Evening star., 1922-05-19
THE FIREBUG-
BY ARTHUR b. REEVE.
One OF The Stars Weekend Fiction Series
Complete in three installments. .

Fire Marshal Mccormick goes to KENNEDY
FOR help in the case Of series OF disastrous
have written to him saying that some one
who talks to him every day about hres Is
responsible for them and nnaMy' nail saat All
seem to be directed at some OF the Stacey
dry goods and garment trade interests. That
night there is an alarm from the department
store district and Kennedy and Mccormick
speed to answer ii.
IKE a red streak in the night we
flew up that avenue, turned
into 14th street on two wheels,
and at last we were on 6th
avenue. With a jerk and a skid we
stopped. There were the engines, the
, hosecarts. the hook and ladders. the
salvage corps. the police establishing
fire elines-everything. But where was
the fire?
The crowd indicated where it ought
to bet was Staceys Firemen and
policemen were entering the huge
building. Mccormick shouldered in
after them and we followed.
Who turned in the alarm" he
asked as we mounted the stairs with
the others. ~
Il did" replied a night watchman
on the third landing. Saw "a light
in the office on the third floor back
something blazing. But it seems to
be out now.
We had at las. come to the office.
1t was dark and deserted. yet with the
lanterns we could see the floor of the
largest room Uttered with torn books
and Iedgers.
Kennedy caught his foot in some
floor. He followed it,. 1t led to an
electric light socket, where it was at.
tached.
Cant you turn on the lights?"
shouted Mccormick to the watchman.
Not here. They're turned on from
night I'll go down if you want me
No roared Kennedy. Stay where
you are until follow the wire to the
other end" -
1t last we came to a little office
partitioned off from the main room.
Kennedy carefully opened the door.
One Whit of the air from it was suffi-
cient He banged the door shut again.
stand back with those lanterns
bows" he ordered.
I shifted. expecting to smell illu-
minating gas. Instead. a peculiar,
sweetish odor pervaded the air. For
a moment it made me think of hos
pitai operating room.
Ether. exclaimed Kennedy. stand
back farther with those lights and
hold them up from the floor"
For moment he seemed to hesi-
tate. as if at loss what to do next
Should he open the door and let this
he wait patiently until the natural
ventilation of the little office had dis
PEELED it?
While he was debating he happened
to glance out of the window and catch
sight of a drug store across the street
Walter" he said to me. hurry
across there and get all the saltpeter
and sulphur the man has in the
shop
lost no time in doing so. Kennedy
dumped the two chemicals into a pan
in the middle of the main office, about
three-fifths saltpeter and two-fifths
sulphur, should say. Then he lighted
1t. The mass burned with bright
flame, but without explosion we
could smell the suffocating fumes
ment or two we watched it curiously
at n distance.
That's very good extinguishing
powder" explained Craig as we
shifted at the odor. 1T yields a large
amount of carbon dioxide and sulphur
worse-I guess it's safe to open the
door and let the ether out You see,
this Is as good a way as any to rem
der safe a room full of inflammable
vapor. Come, we'll wait outside the
main Office for a few minutes until
the gases mix"
1t seemed hours before Kennedy
deemed 1t safe to enter the office again
with a light. When We did so, we
made a rush for the little cubby-hole
of an Office at the other end. On the
floor was little can of ether, evapo-
rated. of course, and beside it a small
apparatus. apparently used for pro-
ducing electric sparks.
so that's how he does it," unused
Kennedy, lingering the can contem-
platively. He let's the ether evapo-
rate in a room for a while and then
causes an explosion from a safe dis
tance with this little electric spark
There's where your wire comes in, Nc
Cormick. Say. my man. you can
switch on the lights from downstairs
now"
As we waited for the watchman to
turn on the lights 1 exclaimed, "He
failed this time because the electricity
was shut on.
Precisely, Walter" assented Ken
nedy.
'fBut the flames which the night
watchman. saw-what of them ?" put
In Mccormick, considerably mystified