OCR Text |
Show I WON FAME CHEAPLY BROWN AND HIS PRIVATE FIRE ESCAPE. . ! Inventor's Auspicious Choice of Evening Even-ing to Test Contrivance Made Him a Hero In the Sight of His Fallow Residents of Boarding House. Drown has a reputation for presence pres-ence of mind. This is how he got It Ono night the conversation in the boarding houso parlor turned on fires "What would you doMr. Brown,' said tho dazrllng blonde, "If n flr should break out hero to-night?" "Me?" said Drown. "Oh, don" worry about mc. I'd bo all rllit. Tiave a flro escape of ray own. 1 In vonted it soveral years ago. I alwoyj carry It around with mo." "How lovely!" sighed tho d. b. "I wish you would make mo ono." And Brown said that ho would. The aiext day ho bought ono hundred foot of rope and constructed for tho d b. a firo oscapo patterned after the ingenious device with Which ho hoped somo day to save his own life. Within With-in a week he had manufactured twelvo other fire escapes for tho rest of tho boarders and had given instructions in-structions for their use. Ono night after a parlor entertainment in which Brown and the assortment of fire escapes had figured consp'cuouslr, It occurred n Brown that although ho had h own ladder for five oars he ha aercr had a chance to t?st Its ( efficiency. He decided to find out that very night Just how it would behave in case of an emergency. Brown ocnuplcd the third story back room. About 2 o'clock no fastened one end of tho contrivance to his window win-dow sill, lowered tho other end to ta ground and cllmbed'cautiaii?!;- Sbwn. Brown and tha xfipkr end of tho fire escape reached the ground at the same time. It held onto .he window sill till relieved of his weight, then the whole device came tumbling down about him. Brown retired to tho rear of the yard to figure out somo way of I cicape without arousing his own and neighboring households. As he ruminated rum-inated a frizzled head ropped suddenly sud-denly out of an upper lndow and a frenzied vok cried "Fire!" In an Incredibly short time all was confusion. confu-sion. Engines clattered nd women tcroamed. When the firemen had subdued sub-dued the Incipient flames B'own gathered gath-ered up his fire escapo and Joined tho hjsterical group in the larlor. "Oh, Mr. Brown!" gasped tho d b. "I have been so worried about you. I thought you mutt be burned to a cinder. cin-der. How did you got out? Did the firemen rescue 'you too?" "Not on your Ufa!" ild Brown Jauntily. '"You -forget that I had my flrp escjpo." The d b. sat up and gized ipon Brdwn proudly. I "Well, upon my word." sho said. "une or tne rest ot us inougut or ours What wondorful presonce of mind you have!" And to this day even Brown believes that he really has. |