A DANGEROUS BLAZE
Somewhat puzzled over the words of the tramp, and vainly seeking a
meaning for them, Bert turned to join his companions, who were hauling
the engine away.
"Who was that fellow?" asked Vincent, who had noticed the man talking
to his chum.
"Oh, a friend I once helped out of a difficulty," was the answer, and
Bert smiled, as he described the brook as a "difficulty."
"What'd he want; more help?"
"No; he came to thank me. But, come on, let's hustle and get back to
quarters. Wasn't it queer old Sagger's place should catch fire?"
"Yes. It serves him right, though, for all the mean things he's said
about us."
"He's pretty mean, but I'm sorry his butcher shop is ruined."
"Oh, he's got money enough to build another."
The boys discussed the various scenes at the fire at some length,
finally reaching Cole's barn, where the engine, after being cleaned
and put in readiness for another alarm, was backed into place.
"I wonder if the town will take any action toward having a regular
department now?" asked Vincent, as he and Bert walked toward their
homes.
"They might. Sagger will make a big fuss over his loss, and, as he
hopes to be the next mayor, he may start a movement. But I'm just as
well satisfied to have the department the way it is, for a while. Of
course, if the town took hold we could get another engine, and maybe a
better alarm system. Constable Stickler can't always be depended on."
"Still, he's done pretty good."
"That's right. Well, so long, Vincent. See you to-morrow," and Bert
turned down his street.
"So long," replied his chum. "Hope we don't get another alarm in
to-night."
"I wonder who in this place can want a stenographer and typewriter?"
again thought Herbert, as he went into the house. "I wish that tramp
had told me. I meant to ask him his name, but I forgot all about it.
Never mind, I may see him again."
There was considerable talk in Lakeville the day following the fire in
the butcher shop. Most of it was done by Mr. Sagger himself, and the
burden of his cry was that the town must have a regular department,
with a big engine. It was pointed out to him that, without a water
supply, a steam fire engine was out of the question, and then he said
they ought to have another hand engine and some men to run both
machines. He spoke of calling a meeting of the Selectmen to consider
the matter, but nothing came of it. Probably Mr. Sagger figured up
what it would cost, and feared his taxes would be too high. At any
rate, nothing was done, though every time he mentioned the fire in his
shop the butcher declared there ought to be a regular department. He
never said anything about the hundred dollars he had offered for
saving his shop.
Considering that the boys had worked hard at the Sagger blaze, Bert
had no drills for a week. Then they were resumed again, and furnished
plenty of exercise for the young firemen. But, about two weeks after
the butcher shop fire, there came another which gave them almost more
practice than they wanted.
It was shortly after midnight when the alarm came in, for Constable
Stickler was an efficient guardian, in spite of his age, and on one of
his trips to the church tower he had seen a flicker of flame off to
the west. An instant later he was ringing the bell-four short, sharp,
quick strokes.
The boys sleeping in the barn heard them, and so did the boys in their
beds at home. They jumped up and, in quick time, the engine had been
run out. It was Bert's night on "barn-watch," as it was called, and he
and his chums hurried to such good effect that before the alarm had
been rung four times they were pulling the engine from the barn.
"Whew! There's quite a wind!" exclaimed Bert as they got outside. "A
fire to-night is liable to be a bad one."
"Hark! What's that?" inquired Cole.
The boys heard a distant shouting.
"The bucket brigade is turning out," spoke Tom Donnell.
"No. It's some one yelling about the fire!"
There came a shift in the wind, and to the ears of the boys was borne
this cry:
"The lumber yard's on fire! Hurry!"
"The lumber yard!" exclaimed Captain Bert. "If that gets going we
can't do anything to stop it!"
"We've got to try," declared Cole.
"Of course," answered Bert, as if any one doubted it. "Come on!"
They increased their pace, and as they neared the end of the long
street, they were joined by several of their comrades, who had rushed
from their houses half-dressed.
"Where's the fire?" called Bob Fenton, who was hardly awake yet.
"Bergman's lumber yard, I heard some one yell," answered Bert. "And
this wind blowing right across the lake toward it!"
The lumber yard of Perrett Bergman was located on the edge of the
lake, where boats could easily unload their cargo of timber. It was
quite a large yard, and was one of the principal industries of
Lakeville. As Bert had said, the wind was blowing right across the
lake. The breeze was a stiff one, and if it was sending the flames in
among the pile of dried and seasoned boards the fire was likely to be
a furious one.
But the boys did not falter. They dragged their rumbling engine as
fast as they could, the bell clanging loudly as Cole pulled the cord
attached to it. The little company was constantly being increased in
numbers. Many of the young firemen, however, had proceeded directly to
the scene of the conflagration.
The lurid light in the sky seemed to grow brighter, and there was a
thick pall of smoke visible now.
"It's getting worse!" cried Cole.
"You don't expect it's going to put itself out, do you?" asked Frank
Burton. "Wait till we get there!"
A little later they turned into the street leading to the lumber yard.
As they did so the blaze shone full in their faces, and they saw where
the fire had originated. One of the big lumber barges that plied on
the lake was on fire at the dock, and the flames were blowing right
toward the heart of the yard, with its piles of timber.
"We've got our work cut out for us!" cried Bert.
"We'll have plenty of water, anyhow," shouted back Cole. "My force
pump can be used, too!"
"He'd say something about his force pump if we had a steam fire
engine," murmured Vincent.
"Run her right down, boys," called Bert. "Get as close to the water as
you can!"
The boys picked their way through the piles of lumber. Already several
members of the town bucket brigade were on hand, and they were
standing in the shallow part of the lake, dipping up water in their
pails and dashing the fluid on the blazing barge. "Volunteers this
way!" sung out Bert, and several of his chums, who were already on
hand and waiting, hastened to join their comrades.
But now a new problem was presented. The flames, eating their way
among the dry lumber on the barge, had assumed a fierceness that made
it impossible to run the engine down on the dock. In fact, the pier
was already ablaze in places. Great glowing embers were being carried
by the wind into the middle of the yard, but this danger had been
seen, and several men were putting out the big sparks as fast as they
fell.
But there was every chance that several tiers of lumber near the wharf
would ignite from the flames sweeping from the barge. If one or two
piles caught, the whole yard would go.
"What are we going to do?" cried Vincent to the young captain. "We
can't get out engine down there!"
Bert was puzzled. It was a new problem for the amateur fireman, and he
hardly knew what to do. But to get close enough to the blaze to use
the engine and at the same time have a supply of water, was not an
easy thing to work out.
Just then the burning barge swung down the lake, for the cables had
been eaten through by the flames, and the wind was carrying it away.
The sight of that gave Bert an inspiration.
"Come on!" he cried. "I see a way!"
"How?" asked Cole.
"We'll run the engine out on that empty flat-boat. We can pole it out
into the lake, and play on the barge from the side where there are no
flames! Lively, now, boys!"
They saw his meaning at once. There were plenty of boards at hand to
make a runway for the engine, and in a little while it was on the
flatboat. Then, with long poles which reached to the bottom of the
lake, the boat was shoved out from shore.
"The barge is adrift!" cried Tom Donnell.
"Then we've got to go after it!" responded Bert. "We can make a line
fast and tow it away, or it will set the other barges below here on
fire, and we'll have more than we can handle. If we can keep the blaze
to the one barge we'll be all right."
It was hard work, but the boys accomplished it. They put their
flatboat close to the side of the blazing craft, where there were no
flames, and made fast. Then they poled both boats well out into the
lake.
"The dock is burning!" cried Cole.
"Let the bucket brigade attend to that," answered Herbert. "We've got
our hands full here!"
Indeed they had, but the contest was more even now. The boys, using
buckets with ropes attached, dipped from the lake the water which they
poured into the engine, tank, and then the three streams were turned
on the burning barge.