Randy Scott's Narrative

A filthy window above his cluttered worktable on the fourth floor of the Leather Works afforded Randy Scott an occasional diversion to watch clouds pass by and wonder what a new year would bring. Winter’s thaw and March’s storms were ushering in the first warm days of a new decade, 1860. Randy was hopeful this new decade would also usher in a better life for him than he had experienced so far. The ninth of July would be his fourteenth birthday, and most boys his age were on their own by then. The thought of getting as far away from the orphanage and the Leather Works was constantly on his mind, and he patiently waited for the right opportunity. Until then, he dutifully worked at his table fabricating leather horse bridles.
Indentured labor …show more content…
Fire! Building’s on fire!”
Smelling the odors of burning wood, leather, and coal oil, Randy leaped into action. Running to the exit, he opened the door. Smoke billowed in, and the room began filling with suffocating, blinding fumes. Slamming the door shut as tightly as he could, Randy hoped to keep the smoke out, but it seeped around and through the door. Screaming and crowding near the elevator, the boys were in a near-panic frenzy.
Spreading quickly to the elevator enclosure and supplies stored around its base, the flames crawled up the side of the enclosure and found their way into the shaft. Carried by the draft of the rising heat and the flames, the fire engulfed the shaft from the ground to the topmost floors. Soon, the flames enveloped the entire back wall of the building and leaped into the workrooms, igniting everything they touched. The panicked boys retreated from the searing and fumes.
Advancing toward the boys cowering near the front windows, the fire seemed unstoppable and all consuming. With the reflection of flames in their eyes, the boys were panic-struck, because the fire was now blocking their only escape