the rankness or II
lust didn't strike me.
"You felsws have never heard,
likely. Of a little tribe called the
seJti9tzals.' down in Yucatan. No, of
course not But every one down
round Mexico and Central America
y.av has heard of them and their
trea sure. They're so. rich that they
are able to pay the government well
to let them. alone Where they Keep
their gold, everybody knew wen
enough was somewhere mp among the
tremendous mountain cliffs. But it
had never been considered healthy
to try to find out anything more
about it than that
'eWeH. I'm not going to tell you
about that journey into the interior
in the heat. II was bad enough to
make another story, but I'll cut 1t all
out. We kept well clear of the trail.
You'd better believe, and worked
higher and higher, aiming to come
down upon the town from the in
ferior-a direction from which the
Guetzals would never be expecting
visitor. When we did come on the
place it was just by accident--I was
going TO say good luck, but that
wouldn't be just the right word.
"Baking in the sun, the village lay
huddled beneath us, sort of nest
of brownish yellow, fiat-roofed adobe
houses, on a great shelf Of the noun
taiH-side
."Then we started off to work our
way around the head of the canyon.