It Worked Too Well

A man inventad a fíre extinguisher that was warranted to put out anything that was ever put out. lts construction was elabórate. The idea of it was not. It was this: Place a 7,000 gallon tank of water upon your roof. Connect it by pipes witk the various floors. Havo severa! hundred such pipes, so there will be enough to go ai-ound. Terminote the pipes by stopcoeks. Hold the stopcocka in placo by a little clasp of soft metal, say lead. When the firo comes roaring up it melts the soft metal clasp. Then the valve Iets loose and the water pours out. See? By a kind of ingenious twist and turn the released water does not Btay ia ono place, but whirls and sprinkles around like a cloudburst, wetting a surface of fifty feet thereabouts. Th3 is so as to be Buró not to misa a epark of fire. An electric alarm was attached, tliat tlie fire would set going, and it would inake a noise loud enough to waken tho dead. Now, if the reader understands this patent revolving action automatic liro extinguishcr he eau follow our story. Tho firm of Koch Sons occupied a handsoine corner building on Broadway, New York. They nianufactured photograph albums. It waa necessary that they should be secure froui ne. Fire would have been very bad for their stock. So they rented a building contaiiimg oue of the putent svH working revolving ilro extiugnishers. Then, in a sense of hoavenly security, they locked up their albums at night, sped away to their luxurioud homes on the margin of the Jersey flats and slept tho sleep of the just. About 3 o'clock one breezy April morning, a policeman observed a small stream of water issuing f rom tho front door of the palatial album faetory. It was innocent lookwg enough, tbat stream of water. But it was out of place. The policeman looked at the door. A bristling iron gate confronta! him iirst, theu doublé locked storm doors, then the latent coinbination safe, locked entrance doors. ïho building was burglar proof as wcll as firo defying. By applying to tho janltor of a ncighboring building. the policeman and several of his com rades were able to rcach tho roof of the Kocli establishment Thenco the do Scent was easy. Within was a stato of tbings too terrible to desoribe. The patont tire extinguisher had gone off of Iteown aecord, without any fire. Perhaps t'.ie spooks had set it oil, uielting the clasp with burning briinstone. At any rate, tlie whole store waa afloat Tho floor below the top one was occupied by "album insides," tong and tona of them. Tliey were melted into pulp. Here wero the delicato leavcs that were to hold tho fair photos of John and Susan. Hei-e pa and ma would have sat sido by side, facing froi, 6tark and straight, with ma's hand upon pa's shoulder, saying to all the world, as it were: "He'a mine." Oh, the ruin was hcart breaking. On the floor below were the gorgeoua blue and red and yellow and plush erings of tlio albums - thoso beautiful albams without which no home ís complete. They were oaked through and through; ruined utterly. Itwaaenough to briiij tears to the eyes of a potato. Saddest of all, nobody could be found In New York vvho knew the combination of the demonish thing, to turn it off, and it went on and on tül it had drained tho iupply tattk dry, every drop. The album tnarket w'dl be hort next Cliristmas.