Show hero mine ff TB sy br R RAY BAXER BAKER i copyright 1918 by mcclure Alc Clure newspaper syndicate verna pomeroy had bad a manla mania for he rues 1 I will marry the man who goes through fire water blood and iron tor for me was the way slie she expressed it many blany there were who ito would have been willing to go through water provided it was not too deep and also through blood as long as it was not of their own or their shedding but as to fit fire e and iron well the fortner former was a little littie too much to expect and the latter vas tag difficult it if verna had waited a few ye years a rs she would woud have experienced no d difficulty tin in finding a hero for herself they are plentiful nowadays but they were sc scarce birce when verna wa was s twenty one and the pretty in jones jones real estate office on t the he f fourth on floor of the ashwoo building somehow verna figured that aba t dan williams was destined to be the man ile he was a fireman in tile the station house three blocks down the street and he clung rather heroically she thought to the red juggernaut that roared and screeched past the ashton on an average of at least four times a day there was as a man who would at lent go through fire and certainly through water and probably meet the other re quire ments lie he was a strapping blond young man with strength rippling through every macle nn iscle and lie he was very good for a hero worshiper to look nt t some day hell prove to be my hero she had decided on the day dan ban followed his pet maltose maltese cat in its wanderings from tile the station house across ac rosi the street to the he domeroy residence where verna bapp happened ened to be I 1 seated on the porch reading drove crave men I 1 have chave met the way they got acquainted and since then dan had wooed verna through the fourth floor flood window every week day and in the parlor of her home borne every night when he got time off when the siren of the ladder truck gave vent tent to its mournful shriek verna always would look up from tier her typewriter and exchange a wave of the ahe hand with dan as the red demon dashed by but dan was not the only one who wooed booe d verna through the window ien ben vincent rode past the ashton building twelve times a day ills pace was ilot not as swift as ills his rivals how ever because his vehicle was a street car when lie he approached vernas window lie he always stood on the rear platform and waved one of ills his hands while the other rang up fares verna liked beu ben fully as well as dan but ills his life was so prosaic it offered few heroic possibilities lie ire had dark hair and eyes and his face was attractive active but he failed to come up lip to the firemans foremans fi remans shoulder rind and there was no noticeable bulge just above the elbow ills acquaintance she had bad formed when she moved to a residence in ili the suburbs and was obliged to use a trolley car twice each day bens dark complexion was another handicap verna had hair that she liked to hear bear called raven locks and her eyes were of a similar hue and slie she had read that A a person should marry tin nn opposite the way things stood when the lie rivals met one night a half block fron from the pomeroy home the conductor had been calling on verna and the fireman knew it and waited halted for him they both happened to be oft off duty but ben had been the first to ask as her her for an engagement ive been waiting tor for you an hour dan announced as lie he stepped out from the tree against which he had been leaning youve been in miss poni cloys parlor altogether too long I 1 cant stand for that ben had no relish for a fight not with those six feet of muscle so he kept his temper in lensh leash sorry I 1 dont please you he replied with sarcasm sprinkled coolness 1 I know miss pomeroy an and d you were ori engaged the fireman knitted ills brows into a savage scowl 1 l and looked disdainfully down at the pebble in his highway of love well we arent he declared there Is no engagement yet but there Is going to be she wants a man and im it see she going to tie tip with a shrimp like you so you better make yourself scarce around tier im just warning you nil ill about this time F ante ate decided to take a hand in the affair so a janitor went to sleep la in the basement of the ashton building late one afternoon and a cigarette dropped from ills his mouth month into a barrel ot or excelsior the ashton af aton was a frame relic of past architectural grandeur and the flames ate into it as ft ar famished liou lion eats into a chunk of oc red beefsteak the janitor awoke choked with smoke and staggered to safety the occupants of f the building dashed to the street by means of the stairway and the meager ore fire escape facilities the elevator boy deserted Ms his costend po stend stand fled with the rest Ver bosses were playing golf an find she was alone in the office clenning cleaning clennin in lip a pile of work she had herself some ot of the qualities that heroes and heroines are made of so she re in the office and put valuable capers papers in tire the safe bate while fire crept up trie tile outs itic and iraids ul or ane lie and ant smoke seeped s through ahk floors doors theres lots of time she ald tc 1 I tier her self tin ani kept rummaging for ove one very important document she had bc n tin im bilile file to locate site finally discovered it on a file on tile the junior part partners neil t desk tossing it till into tile the afo uro t sho slam mci tile the iron door turned tho the knob anil and hurried luto into her coat anil and hat As she opened the office dour door ti a wave of nt heat or ami smoke r rolled tied in upon her she coughed and drew back for or a moment then dashed for cor the stairway but the flames tin had been there first and there was no stairway ly this time she was really excited she ran to the elevator entrance and pushed frantically and vainly on the bell baffled she stood in a daze in tho the midst of stifling fumes fume s which were becoming more dense with ith every that passed dan will save me inc she arod and she struggled to her feet and ran back into the office throwing onn a window indistinctly through the tha smoke ste made out a crowd assembled sern bled across the street 1101 were clanging as fire apparatus darit d up ill and down the thoroughfare dan she cried with all the power of tier her lungs repeatedly she called the name while flames stole closer prid and closer to the he fourth floor presently she heard beard an tin answering shout bahout and a huge ight halfred fireman areman stood out in the center ot of the street and waved a hand at her the same as he hall had it countless count lesa times from ills his red demon ile he disappeared from tier her view the hent heat grew more intense and tile the smoke got thicker the flukes flumes were having a feast they were gorging them s selves elves suddenly she saw something rising before her an extension ladder it babbled and quivered before the window and then s louly the ends settled against the ledge edge she looked down and d there re he was a s th the ii man j an t 1 n g lits the dinv inv shy in ills w way y up inch e h hy by inch c 1 t through ai a shroud ot of yellow flames and blackness in a few moments lie he would be at the window and she would be saved A dense cloud reached out enveloped tile the ladder and blotted out the tha fireman from sight when it rolled away there was dan on oil the ladder fal faltering terin As slie she watched he shook his head pointed at the flames above him and slowly began to descend verna fainted the next nest sensation she experienced was one of being jolted she opened tier her eyes awl ad discovered she was in a street car which was bumping swiftly over the rails was halt half reclining on a seat and she was the only passenger there was a step in the aisle and she saw a bedraggled figure in a blue uniform standing over her it was den ben llowd I 1 get ll 11 herel re was her first question after a silent moment of contemplation temp lation and wonder 1 I put you there he responded simply im taking you home as fast as I 1 can my machine he laughed dryly was stopped by the fire I 1 saw you at the window and went after you she took a long breath of relief or two to get her lungs full of air or something then she noticed that about his forehead was a bloody hall kerchief that his cap could not entirely conceal you get that blood she ahk demanded shuddering he fumbled with his punch it I 1 much of a hurt pe he ff raid ald alt although houg h it did bleed a I 1 lot ot you see I 1 was able to reach you by running the elevator which I 1 found standing open there was a regular blanket ot of fire in the shaft but I 1 guess the I 1 got from a hose when I 1 mado the run tor for the building helped to t keep me from burning up I 1 got the blood II 11 hen I 1 1 ramil rammed lid my lend head into the iron gate at the fourth landing thinking it nas ns open the blow sort of 0 dazed me but I 1 managed to open the gate picked you up in the office and beat it back down the elevator with you yon I 1 bet I 1 made an awful dent in that gate my ay iy head feels like it had busted right through the iron verna reached up and clasped one of hla his hands ben she said do you know you have all the qualities of a regular hero |