Argosy, Vol. 122, No. 1 — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

74 “« All o-o-out!”’ wailed a megaphone with- out. ‘ Wall falling! All o-o-out!” A heavy stream crashed in the front win- dows of the studio. The water-tower was at last in position. A flood poured into the top story of the building and drove the smoke and flames back upon the retreating policeman and his senseless burden. CHAPTER IX. WHAT BOBS UP. YALE heard the breaking of glass below in the rear as he crossed the middle room of the studio suite. When he reached the window by which the girl and he had entered, and through which the draft now sucked the pungent smoke, the flames were roaring out of the floor beneath, licking their lambent tongues about the ladder of the fire-escape. Descent to the ground was utterly cut off in this direction. Their only chance was over the roofs, and there was no fire- escape ladder above this floor. As far as Vale could see none of the fire-escapes on this row of houses extended to the roofs. But the policeman was quick to think and quicker to act. Placing the senseless girl on the platform, he ran back into the studio. He tore down the cotton sheeting masking the skylight. Of this he made a rope, tying one end under Allaine’s arms and across her bust. Despite her apparently boyish slim- ness her figure under the loose gown she wore was maturely rounded. Scrambling up the face of the house wall by aid of sill and window-frame, he man- aged to seize the overhanging eaves, and drew himself upon the roof. The end of the cotton rope he had brought with him. In a minute he drew the girl up after him. Glaring down through a rift in the churn- ing smoke, he beheld her slowly turning body. He heard, too, a moan wrenched from her parted lips. She had recovered con$ciousness. Her great, black eyes opened and sought his in terror as she realized her position. She was slowly turning in space over a blast of heat as from the mouth of the pit. Tightly clutching the stretching rope with THE ARGOSY. ‘his left hand, he reached for the noosé which held her. With a single, mighty heave of biceps and shoulder-muscles, Vale lifted her over the edge of the roof. = “Oh! Oh!” she gasped. ‘“‘ What hag happened? That fire—” “We'll soon get out of this. Everything is all right, Miss Maywell. Don’t be fright- ened,” he told her. “Oh, no! Oh, ne!” “ Everything is not all right. it—lost it!” A geyser of smoke limned with flame shot up through the roof of the building in which the conflagration had started. That house must soon be completely gutted. ! Vale expected the roof under his feet to crumbie into a similar volcano at almost any moment. He started with the girl in his arms for the next house. Her wide eyes were fixed on his face. The fear she had betrayed slowly faded from her coun- tenance. She smiled. He saw the gleam of milk-white teeth behind her parting lips. “Thank you!” she murmured. ‘“ You are very strong—and very brave. Of course, all policemen have to be, I suppose, Won’t you tell me your name—and set me on my feet, please?” He flushed, and instantly stcod her erect, But there had been something beside grati- tude in the tone of her voice. There was friendliness as well. “ My name is Harry Vale. I have the beat through Trevorth Street past your house, Miss Maywell.” ‘““T remember you,” she said quite com- posediy. “ You mean the Maywell house, of course. It does not,” she added in 2 lower tone, ‘seem to belong to me, after all.” | She turned her face from him. Her wist fulness in speaking of the house which for a few brief minutes she had believed would be her property, impressed Vale. There was something very queer indeed about the mix-up of the three Maywell wills. Some- body was trying to cheat this girl out of what Vale believed was rightfully hers. He had felt doubt regarding the girl’s brother, even. There had been something she gasped. IT have lost actually bad in Allan Maywell’s counte- nance when Vale had seen it earlier on this cComiclbooks.com