Free Darkness and Dawn by George England

days. Even to make a list of their hard-won possessions
would turn this chapter into a mere catalogue.
    So let these pass for the most part. Day by day the man, issuing forth
sometimes alone, sometimes with Beatrice, labored like a Titan among
the ruins of New York.
    Though more than ninety per cent. of the city's one-time wealth had
long since vanished, and though all standards of worth had wholly
changed, yet much remained to harvest.
    Infinitudes of things, more or less damaged, they bore up to their
shelter, up the stairs which here and there Stern had repaired with
rough-hewn logs.
    For now he had an ax, found in that treasure-house of Currier &
Brown's, brought to a sharp edge on a wet, flat stone by the spring,
and hefted with a sapling.
    This implement was of incredible use, and greatly enheartened the
engineer. More valuable it was than a thousand tons of solid gold.
    The same store yielded also a well-preserved enameled water-pail and
some smaller dishes of like ware, three more knives, quantities of
nails, and some small tools; also the tremendous bonanza of a magazine
rifle and a shotgun, both of which Stern judged would come into shape
by the application of oil and by careful tinkering. Of ammunition,
here and elsewhere, the engineer had no doubt he could unearth
unlimited quantities.
    "With steel," he reflected, "and with my flint spearhead, I can make
fire at any time. Wood is plenty, and there's lots of 'punk.' So the
first step in reestablishing civilization is secure. With fire,
everything else becomes possible.
    "After a while, perhaps, I can get around to manufacturing matches
again. But for the present my few ounces of phosphorus and the flint
and steel will answer very well."
    Beatrice, like the true woman she was, addressed herself eagerly to
the fascinating task of making a real home out of the barren
desolation of the fifth floor offices. Her splendid energy was no less
than the engineer's. And very soon a comfortable air pervaded the
place.
    Stern manufactured a broom for her by cutting willow withes and
lashing them with hide strips onto a trimmed branch. Spiders and dust
all vanished. A true housekeeping appearance set in.
    To supplement the supply of canned food that accumulated along one of
the walls, Stern shot what game he could—squirrels, partridges and
rabbits.
    Metal dishes, especially of solid gold, ravished from Fifth Avenue
shops, took their place on the crude table he had fashioned with his
ax. Not for esthetic effect did they now value gold, but merely
because that metal had perfectly withstood the ravages of time.
    In the ruins of a magnificent store near Thirty-First Street, Stern
found a vault burst open by frost and slow disintegration of the
steel.
    Here something over a quart of loose diamonds, big and little, rough
and cut, were lying in confusion all about. Stern took none of these.
Their value now was no greater than that of any pebble.
    But he chose a massive clasp of gold for Beatrice, for that could
serve to fasten her robe. And in addition he gathered up a few rings
and onetime costly jewels which could be worn. For the girl, after
all, was one of Eve's daughters.
    Bit by bit he accumulated many necessary articles, including some
tooth-brushes which he found sealed in glass bottles, and a variety of
gold toilet articles. Use was his first consideration now. Beauty came
far behind.
    In the corner of their rooms, after a time, stood a fair variety of
tools, some already serviceable, others waiting to be polished, ground
and hefted, and in some cases retempered. Two rough chairs made their
appearance.
    The north room, used only for cooking, became their forge and oven all
in one. For here, close to a window where the smoke could drift out,
Stern built a circular stone fireplace.
    And here Beatrice presided over her copper casseroles and saucepans
from the little shop on Broadway. Here, too, Stern planned to
construct a pair of skin bellows, and presently to set up the