Show nw ay w HARRY PUCH s r me CLUM cu installment TWE the story so fia v for L 1 tile the it tory iry of 0 nn an american lamis krenson years year laura maguire depression depres S afi S mik me moe gudro of covington is rooth moth L t and ni mayor of 1 of four our whose whom chIll children areni r real eal t etaf estate job in th the bs big oal real r covin covington agton Is shot hot and who mary etta see ec birom from hl his wife britts r bit shot hot when ithe bhe relue refuses ye rive ry to UP a her job to t return to coving corlna wa him oT unable to get et ajob a job runs rum j maguyre gravely balanced us foot like ilka a tork stork and self mil on one along the bottle of f gin as laed were a shotgun it cheady firel farel ho he said with vast eunity and killed tho the bottle dead syra laughed led herself into yra youre so BO com comical feal she bhe d her with bloodshot MC surveyed tun eyed that wo would uld not quite focus es haft right I 1 am comical as ai 1 when im liquored up guess better ter tay stay that way he were bated seated in one of the which lined the large din dining ing avei OV im at the Fort porterville Porter erville vUle swimming i L they had b been een tilting sitting there ce four our that afternoon according the original plan they had intend to start back home when they only myra had a I 1 their swim ed them to go somewhere e else ise ere they could dine and dance 0 do alee alec justice he had bad meant 0 home for dinner but he felt low that day the only ef e was to get so cockeyed ho he id d laugh and laugh aballe who so far had ad b been een more epy py than con convivial vivial suddenly aud denly d the mechanical orchestra at other end of the big pavilion I 1 playing an old record shut og to buffalo dby dont you two stop atop tooling fooling pull areal a real one onet she suggested others lothers stared at her 1 I mean pt get ma married aried I 1 mean mid alile it or what have you ec stared marry myra boone I 1 a moment he was jolted back and saw the woman be him bim with painful distinctness coarse blowsy blossy face the weak indulgent mouth the bow hair which was drab at roots everything within him itce bolted marry a woman like e her home to laura as his wife I 1 rather die I 1 said aid you game mur sd ed myra sc drained his glass TU ill call bluff myra lets go of er i nostrils dilated no kid e drive back to covington did ng i to clear alecs aleca confused h myra put the gas throttle to the floor board and the ed odometer ometer touched eighty more a once ey y had bad just entered the suburbs covington ivington still at a maniacal ei L each of them at the sams amt ant saw the big fire engine ca ig g toward them down the mid althe the street myra was a true otle tic she covered her face with hands ands and shrieked it was alee alec 0 reached over and gave the rilla g wheel a tremendous jerk ew them into tha th opposite curb 0 detriment of fenders and iuni board but at least they did meet et the fire engine head on i d was that a near thing ched d alee alec e others still weak from shock led din in their seats and said noth eres re the fire alee alec asked of isa all running down the street ver er on kirby street bi irby street mike had always I 1 M those shackle buildings that way were nothing but fire are IP L lie he had begged the city coun tor lr years to condemn them beey they went up like waste paper I 1 bonfire taking their dreadful Of 0 innocent lives alecs brow wet et with sweat swea t letdown down and lets got get going ed myra irritably weve a i private matter to attend to n I 1 meshed gears and the big shivered toi vered away from the curb besan began laboriously to pick up 7 86 had du however already led d open the door and leaped by 7 the time she had brought big 8 machine to a halt which ed the tires alee alec had picked up and disappeared toward oal aus coppery glow a cross across icks before he was within two I 1 that his hunch had been right 60 fla gration undoubtedly cen in that S section of kirby street rl 11 pete X night knight had a dingy flat began to run faster coving covin 9 baa ad a naive alve idea of adequate po I 1 protection usually there was e deed eed for anything 11 m 1 elaborate in l but ln in emergencies things 1 ow aa likely to 10 get beyond ya the thief and his two men they po I 1 d doing ng all they could to hold the bock ck from the th that tt danger zone aa a dl 0 to little salee esling feeling uie tile heat of the blaze I face slipped under the I 1 i ropes aff whole row ot of dilapidated 4 Il was a strut of lick led Ackling c g fl ames alecs aleca heart edcor I 1 tr quite i she suddenly he saw 1 was as a Bt in a little als beeping women and chill chil ilota 4 of them hugged aged small pos blell they had rescued rescued round with a nathy flashy divorcee older than 1 he and who on bet dates lou iou I ou knight Caugh daughter ter of the town souse couie shirley engaged to jaird for three years year but whose marriage la Is te de feared because jaird aird too to li out of work hit his father having closed his factory to cut down losses ma wants want baird to marry connie mays may the bank era rs daughter kathleen society editor on her fae th cheri rs paper in whom a newcomer from the alre lou clasped the ahrag gly red geranium in its forlorn tin can to her breast like the rest of the women she stared as it if fascinated into the roaring red flames tears ran slowly down her cheeks lou teemed seemed dazed by tho the completeness of the disaster lou said alee alec huskily she turned slowly and stared at him her eyes were a little blank and they returned nt at once to their fascinated study of the crackling leaping names flames which were feeding greedily from roof to ground on flimsy buildings alee alec looked around for her father ile he thought it likely the old sot was dead to the world somewhere in a gutter pete had failed lou on every other occasion it was too much to expect him not to now but alee alec discovered pete knight almost at once just out of range of the lying flying sparks A tragic yet ludicrous figure as usual reeling a little as his bleary eyes stared into the inferno before him once he attempted in a clumsy way to aid with the ore fire hose but he succeeded only in drenching himself people laughed hysterically even at that grim moment shambling pete fete knight furnished the comic relief 1 I dont know what were going to do whispered lou suddenly Every things gone except what weve got on our backs gee lou im sorry he began but paused abruptly A tremendous shout went up from the crowd swelled by the walls of tl lou seemed dazed by the completeness eness of tile the disaster women and the frightened whimpers of small children alee alec followed strained pointed fingers with his eyes A little boy stared from the window ot of the flat to the left of the staircase A small white faced boy with a crutch aa and eyes mad with terror its joey bess bains joey I 1 shrieked a woman alee alec knew about bess wilkins she was night operator in the telephone office down town a widow with ono one crippled child whom she had to leave alone while on duty oh god everybody forgot joeal sobbed lou spreading a net yelled someone meone eo jump sonny well catch youl the child peering from the upper window stared down at the web spread pr ead to receive his bis thin rail frail body then the little cr cripple apple slid slowly to his knees and vanished out 01 of f sight behind the window frame hes faint edl oh godl whispered lou stop that damned foell sil shouted a policeman alee alec whirled A shambling figure weaving in his ana on the staircase tracks but agh fighting ting his way up against the ferocious heat and blinding burning smoke eatherl Fa therl walled lou knight alee alec caught her in his arms she ought fought him furiously but he held her against his heart pete knight had reached the top landing of the stairs flames licked out at him from the upper corridor then suddenly he was inside the burning building A great sigh swept over the crowd lou bid her eyes eye 3 against alecs breast lie he held her tightly in an of pity there was a gasp agony agon tremendous cheer people surged forward a pete knight stood at the window of the 11 flat at lie ho had joey in his arms A limp unconscious joey awkwardly but gently pete knight tossed the his feet still swaying on child out the we web b caught the thin little body again a sigh rose from tightened throats jump danl save Y fl I 1 fathers Fa Fat therl hert screamed lou RItch le graham also a newspaperman Is int rested hanker banker may threatens threaten to break ma gnirs tor for criticizing him mike and ritchie laugh at him kathleen is 1 critical of them peeved she iha goes goei to a swimming party with hot shot my may 2 tho the bankers banker son ion saves her from drowning when she Is t setz edwith cramps ile he tells telli her he loves lovei her she hates him she he says lay dut but does she chef pete knight gathered his big uncertain body together but it tricked him as it 3 so 0 0 often ha had d before lie I 1 I 1 e lurched gasped feu fell back ata and with a terrible a ticking sucking roar the floor be neath him collapsed as the roof gave way street boys would never laugh at pete knight again ile he was gone forever from the sight bight of men CHAPTER the girl in al alecs acs arms ha had d not fainted although lier her slight trembling body felt lifeless as it if a cord had snapped even the small hands no longer clutched him ile he stared about wildly what on earth was ile ha going to do with her the forlorn human huddle of which she had been a part hovered near for a moment and then a after a glance at lous ghastly still face slowly drifted away words sticking in locked throats words were so inadequate before the dumb tragedy of lous eyes these people were her neighbors her closest acquaintances yet they too were bereft helpless adrift without a roof or a bed on which to stretch themselves they had nothing to share with her except their inarticulate pity the fire having glutted itself was dying of its own passion there was no longer anything to see but gaunt blackened ruins above red coals curious spectators began to drut drift away it became possible for tho the police to erect ropes and have them respected gently alee alec took LOU by the arm and moved down the tha street her face was tark stark but the ehe walked steadily along beside alee alec 1 I guess to everybody else she said bald in a low strained voice he was just a drunken bum but he never looked like that to me and he was all I 1 had alecs eyes stung at least he died magnificently lou her chin lifted a little he ever really bad my my mother was killed in an automobile accident he was driving and he adored her he never got over it t bevery very time he sobered up he heard her screaming alee alec shivered hell not suffer any more lou she drew a long quivering breath where are we going she asked suddenly im taking you to mother lor fr tho night he said gruffly it had come like a flare from a shell over no mans land that inspiration maybe she wont want me said aid lou she flushed im just a 9 ug sug gin you know alee alec winced again laura was a grand sport but even she might wonder at her son appearing on the threshold with a girl he was not even supposed to know this is lou knight mother she lived on kirby street and got burned out cut tonight and her father yes I 1 know said laura quickly mike just telephoned me she had been sitting in the living room alone ever since mike had aaa rushed oft off to be of service if possible or at least in the middle of things her eyes traveled slowly from the girls dr drooping ping figure the rundown run down heels and nervous twisting hands to alecs haggard face you see mother said alee alec ive ve been taking lou places but she anywhere to go now so I 1 brought her home lauras heart beat thickly against her side she could not move her tongue tor for a moment alee alec and this cheap little gurll alee alec had been going around with drunken pete knights daughter laura wondered if all mothers felt frantic at times 1 I like her a lot mother said her son in a queer rou rough ati voice lous hand jarke jt aked d violently in his and her little wistful face flooded with burning color alee alec gave her a glance that cut the heart out from under laura its au all right she said but it it was the bitterest dose she had ever swallowed shirley slid and jaird went to the fire are in connie mays car accompanied of course by that piece of excess baggage lance ferguson connie was a glutton for excitement she never missed enythe 9 of that nature noe nae if she got wind of it sh she e was a thin too vivacious girl nerves c crackled cackled from alon the destroying names flames aroused in her only a fierce exultation that hundreds of distressed people were being burned out 0 of f their hornets homert did not impress her she clung to jairis arm and laughed hysterical lv as the block of rams ramshackle harkle build ilas gutted by the blaze collapsed upon itself what a show she cried shirley shivered in that moment she hated connie comile mays with a wild sav savage age hatred that frightened her TO 8 BE E CONTINUED |