A GENEROUS OFFER
Never since they had organized their little department had the boys
worked under such difficulties. There was no getting away from this
blaze. They were fast to it, and to cut loose meant to endanger other
lumber barges nearby, which would mean a terrible conflagration.
It was hard work to keep the burning boat and that on which the engine
was out in the lake, as a strong wind was forcing them both toward
shore. It was also difficult to operate the pump, for the engine did
not set level, and the boys on top of the tank had to cling there as
best they could and send the big handles up and down. It was hard work
to stand the fierce heat and choking smoke which enveloped them every
now and again, as the wind shifted.
But the boys were no "milksops." They stuck to it, though it meant
much physical pain. They gritted their teeth, and held their breaths
when it was necessary. Some clung to the poles like grim death and
prevented the barges from drifting, and all the while others were
dipping and pumping water.
"I--I think we've got her!" cried Cole, when this desperate work had
been going on for ten minutes.
"Don't be too sure!" cautioned Captain Bert. "There's lots of fire
yet!"
There was, but the three streams of water, even if one was a small
one, were beginning to tell. Gradually the flames amid the lumber on
the barge began to die away. Once or twice it seemed as if the boat
would break loose and go drifting down on the others, but grit told,
and the boys held the craft.
"She's out now!" cried Vincent, as only a pall of smoke seemed to hang
over the barge, and the boys at the brakes, hearing this with feelings
of relief, ceased pumping. No sooner had they stopped than the flames
burst out in a new place, and flared up fiercely.
"Jump right on the barge and take the hose with you," cried Bert, for
the fire had been extinguished on that end of the barge nearest the
flat-boat. "The water will do more good at close range."
The young firemen needed no second order. Dragging three lines of hose
with them they leaped aboard the flaming boat and scrambled over the
piles of charred lumber to the farther end, where the flames now were.
Then the fire gave up the fight. The last flame was quenched and the
boys could take a much-needed rest.
"What'll we do now?" asked Cole of Bert. Every one seemed to depend on
the young captain for instructions.
"I think we'd better run the barge ashore below here," he said. "Then
there'll be no danger if the fire breaks out again."
"I'll guarantee that fire won't break out again," boasted Cole. "We
soaked it too well."
"You can't tell what a fire will do," replied Bert. "It may be
smouldering down in a corner where the water didn't reach."
"Have Cole leave his force pump on guard," suggested Vincent, "That
pump ought to be able to put out a fire all alone."
"Humph! That pump's all right, if you do make fun of it!" declared the
owner of the latest addition to the fire apparatus. "It'll throw a
stream farther than either of the big hose on this engine."
"Well, let's run the barge ashore, then pole back and get our engine
off," proposed Bert. "I guess it's safe enough to leave the barge
now."
They tied the blackened load of lumber in a little shallow cove,
where, if it did start to burn again, no damage would result. Then
they went back to the lumber yard, where they found a big crowd
waiting them. The fire on the dock had been extinguished by members of
the bucket brigade and had not amounted to much.
"Boys, I want to shake hands with every one of you!" exclaimed a
voice, as Bert led his command ashore. "You did me a great service
to-night, and I'll not forget it. But for your prompt action my lumber
yard would have been destroyed and several of my valuable barges
besides."
The speaker was Mr. Perrett Bergman, owner of the lumber yard, and, as
each boy stepped ashore, he shook him warmly by the hand.
"Yes, Mr. Bergman, those boys certainly did themselves proud," said
Mayor Appelby. "They're almost as good as a regular department."
"That's what they are. Well, I'll have something to say about that
later. Now, I must go and see if there are any stray sparks around
anywhere, and I want to investigate this fire. I have an idea it was
set by tramps. That barge came down the lake early this evening, and
the men in charge of it told me they threw a tramp overboard who was
stealing a ride on it."
"Threw him overboard?" repeated Mr. Appelby.
"Yes. I told them that was the wrong thing to do, as the man might
have been drowned, but lumbermen are rather rough. However, the tramp
swam ashore, they told me. I have an idea he might have set the barge
afire for revenge."
"It's possible," admitted the mayor. "I'll tell Constable Stickler to
be on the watch for any suspicious characters."
Bert, who heard this conversation, wondered if the tramp he had
rescued from the brook, or any of his companions, had started the fire.
"I hope the one I saved didn't do it," mused the boy. "He seemed like
a decent chap in hard luck." Nothing was ever learned, however, of how
the fire started. Certainly the tramp stenographer had nothing to do
with it.
Several members of the bucket brigade assisted the boys in getting the
engine off the flatboat. In fact, of late the men fire-fighters of
Lakeville were beginning to entertain different feelings toward their
boy rivals. They saw that the lads meant business, and that they were
a corps of very efficient youngsters. Some of the men imagined that
the volunteers were only doing the thing for fun, but what happened at
the lumber yard blaze convinced them that they were mistaken.
"We seem to be right in it," remarked Cole, as they were dragging the
engine back to quarters a little later. "Plenty of fires for us to put
out lately."
"Yes. I wonder what Mr. Bergman meant when he said he'd not forget
what we did for him?" asked Vincent.
"Oh, probably he's just like old Sagger," replied Tom Donnell. "You
remember, Sagger promised us a hundred dollars for helping put out the
fire in his shop."
"That's so; he did."
"Yes, but we haven't seen the hundred dollars yet, and I don't believe
we ever will," declared Tom. "He's too stingy to give it to us. If we
had it we could finish paying for the engine and get uniforms. That's
what we need. I've worn out two suits of clothes running to fires
lately."
"Uniforms would be a good thing to have," admitted Bert. "We need
rubber boots, especially. My feet are soaking wet. It doesn't matter
so much in summer, but if we go to a fire in the winter and get wet
through it won't be so nice."
"Well, I don't believe Mr. Bergman will ever do anything for us,"
insisted Tom.
But he was mistaken. The very next day Bert received a letter from the
owner of the lumber yard, in which Mr. Bergman thanked the young
firemen for what they had done. Nor was this all. Enclosed in the
letter was a check for two hundred dollars.
"I send you this as a small taken of my appreciation," the letter
read. "Not that it pays for the work you did, for you saved me a good
many hundred dollars by pulling that barge out of the way. But this is
only a starter. I understand your engine is not yet paid for, and that
you have no uniforms. Please use the check for that purpose. You will
also hear further from me in a few days. I have a plan to propose, but
I want to talk it over with the town authorities first."
"Say, he's all right!" exclaimed Cole, when Bert showed him the letter
and check.
"He certainly is. I was barking up the wrong tree," admitted Tom.
"Say, we'll be a sporty department, all right! Let's get red and blue
uniforms. They'll look swell!"
"I wonder what his plan is?" asked Bert. "He says he has to consult
with the town authorities about it."
"Maybe he wants us to take in the bucket brigade," ventured Vincent.
"Better wait and see," advised Bert.