The Veiled Lady, and Other Men and WomenSmith, Francis Hopkinson
General
The Veiled Lady, and Other Men and Women
Smith, Francis Hopkinson
Short stories, American
Muggles looked about him.
HIS SUPREME MOMENT HAD COME!
The blood of the Clanworthys rose in his veins. The Pass lay before
him--so did the Bridge. A full suit of dove-colored pajamas and a pair
of turned-up Turkish slippers was not exactly the kind of uniform that
either Leonidas or Horatius would have chosen to fight his way to
glory, but there was no time to change them.
With a whoop to Bender, who had really begun to believe in him, and a
commanding order to Jackson, the three stripped the costly Turkish rugs
from the lounges, and blankets from the beds, and, following his lead,
dashed through the woods to the relief of the endangered pile of
lumber. On the way they passed a gang of Canucks, carrying buckets. It
was but the work of a moment to arrange these into a posse of relays
with Bender on the lake end of the line and Jackson next the pile, the
gang passing the buckets from hand to hand.
This done Muggles snatched a ladder from an adjacent building, threw it
against the threatened lumber, skipped up its rungs like a squirrel and
stood in silhouette against the flaring blaze, his dove-gray flannels
flapping about his thin legs, his attenuated arms gyrating orders to
the relief party, who had spread the rugs and blankets on the
fire-endangered side of the pile of lumber and who were now soaking
them with water under Muggles's direction. Now and then, as some part
of the burning mass would collapse, a shower of sparks and smoke would
obscure Muggles; then he could be seen brushing the live coals from his
pajamas, darting here and there, shouting: "More water! More water!
Here, on this end! All together now!" fighting his way with hand raised
to keep the heat from blistering his face, a very Casabianca on the
burning deck.
Soon the tongues of flame mounting skyward grew less in number; columns
of black smoke took the place of the shower of sparks; the light
flickering on the frightened tree-trunks began to pale; from the rugs
and blankets the hot steam no longer rose in clouds. The crisis had
passed! The pile was saved! Muggles had won!
During all this time neither Monteith nor the big lumber-boss had put
in an appearance; nor had Podvine nor little Billy Salters lent a hand.
Bender had stuck to his post and so had Jackson, oblivious of the
whereabouts of any other member of the coterie except Muggles, whose
clothespin of a figure came into relief now and then against the flare
of the flames. Then Bender made his way back to the bungalow.
The last man to leave the deck was Muggles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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