The Colonel's Wife — page 53: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Ces THROUGH FLAME AND SMOKE. from the hiding-place in which it had lain for years, he hastily buttoned his coat over the prize. Then for escape. ; Already the passage-way by means of which he had I entered was no longer a possible outlet, for tongues of flame had crept across it, forming an effectual barrier. an Colonel John was a man equal to almost any ~ emergency, and, with a bound, he reached one of the windows. | : A kick sent the shivered glass flying in every direction, and left an outlet for escape. How cool and delicious the air that was sucked in at this opening; after his brief experience with flame ‘and smoke John felt as though he could not get enough of it. Through the window he made a flying leap and landed safely on the ground. The first thing that struck him was the fact that the unknown woman still screamed. He ran around the house to where he had left his men, and before reaching them saw a sight that caused an awful sensation to overwhelm him—a spectale that no man could look upon unmoved. In an upper window of the doomed Southern man- sion he saw a face and waving arms. ‘The smoke clouds drifted past and all John could _ tell was that the one in peril seemed to be a female. It dawned upon him then that the screams he had heard as he plunged into the house in search of the papers under the hearth-stone must have been-cries of distress. If he had only known it before, instead of devoting his time to saving the papers he could have rescued this unknown who had called so loudly for assistance. _ Was it too late now? | _. John took in the whole situation with a compre-— hensive glance. jee | — ~ comicbooks.com