Show I For OUT Youth Jot Fire Escape By HarrietCaryl Cox author of The New Gallagher and Other Joe Stonep J The Deserter office was very quiet The managing editor had not returned from lunch the reporters were still out on their assignments and only the city editor and Joe remained in the office The former was idly scribbling but Joe in this period of off duty was industriously engaged in shelling and eating peanuts Eating peanuts was a serious performance per-formance with Joe for he was doing the thing scientifically He hadnt watched wonderful juggling feats for nothirig So there he sat in the managing manag-ing editors big leather chair his feet on the desk a big brown paper bag of peanuts in his lap and the shells in beautiful confusion on the floor As the peanuts were shelled he would toss them into the air throwback throw-back his head open his mouth to its fullest extent which was remarkable Xin so small a boy and endeavor to jpatch the kernels as they fell Usually r je succeeded but often he did not and the smooth kernels falling on his face or funny snub nose would glance aside and bounce away Already a couple had found lodgment In the inkstand one had hit the city editor on the head and several had iL I I CATCHIG PEAALTS struck the window panes like hailS hail-S stones but undisturbed by this Joe continued his absorbing sport till he Avas startled by a hearty laugh from the doqr A big peanut was in the air and Joe waited for it to fall before turning his eyes toward Miss Tracy who was regarding re-garding him with amusement Have one queried Joe at the same time taking aim and deliberately firing one at her It hit her square in the face There exclaimed he you had oughter had your mouth open and twould have gone innow ye r see youre out er it and he gravely turned he empty bag upside down ihe spose I might as well pick these Up Joe continued getting down on the floor and rapidly gathering up the fallen nuts Hurry up Joe interrupted Miss Tracy theyre firing salutes in the harbor and I want to go up on the roof No pick up the shells first she added as Joe jumped to his feet ready to follow Joe growled There aint no need a bein so durned particular he muttered mut-tered as he sent a shower of shells Into the waste basket kicked the few remaining ones ont of sight and then hastened toward the stairway and up to the roof Miss Tracy was there before him leaning on the high railing and looking look-ing out over the harbor It was a beautiful sight Over and beyond the ugly rooftops the tangle of vines and the smoky chimneys the water of the harbor gleamed a broid blue expanse dotted with green islands and white sails Here and t there a steamer ploughed its way ard left behind a milky wake Many sailIng sail-ing vessels lay at anchor and pleasure boats moved slowly in and out In the centle of all were the ships of the White Squadron standing out boMly against the intense blue of sky and water J Pretty aint it said Joe e5ting I his arms on the railing and taking in the picture at a glance Looks like a real picture such as yer see at the art museum only somehow in pictures they dont never make the water look I Iwet I S Z ROLLED OUT ITO THE STREET wet like it oughtlooks more like sky Miss Tracy smiled at the criticism but her eyes remained on the scene before be-fore her Presently Joe grew restless and wandered wan-dered about the roof finally looking down into the busy street at the front and trying to distinguish if the two newsboys on the sidewalk were Ted and Jim or Billy and Sam He had almost decided in favor of the former when a sudden commotion filled the street By Jove there is a fire somewhere he shouted the engine is acoming Miss Tracy crossed over to where I Joe leaned breathless over the railing and grasped his collar firmly With 1 intense interest the two looked down i and watched the gathering crowd and the sudden scattering of the people as the engine came rattling up the street JIm J-Im a going down cried Joe as he rushed for the stairway and disappeared disap-peared Miss Tracy turned and gave a farewell fare-well glance at the White Squadron then sloVly began to descend She had gone but a few steps when Joe appeared Come on he shouted hoarsely were afire and then he dragged her through the empty loft and down a p end night of stairs Here Mis < 3 Tracy tripped in her haste and would S have Iallen had be not braced himself and steadied her Then Jues face grew while and ret f II as the flames came flaring up the passageway pas-sageway and great clouds of smoke rolled in from the elevator well You cant go down them stai She S-he cried as Miss Tracy made a mad rush for the stairway Joe was rightthe lower stories were all in a blaze Go to the window commanded Joe I Then he made a rush for the i e < ct room and a cloud of smoke hid nim from view A cry broe from Miss Tracy Had Joe left her I Miss Tracy hurried to the window and looked down into the street below Through the rifts in the smoke she could see the engines and streams of water mounting higher breaking against the hot bricks and dashing away into the air then a sudden burst of flame two stories below shutout shut-out the scene Oh Joe she moaned Here he shouted as he dashed out of the smoke Put them on quick he added as he threw at her feet a pair of old trousers Miss Tracy shrank back Youve got ter he said your dress 11 get afire in no time and weve got ter get out er this Thems wool and wont burn and if yet have tel I jump yer wont get tripped same as yer did Still she hesitated Oh Miss Tracy for Gods uase dont stop he begged the tears tilling till-ing his eyes as he made a frantic grasp for her light skirt Like a flash she saw it all and her wits came back In a moment her light skirts lay in a heap on the floor and she stood by the window in her new attire while Joe buttoned his coat about her As they leaned out shouts came up from below The men in the street had seen them and were spreading the life net and motioning them to jump Miss Tracy shrank back Oh Joe I cant she pasped I Yes yer canand yerre got ter too Oh Miss Tracy there aint but just that one way so just kinder say a prayer and jump andandGod bless yer Joe fairly pushed her into the windowsill Another shout arose from the crowd blow as they caught sight of the figure fig-ure ready to jump The exchange editor was in the street Half crazed he turned his head away where was Miss Tracy Had she I been overcome by the heat Was Joe I going to leave her As Miss Tracy stood there hesitating hesitat-ing the office cat came rushing up and sprang t9 the sill beside her Her eyes were blazingand her tongue hung from her mouth her fur was singed and black Joe caught the frightened creature wrapped her in Miss Tracys skirts and threw her from the window Pussys safe he cried as a hurrah hur-rah came up from below Miss Tracy turned and laid her hand on the boy God keep you forever Joe she whispered and kissed his dirt streaked face Then without a seconds delay she sprang from the window Th5 breathless crowd watched the figure as it fell down down toward the net which the sturdy firemen held firmly As it struck rebounded and then lay face up and they beheld the white features of a young woman a mighty shout went up Half a hundred hun-dred pushed forward and strong hands took her up tenderly and bore her half stunned half fainting to a place of safety All eyes turned to the win dow again but the other figure had disappeared and as they looked a sheet of flame burst from the place where Miss Tracy had stood a moment be fore foreThe The crowd was now ordered back there might be an explosion at any moment Only the firemen held their posts The managing editor safe in a window win-dow over the way drew his hands across his eyes The Describer office was no moreand Joe where was he His eyes swept over the manywindow ed front then sought the familiar doorway door-way that led up to the editorial rooms when suddenly out from it as if from a cannons mouth shot a curious balllike object As the strange thing struck the sidewalk side-walk and rolled into the street the firemen fire-men fell back For an instant the big ball was still then it lost its shape the wrapping fell back and there lay Joe like one dead After a moment however he slowly and stiffly sat up and eager hands lifted him and carried I him away while another glad shout went up from the crowd I Well I do feel rather bunged up and thats a fact admitted Joe sometime some-time later as he sat in a huge easy chair in the Planet office where he had I been carried surrounded by an interested inter-ested group of listeners I He was a sorry spectacle as he sat j there a borrowed coat over his torn i I and burnt shirt one aching foot resting Jon t a cushion a big red burn on his 1 blackened foreheadand generally bruised I bruis-ed and begrimed But his eyes were j I bright and he recounted his adven II I tures with his own Inimitable air unmindful I un-mindful of aches and pains After Miss Tracy jumped and I was all ready ter I just happened to think > of the safe and how them papers might get burned so I skipped and shut the door tight and turned the combina tionWhen When I got back ter the winder them fellers had let go the net so there want no use in jumping less I wented ter get smashed on the street j S6 I to < says myself Joe youre a J going ter get out er thisdont be a fool r Then I made for the wires and thought Id get out like Chief Re I gandid at that big fire but they was fall twister ter flinders so says I Ill do like what that actress did at the Newhall house fire ter Milwaukee and I I picked up Miss Tracys skirts shed left behind and I rolled them mOund jmy head and twisted myself up into f I I a ball and went to the head of the I I stairs and let her go Didnt Know exactly how I was going tel come outer out-er itbut here I be he ended triumphantly triumph-antly Yes twas pretty bumpy business when I kept hitting every stair or two I can feel one o them bumps now but there want no other way and yer bet I want agoing to stay there and get roasted to a cindernot jnuch What did you think about when you were coming down queried one Well now I think ont most everything every-thing I ever did in all my life answered an-swered Joe Bout Gallagher and the men what stopped Miss Tracy that time and the way I got the interview out er Mr Snelling And how sprised you all would be when you saw Miss Tracy in mens clothes Then mostly what a lot o time I wasted picking up them peanut shells might as well have let em stay there so long as the whole business was a going to git burnt but Miss Tracy insisted and what she says goesand I say turning j turn-ing to one of the reporters when you i write this thing up Ruggles be sure i you praise Miss Tracy sky high Yer I might call her the Heroine of the J Flames in the scare head er soma thing er that sort cause she was everlastingly ever-lastingly plucky and didnt act one speck like a girl and Joe settled himself back with an air of having done his duty That evenings papers did have the whole story in which Joe was a central figure and after alluding to the slight injuries which Miss Tracy had received re-ceived it closed the account by saying say-ing Joe will soon be the proud possessor pos-sessor of a medal presented by the I Humane society and the society with the long name will no doubt send him a kindly token for his service to the I ringed cat Joe and the cat will both be installed in the new Describer office of-fice |