as though from the man a mad cry of "fire!" The officers stopped short, and again there came several cries, seemingly from different parts of the house. The officers let go their hold upon their prisoners. A fire in a tenement house was a far more serious matter than the arrest of two youths for fighting in the street. As stated, the lads were released, and they darted away to secure hiding places from which they could witness the fun and excitement, and there was excitement. One of the officers rapped for assistance and the second one ran to the fire-alarm box to give the signal, and officer number one made a rush to the house. He found the door open and he ran up the stairs shouting "fire! fire! fire!" The tenants rushed from their apartments and there followed a scene of wild confusion, and while the yelling and screaming were at their height two engines arrived, also a platoon of police, and the firemen of the engine company entered the house, but still there was no sign of either fire or smoke. A thorough examination followed. No signs of a fire could be discovered. The sergeant in charge of the platoon of police asked the two officers who had given the alarm where they had seen the fire. They protested they had not seen any fire, but that a man had raised the window of one of the front rooms and had shouted "fire!" The firemen meantime were thoroughly convinced that there was no fire, and they were mad at being called out on a fake alarm. They commenced to abuse the police, who protested that the cry had come from the house. The tenants had all returned to their rooms and they also had been loud in their protests and threatened to make a complaint at headquarters.
"From what room did the cry come?" asked the sergeant.
The two policemen pointed out the room. The sergeant, accompanied by the two officers, went up to the room. There were several very respectable men in the room and they all protested that they had given no alarm. All declared that they were prepared to swear that they had not. The sergeant was bothered, and said to the two patrolmen:
"This matter must be explained."
"We did hear a cry of fire."
"No one else appears to have heard it."
"We heard it."
"Where is your proof?"
One of the officers said:
"I wish we could find those two lads. They heard it."
"We can't find them."
The two men were ordered to report at the station house to answer charges for their lark, as the sergeant termed it. Other men were put on the beat and our two ventriloquists crawled forth from their hiding-places and Ike said:
"That was a pretty severe joke."
"Yes, it was very amusing."
"We must do something to save those men or they may be broke."
"How can we do it?"
"We can."
"How?"
"We'll rattle the sergeant on the same scheme," came the answer.
CHAPTER III
THE VENTRILOQUISTS DO RATTLE THE SERGEANT AND HIS PLATOON AND AGAIN RAISE OLD CAIN IN A MOST REMARKABLE MANNER.
The two vocal experts fell to the trail of the sergeant and his platoon, but kept well out of sight. They were determined to set the two patrolmen right after getting them in such a bad scrape. The whole charge against them was having claimed that they had overheard cries of fire. The sergeant was discussing the matter with the roundsman when suddenly from a private house before which at the moment they were passing came a series of wild, frantic screams, and the next instant the screams were followed by cries of "fire! fire!"
"Well," exclaimed the sergeant, "it's a fire this time. Run to the alarm box and summon the engines."
The roundsman dashed off to give the alarm and the sergeant ran up the stoop of the house and commenced to bang on the door with his club, and the two ventriloquists were enjoying the joke. The door of the house was opened by a gentleman enveloped in a dressing-gown, who in great excitement demanded:
"What in thunder do you want?"
With equal excitement the sergeant demanded:
"Where is the fire?"
"What fire?"
"The fire in this house."
"There is no fire in this house."
"Then why in thunder did you yell 'fire, fire?'"
"No one yelled fire. What is the matter with you?"
The owner of the house discerned that it was a sergeant of police to whom he was talking. "Have you gone crazy?" he asked.
"Gone crazy! No; but what did you mean by yelling fire?"
"I did not yell fire. Every one in this house has been in bed a long time."
"Who was it screamed?"
"No one screamed."
"Do you mean to tell me you did not yell fire?"
"No one yelled fire."
"And no one screamed in this house?"
"No one screamed."
At that moment the engines reappeared and the owner of the house said:
"I'll have this matter inquired into. If this is a joke you will find it an expensive one."
The foreman of the engine company approached and demanded:
"Where is the fire?"
"There is no fire," said the owner of the house.
"No fire?"
"No fire, and I don't know what the officer means by banging on my door and arousing my family at this hour of the night."
"And I can't understand," said the foreman, "what he means by calling out the engines every five minutes on a false alarm."
"There is my platoon of men, there is my roundsman. They will all testify they heard a cry of fire, followed by screams, coming from this house."
"Then your platoon of men and your roundsman will testify to a falsehood," said the house owner.
"Is there a fire in your house?" demanded the foreman of the engine company.
"No, sir."
"Is there a fire anywhere around here?"
"No, sir, not that I know of, unless it's in the upper story of these policemen."
"Say, sergeant, let me ask you one question: Have you received orders to test our department by these false alarms?"
"No, sir, I'll swear and prove that there came an alarm of fire from this house."
"That's what your men said down at the tenement house. I reckon it's a night off for the police department, or else they all want a night off. But let me tell you, if you didn't receive orders to give these fake alarms I'll know the reason why you did give them; that's all."
The sergeant was clear beat out. He apologized to the owner of the house, went down among his men and asked:
"Did you men hear those screams?"
"We did," came the answer.
"Did you hear the cries of 'fire, fire?'"
"We did," came the answer.
"All right; we'll find out about this."
"How are you going to find out all about it, sergeant?" popped in the roundsman.
"I don't know."
The roundsman was a friend of the two men who had been sent to the station house in disgrace, and he again asked:
"How about Jones and O'Brien?"
"I've been thinking about them."
"We heard it; they claim they heard the cries. I don't see how they can be held responsible."
"I don't know what to think of it."
"Can I advise?"
"Yes."
"Send the two men back on post and say nothing about the whole affair. That's my advice."
"Roundsman,