TRAPPED
While Tom Swift was loading the Lucifer for her trip and the fire
extinguishing test to occur the next morning, quite a different scene
was taking place in the home of Jasper Blake, the uncle of Mary Nestor,
where she had gone to spend a few weeks.
"Well, are you all ready, Mary?" asked her aunt, and it was about the
same time that Ned Newton asked that same question of Tom Swift. Only
Tom was in Shopton, and Mary was in Newmarket, and Tom was setting off
on an air voyage, while Mary was only preparing to take a car downtown
to do some shopping.
"Yes, Aunt, I'm all ready," Mary answered. "But I may be a bit late
getting home."
"Why?" asked Mrs. Blake.
"I promised Uncle Barton I'd stop and call on him at his office," Mary
replied. "He has something he wants me to take home to mother when I go
tomorrow."
"I shall be sorry to see you go back," said Mrs. Blake. "But I imagine
there will be those in Shopton who will be glad to see you return,
Mary."
"Yes, mother wrote that she and dad were getting a bit lonesome," the
girl casually replied, as she adjusted her veil.
"Yes, and some one else. Ah, Mary, you are a very lucky girl!" laughed
her aunt, while Mary turned aside so she would not see her own blushes
in the mirror.
"I thought Tom was going to call and take you home in his airship,
Mary," went on her relative.
"So he is, I believe, on his way back from a city where he is going to
be tomorrow making a big fire test. I am to wait for him until tomorrow
afternoon. But now I really must go shopping, or all the bargains will
be taken. Is there any word you want to send to Uncle Barton?"
"No," answered Mrs. Blake. "Though you might tell him to stop poking
fun at your Uncle Jasper for having invested money in the Landmark
Building. It's getting on your Uncle Jasper's nerves," she added.
"Uncle Barton never can give up a joke, once he thinks he has one,"
said Mary. "But I'll tell him to stop pestering Uncle Jasper."
"Please do," urged Mary's aunt, and then the girl left.
Mary's uncle, Barton Keith, with whom Tom Swift had been associated
during the undersea search, had offices in the Landmark Building, but
his home was in an adjoining suburb.
The girl was pleased with the results of her shopping, and at the close
of the afternoon she stopped at the Landmark Building and was soon
being shot up in the elevator to the floor where Barton Keith had his
offices.
Though Mr. Keith had refrained from investing in the Landmark Building
and though he laughed at Mary's Uncle Jasper for having done so, this
did not prevent him from having a suite of offices in the big structure
which, as we already know, was owned in large part by Field and Melling.
"Ah, Mary! Come in!" exclaimed Mr. Keith, welcoming Tom Swift's
sweetheart. "It is so late I was afraid you weren't coming, and I was
about to close the office and go home."
"You must blame the bargain sales for my delay," laughed Mary. "I hope
I haven't kept you waiting."
"No, I still had a few things to do. One was to write a letter to your
Uncle Jasper, telling him I had heard of another fire trap that was
open to investors."
"Oh, and that reminds me I must tell you not to push Uncle Jasper too
far!" warned Mary.
"Ha! Ha!" laughed Uncle Barton. "He made fun of me for going on the
undersea search with Tom Swift. But I made good on that, and that's
more than he can say about his Landmark Building deal!"
"But don't exasperate him too much!" begged Mary. "By the way, what are
they doing to this building? I see the stairways and some of the
elevator shafts all littered with building material."
"They are trying to make it fireproof," answered her uncle. "It's
rather late to try that now, but they've got either to do it or stand a
big increase in insurance rates. I'm glad I'm out of it. But now, Mary,
take an easy chair until I finish some work, and then I'll walk out
with you."
Mary took a seat near one of the front windows, whence she could look
down into the now fast-darkening streets. She could see the supper
crowds hurrying home, and out in the corridor of the big skyscraper
could be heard the banging of elevator doors as the office tenants, one
after another, left for the day.
Suddenly there was more commotion than usual, followed by the sound of
broken glass. Then came a cry of:
"Fire! Fire!"
Mary sprang to her feet with a gasp of alarm, and her uncle rushed past
her to the door leading into the hall outside his offices. As he opened
the door a cloud of smoke rushed toward him and Mary, causing them to
choke and gasp.
Mr. Keith closed the door a moment, and when he opened it again the
smoke in the hall seemed less dense.
"It probably is only a slight blaze among some of the material the
workmen are using," he said. "Come, Mary, we'll get out."
Pausing only to swing shut the door of his heavy safe and to stuff some
valuable papers into his pocket, Mr. Keith advanced and, taking Mary by
the arm, led her into the hall. The smoke was increasing again, and
distant shouts and cries could be heard, mingled with the breaking of
glass.
Mr. Keith rang the elevator buzzer several times, but when no car came
up the shaft in response to his summons he turned to his niece and said:
"We'll try the stairs. It's only ten stories down, and going down isn't
anything like coming up."
"Oh, indeed I can walk!" said Mary. "Let's hurry out!"
They turned toward the stairway, which wound around the elevator
shafts, but such a cloud of hot, stifling smoke rolled up that it sent
them back, choking and gasping for breath.
And then, as they stood there, up the elevator shafts, which were
veritable chimneys, came more hot smoke, mingled with sparks of fire.
"Trapped!" gasped Mr. Keith, and he pulled Mary back toward his offices
to get away from the choking, stifling smoke. "We're trapped!"