Shortly after midnight, people in the La Salle Hotel's big, ornate lobby in Chicago's Loop noticed a strange yellow light reflecting from polished table tops, from marble and window glass. The wavering glare grew. They looked up and saw flames billowing gustily across the dark, varnished paneling above the elevator bank.
They stood for a moment not believing their eyes. Fire? In the quiet, respectable, "fireproof" La Salle? A window drapery flared into flame. A fear-crazed crowd burst from the Silver Lounge on the ground floor, jammed through the doors. The brightly lighted lobby, deserted, crackled with fire.
Interlude. Out in the...
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