JOHN FLINT, DEPUTYCHIEF.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10967, 6 January 1912, Page 2 (Supplement)

JOHN FLINT, DEPUTYCHIEF.

, v (By Lawrence Perry.) I

TKe jiew fire commissioner, lounging, in swivel,chair, concluded his remarks , to the deputy-chief with a wave of his, , hand and a shrug of his shoulders. . "You know, Flint," he said, there js such a thing as Being too, careful. Keeping up a record of never losing a man • and -not obeving your superior officer don't go together, always remember "-Tie floor fell, sir, didn't it?" "You told Chief Ronan you had ordered your men olf that floor." Thecorii- . missioner had swung around to his desk arid was speaking over.his,shoulder. "He told vou to put them.-back again ydu. didn't, and the .fire jumped to the, next building—and that's the answer. ' . ; The ■ commissioner watched Flint- as he'flushed and walked silently to the door. _ . , ' .' _ . the answer," added the commissioner as a parting shot. ' 'And next, time you'll be up ;bn, charges." _ . "As the door closed the commissioner gljancSd; at the chief, who had been] -'striding rigidly in the middle of the roiim. . ''.Was that right?" • - f'lt'll do,"' ; was the short reply. "Next' time, though, I'll press the' -- - charge. John Flint nor nobody else will " * make a riionkey;qf' , JThe commissioner regarded. him with keen, humorous eyes. He -was "green and he was young, but" he knew neither fear;.nor .Tammany, which, are one and-the-.same things—sometimes. - . "You're right, Rorian, nobody's going • to make a monkey of you if J can help it. - . . . . I, caa't-;save you from -your- - self, though. If Flint had carried out -your orders yo'd.'a' had lost two com-panies—thirty-two dead men .to answertor.'- That's carrying professional jeal-oiisv-tdo far,-.chief.'' , ,' . ..."He had .the floor overweighted with water," blazed .the; chief. • .. didn't- prove that and Flint's. ■ taeii"-7-th© . commissioner tossed his ; hands'and picked up a letter. "Now £h'op. it all out. The incident's closed. JFliut's a. great firpman-and you're a grfeat ; chief. The city should he proud of ,you both. Let it go at,that. There's plenty, of room for both of.you in the department. But there won't be if this keeps up, .believe me." The commissioner .turned to the letter and- .Chief Ronaji walked to his.own : .office, mutteringthat there .was not space, for both of th,em as it stood, and.thut he ha«i his own idea as to the one who would have to make room. . .. ',. John Flint sat for a .-minute as his gig. drew up in front of- his home on East Fifteenth street. Then, climbing down to the sidewalk he-turned to his driver With a soft look in his steel greveyes.: " -- - - " "Hit. the gong, Tom," .he said. 'Before the clanging had- ceased to sound, the front door-opened and. a lit—tie .boy dashed down the steps arid made' "a "flying, leap into his father's arms, who, without breaking the motion,. lifted him" deftly' up to his shoulder. : "Ho!" cried the boy, kicking his heel? delightedly, "that- was the time, daddy. "Wasn't it a fine jump?" .i T should say so"." laughed the father. ';Some-day, Jackie, if you keep grow-ing-like you -have, you'll jump clean over my head." He-looked .up at- his wife, who stood framed in the light of the doorway, smiling down at them. '"'"Come, John," she said, "you give me little enough of your company without -wasting it all there on the sidewalk."

;> FErifc' chuckled, waved to his driver, and;then rah rip the steps. ; _Njgbts when his big. wonderful father dined at home were banner nights for Jackie. For then his mother permitted Mm. to skip his bedtime hour and remain at the table until dinner was -'finished and his father was free to put lrim_.to bed. And all this" was a great event in the life of that little five-year-old :and.a great., golden: event for John Flint, ordinarily. But to-night he was not himself, although . of course, didn't notice it, but the mother did and her eyes were filled' with concern. She had a -sweet, youthful face beautiful, if orilv because, of its spirituality.; physically she was not strong. "Dad," said the boyy "I dreamt last was caught-in a-.black place— OH>h .'awful"_ black "and dark. and—and — then I woke .before you got .out." .Flint laughed. abstractedly, and reaching over tousled his ..son's, .'head..But.the face of his wife turned toward the two was marked By a strange dread. .."Yon. musn't dream such things/ Jackie," she said sharply. > "No, Towser," said the father, "a boy like you, should- dream of fairies arid Santa Claus and things." . .fSomething. in their tones made the .child feel something, and he looked- at them with blinking eyes for a moment, until his.mind ran to other" .thougHts.[The ticker in the hall sounded an alarm, and the wife's lips moved, ,"as" was her wont in an invocation of. for-.those responding Jo the summons. Flint moved impatiently. .'.".•■ .' "I'm glad the commissioner has .ordered those things taken but of- the. houses!"

• His wife looked at him for a moment in surprise. ■■/-■ "What's the, : , patter,, John?" she ssfced in a low, quick voice. "Why that jigger has bothered ybti—and other women " "I didn't ni~eah that," she interrupted. " "Your "mood—l -"_ . She stopped with a questioning look. ''Ronan had me before the.commis--Bioiier;" . h'e said, r'espbnsively- "The commissibher was top straight and Ifcoo wise to take up charges, .but.the chief is: dowh ; -at Fourteenth street with Sc'ahIph," now."- - ; 'His:wife did not speak, for a moment. At.length: „ .., " - '■''"■ ' '-'.I Wisß-you were'ont'of the depart- - mentjVJphn. ..You've^ served twenty -" years *ihey'd : let \ you. retire-—and you have .that fine jbffer fronvtlie hose supcompany. "Please, John. I said I wouldn't _ mention it again.; but, :pleasel" : ; . . , \ - \ -- eyes became steel and his jaws bulged." iThen' his face softened and 'ansinc'he' walked tp her chair and caxeKeclher. Eair. . ; because of Ronan, dear, you . know:•.thatj'-'.sfie added. jnit you musn't be-silly, girl. ;.r. f can't retire, now, with things this way.' I've tried to be white with Ronan, but what's the use.'. I won't any 'more.* I'jii going to fix him Lj&h'uik I know hbw."fo dp it."* He "locked'at his ■watch.. "I must be out awhile my quarters." EL-: - turned ; to", the boy. won't- mind, old man, if I put yqti.;tp bed"to-morrow night instead r " Ilve'gbVa lot to do." ' , x -'The "child tried "to'be" brave and succeeded., . but; his lip quivered. Themother jumped up with quick concern. John." Oh, don't leavis Just "fifteen minutes, something makes me af—" she comprised her lips. "It will only delay you fifteen minutes. He's been talkhig:about it all day." Flint- glanced' at his watch again and laughed in the hearty way she loved. "All right, Towser," he. said, "you and' I are booked for" a dandy- scrap."' And they had it while delighted squeals from a very small boy and great, deep chfickles from a.very big man filled tlm house. .

.[''Saw ain't you nearly broke in two?" queried; the boy at length, sitting astride.his father's chest. "You should Wftso?" he suggested as Flint lifted hinr to the bed. ,- t: yes, I should, say so, you little sleepkiller. ... . .Now then off you go to sleep if you want to grow up to be a big man."

And so the boy went to.sleep while the ; father sat for a .while looking out "oyer.-the street where the gloom of twilight was beginning to settle. . ;As he. kissed his wife at the door she looked up at him. - Arengt you" glad you waited Come back soon to me, John." . "Yes." Gpod-bye." -She turned on "the sill." - ''John!" "GootT-night. John." ' : \. 'fGood-nigh't." "' - ; .

She closed the door lingeringly. 7-/, The evening life of a hot, hum id street on the lower East Side was. beginning when Flint arrived at the truck Bouse where he made his headquarters. From the windows of the c tenements overhead and from the fire escapes came an intermittent murmur of voices, pierced sometimes by the sharp cry -of a sick baby or the harsh admonition of a mother to her'children; the clatter of

crockery falling and breaking on iron escape landings. A hurdy-gurdy was rattling away -n front of the tawdry notion store next the station, .and ;half-clad youngsters, hand in. .hand.skipping, pirouetting, swaying in rhythmic . abandon. There were, women, babes, in arms, seated, .'■n. chairs and boxes on the sidewalk. The dull roar of the elevated railroad came from Allen Street a block eastward and the gorig of-an ambulance out on a heat case clattered insistently and then died awav; - Above the street the walls of. the houses were amorphous shapes. punctuated bv faint blurs of light and thin, waterv stars hung vaguely in; a | characterless 'sky. Everything seemed adrip:, in the heavy atmosphere a ■ myriad odors were merged, :the reek o|.tlie> .street, which neither lifted nor..disra--. tegrated. /The deputy-chief replied ab-: sentlv. to the salute of the "man at itne, desk "and glanced with a .faint-smile nt. a Voung probationer, who sat on'the. running-board of the truck,, ■drinking from a cold, moisture, beaded bottle of milk: The deputy had one of those .wroii-; derful faces in which strength, kindliness, and sweetness are perfect y joined-. None of his. division feared Jolm I'lint,; but all respected him, as strong men,; onlv can respect a stronger man. ine company captain joined him as .thehorse was taken from'the gig, and trie two moved to the open doors, conversing A woman who, had been waiting* there advanced diffidently, holding her small son by the hand. . . ■■ "Thought I'd come out and: tell you that the bov is all well, Chief, thanks to you and .the milk you been sendin around and the doctor——" • ;- Flint's big, genial voice^uiterrupted. "Now, now Mrs Mafcuire, that s all right: So here he is; eh?" rubbing his hand over tlie child's head. "Sure.; sure he's'all Tight now; such a little husky couldn't be under "the weather long,; could he, BillY?" And how proud that bov was as his mother led him away! • '■■ 'Old Giiilio, the icecream "man, who j smiled oh all children whether they j bought or not, came up pushing his cart ] before him. and the captain called the; probationer, gave him fifty cents and '•■ fold him to round up the dancers and the other children and biiythem hokey-nokej-s until the money ran out- Then - he and the chief stood for awhile chuckliner'..deeulv' as thev saw. the urchins .. scrambling" and scuffling, about the lovable old Italian arid the tall young" hre-. ; man who was beginning to learn what ■ it meant to eat smoke. : ' . (F.or half.an hour thereafter Flint |sat iit his office, the door closed,, his eyes >. fixed vacaiitlv, out, of. the:scindQW.; ,Fi- : nail vie. leaned iover the desk and.drew' i the telephone to him. number of a great newspaper,on Tark Row. ; "You remember sending a man .to me last month on that: Prince Company hose ■ contract," he-said to,the city editor, !" "Flint—yes. If .you send young man ■'■■ Arnold around Here about ten o'clock I-rtliiuk I .can give him some information. Good-bj-e." , He. took from his desk a sealed en- . velope, "opened it,, and carefully pei-u'sed i a report, "which/one, of "the heads of the • clerical department had _secretly com- . piled and forwarded, to. .him. _ ._ ' It involved/one of. those official discrepancies that sound worse than they y really are—something which a slight deviation from correct analysis would permit the formulation of charges siiffi- : ciently serious, to annoy Rqnan and \ make him squirm but not calculated jo' hold water on.trial. As Flint read them over he recognised this and he sat back. ■'- with ej-es closed, casting about for the best method of giving the facts as revealed their worst complexion. Sucl- , denlj- he leaned forward and cast the \ papers into a drawer with a gesture of

contempt."A new sort of business you're in,'" he'muttered. "You ought to be proud of yourself " For a few seconds he &at

siient, then started in his chair. "You'll not play with cards under the table, anyway," he said, seizing the telephone. He had started to call the chief's office when a fireman entered

with word that young Talbdt, a settlement worker of the district, was downstairs with a party of French noblemen. *

An alarm outsido the district had

come in as the. visitors entered and they were just in time to see .the" three bis horses dash to their places and the firemen, to drop one after another dow.n the sliding poles, standing grouped abbiit the heads of the animals in accordance with the regulation that "second-but", coiripanies shall remain in readiness for a possible second'alarm. FJint had just, -flashed down the pole and was shaking hands with the settlement worker when the indicator sounded, a few sharp strokes. Figures darted here and there; there Was a pounding of hoofs, a glitter.of metal, and .woodwork, a hurried apology from Flint, and Talbot and his. guests were, with" the" exception of the keeper, alone in the house. As Flint's gig, with its clattering gong, dashed across the Bowery, a: lurid flare lightened the heav.y sinpke, which was pouring .over -the thoroughfare from a big six-storey building a block to the westward. The deputy's jaws set tight. "It's the Burigan Paper Warehouse," he said \6 the driver. "The boys—" \ v The sharp clanging of a bell caused J him. to t>irn just in time to see a low, I red motor-car turning sharply in from the _ main thoroughfare arid driving straight- for the rear wheels of the gig. I The officer at the steering wheel lurched heavily sidewise, pulling the wheel sharply to-avoid the impending accident, at the same time shutting off power, which was wise, for the "steering gear went.awrj' and the car luiribered up to the curb aiid stopped with its radiator crumbling against a brick wall. Flint, who more than once had been, beaten to a fire in his own district by Chief Ronan's autombbile, could not stifle a derisive laugh as he witnessed the accident, and .in another half minute he was flighting from his vehicle in front of the burning warehouse "Where's your chief?" he asked of a battalion chief's driver. "He went up the stairs with the first company," - was the reply. I'll get him." As he spoke that officer came out of the door, his eves strearnirijr panting for breath." ' "It's on the fourth floor, Chief," he said, "and going like hell. I've got the first company with a.line on the stairs leading to the floor andthe-third company, too. The second's up there on the fire-escape." "AH right," replied Flint, and he was turning to order the second-alarm companies to stretch in from the water tower ancfthe others to go round to the rear when Chief Ronan ran iip, his white hat in his hand.

"I'll look after this," he said. He glared at his deputy. "Whv didn't you send in a third alarm?"

"We don't need it yet/' growled Flint, touched on his professional pride. "Yet! .The hell we don't. What do you know about it? Have you been in the building? Not' you," sneeringly. "Here, Howard, ring in the third and hurry. This is no fire to fool with—although some seem to think so." Without waiting for further words from his chief, Flint dashed into the warehouse. The pungent smell of dry paper was all about and little wisps of smoke were swirling through the offices. Gil the second floor the smoke rendered everything viewless. Flint reached out his foot and was guided to the stairway by the lines of hose. On the third floor landing the glow of his acetylene lantern fell on the ghostly forms'of the relief lilies and three firemen who had just come back from the nozzles above, sat on- the stairs fanning themselves with their hats and sucking.air from .water-soaked sponges which they carried suspended from strings from their suspender buckles. Picking up a lieutenant Flint went on up the stairs to a point where the \men at the pipes .lay, their faces pressed close to the nozzles,..drinking what air '■ the" water brought. He could not see, the pipemen. He could, not see the lieutenant standing at his elbow. It was a bad smoke, full of carbon and a dose even for Flint's practised lungs.' There was .a movement at his feet ahdT •the"body-of a probationer, deserting his comrades "at one of the pipes, lurched against him'. He was coughing and gagging and sobbing. Flint caught him. preventing him from -pitching downstairs,-, and pushed him to the lieutenant. •'"■".. ." "- ...'"'■''"■

"Take him, Pete," he"said. '-/' Get him out of this. He's one." Send one of the relief line up." As the ofißcer, stumbling and grunting, dragged the half unconscious firer man down the stairsj Flint turned to the others. • \

--. "It's all right, boys," he said, and picking his way oyer the recumbent men he started up ahead of 'the nozzles.

He could catch the impression of movement below as the big two-inch streams tore "through the murk, and above a hectic flush rose and fell with pulsating fury. All about was a fierce sound. » sort of reverberating growl the sweep of the tempest, against which rose.the crash of caving timbers, ..-he swift -rattling and crackling ot the flames'and the sliarp hissing Ct water. Flint's breath suddenly stopped and he could not"regaiti it. Strangling,,.he threw.liimself oil his stomach gasping, for .air which always runs along -tne bottom of the smoke,, and got it One of the stieams soused him and it leit cool and •good. As he. worked' his way slowiv down :to : his inen long tongue Bfiflame appeared out of the lurid flusn ibove and shot over the prone figures at tnehose. Two solid streams sought_its source, butSt^me^ce, more, lazily this.time licfcing'at;th ? .;helmets o } the firemen and. searing their cheeks. Flint.-< voice i-ose huskily-. ".-.,.- ■;" „ i,„ "Coine on out of this boys, he yeife'd. -."Takeybiir lines down to th"next floor." -. ',, ? ferumblingV but not knowing they •were- beaten,. the men. wriggled down thesstairs and rallied on the third .floor landing -with the'desperation of strong arid: brave men facing, defeat by an element which they ; had;been taught -.0. hate. " .Flint found a battalion, chief here.- He had.coriie from the ladders in through the- third storey rear window; at the head of two engine companies with.; hose and-a track company with axes.. ■ ./;. : .->•• .';' ■ '..' ~, - -■ " here, Chief.", he said, grasping Flint by .the arm and leading him down the hall and into a. small store-room with plastered Avails.; Here he bent tlm floor. Flint cruoched for an instant and ran his hand, along the surbase; it was. almost redrhot. Like a surgeon en : gaged in diagnosis he straightened jp carrying his fingers /with light touch up the "wall. Suddenly his band paused liitting : tlie plaster .1 resounding smack, he turned to the shadowy figure of a-great .raw-boned axeman \vlio stood, at "his -e1b0w...-; .1. . "Punch a hole in there," he said. •"- A : crunching blow followed and then Out of.the hole a long,.bloodred-, quivering tongue, of flame appeared and puffed'into the smoky limbo behind, asvtbough sentient with desire to locate ■and ignite some gas-laden ball of smoke, -setting free the death-dealing backdraft.: .Then came another tongue, wliich.licked up to the.ceiling and then withdrew like the flashing tongue of a snake.-- • ; -::._.,:.. ..

, Againsthe big trackman's axe smote the wall and, the '.ho.se r men dragging in a. Jine thi-ust-.'..the pipe into the hole, holding it in place; on a Bonner partition tripbtk . •; :.'■: ""•'.•■■-'-; Stumbling along to the west side of - the,building, Flint found that DeputyGhief Ryan had- discovered similar conditions. He '.went down the stairs in<j his head.. -As-he.came out to the sidewalk; filling his lungs with pure air, he saw Ronan in the middle of the street, by the water-tower, watching the men on the fire-escapes, who, as Lithe case of -those on the inside of the building, had been driven downward. There .were groups of them crouching ['against the third-floor wall, their helmets reversed, their heads bent low. -The long, ghostly arm from the searchlight engine occasionally ceased its wandering over the face of the burning building arid rested upon them. On the sidewalk white-coated young ambulance surgeons, were working over the prostrate figures of firemen who had eaten more smoke than they could digest. Reporters were, everywhere, taking matters in a. business-like way, but plainly interested in potentialities'. The number of firemen overcome had already, made their stories worth half a column more than inight otherwise have been the case, and they were hungry for further developments. Ronan was intolerant, irascible, a man with every combative instinct aroused, from the moment lie tackled a big fire until it was under control. Flint was always more approachable. "How is it going, Chief?" asked one of- the reporters of him as the deputv made his way toward Ronan. "It's a fire ; son," smiled Flint; . Ronan's quick eye caught the passing dialogue, and as his deputv came up they .sparkled witlra venomous light. . "Did you give him your picture for the-paper?" he said. Flint.did 'not give the chief even the satisfaction, of an expression. "The fire's backed the men down to the third floor," lie said. "And—well you know the building." .. The chief did know it. 'When he was a deputy in this district he had gone through the warehouse and made the prediction that if it ever got going good it would mean the death of a company or two, and a battalion chief at the least. But the last thing in his mind was to admit that to his assistant. Overhead .there came a soft, seething noise and a flare of lights *A lowdrawn- exclamation arose from the throngs held in leash- by the police reserves at intersecting- corners. Ronan .glanced upward, at. the great gouts of flame pouring up through the roof of the building- and then looked impatiently down the street whence came the throaty whistles and Jangling bells of. the fourth arid fifth •* alarm companies., '"■■''.

''They've kicked it up through the roof." Rorian glanced-triumphantly at Flint.

"The fire's going down through the partitions and is.under the thiijd floor now," said Flint simply. r 'l told Ryan to get the pen down-to the second floor and .hold ready to leave the buildinoIs that all right! Yoii--—-!?' "Is that all right!" The chief glared at Flint. He took' off his hat as though to dash it to the ground, .the veins m his neck swelling. "You've ordered — them—down another—floor—and is it all-right! You—!" . He paused as three firemen lurched out the'jdobr and fell unconscious on the sidewalk. A truck" company standing grouped at the, curb, leaning oil the hooks, looked curiously at the ambulance surgeons as they rolled their comrades oyer oh their backs and applied, restoratives and then at the chief who. rah past" them to meet the newly arrived .coinpanie."; just stretching in. ".Go on in.there if you've got any chests on you," he yelled. "Go to it—"nd,cut the .heart out of that fire. Y\hat are you doing to-night anyway' "Why,.l'll fire or—or—-" he. paused as-a captain,, a box-built mail with grizzled moustache, dripping with water, hurried but of the building to their side) "well," he said, "what do you want:"'

. "Third floor's in bad shape, sir; looks like' its going to come through. All the companies have been backed down to the second floor. Chief Ryan, says shall he order out?"

.Italian turned-his face slowly toward Flint, but the deputy had not been listening. . His eyes were directed to .tlje third floor.where, a great cloud of flame was bellying. oiit of a window, t'igging like a, balloon at its fastenings. Instinctively Flint turned to the opposite building.' a tenement, the doors and windows open. . He could see the beds, pictures on the. walls, aiid tables with their fed checkered cloths set with half-finished meals. There was a lurid flash over their'heads and when Flint looked at that tenement again all the signs of habitation had disappeared, the windows revealing naught but blackened .walls, flaming ;shreds of curtains, and crumbling furnishings. A' company or :two were, piling in, but there was little-for" them to do. • The wave of heat'had not kindled fire: it had incinerated.!. " •• "'' . "

Rohan came out.of the tenement and J Flint ; in'et ;him with, flushed face. "H?> v much longer' are you going to leave";'th'a boys in that .warehouse,".Chief. Italian ?", Jie : asked. :. "What's that, to you?" sneered. Ronah. l"Yon.ain't in there, are you? Nof you!" he /added:.. Then suddenly out of the. clogging welter of jealousy and hate,and spite his professional.judgment "emerged clear. "Hey, Flint," and his words, came like bullets,-. "Get every man, out of .this building,' quick.". " Like a- shot j;he deputy- went across. the sidewalk and into the doorway. Through, the viewless, choking floor's, filled with red spluttering embers,.went the orders that meant defeat:.- :; "Everybody to the sidewalk!" : Slowly the men staggered out", hearing their, burdens of heavy, water-filled hose, assembling by companies and listening with.straining ears as the lieutenants called the rolls. , Four times the quicky staccato'calling .of a name met with -no response; and like a clammy wind word" went round"'that mei£-;-were,; still in the "i One of them'vras F1int....;,.; r ': : : ; : .■:. ii-~: : . '.";. ."■ ':■■ ".'■.-■ '.'. ■ : ■■.-'. '-. i.- .: ~ ;: /&3?~&i- •". ' j ':■■-."'.';.■-

Boloie Ronan's mouth had opened to hurl forth the rescue orders a. dozen men, headed by two "captains, were .piling thiough the dooiwaj. As the} iought then wa> up to the second flooi the staiis seemed +o heave and the veiv building was, quivenng and sighing like a hi nig thing. In the lear hallway a fareman, gasping and feeling his way with his boot, stumbled ovei the leg of a prostiate comrade. In a flash he bent, thrust one hand under the unconscious man's neck, the other undei his shoulders, and dragged him like a sack oi meal to the stairs. Two or three or the part\. hunting to the spot whence the truckman's cries that he had found a man came, ran into the deputy-chief, walking half cioucl.ed, an insensible hi email across his sliouldeis. "tJpie, take him," he said, lifting the man from his hack like a child 'and pushing him tow aid the group whose voices alone told him ot their near, pioxnnity "Two we've got,-take fern clown and lepoit to the chief. -How manv mote-"' , -:'Orie moie, but he can t be got,, cued an ofhcei. 'The flooi's locking now " - . But theic was no leplj. Lhe next instant the chief's voice bellowed up: •'Eveiy one out on the sidewalk, luint, bini"- vom men down 1 Burke's not in theic'" Went to the hospital. We ve got 'em all Hurry!" As the men leached the sidewalK Honan met them. - , "All here?" he ened; "where s Flint?" , r , , , Impulsive always and from his first daj as a hicman prone to do that which no" other fiieman had evei done, the chief lipped out an oath as the reply came that they thought the deputy was with them and that he had been on the second floor Bounding tor the stalls and calling ovei his shouldei that he would bieak the man who followed him, he jumped into the smoke and disappeaied, leaving the men standing, wondering, undecided what to do. Flint's quest for the man ho supposed to he lying somewheie on that llooi led him thiough a succession or 1 ooms, leading to the rear oi the building. In each he had ended and lecircled, kicking right and left, in hope ot locating the missing man, but, oi course, without success. As he pioceeded ho know that the way whence he had come was being closed by intervening shoe's ot flame, but in figuung out his course ho had no thought ot leaving tho walehouse ovei.the enteimg, lotitc His onlv chance, he knew, lay fighting clean through the .building/and going down the ladders or the fire*escapes, or, if the necessitj arose, even dropping + he twenty odd feet to the, ground. As m the case of every building in his distuct, Flint knew it like a book, and this knowledge and his sense of direction made acute m many such emergencies as this combined to cany him along, until the smoke began to get into his brain, and the heat to clog his senses. Many times as a private he had fought fiie two oi more houis in smoke which lendered his side partner invisible, as many other big-lunged fiiemen have, but to-nigh' his nerves were not good and expenenced firemen will tell \ou that it is geiieially the nerves that ir o when a man succumbs and not primarily the heart and .lungs.

So this stalwart-veteran of coristimt .fire-fighting suddenly .brought himself up with the realisation that for thepast few minutes he had; been wandering mechanically, without this stimulus, ordirection of the mind. ; He : found him-: sell' in a room, not .large, with his on the knob-of'.a door which had hot Opened as he turned it/: Ten feet-from the floor a .small dull square patch revealed the location of a ventilator window. The door was locked. - : • Instinctively.he turned to retrace his steps, but the doorway he had. entered framed a red glow, like the mouth''of-a furnace. He' faced about, drew back his boot and kicked .the-.' door a mighty blow. The panel' cracked. . As he swung, his leg backward there came an answering crack from : the other. side and the next instant-the door .crashed, inward,' torn from its hinges, with the; big form of Chief Rohan sprawling across it. " : " , , . ' . ; Quickly .springing to his feet Ronah ; seized liis deputy'.by the arm.- '' "Come-oil out of this; John," he said gruffly. ."Remember .your wife and kiddie.' Come oh,', every bnejs : Olit." ..--..'.' ',''."■:.' ■-.->.■ _;-""

Flint .heard hijn vaguely. ; . Memory of the ..enmity which-Rfliian had.held for' him in'the .-past' year\. and shown upon all occasions filled his diilled hraiii with smouldering emotion. He tore'his arm from Eonan's grasp arid looked at him. swaying. '-.'. '". ' '"Yon—you-,", man-killer,''; he said.. "You told the commissioner v I was afraid of 'fire. .... /.. Now, "isee /who'll leave this building.first, you or me.''.., AVitlii an exclamation, .riot' ; of. anger, Rohan, sprang for"liis deputy to drag

him to tlie window'riotVteri feet away. But before he could-fling, .his arm around liis neck the floor itnde'r their

feet-se'emed to shift'sidewis© and all about them was the impression;; of a. great wind rush,' ,a.horrible /..pressiiig down of an irresistible but "irri'palpable force, which few, firemen have felt, and lived to tell the experience. Hurry-; ing along the swaying floor, prilling Flint by- the arm," Rorian.. had 'gained the window-sill, .when, there,; came the shriek of inru.shing air; followed a rend--ing and crackling, "a: "succession of deafening reverberations, and ..Rpnan*; dizzily straddling the/'"window-casing saw' tlie floors screaini ing, grinding, hissing, ;'crunching—a.; fearful noise and a fearful, sight,' like the fall of a great .city into the bottomless pit..'' - ." .-.".' ~ '.'...'■.■ _" , Flint, who . had - puUed ;away roifr; Rbrian's grip, xerit-down in the,middl&' of the .floor. .Baper bales which :had beeii piled about ;'the..ropm oyer about him, protecting jiiiri from' the impact of the overhead beams anil rafters, so that as he went down and down, clear to the cellar, he experienced in all their-flashing; reality,_; the" horrors of- his descent arid, its 'significance. Then came the impression -th'at he had landed, lightly As "a" feather, as of a rnan falling- from .a tower, in a dream. Then there ; 'was darkness and a great silence. . . .'. . ; ; -. v Flirit moved uneasily. He hWrd' the. voice of his boy/frighterie'd,by a dream of the night. Yet there "was : aii; impression of; a lapse of time.. 'A.- ..pSjfn;, shot down his back. Hie moved urijeasily and with .an instinctive ■ movementbrought his hand", to his face. ;Then. came knowledge that water ''.yr.as .flowMg' upon it, wa?er that felt gritty!';";' ]Je opened his eyes; there'.was So.thirie but. blackness pierced by a thread-likeTafHSe of light.' . He closed liis; eyes -for, ti. second. He shivered'.. As in "a;'di;eairi i he tried to rise to a-; sitting; posture. But he could not, for a' weight'; -Jay,r across his stbrnach; His hands were free, tliough, .and they < plucked-■ feehly at the big, charred beam. Slpwly he reached upward, Jdie fingers' striking against something soft. Then lie let his' arm fall heavily, splashing in the water., every, sense awakened under', the shock of realisation. The' paper/bales ;. h-£fd' ; arched above 'him. He was buried alive." ; " <•'•-"--•- ; . ■ ; .-' ;.-;;•;

Ho lay still for a few minutes and listened to the inrush of jets of water. The sound brought fear to him." Water was laving his oars; a few minutes befoie, as lie lay with the back of his head in the water, it had -not come up to his ears. Evidently the outlet had closed. With frenzied desperation he kicked out sidewise, and his boot struck against something which seemed to give. Again he kicked and forced an opening through which the rising water found vent and flow;ed out gurgling. Flint's licad fell back upon the black of>ze aiid he gave "thanks to his God. .Then his arm reached out again and fell upon a metal implement, a hose spanner. His fingers closed upon it. Thus he lav" for awhile.

It was the night of the next day. The wife, with a face of death, hut lighted 'bv a brave smile and a little boy, were standing ,011 the .street in front of a smouldering.- blackened shell, through the gaping holes of which the search-light rays were playing, and forms of men. in rubber coats and battered blue fatigue caps, and wreckers irom the building .department, were working feverislily with pick and shovel and bar. Chief Rqnan came tip in his motor, and with a grave face approached the pitiful little' group. , " ' "Nothing yet?" he said in his gruff voice.

The woman shook her head. "Yon ought_to go homej" .said the chief; "This ain't any 'place , for you two. We can—let you know."

"But why don't you get him?" said the woman in a low, monotonous voice, with eye that looked at Ronan, but seemed not to see him.

-vWe're tryin'. to," said- Roiiaii. • 'Brit . you must - hurry," : she said. "For lie's alive/: Oh. I-lmow it! - Jobix' Flint is living:" . - . Jtonan .looked at Jier .'curiously, a great Jump in-his. throat, which,-never having-felt before, he could ndt understand. . ■'Why don't .you get him. He is alive," she repeated. "\¥liy I have heard his voice all- the time." She, closed hers eves. '-I hear. it now."- ~. ' 'Site's been saying; that , since last night,"! -hM: just; ceased,workvvvith: a shift of men. • R-onaii put . his- hand' 011 the woman's

shoulder. ; -'We'll get:liim if. lie's.jaliye—ror ir he's —" he stopped abruptly, "we'll get, hnn-" , ' .... "Their why don't you," Tepli&d the "womai)^... anil; &he sat. .pn.-.the..-. curb, axid took 'lier drowsy boy iii her r arms. And on'..worked .the ; ;nieii men* caw are seeking the ,body. ot i a lo,ved le'a&er; ; One;.grpup jv;as r lifting cliarred beams'iind carrying them _care-fully-to one side. Others"were burrowdown ' among tire .litter, crawling, tliroilglr slimy black Janes and , caverns whichv-the moving of.' sections of ; debris opened. ' - • Ronan entered tlie building,.aijd, stood,, grimly -watching the meiv.-- A reporter

jomed h "i. "Is: there "n v chance-: he s alive ; asked the new piper man. "Alive!" Ronan looked at.tlie man. ' 'Alive! And you've been covering fires fifteen years, Max? _,Why ~ -A" voice : -wild with, excitement.: rupted lnnij the ..voice .of Elint'^.diive.r. -"Stop .all -work, everybody! ihe words rang thrillingly clear throughout the shell of. building. . Every figure 'straightened. llonan liuiriea. to th©. duver's side. \ „ "What's up, Tom?" he said. His voice was ■ even, but ..his - eyes w ere glistening. . , .. •• "Listen!-' Tlie.dnver hadiflung himself upon jthe blackened pile. and Ronan <lkl likewise. Then to their straining ears there came with gentle distinctness- a .taint; tapping,"an; orderly tapping hrealarm Jigger. , -±, i. i , - "On©;'—Counted .Ronan with husky voice. He waited. Then: '•'One —two—th re e—to li r—fi. ve —si x—se v.e n—ei gilt. '■ "Eighteen';'' . the: -driver. "Eighteen truck! Our headquarters! ; ~ Ronan. arose arid there was a sweet dignity in his voice: that no -.one. had. i ever heard before. - ''BoS';.'- he 'said, ""John Flint —is— right—down—there. .Get him!". As electricity travels, so the news tljaf .John Flint, missing for ttearly-twenty^fotir-hours at the bottomnlount'am of twisted beam?, shattered r -timbers;- and >chaired .- ; bales, of : paper.j; was; still living," spread throughout the district. ' Telephones buzzed. in newspaper offices; late evening extras -heralded the dramatic.development: and., the city editors of the morning papers ■hurried out '.theirbest. .men on ■assignment of the day... The commissioner came and he took the woman and the boy, sleeping..now, ..in .his mobile and kept them.-there, .his hand resting heavily on her shoulder. ... ■ >But of ' all these things : the little grorips of men, -working in tense silence under the :glare of the ,search-light engine and acetylene lanterns, knew nothing The- tapping!.had ceased, and Tom, the driver-,- still ljiiig -.with his ear on the blackened naound of . debris, turned a strained face to the. chief , and; shook Ins head. But they had located the spot and a- long .bar of _ iron. ith a red lantern hanging thereon marked it. , There was need, of gr.eat. .care, and that prevented hastej the., premature dislodgmerit of a beam might, wen end everything. With the deliberate touch of watchmakers, ' the men • rooted .out twisted lengths of- ironwork.. And armfills of indeterminate substance. Something suddenly gave under the feet of three building department laborers and they went do„wn .up to their necks, landing upon something which seemed to spring undor their feet. The men above ceased their work and looked, expectantly at an inspector, who, havmg ordered the men out of the hole which, had so suddenly opened under their feet, was on his knees, peering into it, his ■ lantern suspended-at arm's-length. Tlieie was haidly a breath during tlie ' inspection; - • Men .looked at the silent bla<?£ heaps all-about, filled with • the awe of. the thought that anything living really cduld be lying beneath it. ; Still the inspector did . not stir. To ' and- fro his-lantern, resting here a moment, then there. At length, protruding from beneath a blackened- bale, he 'discerned the uncharred end-of a ' beam with a section: of floor-planking ■ attached. He rose to his feet and pointed to it. : ~ • "Get a-wall-liook and line," he said ■ in a low voice. , A slim young building wrecker slid down into the hole, jammed .the hook around -the beam', 'and . climbed.«out.. Like spectres, twenty: thirty, forty, men '■■■ -tailed on to the line ; and stood waiting. 1 The atmosphere of tenseness cominunicated to the throng outside the building and - there was a . general surging forward which the police did not attempt ' to .'check. "Pull gentlj - ," came-the command. The line strained :arid:.then 'gave a - bit. There was ; a creaking and rend- ■ ing below.. Another pull and the- beam and the floor'arid the: bales upon it, arose half a foot, like : a.trap-door. - "Stop pulling! Hold what you've: - got !" :' *'"• . V' . . . - • •_.. . - Ronan could wait no longer. With lantern hooked under Ills- arm he dropped into the,hole,. and-then^placing ■ liis-face close to the fissure, jwhich the i liftirig:beam had opened called:aloud. '.'John - Flint, arer.you there?"; .; There' was no reply and a great sigh swept'among the men. Ronan thrust Jiis arm into the 'opening.:in- an, effort •to t nscertain-its size. -His-fingers swejpt against - something soft.. The next instant something in that, limboo of .dark- | ness seized the chief's hand with'a weak ( pressure atid the voice of Ronan sound- i -ed out. of the pit .like a trumpet blast.:. ' "For the love of God, pull on that line!" -■ , . ' .. After that nothing:was clear—a great upheaval, -the disappearance of Ronan, li'is sudden reappearance, dragging by superhuman; effort a form as heavy as his ow.n, his cries for .help, a surging . knot of figures and then a slim ambu'- • rmce surgeon worming to the centre of tilings with flashing deftness. Flint's driver, Tom, had only one impression. Ronan had said . something to his depiitV;' who had nodded faintly and smiled. ... Arid outside a woman waited serene. Arid her boy was still, sleeping in her • -arms. -.. .. / ■ , As they bore John Flint . out .to the waiting ambulance she advanced and touched- his face softly.: Arid her, -voice was that of a great love triumphant—a love th«vt knows no mistrust, nor faltering, nor fear.:. "John, I knew you were alive. ,i heard you when you told me Flint smiled wearily.,_ When, a h..tle boy's fingers closed on-his hand his e3 Teshalf opened. "Dad," said the boy,.-' 1.-been ,dreaming again about 'that black place : one more time. And—and—-T. dreamed you got out. Didn't I, mother?" " ;