Scarcely was the cry raised before twenty-five brave and experienced firemen were on the scene, and ascending to the platform of observation that had been built near the summit.  The tower was built of pine wood and plaster, which had been dried by the sun without and hot sheet-iron chimneys within, so that it burned fiercely.  The firemen saw that it was a very dangerous place for anyone to venture into, therefore they hesitated and drew back; but their leader swore at them, calling them cowards, and at once they climbed to the perilous place; but scarcely had they reached it when there was an explosion of gases; the roof heaved and fell in, carrying with it sixteen men down into a pit of gaseous flame, and a shriek of horror went up from the fifty thousand people who stood looking on, unable to give the least assistance to the poor perishing men.

The party from the Dolphin saw it all and were sick with horror.  Grace fainted, and but for the support of her father’s arm, quickly thrown about her, would have fallen to the floor of the platform where they stood.  He held her up, and with the help of Harold and Herbert, hastily pushed his way through the crowd.

“Lay her down as quickly as you can, captain!” exclaimed Harold; “it is important.”

“Yes, I know,” returned Captain Raymond, glancing down at the white, unconscious face of his precious burden.

But at that instant Grace’s eyes opened, and looking up in a bewildered way into her father’s eyes, “Papa, I’m too heavy for you to carry,” she said faintly.

“No, my darling, not at all,” he replied.  “There, Uncle Harold has summoned a boat and we will take you back at once to our floating home.”

“Am I sick? did I faint, papa?” she asked.  “Oh,”—­with a burst of tears and sobs—­“I remember now!  Oh, those poor, poor men!  Papa, were they all killed?”

“Don’t be so distressed, dear child,” he said with emotion.  “I think they must have been almost instantly suffocated by the gas, and did not feel anything that followed.”

“Your father is right,” said Harold, close at her side; “and though it was a very dreadful thing for them to be sacrificed in that way, and hurried into eternity without a moment’s warning, they are not suffering pain of body now, and we can only hope that with their last breath they cried to the God of all grace for pardon and salvation.”  As he concluded his sentence the boat he had signalled was close at hands the rest of their party came up at that moment, all embarked, and they were soon on board the Dolphin, where they remained for the rest of that day, feeling too much shocked over the dreadful catastrophe at the Storage Building to care to go anywhere else.

Poor, feeble Grace was almost overwhelmed with pity and horror, weeping bitterly much of the time.  The others, especially her father, did all in their power to comfort her with the hope that at least some of the killed were prepared for heaven, and with plans for giving aid and consolation to their bereaved wives, children, and other relatives who had been dependent upon their exertions for support.