Show It I ABOUT I ALLEY By HERMAN BROWNSON G cJ by Short Story Pub Co IS real name was ns Tim OHagan HIS H HIS but In alley he was familiarly known us as S Shingles This was because while a bootblack by profession he lie spent a n large share of ot his life Ufe on the roof root of ofa n o story five tenement house tending his bis baby brother On this particular occasion however he rose rose above his calling of bootblack and nursemaid Id and became a hero The region about alley Is not precisely a hotbed of ot heroism Indeed Indeed Indeed In In- deed there Is probably not a corner of ot America In which the poverty poverty- stricken and depraved of ot all nations meet In such strength as here where the social sewers severs from the four corners corners corners cor cor- ners of ot the earth seem to empty themI them them- I selves elves But Shingles looking down upon the streets from the high p plane ane i of the tenement housetop saw more of the col color r and whirl and bigness of the streets than of their mud and meanness He saw the circus parade as It sw swept Pt gleaming by H He saw y sa the crowd pouring through tIl the neighborIng neighbor neighbor- n Ing streets streets streets-a ts-a ts a black river of humanity Best of all ll he looked almost dally daily on the wonderful maneuvers rs of a fire company whose engine house opposite opposite po site one entrance of the UH tenement house was vas Shingles' Shingles favorite resort On th those se rare occasions when he was free to ply his t trade ade Shingles les e earned rne several dimes and nickels and incidentally IncIdentally Incidentally Inci IncI- dentally many golden opinions from the natured good-natured tIre fire laddies who recognized recognized rec rec- a kindred d spirit in this mite often of ten And when chained by duty to his post on the roof Shingles could Ithe if It he liked exchange occasional salutes with the objects objects' of his worship as they lounged in the street below A Ator As Asfor Asfor for tor those moments when the alarm gong rang and his friends at th the engine engine engine en en- gine house Jumped into their places on the hose carriage or the hook and ladder trucks and were whirled d off to scenes of adventure ad those were periods periods periods pe pe- of ot combined pride and pain to Shingles The pride was for his comrades the pain that he by reason of his ten years and absorbing occupation occupation pation paton was cut off oft from any share In these deeds o of daring Only In wake wake-be believe ee could he climb ladders and rescue people from burning buildIngs buildings buildings build build- ings and while it was easy to play circus parade with the baby and pussy puss pussycat pussycat cat ent In a soap box on rollers for the band chariot charlot the heroism of ot the fire ladd kiddies laddies es called for for fora a greater exercise exercise s of off talent On this June morning Shingles' Shingles mother W who who 1 was was as toda today engaged In scrubbing at one of gt the big Insurance nce I buildings building on Br Broadway adwa left the youngster youngster young young- ster with with his charge on the roof screaming b back ck strict Injunctions to the boy to keep the baby amused To this task Shingles addressed himself with an ardor born of the beautiful day and tike t the necessity for lor so some n occupation patron pation for the long hours that stretched hed between now and supper time What Wha-t would he to amuse the baby and arid Incidentally himself Why play fire of coi course His house engine experience experience experience ex ex- joined to his observations observations' from the roof root ga gave a him a familiarity with the fire laddies' laddies modes of operation operation operation opera opera- tion that resulted In the most stirring realism re The baby seemed pleased and listened with open-mouthed open wonder wonder wonder won won- der while gig bIg brother imitated the clatter and clangor of the tine engine gong gongor or tb the hoarse shouts of the f firemen remen and gazed with sp special cIal delight at atTim's atTim's Tims Tim's astonishing climb up an Imaginary ary ladder as foreman of the rescue cor corps s. s Indeed l he e was so much amused by this new game that he did not not wince while Shingles tied one end of the line clothes-line around the tiny figure figure fig fig- ure puffing and blowing labori laboriously for Imaginary smoke the while Baby even thought It great grea fun fuu fuel until brother bore borE- him over o the edge edg of the roo roof and began eg m to let him down down down down-a a tiny morn morsel l of humanity dangling five stories above the pavement pa of alley Then fun tun changed to frIght H and d baby set up a n lust lusty howl It was this scream that aroused Shingles from his Ids realistic play piny to the grim earnestness of the situation There was no ladder waiting below belo there were no brave comrades only comrades only himself a mite mie of ten clutching In his small hand the ve very end of the rope from which dangled angled the helpless figure of his tiny brother Real fear gripped at atthe atthe atthe the little fellows fellow's heart Slowly painfully painfully pain pain- fully he began to pull in that endless length lenth of ot line Inch b by Inch he brought that tiny swaying staying figure nearer nearer to the housetop Then suddenly a knot in inthe inthe the he rope caught In the iron Iron railing Cold perspiration rolled down the little fellows fellow's cheek Already his strength was failing him To sla slacken l en a single foot meant to loosen his hold altogether alto alto- gether lie tried to call for help but buthe the he shrill little voice attracted no more attention than had the bab baby's babs s 's feeble wall wail In the neighborhood of Mingles Mingles' alley children lift up their voIces In lamentation so often that nothing short of an alarm of fire re or lr murder excites excites excites ex ex- cites special notice Suddenly in this moment of agonizing terror the boy was seized b by an Inspiration On On hrs his left rose a 11 large chimney Around this Ih the the- little fellow d drew W the taut tau rope rope making it fast to the hook clothes In inthe inthe the masonry Then he rushed to the edge of the roof and shouted Fire fire in alley 1 I At this sound the firemen lounging In the street et below helow leaped to their feet Looking up th they y recognized the he figure on cn the roofs roof's edge as that of little comrade and convinced that this was was no false alarm rushed Into the engine house A moment later the ille street t below below below be be- low resounded with the rumble of ot trucks the whang of gongs and the rush of the surging crowd In this tills focal point of cosmopolitan New ew York where n a quarter of a million people are located within a stones stone's throw of ofa a n common center the elements of a stirring scene are alwa always s 's at hand At Atthe Atthe Atthe the sound of ot the alarm crept from th their lr basement bun bunks s In Mott Iott street street reekIng reeking with opIum and dazed by the noise long haired Hebrews He lie- Hebrews brews tumbled d Into the alley from their sweat shops s swarthy Italians came caine p pell-mell pell u from their hovels and the Arab lost his fez which In the surging crowd was trampled under foot By the time that the en engines Ines and ladder hook company reached the alley they found It jammed led with a amass amass amass mass of f excited humanity whose eyes yes were focused upon a tiny white bundle that swayed in mid air 70 feet above the pavement At orice once the firemen realized that they had lad been heen duped but the necessity for effort did not pt escape escape then Up shot 1 the great ladders ladders lad lad- ders one ab above e another and then an an agile agUe rescuer began the s swift ascent aS ent The crowd cheered In a babe n babel of tongues b but brit as as' the climber re reached h iI the last few f W rounds and and beg began ri cre creepIng creeping creep creep- p. p Ing out over tile the slender threads threads threads- adS toward the precious prize a hush fell ell upon the multitude Now he w was s al almost al most there ther now he lie stood directly under the dangling mite pow mite now w he p put t tf f forth rih his hand with caution Th The cro crowd stood on n tiptoe Not a soul breathed breathe l. l Then Ii just lust as the strong hand touched the hem hem of th the little lithe frock roc the child began struggling gg once more this thIs' time so so vl violently that inthe hithe hi in the very moment moment of apparent parent safety It s slipped from the no noose se and rind fell tell In that moment mom nt e even en n the en d fa faces es' es of th the multitude helow below belo accustomed accustomed tomed to sights of all degrees of f danger danger dan dan- ger and wickedness blanched wit with terror terror terror ter ter- eyes eyes bleared by dr drink or or opium im were averted from the awful scene that hat seemed Inevitable Meantime the tiny b bundle of hu humanity I In its wild plunge do downward struck a rope s stretched ret hed across the alley hang hanging ing full of wet clothes TI The strand broke with the strain and the child was vas lost lost in the flying mass of white A few stray rags fl fluttered down but down but the baby baby baby- 7 It had disappeared disappeared like Uke a n wraith Strong arms outstretched outstretched outstretched out out- stretched to make a desper desperate te effort to catch the flying waif waif fell helpless at many a side The vast crowd st stood od speechless dumfounded An instant later a deaf dent old Irish Irishwoman Irishwoman Irishwoman woman in the story second-story tenement looked looked- up from her work and gave a shrill cry of surprise as she saw crawling crawlIng crawling crawl crawl- ing through the window that led from the esc fire escape where she had Just lal laller laid laic her ler feather-bed feather to air an almost naked child with s scarlet arlet bars bars' ar around und Its little body ody m iBy By all the saints together tog to together to- to g gether ther I sh she cried cried dropping on her knees if kid didn't rain down from heaven niver say another foster noster r as long as I live lve I And it took tool the combined eloquence of Shingles and his distracted mother to convince the old lady of ot the chi child childs df earthly orl origin I 1 |