meanwhile our young hero—for hero he was truly showing himself to be—was following the chief into the interior of the dark and burning hotel. groping their way along through the corridors, sometimes finding the smoke so thick and black that they were obliged to crawl along on their hands and knees, they made the best of their way to the place where the fire was raging. as they crawled along, they encountered a number of frightened guests, some of whom had come in from the fire-escape at the chief’s command, while nearly all of them were too much terrified to fairly understand what they were about. one lady, who had thrown a black silk dress over her night-clothes, carried a barking poodle-dog under her arm, while another clung tenaciously to a bird-cage, in which was a green parrot, although, as it afterwards transpired, she had left her gold watch and casket of jewels under the pillow of her bed. some of these people cried, while others were silent, and one man, on 360whom they stumbled, was lying at full length in an open doorway, unconscious from the effects of the smoke.

at the chief’s command two firemen carried him at once to the window, where the fresh air soon revived him, and he was lowered by means of a life-line, tied under his arms, to the ground below. by the same method several other guests were saved, though others, including the two woman already named, positively refused to go down in such an undignified manner.

while this was going on, bruce, carrying his hook, and still following the members of his company, descended to the floor below, and then, hearing voices below him, went down one more flight of stairs, and encountered captain murphy’s men, who had made their way up from the lower entrance. at the chief’s command, bruce and two other men went into one of the bedrooms, threw open a window, and, lowering a long line, called upon the men below to attach their hose to it, so that they might draw it up.

chief trask had often told bruce that in the work of fighting a fire the most important thing is to discover the location of the flames, and not only subdue them but prevent them 361from spreading to other parts of the building. in order to do this, it is necessary to cover all exposed parts, and to saturate with water everything of an inflammable nature that lies near the seat of the conflagration. in this particular case, the snow which covered the roofs of the adjacent buildings prevented anything like danger from flying sparks and cinders, but had the fire taken place during dry, summer weather, one of the first duties of the firemen would have been to throw water on every roof and wall that lay within possible reach of the longest tongue of flame.

working in the interior of the hotel, the firemen, under chief trask’s direction, bent their energies toward arresting the possible spread of the flames, which had already gained such headway by means of the elevator shaft that it seemed to an inexperienced young fire-lad, like bruce, an almost hopeless task to attack them. but with the aid of the hose which had been hauled up through the window, all the partitions, floors and ceilings were speedily saturated with water, while the men tore down with their hooks a number of frame partitions, in order to prevent the spread of fire through the lath and plaster.

“bruce!” cried brophy, coming up suddenly 362to where the boy was standing, “the chief says for you to go right down and tell captain murphy’s engineer to give us more pressure.”

“all right,” replied the boy promptly, and pulling his helmet well down and his coat collar up about his mouth, he started down the winding marble staircase that led to the lower floor. it was a perilous journey, for the smoke filled the air, and through the darkness he could see shooting tongues of flame and showers of sparks, showing that the fire was eating its way into the woodwork and consuming both walls and floors with terrible persistence. but bruce was not the boy to be daunted by heavy smoke and crumbling floors, and besides, he felt that he was a full-fledged fireman now, for had he not received his baptism of fire a year ago? so he stumbled down the stairs, clinging to the balustrade, and soon the atmosphere grew clearer and the light stronger, and then he stepped on a marble floor covered with at least six inches of water, and realized that he was standing in what had been but a few hours before the gorgeous entrance to one of the most sumptuous hotels in new york. clerks and servants were running to and fro, carrying 363out different articles of value, and bruce noticed three or four red-helmeted insurance patrolmen, who were going about placing covers over some of the more costly fittings, in order to protect them from the deluge of water from above.

through the entrance the boy rushed out into the street, and looked about him for captain murphy’s engine. the snow was still falling, but it was so trampled under foot that the street looked like one huge puddle of black, filthy water, filled with enormous twisting and writhing serpents. these were the lengths of hose which were scattered about in all directions.

the reporters had arrived by this time and passed the fire-lines, and he could see them darting about, with their note-books in their hands, jotting down bits of description and facts of interest regarding the fire, while one or two of them were sending messengers down-town, in order that their city editors might issue extra editions of the newspapers if they deemed the fire of sufficient importance.

bruce soon found the company he was in search of. the engineer, on receipt of the chief’s orders, proceeded to lock his relief-valve, 364and give his fire an extra shake with his “slice-bar,” as he called the long iron poker used for stirring up the coal. then he opened his throttle a little wider, at the same time placing his foot upon the hose leading to the roof, and giving it a sharp, vicious stamp, to find out if the increased pressure had made it any harder.

bruce stood beside him, an observant watcher of everything he did; and then remarked, as he turned his eyes to the burning building, “it looks as if it were getting away from them.”

“well, it does look somewhat that way,” rejoined the engineer, unconcernedly, as he threw more coal into his engine. he was an old fireman, and had seen too many big blazes to be particularly stirred up by such an one as this.

bruce turned away, wishing that he could go to a fire in the same calm, professional mood, and bent his steps toward the building adjoining the hotel, through which chief trask’s company had first ascended to the roof. he had found the passage by the hotel staircase too perilous and difficult to be attempted again, particularly as the flames seemed to be making such fearful headway, 365despite the utmost exertions of the men who were fighting them. but as he was crossing the street he turned his eyes upward, and caught a glimpse of chief trask climbing down the long ladder that stood against the side of the hotel. bruce knew at once what it meant. his company had been ordered to abandon their position and return to the street. and so he determined to wait until they came down. he was standing on the corner, still undecided as to what course he should pursue, when he heard a faint scream, and on looking up he saw in one of the windows on the fifth floor, a slender, white-robed figure. some one, a young girl it seemed to him, was in imminent danger, and it looked as if she were preparing to climb over the sill and throw herself into the street.

“don’t jump! stay where you are!” yelled the young fire-lad at the top of his lungs.

the young girl in the window heard him, for she paused and shouted some unintelligible answer, to which he replied—for a sudden idea had taken possession of him—“stay where you are! i’ll be with you in a minute!”

there was no time for hesitation or reflection now. trained as he was to the immense 366value which the smallest fraction of time possesses in the eyes of a true fireman, he realized, for the first time in his life, how precious even a single second may be. a hook and ladder truck stood within ten feet of him, and it seemed to the boy that within one of these precious seconds he had reached it, and seized one of the light scaling ladders that hung at its side. with this in his hands he rushed toward the hotel, attached the hooks at the ladder’s end to the sill of a window directly under that in which the white-robed young girl was standing, and had just placed his foot on the lower rung, when some one seized him by the shoulder.

“hold on there! you’ve forgotten something!”

it was one of the reporters, and as bruce heard him he realized that he had forgotten to put on a belt and provide himself with a life-line. there was the belt with its big iron hook attached to the ladder, and while he was fastening it about his waist, the reporter ran to the truck, and came flying back with a life-line coiled about his arm.

“up with you!” he cried, as he handed it to the boy, and added, as bruce, with his eyes fixed on the window above him, and the life-line 367held firmly in his hand, began the ascent, “and may god bless you!”

then the reporter jumped back to the other side of the street, and, lifting his voice above the noises that filled the air, cried, “stay where you are! he’s coming right up to you!” but even as he spoke the room in which the young girl stood was lit up with a flash of light, and then the smoke came in through the blazing door, and began to pour out of the window above her head in a dark, heavy stream.

on went bruce to the top of his ladder. then, throwing his leg over the window-sill, he hastily pulled up his frail wooden stairway, and by the exercise of all the coolness, skill and rapidity at his command, fastened the hooks over the window-sill of the room to which he was climbing. then on and up again through the smoke, which was gaining strength every moment, and was whirled into his face by the pitiless storm of wind. the heat was terrible, and the side of the building so hot that it blistered his hands to touch it. but he gave no thought to smoke, flame or heat. his only hope was to reach that window above him before it was too late. and to the young girl who stood there in peril of 368her life, every second seemed a full hour, until at last the helmeted head rose above the level of the sill.

bruce had all his wits about him now, for he knew that he stood in need of every particle of nerve and courage and decision that he possessed, and that a single slip or false step on his part meant death, perhaps, to them both—to him as well as to the white-robed, slender girl, who was leaning, half fainting, against the window-frame, her fair hair falling in a wild tangle down her shoulders, her hands clasped, and her lips moving as if in prayer.

with a quick bound the young fireman scrambled over the window-sill and into the room. then taking his life-line, he began to uncoil it, and, stretching out his arms to the young girl, said, in a calm, steady voice: “don’t be frightened!” it was then that their eyes met for the first time, and bruce decker found himself standing face to face with laura van kuren, while the storm of wind and snow was raging outside and the smoke and flame were creeping up behind him.

“a single slip or false step on his part meant death.”—page 368.

369his clothing was torn and soiled, his face and hands grimy with sweat and smoke. the snow and the ashes had fallen upon him unheeded, and the flames had singed and burnt his clothing in a dozen places. but never did the bravest, handsomest soldier on parade seem to any one as heroic and courageous and manly as did bruce to the young girl who almost fell into his outstretched arms, while she murmured, “oh! bruce, it is you! i thought you would never come.”

but the boy uttered never a word, and a sharp pang pierced laura’s heart as she remembered their last meeting in the street, when she had been ashamed of him. she was not ashamed of him now, and as she rested in his strong arms, with her cheek against his wet coat, she thanked heaven that it was he, and not the little french boy, victor, who had come to save her. and now bruce had slipped the life-line around her, and tied it firmly under her arms, and, having taken a turn or two of the slack about his belt-hook, disengaged her clinging arms from about his neck, and prepared to lower her to the sidewalk.

“aren’t you coming too, bruce?” she asked, faintly.

“afterwards,” was all he said. and then she was swung off into mid-air, and felt herself 370going down through the smoke and the flames and the storm, and she knew no more until she found herself in the arms of a brawny fireman on the pavement.

her first thought was of the boy who had saved her. but when she looked up at the window from which she had come she could see nothing, for the flames had burst out from beneath it, cutting off every hope of escape.

“has he come down? is he safe?” she asked. but there was no reply, for those that stood about her looked at one another with expressive glances and shook their heads, and then turned their eyes toward the awful flames which were sweeping with resistless force up the side of the building.

laura closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, and just then a mighty shout rent the air. the boy had appeared at another window—he had made his line fast to the sill and thrown the loose end down into the street! and now he was climbing out of the window, and a great silence fell upon the crowd as, with one look at what lay before him, he deftly twisted the frail rope about his belt-hook, and, with a firm grasp on the line below, plunged into the whirlwind of flame and smoke beneath him.

371“the boy’s all right, miss; he’s just come down from another window. he’s standing there on the pavement,” were the words that fell upon the young girl’s ear. she heard them, but made no response—her overtaxed strength had given way.

and now it became apparent to others beside captain murphy’s engineer that the great hotel was doomed. the chief of the department, who had been a silent and apparently unmoved spectator of all that has just been described, realized it, too, and uttered the simple command: “back out!” the order was given none too soon, and as the long lines of hose were withdrawn, the firemen broke them up into convenient lengths and attached them to the four-inch stand-pipe on the deck of the water-tower, while others made preparations to take positions on the adjacent buildings, in order to operate the siamese streams. then the men swarmed up and through the houses nearby bearing hose-hoists and roof-ropes, and in a few minutes they were hauling long lines of pipe up over the eaves of the houses, and fastening them securely, by means of the roof-ropes, to chimney and scuttle. two, three, and four way siamese connections were 372quickly placed in position, and connected with the huge brass stand-pipe with incredible rapidity, and from these great volumes of water were poured against and into the doomed building and upon the roofs of the houses next to it.

and now an awful crash, and a huge pyramid of smoke, sparks and flames told the watchers that the roof had fallen in. soon afterwards the front wall fell, and then the two side walls went down, leaving a huge mass of cinders, bricks and ashes, where the great hotel had stood when the sun went down.

the new day was just beginning to dawn, when the welcome order came from chief trask to the various companies which had been operating under him, “report to the chief,” and each captain went at once to where the officer stood, surveying the scene of desolation, and repeating the chief’s order.

“take up,” was the silent man’s rejoinder, and the wearied men gathered up their hose, placed it in well-ordered layers in the hose wagon, unblanketed the horses, and, carefully picking their way among the lengths of hose which were still lying on the ground, returned to their quarters.

373meantime, under orders of the chief of the department, three or four spare battalion engines moved into advantageous positions, and to these were attached the lines of the companies at work. a detail of engineers and men was quickly made, and then the brief order to “take up” sent the others away from the scene of the fire. as the day broke, men and women going to their daily toil stopped to look at the smoking heap, on which two or three streams were falling from the spare engines. by noon the snow had fallen upon the ruins, and but a single hydrant line remained in operation.