Polly in New York Read online

  CHAPTER VI--THE NIGHT OF THE PLAY

  Of the sixty odd pupils in Mrs. Wellington's school, at least fifteen ofthem were to participate in the play. There was to be a Chorus of sixgirls, and a Ballet, besides the principals who also acted the drama tofollow. Consequently the representative scholars not appearing on thestage, had been asked to act as ushers, and general supervisors ofharmony.

  Mr. Fabian and Mr. Maynard conducted Anne and her mother to the seatsreserved for them, and soon the friends and families of the scholarsfiled in and took their seats. As the hall was generally used for otherpurposes, the floor was not graded, and the seats were not attached tothe floor. They were ordinary wooden folding chairs to be piled up atthe end of the performance.

  The pianist and other music teachers from school formed the orchestra,and their opening number was rendered so well that an encore followed.

  POLLY STAGGERED OUT OF THE DOOR CARRYING ELIZABETH ONHER SHOULDER.]

  Eleanor whispered comically to Polly, as they stood in the entrancedoor: "Maybe the friends hope to postpone the acting a little longer."

  When the curtain was drawn aside and the first act of the playlet began,individuals in the audience became interested in watching their owngirls in the troupe. The Chorus did very well, and the Ballet danced asgracefully as well-taught girls should, but once the actual actingbegan, there was a slight disappointment felt by the spectators.

  The leading lady (the programme said it was Miss Elizabeth Dalken) wasthe whole show. She managed to keep in the lime-light even when she wasnot speaking, or acting a part. And so much of one actress, whether goodor bad, was bound to pall on the audience.

  "Polly, she's spoiling the whole play! I wonder the other girls stoodfor it at the rehearsals," whispered Eleanor.

  "She didn't act that way, before, I'm sure. Marion King told me allabout it. She's doing it now just to show off!"

  "Not to her family! because not one of her folks are here. I heard hertell Estelle that her mother was going to a fashionable ball, and, ofcourse, her father wouldn't come because he had no invitation fromElizabeth."

  "Well," persisted Polly, feeling sorry for the girl, "she must haveuncles or aunts or cousins, here."

  "She hasn't any in New York. Her father comes from upstate and his folkslived there. No one knows who her mother was, so she hasn't a soul,here, but the chauffeur. He's downstairs having refreshments."

  The second act ended and everyone sighed in relief because the play wasfoolish and so poorly acted, even for amateurs. Mrs. Wellington feltdeeply hurt when she found how Elizabeth had chosen chums rather thanactors for the principal parts in the play.

  The third act began, in which Elizabeth was dressed in a spangled greenball-gown. It was very tight about the ankles and very low about theneck. It was too daring, even for a young girl acting a part. The gownhad a long swishing tail at the back that could have been graceful on avampire, but not on this posing girl.

  Mrs. Wellington shook her head disapprovingly at sight of Elizabeth, andwished, more than once, that she had taken more time to review theactors and their costumes, before they appeared in public.

  The Assembly Hall building where the play was given, had four stories.The first floor was used for refreshments, with a kitchen at the back.The second was a billiard parlor for the use of private clubs. The thirdfloor was given over to the Hall, and the fourth floor was turned intodressing-rooms, card-rooms, smoking-room, et cetera.

  As no late arrivals were expected after the third act had opened theushers, placed at the doors, closed them to shut out the talking andlaughing in the billiard rooms. Then they sat down at either side of thedoor, to watch the play.

  The third act was progressing slowly, when the ushers heard sounds ofconfusion coming from downstairs. But they merely exchanged glances andthought some men were quarreling over a game of billiards.

  Soon afterward, a faint odor and a haze of smoke penetrated through thechinks of the doors, and Polly jumped up quickly to investigate. Themoment she opened a door, however, a thick cloud of smoke poured in. Shehad to cough, but she remembered to instantly slam the door again.

  The other girls saw the smoke and a panic might have followed, had notAnne immediately jumped upon the stage and shouted:

  "Remember--do not lose your heads! That is the only danger. We can allget out safely if everyone will be calm and orderly."

  Mr. Maynard took Mrs. Stewart with one arm, and caught Eleanor in hisother, then called to Mr. Fabian to do the same with Anne and Polly. Butthere was such a dense mob at the only exit doors, that it wasimpossible to force a way through there, and the heavy smoke was nowrapidly filling the hall.

  To add to the scene of fear and confusion, the women in the assemblycried, some screamed, the girls ran back and forth, and the men wereventing their fears in calling upon Deity,--some scarcely audible, andothers in shrill screams of excitement.

  Outside, one could hear the mingled calls and shouts of onlookers, theclanging of bells on the engines, and the yells of the people who hadescaped and wanted to help their friends out. There were four frontwindows of the hall where the school entertainment was being given, butthese were now jammed with women who sought that way to gain a breath ofair, but were too timid to jump out to the street; and there were nofire-escapes to be found. The hallways and several doors opening tothem, were a pitiful sight. The men, women, and children were crying,jostling, and stampeding each other in their vain efforts to get out andfind the stairway in the dense smoke that kept pouring up from below.

  Mr. Fabian saw the panic and realized that his friends must seek a rearexit, or remain until the tardy firemen brought the ladders up to thebuilding to help them out. So he hurried to the door back of the stage.It had escaped the frightened eyes of others. Having learned that thisdoor opened upon an entry that ran to a rear window, he next discoveredthe usual fire-escape that ran down to the yard, and up to the roof. Ittook him but a moment to assure himself that the escape was safe, thenhe rushed back.

  "This way! Follow me--everyone!" he shouted to his friends.

  They all hurried to the window and Mr. Fabian went first, in order toassist the ladies out to the iron-slatted platform, and then to startthem, sure-footed, on the upward climb of the narrow iron steps.

  Mrs. Stewart went first, but she was so nervous that Mr. Fabian followedclosely behind her to steady her trembling form. Anne followed after hermother in climbing through the window, and Mr. Maynard followed her. Thetwo girls were about to climb out on the platform when they heard amoan, and then a shrill cry, from the small dressing-room back of thestage.

  Anne ordered the girls to come out, but Polly turned and ran back.Eleanor followed, and Anne, distracted, climbed back, too.

  "Nolla, tie something over your mouth and nose--use your chiffon scarf,"commanded Polly, winding a wide silk sash about her own head.

  The girls groped along the entry but could not distinguish a thing inthe thick, choking haze. Then Polly came to the dressing-room back ofthe stage. This was comparatively clear from smoke, and there the girlssaw Elizabeth Dalken stretched upon the floor, a cut in her foreheadattesting to the cause of her sharp scream.

  "Great Scott, Polly! What can we do now?" cried Eleanor, as the idea oftrying to carry the girl up the steep ladder-way flashed across her mindonly to be spurned. She had no idea of leaving her there to her fate,however.

  "If we only had a rope!" wailed Polly.

  "But we haven't! If I only knew this house better I might find aback-stairway. Most city houses have them and I should think this placewould have one."

  "Of course! Nolla, close this door to keep out smoke. I'll look for thestairs."

  The few excited sentences were muttered through the mufflers tied overthe girls' mouths and noses. Then both girls began groping their way tothe rear, hunting for the back-stairs.

  The mass of people that had surged from the Hall had made for the widefront stairs, and but few remembered to seek for a back exit. And t
hesehad speedily found a way down. Polly and Eleanor also found the narrowback stairs, then Polly hastily commanded:

  "Run and tell Anne--she can call to your Dad and explain. Then tell herto come this way, with us. I'll lift Elizabeth over my shoulders andstart down with her--Anne and you follow, at once!"

  In another moment, Polly was back in the dressing-room while Eleanor wasrunning for the rear window to advise Anne. But she found her alreadyinside tying a veil over her mouth and nose.

  "Nolla--where's Polly?"

  "All right--come on!"

  "I told your father--they are safe on the roof--hurry now!"

  Eleanor led Anne through the smoke, and just as they reached the entry,Polly staggered out of the stage-door with the unconscious girl hangingover her shoulder.

  "Polly! Polly! You never can carry her!" cried Anne, in a smotheredvoice through the veiling.

  But Polly kept her mouth closed and struggled on to the back stairs.Anne began to cough and choke as a reward for trying to speak, but shereached the stairs first and rushed on down to see if there was a safepassage below. Eleanor was close upon her heels, and Polly followed morecircumspectly.

  They reached the kitchen of the house without trouble but the heat asthey passed by the second floor was terrific. Once down on the groundfloor they found the rear of the place quite free from smoke, but itmight only be because the fire overhead was blazing upward. At anymoment the wall or upper floors might crash down and fall upon them.

  "Nolla--how can we get out of this pen?" cried Anne.

  "If the house is anything like Chicago's, I'll show you. There must bean area or cellar exit to the street."

  The kitchen light was still burning but it looked weird in thesmoke-laden atmosphere. Eleanor tried different doors but found thatthey opened into passages leading to closets or to the front rooms.Finally she opened one and caught a whiff of fresh uncontaminated air.

  "Thank heavens! Here it is, but I don't know where it ends."

  Anne and she pushed out, with Polly behind them. They were in a darkalley, now, and had to trust to good fortune to come out somewhere, insafety. Down several stone steps, and along another dark, damp area theywent, and then Eleanor stumbled against a closed door.

  "Oh, mercy! Are we locked in here?" she yelled desperately, beating thedoor with her clenched fists.

  "Nolla--let me feel for a handle--you are hysterical!" cried Anne,swiftly passing her hands over the rough wood.

  "Hurry, hurry! I can't carry this weight a minute longer!" breathedPolly, hoarsely.

  Just at that moment, Anne's hand struck an iron bolt. In a second shehad shot it backwards, and the heavy door swung open to give them anexit to the side street.

  All three girls ran frantically forward and Polly dropped her heavyburden upon a grass strip which edged the curb. Eleanor sobbed withrelief and Anne fell upon her knees in silent thanksgiving.

  "I'm off, girls, to see if I can help, in front. Have a care forElizabeth," cried Polly, and away she flew.

  That silenced Eleanor's hysteria quicker than anything else, and inanother moment she was gone after her friend, leaving Anne to watch thestill unconscious girl on the grass.

  The scene in front of the building was one of spectacular interest.Seeing the crowds of fashionably-dressed people grouped opposite theflaring house, it would seem that everyone of the guests had escaped.But there was a deafening mixture of cries and shouts from everydirection. Some were crying for lost friends, some wailed for helpbecause of injuries inflicted by the stampede; firemen signaled theirassociates; the old proprietor of the Hall ran madly to and fro shoutingand gesticulating wildly to everyone; in fact, it was a scene thatshocked Polly to witness because she thought city people had greatpresence of mind.

  Streams of water were pouring upon the flames that shot from thesecond-story windows, but the scaling ladders had not yet arrived, andthe firemen were striving to enter the front door in order to carry thehose nozzle to a more effectual spot.

  The Chief had sent some men through adjacent houses to reach the roofsand work downwards from that vantage spot. But they had not yet appearedwhen Polly saw how she could assist.

  Acting upon an impulse, and doing exactly as she would do if she waswitnessing a fire at Oak Creek, where the ranchers turn out and try tosubdue the flames, Polly hastily dropped the clinging skirt of herevening dress. Having already removed the silk sash while in the Hall,she now dipped it in the flood of water that poured from the hydrant onthe curb and tied it over her mouth and nose. Then she made a dashacross the street.

  She caught a coil of rope from the hook where it hung on the back of theengine, and pushed a way through the staring men. Before anyone dreamedof her plan, or the firemen could restrain her she had reached thecorner of the building and was agilely climbing the height by holding tothe copper leader.

  A chorus of breathless gasps and frightened screams came from the crowdbut Polly heard them not. She was too intent on her work. Being nimbleand so light-weight, and thoroughly accustomed to climb up almostperpendicular cliffs, or along dizzy peaks, this ascent seemed like playto the mountain girl. But the onlookers were thrilled to silence as theywatched her climb to the roof, and then safely crawl over the ledge.Instantly there was such a wild cheer from the street, that Pollywondered if something dreadful had happened. She never thought that theacclamation was meant for her.

  Without hesitation, she ran over to a nearby chimney and wound one endof the long rope about it, then lowered the other end to the street. TheChief saw the purpose, at once, and signaling back to the girl who wasleaning over the edge of the roof, he had his men tie the rope ladder tothe rope. Then Polly began hoisting it slowly, until its end came overthe cornice.

  Meantime, when Eleanor found her friend halfway up the building,clinging to the leader and finding foothold in the crevices between thebricks, or on the steel bands that held the metal pipe to its moorings,she also ran across the street, and attempted to break through thecordon which had been formed to permit the men to hold out a life-net incase the daring climber should fall.

  "I want to help Polly--she is my best friend!" cried Eleanor, when thefireman made her turn back.

  Then she remembered the rear entrance from which they had escaped. Sheturned to the Chief and called hurriedly: "Send some men with me--I'llshow them the cellar entrance where they can reach the roof anddifferent floors from the back!"

  "Hallam! Colter! Take your equipment and follow this girl to a backdoor. You know what to do!"

  The men detailed for this duty, beckoned a few others, and all ran afterEleanor who now made for the area door. She flew past Anne who washolding Elizabeth's head upon her lap, but forgot to glance that way.Having gained the cellar door, she was about to go in but Hallam stoppedher.

  "No, Miss--we dare not permit anyone to enter a burning building, youknow."

  "Oh, but I want to join Polly on the roof! The only reason I showed youthis way was to get through myself!"

  "I'd lose my place in the contest for prize medals, Miss, if I brokerules. You wouldn't want me to lose my promotion?"

  Eleanor felt that he had the best of the argument, so she veryreluctantly turned and went back to the front of the house. There shesaw that the firemen had climbed the ladder and were stationed on theroof and on window ledges, holding the hose from which the water pouredin torrents upon the fire inside.

  Then the multitude now gathered on both streets and the corners of theParkway, were treated to another thrill. The strand of rope Polly hadtaken with her, was now used by her for descent. Down the taut rope likea trained monkey, came she, and safely jumped to the street.

  Before she reached the ground however, a chorus of wild yells andhurrahs went forth from everyone in the crowd. The Chief calledimperative orders to his men waiting with him, and the moment he hadcaught Polly, he forced his way across the street, carrying her in hisarms as if she were a babe.

  His men began climbing the rope ladder taking a hose with t
hem. From thevantage-points gained by Polly's courage, the firemen now kept steadystreams of water playing through the open windows upon the fire beneath,and thus managed to subdue it before the hook-and-ladder truck wheeledup beside the building.

  The men, led by Eleanor to the back-stairs, directed their efforts fromthat side, and soon the whole second and third floors became a bed ofwet smoldering embers. The rest of the structure was saved.

  It was learned, later, that the club members giving the "smoker" tofriends, had been careless of butts and papers, and thus the fire musthave originated.

  The family living in the beautiful house opposite the fire, took Pollyin charge, and kept away the mob of curious people who wished to see andtalk with the heroine.

  Polly was all right, and wondered why she should be kept indoors whenothers on the outside might need assistance. Suddenly she remembered herdiscarded skirt!

  "Oh, mercy me! Did I climb up that pipe looking like this?" she cried,blushing furiously and burying her face in the cushions of the divan.

  "My dear child! It was a wonderful sight! No one gave the slightestthought to your bloomers. But now you shall have one of Ruth's skirts,"returned the lady of the house, fervently.