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THE SAD, SAD SEA.
. x
. “What makes the sea so sad, mother?”
Whispered a little child.
“Why do the bellows sigh and break,
And why are the waves so wild?”
“The rivers run down to ey sea
With all their grief, my Jad,
_And flood the sea with their misery,
And that’s why the sea is sad.
The Hudson, goes with Gotham's woes,
‘And Paris chokes the Seine
The Danube blue and ue. darke Thames, too,
All hurry to the m
Losing the song of he inning rill,
’s ba
And that’s why the seas sad.”
oo
Frank, the Fireman
* BY ROBERT LENNOX.
CHAPTER I.
THE BURNING BANK. .
On a dark, storm-threatening night in
March, some year ago, the ten o’clock
train from New York paused at the depot
of Redbank and a solitary passenger alight-
ed.
e was a*dark-featured youth of about
seventeen, clad in a stylish suit and derby,
and he carried a suit-case Jn his gloved
hand.
He stood on the platform until the train
disappeared in the far distance, glancing
around with a curious stare until the sta-
tion-agent, walked up to him and asked in
pleasant tones: - ‘
. “Stranger here?”
> “Yes,” assented the boy with a nod.
“any particular place I can direct. you
to?”
“T am anxious to find lodgings for the
night.”
See that bright hight up the street among
the trees
“Quite Vainly, Is that a hotel?”
“The Mansion House} Guess you can
find accommodations there.”
k you. I'll try the place,
sume it is open 2”
“Generally open until twelve o’clock, sir,”
The boy, who had every appearance of a
I pre-
“college oF dunt, picked. up his grip and,
wishing the agent good-night, he started off
. for the hotel along the main street of the
town.
It was he noticed, quite a large place,
some pretty big stores lining the street
on cither side, but all were closed and dark
noth massive trees were dripping mois-
ture, and the boy’s footsteps echoed with
a hollow sound upon the deserted pave-
ment as he strode on, until at length he
arrived near a white limestone building
standing alone, over the door of which he
saw the words “Bank of Redbank.”
His glance had no sooner fallen upon the
building, when to his surprise he saw the
massive iron-barred door suddenly swing
outward, and the next instant | a man’ 's head
Was cautiously thrust forwar'
was a tall silk hat “om the head,
long dark hair® fell upon the man’s shoul-
ders, and the upper half ot his face was
hidden behind a black mas
The sight of this Myetorious individual
startled the boy so that he paused and
sprank fside against the trunk of a huge
elm t
Unseen in this gloomy spot, he stood in-
tently watching the man in the bank door-
way as he peered~up and down the dark
street. .
Seemingly satisfied that no one was
watching him, the man suddenly glided
out, closed the door and ran down the
_ stone steps to the sidewalk.
A street lamp in front of the bank fell
.upon him, and showed him to be an ex-
ceedingly ‘tall, slim fellow, his lanky body
enclosed in a ‘jong, caped coat, while under
his arm he carried a metal box.
He stood for an ‘instant in an attitude
of listening, and then, having apparently
come to a certain conclusion, he shot across
the street and went swiftly down a narrow
alley between two brick buildings.
:The hidden boy, his a uspicions
aroused, ran after vim,
“By free he exclaimed. “He must be
a burglar. I wonder if he has been robbing
the bank?. That thing under his arm look-
ed like a cash box,”
mind to overtake the
mysterious fellow if possible and make him
give an account of .
Upon reaching the alley, he ran swiftly
down the dark, narrow passage a distance
of about one hundred feet, when suddenly
he was brought to a pause by a high brick
wall, .
He lit a match, and its glow lighted the
place enough for him to see that there was
absolutely no sign of the dark man.
Solld brick walls at least sixty feet high
HAPPY
DAYS.
towered up on each side and af the end of
the alley without a door or. window in
“Thunder! ". gasped the astonished te
“Where has he gone?”
It was the. most mysterious Gisappear-
ance he had ever seen, for unless the mask-
ed man had gone through the walls, or had
flown over their high tops, he could find no
other way ‘for him to yanish in such a
strange manner,
He lit another match to make sure that
there was no opening in the walls through
which the man.could have gone, and satis-
fied that there were none, he retraced his
footsteps to “thé street, greatly perplexed.
“Did my imagination deceive me?”
muttered. “Did I only think I saw that
fellow, or was he a ghost? No ordinary
human being could have melted away as
that chap did. It would have been impos-
sible for him to have gone by me in the
alley, as the space was too narrow for two
people to pass each other without knowing
it.”
He glanced .over at the bank as he spoke,
and a vivid flash of red fire suddenly. shot
uP iaeross one of the iron- batred windows
in
* oWhat's that?” he muttered, involunta-
rily.
The crimson glow subsided for a moment,
then it flared up once more, and he now
distinctly caught sight of a tongue of leap-
ing fire within the bank building, followed
‘by a jet of smoke, which esan to creep
out around the window casin;
“The bank is on fire!” flashed through
his mind.
That the mystertous man in the black
mask had set fire to the building he had
no doubt, and he rushed across the street,
thinking:
He. robbed the bank and set it afire to
hidé& the evidence of his crime. I must
raise an alarm .to save the building.”
Reaching the door. of the building, he
pulled it open and looked in.
He now plainly saw that there was a big
fire raging at the other end of the spacious
counting-room, and he shouted at the top
of his voice:
“Fire, fire, fire!”
The boy’s yoice rang out loudly through
the deserted and silent street, and he heard
red head came racing along all out of
breath, his hat in his hand and an anxious
look on his f: .
“Hello, there!” he exclaimed, as he
paused before the boy. “What's up?”
“The bank is afire!” replied the stranger.
“Quick! Send in an alarm!
“Sure an’ I’m the captain of the Sala-
mander Volunteers, an’ as our engine-house
is only’ a few, blocks away, I'll run back}
an’ rouse out the boys. You hurry inside
an’. oat if you can save annything while
Tm ”
“All vient, Mr.—— .
“Denny Murphy’s me > name,”
“And mine is Frank Freeman.”
The young fire captain ran back the way
he came from, and Frank sprang into the
bank and saw that it was filling with
smoke,
There was a ruddy glow from the crack-
ling flames, which lit up the interior of the
bank so brightly that young Freeman eas-
fly saw just what the extent of the con-
flagration wa:
Hanks of oil-soaked cotton-waste laid
scattered over the floor, and all the finely
polished woodwork of the partitions at the
rear were ablaze, the flames leaping and
darting at the huge safe behind them.
The doors of the safe stood wide open,
and there was every probability of the
books and other valuable papers in the big
metal vault catching afire and being de-
stroyed,
Frank dropped his grip on the floor and,
tearing down some of the handsome silk
portieres from one of the doorways, he at-
tacked the fire, beating it out in an effort
to reach the safe di
£I must try to wet them shut to preserve
its contents!” he tl
The heat was thstaine his skin, and
sweat was rolling down his forehead, as
he worked away in a desperate effort to
save the bank’s property from the fast in-
creasing fire.
While he was in the midst of it a man
rushed in with a wild look gen his face
and saw what he was doin;
“Good boy!” he shouted, Spon’ t let up
for an instant. I, will aid you. We must
prevent the contents of the safe catching
afire above all things, They are worth
thousands of dollars to us.”
Frank glanced around at the gentleman
in surprise, for he did not know until that
moment that he had come
“Who are you?” he, gasped.
“I am John Wilson, the cashier of alls
bank,” answered the other, as he, too, arm-
_ed himself with a pair of portieres and ate
tacked the fire. .
“How did you happen to get here?”
“o met Denny Murphy and he told me.”
I see,” safd the boy, as he kept on
beat and slashing at the burning wood-
or] “I just discovered a masked man
veoming out of this bank with a metal box
under his arm. He ran down the alley
across the street, I guess he was a thief
who broke in here, opened ‘the safe and
robbed it. He must have then set fire to
the building to hide the ‘crim
“And you came “right in here and tried
save our property,
yes, : sir. am “ying to-reagh . those
open doors of the safe.
“T-am-afraid it can’t. be done,”
des: airin reply.
W ei pan panted the poy, as he ‘paused,
“we veau't subdue the ‘fire, but I .think I
can get those. doors shut ‘just the same.”
“How on earth ean yon do it?” 5 «
was the
ce
's body in. one of the
portieres, pulling it over his head, and,
taking one long, deep Di breath, he rushed
right into the fire.
The horrified \cashier gave a warning
yell, but the plucky poy paid no heed to
it and kept right
In an instant he was right in the midst
of the flames,
CHAPTER IL.
‘ a
A Hor FIGIIT.
The bank cashier stood watching the sea
of fire roaring up before him, fascinated
and speechless, for the.boy’s daring cour-
age appealed to him strongly, and he was
tormented with the horrible thought that
Frank Freeman had been consumet
Crash! Bang!
It was a smothered noise coming from
behind the wall of smok
ext there was a violent seattering of
sparks, and embers, and out of the roaring
furnace rushed a mass 0
It paused in the middle of the room, the
aming portiere flew off, and there was
Frank, panting, coughing and as pale as a
ghost, but not a a spark on his clothes ner a
burn on his sk:
“I’ve closed ind locked the safe!” he
“Brave poy!” roared the cashier, amazed
and delighted.
“Help me to tackle the fire again.”
“No, no! Out of here with you!” and
| he grasped Frank by the arm and rushed
him to the street, adding hoarsely: “You
are half smothered now.. Do you want to
kill yourself entirely?”
rw, good the cool air seemed to the
How
choking boy!
Just then there came the clanging of a
bell, the patter of many running feet, and
down the street swept a crowd of people.
ehind gome of them there was an old-
fashioned hand-engine, the ropes of which
were pulled by twenty uniformed boy fire-
en,
Denny Murpby, with a speaking trumpet
in his hand, was running on ahead, every
moment yelling at the people to get out of
the way, or shouting back at his brigade
to run faster.
Frightened ‘and startled men, women ‘and
children were swarming from houses, peer-
ing out of windows, or swelling the crowd
that came running to the sce
There was a fire-plug rent, in front of
the bank, and in a minute more the engine
was dragged up to it, the hose attached,
and the pump was ready for action.
_ Some of the young firemen had taken
axes and pikes from the racks, and headed
by Mr. Wilson, ran into the bank.
Frank was rapidly recovering by this
time, and as he recalled to mind that he
had left his suit-case in the building, he
followed them in to recover it.
A number of policemen had gathered be-
fore the burning building, forming a fire
line, and they now drove the people back
to a safe distance, just as the hose-carriage
came dashing up to the spot.
Out of the bank Frank hurried -with his
grip, but just as he reached the sidewalk
a policeman grabbed him by the arm and
asked gruffly
> alley, where are you going with that
az
“It’s mine,” explained the boy.
“T don’t know about that.”
“Hold on, Cassidy,” interrupted a man
behind them, and they turned and saw Mr,
Wilson. “Don’t touch that lad. He owns
that grip. I will be responsible for him.
He } has just been trying to put out the
“AN right, if you say so, Mr. Wilson,”
answered the officer in respectful tones, as
he released Frank and touched his helmet.
t this moment the nozzlemen dragged
the hose into the building, and as a row
of boys on each side of the engine grasped
the pump-handles and began working them
up and down, a heavy stream of water was
thrown upon’ the fire, and a blinding mass
of steam and smoke “began to pour out of
the windows and float upward into the
gloomy’ s!
Frank remained where he was, and in
a short time | Murphy came out and said
to Mr. Wilso
e fire 18 “out, sir.”
00a! Good! It did not get much
<n There will be some damage, though.”
“Oh, We won't mind that. We are in-
sured. But I say, Denny, * want e, intro.
duce you to this brave young f ”
“ yw him already, sir,” “grind the
captain of the Salamanders,
“Then you know a mighty good fellow, [
can tell you. I never saw such courage
as he displayed, You ought to have him
inv your compa: ml
“Sure an’ nothin’ “would plaze me more,” +
answered -Denny,- heartily, “But it’'gs°a ¢
stranger in town he is entirely.” §
~ intend to remain in Redbank if I can
pet a job here,” said Frank.’ “ when
i get ‘settled, there is: nothing I would
like better than to join your fire company,”
“Where are you stopping?” asked .Mr,
Wilson curiously.
“Nowhere at present, but I was heading
for the. Mansion Trowse when I discovered
the fire in the bank.” :
“I shall call aMeand there to-morrow,”
“J would be pleased to see you, sir, Can i
I be of any further help?” :
“No, indeed. I thank you for what you :
have already done, Ah, here comes Vig-
jlant No, 1, Late to the fire, as usual,
That Jim Darrell, their captain, is a lazy t
lout with more money than brains.” }
Frank gave a sudden start, and his face
turned pale, but he subdued a sudden ex- 1
citement that overpowered him and glanced . 1
up the street, down which a fine engine,
drawn by a team of bays, was coming.
Upon the driver's seat sat a boy a ‘little
older than himself, with a bony, angular
face and a most arrogant air about him.
“Jim Darrell—here,”. muttered°Frank, as
his dark eyes rested upon the driver of the
engine. ~~ '
The next instant he strode away ‘and, -
plunging through the crowd with a frown
of anger upon his face, he headed for the
hotel, muttering:
o this is where Darrell lives, is {t?”
soon reached the Mansion House and,
having registered, he ordered a supper,
went to his room and, having washed and
changed his linen, he passed down to the
dining-room, where a goo@ meal was await-
ing him.
He was hungry and’ate with a relish.
Having finished his meal, he walked out: $
to the office, and reached the desk just as
a yery distinguished looking, elderly gen-
tleman with a white beard and a girl of .
dazzling beauty came down the broad stair- , '
St
The poy glanced up at them,
a smothered cry of astonishment
burst from his lips, his face turned as red
as fire, and he started toward the girl with
outstretched hands, crying in excited tones:
uth!”
The beautiful girl paused.
“Frank Freeman!” she exclaimed in as+
tonishment.
He might have clasped the dainty little
gloved hand she extended ha her
fathér suddenly stepped in between. ‘these
a furious look upon his aristocratic face.
“Stank back, sir!” he exclaimed harshly,
as he bent a withering glance upon the
boy. “How dare you address my daugh-
ter?” 4
All the color left Frank’s cheeks, and he
shrank aside, hun; s head, and made
no reply to this cutting rebu
The girl. looked angrily at her father,
and was upon the point of saying” some-
thing to him, phen he linked his arm in
hers and exciaim'
“Come, Ruth!
scene here!
There was a certain stern, haughty way
about the man that caused his daughter
to subside at once, and she silently passed *
the boy, and they both hurried outside,
entered a carriage and were driven away.
The only witness to this scene was the
hotel clerk, and he turned to the boy and
said in kind toni
“He is the governor of the State, but he
is a regular brute.”
There was some sympathy in this remark
which touched the boy.
a eou now the man, then?” he asked.
Tgé Stanton has been here fre-
quentiy sate his daughter: He has a sum-
mer residence in the town. I don’t want to
butt into your affairs, Mr. Freeman, but
say, why did he cut you that way?” .
“It’s an old sore,” replied the boy. “You
see,” he added, unable to keep his troubles
to himself, “I am a Yale student, I ran
away from the school for certain>reasons
and came here. I got acquainted with Miss
Stanton in Hartford. Her father got abtry,,.
at me for a private reason, and told me
never to speak to his daughter again, This ce
is the first time I’ve met her ‘since, and
I was rash enough to disobey the old man.
The result was that he turned me down, {
saw,
“Oh, I see,” said the clerk, nodding, but,
as a matter of fact, he did not know much
more about the matter than he did before.
“What were they doing here?” asked the
Oy.
“Calling: on
guests.
At that moment there came the sound of
young fellows singing In the cafe of the °
hotel, and Frank walked over to the door
and look \«
There were half a dozen stylishly-clad
fellows standing around a table with up-
raised wing glasses, and among them was
Jim Dar
It was ‘eltent that all these young fel-
lows were slightly under the influence of
the wine they had imbibed, for they were
T will have no disgraceful
some friends who are
a,