SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE.
Feeling sure that the rest of the scouts, as well as Hiram, the overgrown
country boy who worked on the farm, would be along shortly, Thad and
Allan seized upon a couple of buckets, filled them at the watering trough
near by, and hastened toward the burning building.
The farmer, partly dressed, was doing valiant work already, and his wife
kept up a constant pounding of the pump, filling buckets as fast as the
man of the house emptied them.
When the two scouts got to work things began to look more hopeful, though
with the flames making such rapid headway it promised to be a hard fight
to win out.
Thad wondered why the fire should have gained such a tremendous headway,
but later on the mystery was explained, and he understood the reason.
When kerosene is dashed around it offers splendid food for fire, once the
flame is applied.
Now came all of the other fellows, eager to lend a helping hand. The
farmer had been neighborly and kind, and his folks had helped to make a
pleasant night for their unexpected but nevertheless welcome guests, and
on this account alone Thad and his chums felt that they must do all in
their power to save the house. Then again they were scouts, and as such
had cheerfully promised to always assist those in trouble, whether
friends, strangers, or even enemies.
They found all manner of vessels capable of holding more or less water.
Bumpus even manipulated a footbath, although on one or two occasions he
had to stumble as usual, and came very near being drowned in consequence,
since he deluged himself from head to foot with the contents.
When such a constant stream of water was being poured upon the fire it
could not make much headway.
"Keep her going!" yelped Giraffe, whose long legs allowed him to make
more frequent trips back and forth than any of the others; "we've got her
at a standstill now, and the next thing you know she'll cave under. More
water this way! Everybody's doing it! Hi! Bumpus, don't upset that ocean
over me; it's the fire that wants putting out, not me. Whee! look at
that, would you; he smothered it with that deluge. Bully for you, Bumpus!
Do it some more, boy! You're sure a brick!"
They worked like beavers, every fellow acting as though the success of
the undertaking depended wholly upon his individual efforts. When the
good woman fell back, completely exhausted with her efforts, the two
girls nobly responded to the call, and pumped away as only sturdy country
lassies could, filling the buckets that came their way as speedily as
possible.
It was very lively while it lasted, and none of those who took part in
that midnight battle with the devouring element would soon forget their
exciting experience.
The fire seemed to be confined to the room in which it had started, so
that the damage would not be extended, which was one satisfaction at
least.
To the boys it was next door to a picnic. They just gloried in
participating in such an exciting event as this, and some of them may
even have felt a little disappointment because the battle with the
devouring element promised to be of such short duration, though of course
that did not mean they would have been glad to have seen further disaster
overtake their friend the farmer.
Thad and Allan would not allow anyone to relax their efforts in the
slightest degree, even when it became positive that they were quickly
putting out the last of the fire. Until every spark had been properly
extinguished there must lie no stoppage to the good work. A fire is only
put out when there is no longer any danger of its awakening to new life
when one's back is turned.
Finally the work was done, and they could rest themselves. The man had
gone into the kitchen and started a blaze in the stove there, for the
night air seemed chilly, and none of them was dressed any too warmly.
"Well, this old tramp promises to make a new record along the line of
excitement for our crowd, and that's a fact!" declared Step Hen, as he
took a drink of cold water, for his recent exertions had "warmed him up
inside," he remarked.
"I should remark it did," added Giraffe; "and who can say what lies ahead
of us yet? One thing follows another like a procession. But I'm glad we
happened to be here at the right time, so we could help save the
farmhouse. These people have been mighty kind to us, and it's nice to be
able to pay 'em back."
"Say, Thad, I hope now _we_ didn't have anything to do with that fire?"
remarked Davy, who lowered his voice as he spoke, as though unwilling to
have anyone outside of his comrades hear what he said.
"Well, I reckon we had a heap to do with extinguishing the same, anyhow,"
Giraffe told him; "but what do you mean, Davy? Don't act so mysterious,
but blurt it out."
"Are you sure you didn't leave any fire where you cooked supper, Giraffe,
that could have been scooped up by the rising wind, and carried to the
house up here? That's what's bothering me."
"Don't let it worry you a whit any longer then," Thad told him promptly;
"because Allan and I made sure to examine the fireplace, and we found
that Giraffe, like a true scout, had thrown water on the last spark. It
was cold and dead. So you see, Davy, we couldn't have had anything to do
with its starting."
"Then what happened?" asked Smithy, who evidently did not know that he
had a ridiculous long black smooch down one side of his face, or he would
not have looked so well satisfied, because Smithy still cared a great
deal for his personal appearance, and sometimes even brushed his hair on
the sly when in camp.
"We'll have to find that out from the farmer," said Thad.
They looked in the kitchen where the owner of the house had last been
seen, but he was not there. Just then they heard him calling them.
"Come in here, boys!" he kept saying; and presently they located the
voice as coming from the living room, where the fire had been confined,
thanks to their energetic labors.
As they pushed in there they saw that it was pretty much of a wreck; but
as the farmer's wife had already told Thad they were fully insured, the
result would be more of an inconvenience, and the loss of family
treasures, than any great amount of pecuniary damage.
The farmer was standing at an old desk that was part bookcase. It had
somehow managed to escape the flames that came upon most of the contents
of the sitting-room.
"They got my little pile, all right," he started to say, as the scouts
crowded into the damaged and blackened room, now several inches deep with
water; "but I'm glad it wasn't very much. If this had happened three
weeks ago I'd have stood to lose several thousand dollars, because I sold
a patch of land, and had the cash overnight in this same desk, though I
banked it next day."
Thad was immediately deeply interested. He saw in these significant words
of the farmer an explanation of the mystery as to how the fire could have
started.
"Do you mean to tell us that you have been robbed, sir?" he asked; and
the old man nodded his head.
"I woke up, and thought I heard the low sound of voices downstairs here,"
he went on to explain; "so I got out of bed, after waking Nancy, picked
up my gun, and came down the stairs. They creak like all get-out, and
must 'a' told the scamps somebody was coming. Just as I got to the door I
saw two men by the desk here, that they had forced open; and I guess
they'd copped my little roll of bills about that time. Well, I was struck
dumb at the sight at first, and then I remembered my gun; but before I
could swing it up to my shoulder one of them swept the lighted lamp from
the table to the floor.
"The flash that came blinded me, and I forgot all about the robbers in
thinking about saving my house. Then Nancy she came down, and we got
busy. All at once I remembered you boys in the barn, and Hiram, and I
started to yellin' at the top of my voice, but pitchin' water all the
while. That's how the fire started, you see; and we're sure beholdin' a
heap to you boys for helpin' put it out as smart as we did. It looks
tough, for a fact, but sho! it might 'a' been heaps worse."
"But the dog--what d'ye reckon they could have done to him?" asked
Giraffe.
"It might be they pizened Toby," replied the farmer; "I wouldn't put it
past that tough pair to do anything. But chances are the dog's off to the
woods huntin' rabbits. He often runs away like that and stays all night
long. If I tie him up he barks enough to set us crazy. I'll have to get
rid of him, and find a better watchdog."
"Well, things are getting warmer right along, ain't they?" Step Hen
wanted to know. "A fire was bad enough, but when you find out that it was
started by thieves, and that they actually robbed the house first, it
gets more and more exciting. Now the Silver Fox Patrol has done something
along lines like that before; and mebbe we might again, given half a fair
chance."
"I suppose the two men didn't wait to see what happened after they had
knocked the lamp over, and the flames shot up?" remarked Allan,
thoughtfully; and the farmer was quick to reply.
"They cleared out in a big hurry, because I didn't see anything more of
the pair," he admitted. "But then they got what they came after, and that
satisfied the rascals. And I don't reckon there's a single chance in ten
I'll ever recover that fifty dollars, barring twenty cents, that I got
for the last two loads of hay I took into town. But then my house is
left, and we'll get some insurance to pay for repairs, so I'm not
complaining. There's only one thing that makes me mad."
"What was that, Mr. Bailey?" asked Davy, deeply interested.
"That I was so stunned at sight of them fellers robbin' my desk I forgot
I had an old Civil War musket in my hands. I had ought to've let fly, and
knocked one of the pizen critters silly. I'll never forgive myself for
bein' so slow to act."
Thad had his own ideas about that. Had the farmer fired that
long-barreled musket at such close range he would possibly have killed
one of the men; and whether such a tragedy would have been justified
under the circumstances was and must remain an open question. If his life
had been threatened of course the farmer would have done right to defend
himself to the utmost; but Thad believed that had it been him he would
have allowed the men to get some distance away before sending a load of
shot at them, his object being to wound and not slay.
It was certainly good, however, to find that Mr. Bailey took things so
philosophically all around. Some men would have been bewailing their
misfortune, and never once seeing how much they had to be thankful for.
"Do you think you would know either or both of them again if you happened
to set eyes on them, sir?" asked the patrol leader, with an object in
view.
"I saw them faces as plain as I do yours, my boy," responded the farmer,
soberly, "and I'm dead sartin I'd know 'em again. Why--whatever am I
thinkin' about, to be sure? Say, you boys ought to know that you've got
nigh as much interest in findin' them tramps as I feel. You wonder why I
say that, do you? I'll explain it to you in a jiffy. Listen then. One of
the thieves had red hair, and he was wearin' an old faded blue army coat
with red lining in it. That's why!"
It seemed as though every one of those eight scouts drew a deep breath
that had the sound of a sigh. They looked at one another, at first with
wonder in their faces, and then Giraffe was heard to give vent to what he
intended should be a joyous chuckle. The sound was contagious, for
immediately broad smiles began to appear here and there, and there was a
general hand-shaking as though the news were deemed important enough to
make them congratulate each other.
It was a fact calculated to make them feel that the long chase had not
been useless, when they thus learned so suddenly that the man they hunted
had been almost in their power half an hour before.