Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1924-01-25

A Few Words
Caused a Fight
By ANTHONY REIMERT
%*&s&sSss*sss*SsSssS 1855

20. 1874. Western Newspaper UniOn.)
A WOMAN'S scream was the first
"A thing that directed attention to it,
Passing pedestrians looked up and
stopped appalled, by what they saw.
On the glrder outside the nineteenth
story Of the new building, now in
course of construction, two men were
engaged in life-and-death battle.
Upon that narrow strip of steel they
fought dashing their fists into each
others faces. clawing at each other;
and at last, locked in a ath-grip,
they seemed to rest absolutely i'm
mobile, so tense was the struggle.
In moment the street was packed
with dense mob of people. The po-
lice reserves came at a run. Five
policemen, accustomed to Drawing
dizzy heights, started on the upward
way, in the faint hope of arresting the
fight before fatal termination oc-
Cured
And that seemed impossible, for the
combatants had again broken loose
from their stranglehold, and were
pounding each other about the face
and body.
Work had stopped for the day; they
were the only two workmen left. Who
were they? The foreman, who ap-
peared to minimize the situation ex-
planned. Bob Connolly and Bill Jen-
klns, two OF his steadiest and best
men. They owned their little homes
In one Of the suburbs, and raised
chickens A very pastoral occupation
for those two desperate, rocking fig
ures above.
whats the quarrel about, fore
msn7
Blamed IL / know"
Have they been enemies
BEST Of friends"
Meanwhile the FIVE policemen were
progressing on their upward way. All
had been engaged in the same hazard
Gus occupation as the combatants be-
fore Joining the force And still the
battle ragged, and neither man would
give an inch The police were draw.
ing nearer now.
A groan OF horror went up from the
mob as the two men became locked in
a strangehod again. And now 1t
could he seen that one of them was
downtown on his back upon that
narrow Rirder, and the other was
kneelinf over him and pounding him.
Merciful heavens, was there ever
such battle as that before?
The under-man, with a supreme eff
fort had regalned his stance. Again
the fight ragod Hammer and tongs
Hammer and tongs But now the po-
licemenr heads appeared upon the
nineteenth story The hearts OF the
watchers in the street below stood still
as they looked on.
Would they he in time to separate
the two hfurated men? Would they
not perhaps be hurled to grisly
death on the sidewalk below, crushed
bone and flesh?
The policemen were approaching the
pair cautiously. two on one side, three
on the other. Now This was the su-
preme moment The watchers gasped.
Then suddenly II was over. The
fighters had sprung apart, and seven
men were in wordy argument upon
the glrder.
And now they were descending The
fight was over. The spectacle had
come to an end. There was to be no
death No sudden horror Of crushed
bodies that would have given the final
thrill to those watching multitudes.
The crowd began to dispense under
the urging Of the police reserves But
little knot Of people still remained
standing at the foot Of the building,
waiting for the combatants to emerge.
What had they fought about7 A girl,
Of course There was always woman
at the bottom Of anything like that.
And now the brave policemen ap-
peared on the ground floor, escortfrg
their prisoners amlably enough. The
men were putting on their coats.
There was n rush forward. The police
pushed the crowd back
Only one man was permitted to go
forward to meet the party. He was
the superintendent of the building, agi.
tated, stammering:
Sergeant, what was II about1"
"Why It wasn't nothin. They had
few words, that's ALL"
"Just few words, me and my
friend Jenkins" grlnned Connolly out
OF bloody face "Danger7 Sure,
there wasn't any danger. We never
thought Of that Guess we wasn't in
danger was we BillT
"But what was It about"
"Why, he said his Rhode Island Reds
was better layers than my White Leg
horns, and | called him a liar"