The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-12-19

through In many places, so that me-
OF the last girls to pass through
door to safety went with burned feet
Hurry, Celestial" called Tommy.
I'VE can 90 now
She did not answer.
He saw her at a window struggling
to open it,
This way. Celestia! For Gods
sake. don't jump"
And he ran to her across the smok-
ing and burning floor. As he reached
her a portion of the floor over which
he had just passed fell in with a
cracking. crashing sound, and through
the aperture flame and smoke roared
upward as from the crater of a vol
CanO
Cclestia had not succeeded yet in
opening the window As Tommy
reached her she staggered and fell
into his arms
He turned with her toward the door.
and groaned like thing that had
been hurt to death. Escape that way
looked impossible.
Supporting Celestia with ona arm
he succeeded in opening the window.
The crowd in the street below saw
them, and a kind of groaning and
lamentation arose.
Celestia began to revive.
Tommy had turned his back to the
window Not until the last moment
would he let her jump, and then only
to escape more shocking DEATH
Meanwhile his heart beat strongly
and he pressed her closer to his
breast as II he thought as they had at
best but a few minutes to live he
must make her understand how much
he loved her
oh he thought, III only she could
love me, could let me know she loved
me before the end"
II seemed to him that he couldn't
die, that he mustn't die without her
knowing that
Then a sudden and more practical
thought came into his head II he
was to die, he must die trying to save
her Then she would understand. He
looked about him wildly, and his eyes
fell upon a great roll of black and
white-striped material for making
shirts Leaving Celestia leaning
against the wall near the open win
dow, he made a dash for the shirting,
and unrolled it, dashing over It the
contents of a number of the fire buck
cts that still contained water.
1t was his notion to wrap Celestia in
the wet stuff. to take her in his arms,
and carry her safe to the door, and to
that safety which still seemed to ex.
ist beyond.
BY some strange freak of the fire
there was still quite a large area Of
flooring surrounding Celestia, yet un-
burned. But between that and the
door, to make the crossing, seemed to
offer but one chance in n hundred.
The one who was carried might live
to tell the tale. The one who did the
carrying could hardly hope for so
much. He would be so badly burned
that, although he might be alive when
he reached the street, he would not
live long thereafter.
1t takes many words often to tell Of
what happens in few instants OF
time. From the first cry OF fire to the
time when Tommy had wrapped Celes;
tia in the wet shirting, and was pre-
pairing, you may say, to wade through
hell for her, was only few minutes.
The last girls to leave the sewing
machine room had only Just reached
the street.
Now for IT," thought Tommy, and
TO Celestla he shouted Che had to
shout to make himself heard):
Don't be afraid, dear. I'm going to
get you out of this"
And he gathered her strongly in his
arms, pictured out, with swift eyes.
what appeared to be the best route
through the flames, drew one great,