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Show I The Married Life of Helen and Warren I Ip,. ATAT5T7T' Originator of "Their Married ry 1LEILL. Life." Author of "The Jour- HERBERT URNER S' "The i A FIRE AND A BLACKENED EYE PROVIDE THE EXCITEMENT EXCITE-MENT FOR AN EVENTFUL NIGHT I - (Copyright, 1917, by the MoClure Newspaper Syndicate.) If !3l "It's a telegram tele-gram !" quivered Helen, sitting huddled tip in bed, as Warren, jerking on his bathrobe, shuffled out to answer the clamorous doorbell. door-bell. A midnight ring has always u startling, ominous note of disaster. they turned on the extinguisher. Tills was more than Helen could gland. Forgetting her dlshevelment, her tumbled tum-bled hair, and the nightgown flapping about her bare ankles below her negligee, negli-gee, she ran over to the chief with a tremulous : "Oh, please don't let them splash that panel ! The whole room'll have to be done over." "Watch out for that panel, Mike.'' Then to Helen : "This isn't a tea party, lady. We're here to put out the fire !" "But there isn't any fire now," com-batted com-batted Helen under her breath, as she picked her way over the debris. Standing by the side window, she could see the snorting engines below. Although it was after midnight, the street opposite was lined with people, their upturned faces gleaming white in the darkness. With gruff brevity the chief now ordered or-dered two men through all the other apartments to examine the awnings and casements for any chance sparks. "If you can't get in break in!" he fehouted after them. One of the fire patrol was now talcing talc-ing Warren's name, his office address and the amount of his insurance. "Well, come on, boys, that's all here I" Gathering up their tools, the firemen fire-men stamped out as abruptly and impersonally im-personally as they had come. When the door slammed after the last spiked boot, Helen dropped on the couch and stared at the wreckage. "It's an outrage," flaraingly Indignant. Indig-nant. "They ought to be reported !" Tearing down the whole place when the fire was out before they got here." "Oh, well, that's what you've got to expect from firemen," growled Warren. War-ren. "They're not taking chances on having it break out again and they're right about that, too." "But the 'walls and ceiling ! They didn't have to wreck the whole place. And oh, look look at this," she started start-ed up to examine the scarred hack of a chair,.against which a strip of molding mold-ing had fallen. "The insurance covers all that. Ought to be mighty glad it's no worse. We got off pretty easy. Hello, guess the 'phone's out of commission,'' picking up the loosened wire. Then, crossing to the instrument, he tried to get Central, but without success. Distracted by the "scattered debris, Helen had the broom and was trying to sweep it into a pile under the window. win-dow. "Here, do your housecleaning tomorrow," to-morrow," yawned Warren. "Let's get to bed." "I must brush up this broken glass somebody'll step in it." It was after two before they were finally in bed, and even then, too excited ex-cited to sleep, Helen insisted on talking talk-ing it over. "The ceiling'll have to be- done, too we'll be torn up for days ! And, oh, I forgot," with added dismay, "we're having the Stevenses for dinner Thursday." "Well, it can't be helped ! You can insure against loss but not against discomfort. Guess everything's all right out there." Leaning out of bed, Warren opened the library door for a final assurance that no smoldering sparks had blazed forth. Then with vigorous force he swung and shut the door, the full rebound of his elbow hitting Helen in the eye, as she peered over his shoulder for a view of the wreckage. Speechless with pain, she covered her face and sank back. "Oh, Kitten, did I hurt you? Didn't know you were there." A faint moan was her only answer. In real alarm, Warren sprang up and switched on the lights. ' "Right plump in the eye?" forcing her hands from her face. "Jove, that was a nasty punch. Where's the witch hazel?" Dashing into the bathroom, he came back with a bottle and absorbent cotton. cot-ton. " "Oh oh, my nose's bleeding," faintly, faint-ly, as he sopped her closed eyelid. 'How's the eye?" in strained anxiety. anxi-ety. "Let's have a look at it," leading her to the light. Another half-hour of anxious applications appli-cations of witch hazel and cold cloths relieved the intense pain.- Once more they settled down for the few hours that remained of the night. "All right now, Kitten? How does it feel?" drawing her to him. "Still hurt?" "Not so much." Then despairingly, "Oh, it won't be swollen or discoK orcd?" "What if it is?" seeing the humor of this added catastrophe. "You oughtn't to mind a little thing like that. Give the neighbors something to talk about if they thought I beat you up occasionally. Come, now, let's try and get some sleep. A fire and a black eye that's about enough for one night." Mabel Hert Utner Accident death ? Helen, waiting in breathless suspense, tried to visualize visual-ize the brief, baleful message within the dreaded yellow envelope. The sound of voices excited voices ! Then heavy, rushing feet through the hall, past the bedroom, and into the library. It was not a telegram. What did It mean? What had happened? Snatching her dressing gown, she sprang to the door, but Warren, entering, en-tering, pushed her back with a brusque : "Don't be frightened ! It's nothing noth-ing much you stay in here." "What is it? Who's out there?" in shrill excitement. "One of our awning's afire but they'll soon have it out. Now you stay here, I tell you." He rushed back, slamming the door forbiddingly. But Helen, gathering closer her robe, flew after htm. It was a terrifying terrify-ing scene. The flaming bay window awning lit the room. Burning fragments frag-ments fell crackling against the glass. "Oh, if the glass breaks !" screamed Helen. "Take down the curtains!" Apparently neither Warren nor the night watchman had thought of the curtains, for instantly they were up on the window sill, snatching down the thin mtuThangings. "Told you to stay in the bedroom !" roared Warren, as he pitched the curtains, cur-tains, rods and all, in a corner. "That rope's afire !" cried the watchman, for the awning rope, wrapped around the hook, was now ablaze against the casement. "Hold on, I wouldn't raise the window win-dow !" ' "Got to smother that out before the woodwork catches." Warren threw up the sash. "Oh, dear, don't don't !" pleaded Helen, trying to drag him from the open window, through which poured clouds of smoke and a shower of sparks. "Get me something quick ! A heavy towel anything'll do." She flew out and was back with a bath mat. Terrified, she hovered near as he smothered the blazing rope, while the watchman stamped out the menacing sparks that blew Into the room. "Oh, your hands your hands !" she was tugging at Warren's arm. "You keep out of this !" wrenching off the mass of charred rope and slamming down the window. The place was filled with smoke, but outside the flames were dying down. The awning was almost burned out. Only a few shreds of smoldering canvas still clung to the iron frame. The fierce heat had cracked but not broken the glass. The watchman rushed to answer another clamor of the bell. It was the superintendent, his coat buttoned over his collarless shirty the sleep still in his eyes, and tumbled hair. "It's about over," Warren informed him briefly, with a smoke-choked cough. "Some idiot threw out a cigarette." cig-arette." "Ninth floor," grimly. "That's twice they've done this." Then at the sudden shriek of a fire engine: "That fool elevator boy turned in an alarm. We'll have the whole department up here in a minute." The screaming whistles now filled the midnight quiet, the bedlam growing grow-ing deafening as they neared the house. Then commotional sounds from the hall, and a dozen firemen trooped in, their heavy boots clattering over the hardwood floors. Without even glancing glanc-ing at Warren or the superintendent, they swarmed about the window and tore out the sashes. . 'Tap out that cornice," ordered the chief. "On the top there; where it's burning !" With a devastating ax, recklessly they chopped loose the heavy white molding. "The fire's all out ! Oh, why're they doing that?" quavered Helen. "They're ruining the wall !" "They know what they're about," grunted Warren, girdling closer his bathrobe. "Oh, don't let them do that! Can't you stop them?" turning frantically to the superintendent. "We'll never match that paper." "No use my saying anything," shrugged Mr. Thompson. "You can't do anything with firemen." "Get the extinguisher, Mike!" shouted the chief. "All right, let 'or 6')." Heedless of the spattering damage, |