Adventure Magazine Cover — page 137: what you’re looking at

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

The Spirit of the Flames in the line of duty and he would have been justified. But he choose to meet his man on equal terms. It was a brief fight, but it proved three things—that Kelp could punch, that he could take a punch, and that he was not afraid. The civilian landed the first two blows. They were two long swings, a right and a left and they landed flush on Kelp’s chin— one at either side. The marine made no attempt at defense—no effort to ward off the terrible blows. He took them as a matter of course and then drove his right fist straight to the other man’s left chest. I was close by and I heard the thud of that blow in spite of the din and clatter that was all around us. The civilian sprawled his length on the cracked, ash-strewn pavement. For the space of twice ten seconds and more he stayed down—unconscious. Then he came to and pulled himself weakly up on all fours. His face was blanched with pain. He twisted his neck, turning his eyes up until he saw Kelp looking down at him. He did not take time to rise. He squirmed around, still on all fours and, for all the world like a whipped dog, scurried in among the crowd. I didn’t blame the civilian for dogging it. I, too, had just seen Kelp’s face and it was not a pleasant face to see. He appeared as vindictive as the hissing flames about him. The good-natured grin of the Red Don- nelly episode was totally wiped out. In- deed Kelp had caught the very spirit of the flames. I remember wishing that Red Donnelly had been there then. I would have liked to see him try his trick of the night before. After Kelp’s fight, the people became more submissive. They fell back more readily before the constant urging and de- manding of the guards. And all the time the fire was steadily spreading. Time and again whole rows of homes were blown up with dynamite in the vain hope of checking the fire. Section after section of hose was pieced together and a thin stream of water, pumped from the bay, was brought to play against the on-marching flames. The little stream sizzled and sputtered and the hungry flames swept on with monotonous, unceasing regu- larity. And so that memorable day, that nightmare of all days passed. Night came and the weary crowd began 13I to thin. At last fatigue had overcome their curiosity. They went to the small, out- lying parks and sought temporary rest. By this time the entire business district had been consumed and the fire had forced us back as far as Dupont Street in the very heart of Chinatown. About eight o’clock that night we were patroling the Chinese district, doing our best to drive the frightened, chattering Chinamen out of their shops and homes. The fire was already gnawing at the backs of the houses on the east side of Dupont Street. As I was walking along this, the main street of Chinatown, I noticed a column of flame burst through the roof of a large wooden structure. The roof partially caved in and the fire immediately flared up on the inside, thus lighting the entire structure. It was then that I observed a young Chinese girl—I knew she was Chinese by the trousered costume she wore—clawing frantically at an iron-barred window. The iron bars were set in securely and she could not budge them. The window at which the girl stood was in the second story of the building and directly beneath was a shop where Chinese images and curios of various sizes were sold. Beside this shop six or eight steps led up to a broad door which opened on a stairway that afforded entrance to the upper Story. I was in the act of calling another man to help me batter down this door and make an attempt to rescue the Chinese girl when I saw Kelp rush across the street and attack the door with the butt of his rifle. I did not call the other man then, but ran across the street myself intending to help Kelp. He battered the door rapidly and furiously. After half a dozen blows, a large panel was caved in and Kelp dived through. I ran on intending to follow him. Just as I reached the bottom step another portion of the roof above caved in. A great mass of burning shingles, joists and timbers completely blocked the doorway. It was now impossible for me to enter. I turned, rushed out into the street and looked up at the window just in time to see Kelp strip off his blouse, wrap it around the girl and gather her up in his arms. Then a broad sheet of flame from above swung down and completely curtained the win- dow. An instant later, I heard another CoOnnicloooks (C@