Evening star., 1915-04-30

of the day. grumbled Tom with
twinkling eyes. Some other fellow
comes in at the eleventh hour and
carries off all the kudos. The kids are
all wild on little Jimmie now. and I'm
nowhere.
He kept our guest all the evening
after the children had gone, and We
learned that he was going to settle
miles away. He would farm his land
and see what he could do by expert
mentins in Intensive culture" but it
was plain that he intended to keep
away from ordinary social life. He
was too manly and courageous to
make any moan. but one could UNDER
stand how he felt about himself and
his future. and | wondered whether
he would let Tom and me be his
friends or whether he would just be a
walls. living all alone. and perhaps,
when his time came. dying alone. too
1t seemed very sad. but not unlikely,
and in my dreams l was haunted by
his face and those grave, steadfast
eyes. which looked out so kindly upon
world with which he himself shrank
from contact.
Then came our gala night and the
childrens play. 1t all Went off to ad-
miration and the way in which the
curtain worked and the excellence of
all the arrangements showed that our
ally was man to be depended on.
Then just at the end-no one will
ever know exactly how 1t happened
but. as Capt Hildred has told us.
we We're rather dangerously overdone
with inflammable stuff on and over the
stage-came that sudden shrek from
the audience. and we saw all faces
turned upward. where some paper dec
orations over the stage were in a blaze.
On the stage, grouped together for
the final ia ableau, upon which the cur
tain had fallen once. to be raised again
in answer to prolonged pfa audlts, the
whole posse of the children stood or
final effect. The curtain had risen
upon the picture for the second time
when the shrek startled us all into
a wild horror--a shrek. followed by
the words of awful import:
Fire. Fire, Fire.
Don't ask me just what happened,
for l shall never know. 1t seemed to
me that little Jimmy simply swept
the stage of children as a man sweeps
dead leaves with a broom. Fire fakes
were falling everywhere. and the chill
dren's flimsy robes once touched by
flame would blaze as tinder does. But
the tall man, with the torn-down cur
tain in his hands, seemed first to cover
them all and then swept them out OF
the danger zone like chaff before the
wind.
Tom, at the back, was helping. doubt
less. And others would no doubt have
helped If the peril had not been sol
quickly combated. But the front rows
in the room were full of little folks,
and the elders were behind, and not
many men were there at all. Yet just
as l realized this the peril seemed past
Only that the stage itself was mass
from the wreaths above, and the
frightened, children in the audience
were being got out of the room as
ia st as the elders could manage it.
myself in flames! had not on fiimsy
dress, and for the moment had not
thought that 1 was i'll any danger. Nor
was /, as it proved. for scarcely had
realized my peril before it was over.
1 was seized by pair of arms strong
as a giants / was sung off my feet
upon the floor and rolled up in the
other curtain hanging from the beam
Gasping, half-suffocated, smelling OF
flame. but practically unhurt. l round
myself face to face with my scorched
and blackened preserver. and l had not
to look up into the anxious face above
me to know who it was.
Are you burnt? Are you hurt: For
thing to do l hope you are not hurt.
Let me look if you are burned. 1t could
only have been for moment.
| was gasping, but ] was unhurt The
fires hot breath had only been felt for
a moment before that swinging clutch
and the enwrapping folds of the heavy
curtain. We were alone on the empty
stage, and the room before US was
empty. We heard the humming of
voices about us, but we were alone in
the deserted place.
Then Tom came rushing back to see
if all was safe. 4 little smoldering pa
per, which he trod out in a few mo-
ments, was all that remained of the
confa sra tion-and his own blackened
person and that of our guest.
II say, Jimmie-youre the only suf-
ferer it seems. Let me look at those
hands of yours. saw what you were
up to with them"
Little Jimmie" Rrowled something
ina rticuIate, but Tom was in his own |
house, and showed himself master
there. |
Look here. Polly" he said to me, |
you go off and see that the kids get