EARLY MONDAY MORNING,
OCTOBER 9, 1871
- Terror! -
Poppy at last crossed the bridge, still clutching the heavy velvet bag under her arm.
What time was it? she wondered. It was hard to tell with the flames and smoke whirling and twisting overhead. But the sky was bright enough to light the way. So far she had had no choice but to be carried along by the others who were also fleeing from the fire.
The pain in Poppy’s leg was now unbearable, and every step felt as if a butcher knife had cut her leg muscles. When she lifted her dress to look at her injury, she realized how badly she’d been hurt. Her leg was bleeding from a deep wound.
If only she could find water so she could wash the cut and get a drink. Her mouth was dry and she tasted cinders and ash. To add to her fears, she was afraid something was wrong with Mew, who cried constantly.
She spotted a woman who was drinking from a jug of water she had hidden under her cloak. Poppy limped over to her. “Please, ma’am, can I have just a drop of water?”
“No! If I give you water, someone else will be wanting it.” Then her voice softened. “There should be water nearby. The water tower can’t burn down.”
“Please, could you put a drop on my finger for my kitten?”
“Your kitten! Now I’ve heard everything.” The woman snorted and turned away.
“Wait, look!” Poppy begged. She opened her apron pocket and pointed inside. “I’ve carried my kitten all this way, and now I’m afraid she’ll die if she doesn’t get …” Her eyes filled with tears, and little Mew began another series of yowls.
The lady peeked inside. “Oh, my, child, there really is a kitten in there!” She looked up at Poppy. “Where’s your ma?”
“I don’t have one. There’s just me and my kitty.”
“Come here.” The woman pulled Poppy gently under her shawl and opened the jug. “Have a good drink, child.”
Poppy shifted the heavy bag of jewels under her arm. Then she drank from the jug that the lady held to her lips. Poppy let the water stay in her mouth for a moment before swallowing it, then took another gulp. “Thank you, ma’am,” she whispered.
“And here’s some for the kitten.” The woman cupped Poppy’s hand and poured a trickle into her palm.
Poppy carefully held her hand down to Mew, who licked the water eagerly.
“Thank you,” Poppy said, smiling gratefully at the kind woman, but tears were spilling down her cheeks. “My leg’s hurtin’ so bad. I just want to stop somewhere and sleep. I can’t go on anymore.”
“How’d you hurt your leg, child?”
“It got crushed when I fell. Someone stomped on it. I know once I stop walkin’ I’ll never start again.” Poppy was sobbing now. She didn’t care what Ma would have said. She didn’t even care if she made it to safety. But she did care about Mew, who had stopped crying and was sucking Poppy’s finger again.
“Poor little things—the both of ya,” the woman said. “Let me take a look at that leg.”
Poppy sat on the side of the road with the bag in her lap. She lifted her dress while the woman bent down to look. “Oh, my good Lord,” she said. “You got yourself a bad cut that needs to be stitched up, girl.” She got up and opened the jug of water again. Then she tore a piece of cloth from her petticoat. “This is ’bout the cleanest bandage we can get today.”
Poppy gritted her teeth as the lady washed her wound with the rest of the water in the jug. Then she wrapped the white cotton cloth around Poppy’s leg and tied it with a piece of twine from her bag. “I hope it stays on. I can’t tie it too tight—that would hurt you more.”
“It feels better now.” Poppy impulsively threw her arms around the woman. “Thank you. Please stay with me.”
“I can’t, honey.” The woman stood up, unwrapping Poppy’s arms from around her neck. “I’ve got to keep goin’ and I’ll be walkin’ too fast for you with that leg. I got to get to Lincoln Park. I think that’s where my girls have headed.”
The lady was about to move on but paused, eyeing the velvet bag in Poppy’s lap. “If you got something important in there, you should put it into something less noticeable. Here.” She pulled a heavy paper bag from her satchel. “That velvet pouch will draw attention. Some thievin’ rascal would grab it in a second. I’m surprised you still have it.” She unfolded the bag and held it open while Poppy placed the velvet pouch into the paper one.
“Get along to safety, child. God bless you and your kitten.” The woman turned and walked ahead until she disappeared in the crowd.
Poppy got up, tucked the bag under her arm, and moved on. As she hobbled along the road, she noticed a tall building on the next block with smoke coming out of the windows. Suddenly, with a loud blast, the smoke burst into flame. Soon screams came from the open windows.
When Poppy approached the building, she saw that a narrow plank of wood had been set up from the fourth floor of the burning structure over an alley to the fourth floor of the building next door. A woman with a child in her arms was slowly crossing on the plank, one foot in front of the other, to the waiting hands in a window on the other side. Cheers went up when she made it.
“That’s Tessie May’s building,” Poppy heard someone say.
“They can’t come down the stairs ’cause the lower floors are burnin’,” another person added. “Let’s pray that board holds!”
Julia and Renee are living in that place! No sooner had Poppy thought about her friends than she saw Julia tottering high on the wooden plank.
Be careful, Julia. Go easy! Don’t fall!
Poppy held her breath as Julia moved slowly and cautiously across the board. She heaved a sigh of relief when Julia made it safely into the open window on the other side.
Now Julia was leaning out the window, waving for someone else to follow her. Renee!
Renee screamed and kicked as a woman lifted her and placed her out on the flat timber. In the building opposite, Julia climbed out the window and back onto the plank and motioned for Renee to come to her.
Renee nodded, and then, with her arms outstretched, she began the trek to her friend.
Below, Poppy watched in fear. The crowd stared silently as the little girl teetered on the narrow board.
Then Renee looked down at the alley. She stopped in panic, crying and trembling. The board itself shook and the child fell to her knees, her hands grasping the edges of the plank.
Julia was crying, too, as she began crawling toward Renee. Suddenly the board dipped in the middle, and each end pulled free of the windows.
Down the two girls fell—Renee first, then Julia! Poppy saw them silhouetted against the scarlet sky, their arms and legs flailing, as they dropped down to the alley.
The board flipped over and over until it hit the ground with a loud thump.
All those watching screamed and sobbed. “Oh, those poor children.”
“Isn’t there someone here who can see if they’re still alive and need help?”
Poppy was stunned and couldn’t speak or move. As if in a dream, she observed the woman who had helped her heading toward the alley. A few others followed.
“Watch out! The fire’s spreading!” someone called. The grass in the alley flamed up from dropping cinders.
Poppy turned away and headed up the street. She didn’t want to see or know anything more about Julia and Renee. They were gone. And that was it. She was too weary to cry anymore.
Poppy walked away, dazed, knowing only that she must flee. How long she’d been walking, she didn’t know or care. She vaguely realized that dawn was starting to break and Lincoln Park was just ahead. She hobbled into the dried grass of the park, hearing the constant wail of the wind mixed with cries of distress, while the blazing fire raged on.
I must get to the water. Run away … far away …
Crowds were camped on mattresses and in makeshift tents. She stumbled around them. Then faintly—like distant music—she heard someone call out, “Poppy! Poppy!”
Her knees buckled and she was about to fall when she felt someone’s arms encircling her.
“Our little Poppy!”
She heard nothing more.