The Red Cloud chief. (Red Cloud, Webster Co., Neb.) 1873-1923, March 16, 1906, Image 3

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    yvrvAv,
KfiNGS
The Two Vanrevels
By BOOTH TARKINGTON,
Author of "The Gcntlcmnn From Indiann" nnd "Monsieur Dcaucalre'
Burson Hose, the only stocking without a
seam. Made to fit at the ankle and NOT
pressed i o shape. Stocking's with extra
large tops for fleshy ladies.
o- J
Copyright, 1002. by S. S. McClure Co.
0 0
Q
5
a
TO)
(C IKTINUKD.)
Tims it Iinppn.e.l Hint when tho wa.
tor came again and Vnnrovol lot It f;ill
in a j,TiUef!il cascade- upon Cralley and
lilni i If throe in:iii!y voices were hoard
singing m three iimij tolled tl!ro;ij.;li '
tho billows of roy gray below the be
leaguered pair: j
"Oh. tho noble Duke of York, j
llo hud ten thousand men:
Jin marched them tip the side of a houso
And marched them down ngalnl"
A bond appeared above tlto oaves,
nnd Marsh, then Kugene, then Cum
nilngs, came crawling over tbo cornico
In turn to Join their comrades. They
wore a gallant band, lho3e young gen
tlemen of Houon. and they came with
the Ironical song on their lips nnd, look
Jug at one another, ragged and scarl-
lled, burst into hoarse but Indomita
ble laughter. '
Two others made tin attempt to fol
low and would not be restrained. It
win noticed that parts of the lower
ladder bad boon charring, and the lad
dor men wore preparing to remove It
to a loss dangerous point when old
General Trumble and young Jefferson
Butoaud made a rush to mount it nnd
were well upon their upward way be
fore the ladder, weakened at the mid
dle, sagged, splintered and broke,
Trumble and Itarcatid falling with it. (
And there was the grappling ladder '
1n 1111 1 tir fewtv fnnf nluu'n tint ifmnnil '
and there were the five upon the roof.
Tho department had no other ladder
of more than linlf tho length of the
shattered one. Not only Uie depart
ment, but every soul In Rouen, knew
that, nnd there rose the thick, low sigh
of a multitude, n sound frightful to
hear. It became a groan, then swelled
Into a deep cry of alarm and lamenta
tion. And now almost simultaneously the
west wall of the building and the south
wall and all the southwestern portions I
of tho roof covered themselves with '
voluminous mantles of flame, which In- j
creased so hugely and with such snv-
age rapidity that tho one stream on the
roof was seen to bo but a ridiculous
and useless opposition.
Everybody began to shout advice to
Ids neighbor, nnd nobody listened even
to himself. The firemen were In as
great a turmoil as was the crowd,
while women covered their eyes. Young
Frank Chenoweth was sobbing curses
upon the bruised and shaking Trumble
and Jefferson Bareaud, who could only !
stand remorseful, impotently groaning,
and made no answer.
Tho walls of tho southernmost ware
house followed the roof, crashing In
one after tho other, n sacrifice pyre
with Us purpose consummated, and In
Hie secth nnd flare of Its passing Tom
Vanrevel again shaded his eyes with
Ids hand and looked down across the
upturned faces. The pedestal with the
grotesque carvings was still there, but
the crowning figure had disappeared
Hie young goddess was gone. For she,
of all that throng, had an Idea in her
head, and, after screaming It to every
man within reach, only to discover tho
Impossibility of making herself under
stood in that babel, she was struggling
io make her way toward tho second
warehouse, through tho swaying Jam
of people. It was a ditllcult task, as
the farther In she managed to go tho
denser became the press nnd the more
tightly she found tho people wetlgcd,
until she received Involuntary aid from
the llrcmcn. In turning their second
stream to piny lnoITcctually upon the
lower strata of flame they accidentally
deflected It toward the crowd, who
separated wildly, leaving a big gap, of
which Miss Bett., took Instant advan
tage. She darted across, and the next
moment, unnoticed, had entered the
building through the door which Cralley
Gray had opened.
The Jive young men on the roof were
well aware that there was little to do
but to wait, nnd soon they would see
which was to win, they or tho Are, so
they shifted their line of hose to tho
astern front of the building, out of
liarm's way for n time at least, and
licit the muzzle steady, watching its
work. And In truth It was not long be
fore they understood which would con
quer. The southern ami western por
tions of tho building had flung out great
flames that fluttered and flared on the
breeze like titanic flags, and steadily,
slowly at first, then faster as the sec
onds flow, tho live were driven back
ward, up the low slope of the roof to
ward tho gable ridge. Tom Vanrevel
held the first Joint of the nozzle, and he
retreated with a sulky face, lifting his
foot grudgingly at each step. They
were all silent now, nnd no one spoke
until Will Gummlngs faltered:
"Surely they'll got a rope up to us
some way?"
Will knew as well as did the others
that tere was no way, font his, speech
struck the sullen heart of the chief with
remorse. He turned. "I hope you'll
all forgive me for getting you up here."
A sound, half sob, half gigulo, came
from the parched lips of Kngeno Ma
drlllon as he patted Tom on the shoul
der without speaking, and Cralley nod
ded quietly, then left the group and
went to the eastern edge of the roof
nnd looked out upon the crowd. Cum
tiling dropped the line and sat down,
burying his hot face in his arms, for
they all saw that Vanrevel thought "It
was no use." but a question of a few
minutes, mid they would retreat across
the gable and either Jump or go down
with the roof.
Since the world began Idle and In
dustrious philosophers have speculated
much upon the thoughts of men about I
to die, yet It cannot be too Ingenuous j
to believe that such thoughts vary as '
the men. their characters and condl- ,
tlons of life vary. Nevertheless, pur- '
Kuant with the traditions of minstrelsy
nnd romance, it Is conceivable that
young unmarried men called upon tt
l'acu desperate situations might, at the
crucial moment, rush to a common ex
perience of summoning the vision, each
of his heart's desire, and to meet, each
his doom, with her name upon his lips.
An extraordinary thing occurred in
the present Instance, for, by means of
some fragmentary remarks let full at
the time and afterward recalled, such
as Tapplngham Marsh's gasping, "At
least It will be on her father's roof!"
nnd from other things later overheard,
an Inevitable deduction has been
reached that four of the five gentlemen
in tho perilous case herein described
were occupied with the vision of tho
same person, to wit, Miss Elizabeth
Carewe, "the last, the prettiest, to come
to town!"
Cralley Gray, alone, spoke not at all,
but why did he strain and strain his
eyes toward that empty pedestal with
the grotesque carvings? Did ho seek
Function there, or was Miss Carewe
the Jast sweet apparition In the fancies
of nil Ave of the unhappy young men?
Tho coincidence of the actual appear
ance of the lady among them thereforo
seemed the more miraculous when,
wan and hopeless, staggering desper
ately backward to the gable ridge, they
heard a clear contralto voice behind
them:
"Hadn't you better all como down
now?" It said. "Tho stalrwny will bo
on flre before long."
Only one thing could have been more
shockingly unexpected to the five than
that there should bo a sixth person on
the roof, nnd this was that the sixth
person should be Miss Betty Carewe.
They turned, aghast, agape, chop
fallen wltli astonishment, stunned and
Incredulous.
She stood Just behind tho gable
ridge, smiling nmlably, a most incon-
"Hadn't you better all come down now X "
gruous little pink fan In her hand, the
smoke wreaths partly obscuring her
and curling between tho five and her
white dress, like mists floating across
the now moon.
Was it but a kindly phantasm of the
brain? Wan It the Incarnation of the
Inst vision of the lost volunteers? Was
it a Valkyrie assuming that lovely like
nesH to perch upon this eyrie, wulting
to bear their heroic souls to Valhalla,
or was it Miss Betty Carewe?
To tho chief she spoke all of them
agreed to that afterward but It was
Cralley who answered, while Tom
could only stare nnd stand wagging
his head at tho lovely phantom tike u
mandarin on a shelf.
"My mother In heaven!" gasped
Craljcy. "How did youcomoup here?'!
S&"y
K Embroideries
For vhich we are
Headquarters
1 inch wide. 3c yard.
2 A inches wide, 5c yard.
3 inches wide, Sc yard.
5 inches wide, iocyard.
Other widths at equally
low prices.
TPnn nT T.ooq ci Yi
V
"There's a trap In fn i . i
other side of the ridge." she Mid. . I
she began to fan her.-elt' with th p .. I
fan. "A stafrway run all the w.r I
down old Nelson shovcd ire throtigl I
these building yesterday and th it j
side Isn't on lire yet. I'm so sorry i
iii,i'(- i,i..i- ,e it ....in .. ....... ...... ...-,. I
because you could have brought the
water up that way. But don't you
think you'd better come down now?"
CHAPTER VII.
m
OT savage ITun nor "barba
rous Vandyke" nor demon
Apache could wish to dwell
upon the jtato of mind of the
chief of the Itoucn volunteer Arc de
partment; therefore let the curtain of
mercy descend. Without a word he
turned and dragged the nozzle to the
eastern eaves, whence, after n warning
gesture to those below, tie dropped It
to the ground, nnd, out of compnsslon,
It should be little more than hinted that
the gesture of warning was very slight.
When the rescued band reached the
foot of the last flight of stairs they be
held the open doorway as a frame for
a great press of Intent and contorted
faces, every eye still strained to watch
the roof, none of the harrowed specta
tors comprehending tho appearance of
the girl's figure there, nor able to see
whither she hud led the five young men,
until Tapplngham Marsh raised a shout
as he leaped out of the door and danced
upon the solid earth again.
Then, indeed, there was a mighty up
roar. Cheer after cheer ascended to tho
red vault of heaven. Women wept,
men whooped and the people rushed
for the heroes wltli wide open, welcom
ing arms. Jefferson Bareaud and
Frank Chenoweth and General Trum
ble dashed at Tom Vanrevel with Inco
herent cries of thanksKlvIntr. shaklmr
fitu linllrlc o nil lnntltiv lili.i li.tfnnlnnlli '
u.t ..v. ....1. uvuiiMh Him nt, ruui U.UII,)
upon the back. 'lie greeted them with
bitter laughter.
"Help get the water Into tho next
warehouse. This one Is beyond con
trol, but wo nan save tho other two.
Take tho lines In through the door!"
He brushed the rejoicing friends off
abruptly, and went on In a queer, hol
low voice: "There are stairs and I'm
so sorry I didn't think of It until a mo
ment ago, because you could have
brought the water up that wny!"
A remarknblo case of descrtlou had
occurred the previous Instant under his
eyes. As the party emerged from tho
warehouse into the street Tom hoard
Cralley say hurriedly to Miss Carewe:
"Let mo get you away como quickly!"
saw him suddenly seize her hand aud,
eluding the onrushing crowd, run with
her round the corner of the building. 1
And somehow, through what Inspira
tion or through what knowledge of tils
pnrtnerVtemporaniont," heaven knows,
tho prophetic soul ot' the chief was un-'
happily assured that Crailoy would of-1
fcr himself as escort to her homo and
flnd acceptance. But why not? Wns It ;
Cralley who hrr.l publicly called his fel-,
low man fool, Idiot, Imbecile, at tho j
top of his lungs only to find himself .
the proven numskull of the universe',
Tom stood for a moment staring after
tho vanishing pair, whllo ovor his face J
Btole tho strangest expression that ever
mnn saw thero; then, with meekly .
bowed shoulders, ho turned again to
his work.
At tho corner fifjho .warchpuso Miss
wnwrwmr'rrvr nr
$ il t illAl IIB U il IItytt HnArn nnnn d
n. iwniuuDJij, Dry uuuus, mim
Some Bargains
in Stockings
Infants' Stockings at 10,
15 and 25c.
J Misses' Stockings at io,
I 1 2 A, 15 and iSc.
; A fine, dressy stocking at
25c.
I Boys' Stockings at 10, 15
land iSc.
"No Mend" St odeums.
with extra linen knee, at
25c.
rl TT!wi Vrrvi r avcr PI
very latest designs.
wwouwitniiiM ifcw w ww mm y
Carewe detached her hand from Cral
ley's, yet still followed him as he uiiido
a quick detour round the next building.
A minute or two later they found
themselves, undetected, upon Main
street In the rear of the crowd. Thero
Crailoy pnused.
"Forgive mo," ho said breathlessly,
"for taking your hand. I thought you
would like to get away."
She regartled him gravely, so that he
found it difficult to read her look, ex
cept that it was seriously questioning,
but whether the Interrogation was ad
dressed to hhu or to herself ho could
not determine. After a silence bIio
said:
"I don't know why I followed you.
I believe it must liavo been becauso
you didn't give mo time to think."
This, of course, made him even quick
er with her than before. "It's all
over," he fluid briskly. "Tho first ware
house is gone, the second will go, but
they'll save the others easily enough
now that you have pointed out that
the lines may bo utilized otherwise
than as adjuncts of performances on
the high trapeze." They were stand
ing by a picket fence, nnd ho leaned
against It, ovorcomo by mirth in which
she did not Join. Her gravity reacted
upon him at once, and his laughter was
stopped short. "Will you not accept
mo as an escort to your home?" he said
formally.
"I do not know," she returned sim
ply, the sort of honest trouble In her
glnnce that Is seen only In very young
eyes.
"What reason In the world?" ho re
turned, with n crafty sharpness of as
tonishment. She continued to gaze upon him
thoughtfully, while he tried to look Into
her eyes, but was ballled because the
radiant beams from the lady's orbs, as
tho elder Chenoweth might have said,
rested somewhere dangerously near his
chin, which worried him, for, though
his chin made no retreat nnd was far
from 111 looking, It was nevertheless
that feature which he most distrusted.
"Won't you tell mo why not?" ho ro
peated uneasily.
"Because," she answered at last,
speaking hesltutlngly "because it Isn't
so easy a matter for mo as you seem to
think. You have not been Introduced
to me, nnd I know you never will bo,
and that what you 'told mo wns true."
"Which pnrt of what I told you?"
Tho question escaped from him In
stanter. "That the others might come when
they liked, but thnt you could not."
"Oh, yes, yes." Ills expression al
tered to a sincere dejection, his shoul
ders drooped and his voice Indicated
supreme nuuoynnco. "I might have
known some one would tell you. Who
was it? Did they say why I"
"On account of your quarrel with my
father."
"My quarrel with your father!" he ex
claimed, and his face lit with an elat
ed surprise. Ills shoulders straighten
ed. Ho took a stop nearer her uutl ask
ed eagerly, "Who tohl you that?"
"My father himself. Ho spoke of a
Mr. Vanrevel whom he disliked aud
whom I must not meet, and, remember
ing what you had said, of course I
knew that you wero lie."
"Oh!" Cralley's lips began to form
a smile of such appealing and Inimita
ble sweetness that Voltaire would have
India Linens
Worth more, but sell
at following Dikes:
27 inches wide, Sc yard.
52 inches wide, 12AC yard.
36 inches wide, 15c yard.
40 inches wide, 20c, 25c.
Long Cloth at 15c yard.
Nainsook at 20c yard.
-" It-iv o'c? in i- a
trusted him, a smlfe altogether rose
leaves. "Then I lose you," ho said,
"for my only chance to know you wus
In keeping It hidden from you. And
now you understand."
"No," she niiBwcred gravely, "I don't
understand. That is what troubles inc.
If I did and believed you had the right
of tho difference 1 could believe it no
sin that you should speak to mo, should
take me home now. I think it is wrong
not to act from your own understand
ing of things."
Tho young man set his expression as
ono indomitably Uxcd upon the course
of honor, cost whut it might, and In the
very action his lurking pleasure iu do
ing it hopped out In the flicker of a
twlnklo In his eyes and as instantly
sought cover again tho flea In the roso
Jar.
"Then you must aBk some other," ho
said firmly. "A disinterested peraou
should tell you. The difference wan
political in the beginning, but becamo'
personal afterward, and it is now a
quarrel which can nover be patched up.
though, for my part, I wish that it
could be. I can say no more, becauso
e party to it should not speak."
She met his level look squarely at
last, aud no man ever had a more truth
ful pair of eyes than Cralley Gray, for
It was his great accomplishment that
ho could adjust his emotion, his reason
and something thnt might be called his
faith to fit nny situation in any char
acter. "You may take me home," she an
swered. "I may bo wrong nnd even
dlsloynl, but I do not feel It so now.
You did a very brave thing tonight to
save him from loss, nnd I think thnt
what you have said was Just what you
should have said."
So they went down the street, tho
hubbub and confusion of the fire grow
ing more and more indistinct behind
them. They walked slowly, and for a
time neither spoke, yet tho silence was
of a kind which tho adept rejoiced to
have produced thus soon their second
meeting. Ho waited until they passed
Into tho shadows of the deserted Ca
rewe street before he spoke. TJiero ho
stopped abruptly, at which she turned,
astonished.
"Now that you have saved my life,"
he saltl in a low, tremulous tone, "what
are you going to do with It?"
Her eyes opened almost ns widely as
they had at her first sight of him In
her garden. There was a long pauso
before sho replied, and when she did It
was to his considerable surprise.
"I have nover seen a play except tho
funny little ones we acted at tho cou
vent," sho said. "But isn't that tho
way they speak on the stage?"
Cralley realized that his Judgment of
the silence had been mistaken, aud yet
It was with a thrill or delight that ho
recognized her clear reading of him.
lie had been too florid again.
"Let us go." nis voice was soft with
restrained forgiveness. "You mocked
mo once before."
"Mocked you?" sho repeated as they
went on.
"Mocked me," ho said firmly. "Mock
ed mo for scorning theatrical, and yet
you have learned thnt whnt I said was
true, as you will again."
She mused upon this, then, as lu
whimsical indulgence to an importu
nntochlld.: (To be Continued )