Part 10 (2/2)
”Any bodies recovered?” asked Colonel Kirby, leaning frolish fire
”No, sir The fire had too ot here the whole lower part was red-hot”
”Anyfrom the rear?”
”As many as from a rat-run, sir That house is as old as Delhi- about; and there are as any galleries up above connecting with houses at the rear as there are run-holes from cellar to cellar”
”Any chance for anybody down in the cellar?”
”Doubt it, sir The fire started there; the water'll do what the fire left undone Pretty bad trap, sir, I should say, if you asked me”
”No reports of escape or rescue?”
”None that I've heard tell of”
”And the house seems doomed, eh? Be some days before they can sort the debris over?”
”Lucky if we save the ten houses nearest it! Look, sir! There she goes!”
The roof fell in, sending five separate voluht as floor after floor collapsed beneath the weight The thunder of it was al the new spirit of its masters, was in a mood for the terrible Then silence fell, as if that had been an overture
Out of the silence and through the sea of hot huh the unbuttoned front of a ton rode a borrowed Arab pony, the pony's owner's sais running beside hi to himself as he dismissed both sais and pony and clih's in that house, he's in a predicament,” he said cheerfully ”I went to police headquarters, and the first officer I spoke to told o to hell So I went into the next office, where all the big panjandrums hide-and some of the little ones-and they told me what you know, sir, that the house is in flames and every policeman who can be spared is on the job, so I cah's in there-but I don't believe he is!”
”Why don't you?”
”I don't believe the Lord 'ud send us active service-not a real red war against a real eneh's a gentleains”
For a o up and the crowd striking at the rats that still seemed to find some place of exit
”There's a place below there that isn't red-hot yet,” said Kirby ”Those rats are not cooked through Did you tell the police that you wanted a search warrant?”
”Yes Might as well argue with an ant-heap All of 'em too busy tryin' for coot it all cut an' dried-so to them-nobody up-stairs-nobody to turn in the alare! They offer to prove it when the fire's out and they can sort the ashes”
”Uht there?”
”Yes”
”What did they say?”
”'Doubtless the lamp that was kicked over!'”
Colonel Kirby clucked to his horse and worked a way out to the edge of the croith the skill of one whose business is to handle men in quantity Then he shot like a dart up side streets and ton suddenly
”Who's told 'em d'you suppose?”
”Dunno, sir News leaks in Delhi like water from a lump of ice”