CHAPTER VI. SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE.
Feeling sure that the rest of the scouts, as well as Hiram, the overgrowncountry boy who worked on the farm, would be along shortly, Thad andAllan seized upon a couple of buckets, filled them at the watering troughnear by, and hastened toward the burning building.
The farmer, partly dressed, was doing valiant work already, and his wifekept up a constant pounding of the pump, filling buckets as fast as theman of the house emptied them.
When the two scouts got to work things began to look more hopeful, thoughwith the flames making such rapid headway it promised to be a hard fightto 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 theflame is applied.
Now came all of the other fellows, eager to lend a helping hand. Thefarmer had been neighborly and kind, and his folks had helped to make apleasant night for their unexpected but nevertheless welcome guests, andon this account alone Thad and his chums felt that they must do all intheir power to save the house. Then again they were scouts, and as suchhad cheerfully promised to always assist those in trouble, whetherfriends, 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 hehad 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 itcould not make much headway.
"Keep her going!" yelped Giraffe, whose long legs allowed him to makemore frequent trips back and forth than any of the others; "we've got herat a standstill now, and the next thing you know she'll cave under. Morewater this way! Everybody's doing it! Hi! Bumpus, don't upset that oceanover me; it's the fire that wants putting out, not me. Whee! look atthat, 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 ofthe undertaking depended wholly upon his individual efforts. When thegood woman fell back, completely exhausted with her efforts, the twogirls nobly responded to the call, and pumped away as only sturdy countrylassies could, filling the buckets that came their way as speedily aspossible.
It was very lively while it lasted, and none of those who took part inthat midnight battle with the devouring element would soon forget theirexciting experience.
The fire seemed to be confined to the room in which it had started, sothat the damage would not be extended, which was one satisfaction atleast.
To the boys it was next door to a picnic. They just gloried inparticipating in such an exciting event as this, and some of them mayeven have felt a little disappointment because the battle with thedevouring element promised to be of such short duration, though of coursethat did not mean they would have been glad to have seen further disasterovertake their friend the farmer.
Thad and Allan would not allow anyone to relax their efforts in theslightest degree, even when it became positive that they were quicklyputting out the last of the fire. Until every spark had been properlyextinguished there must lie no stoppage to the good work. A fire is onlyput out when there is no longer any danger of its awakening to new lifewhen one's back is turned.
Finally the work was done, and they could rest themselves. The man hadgone into the kitchen and started a blaze in the stove there, for thenight 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 ofexcitement for our crowd, and that's a fact!" declared Step Hen, as hetook a drink of cold water, for his recent exertions had "warmed him upinside," he remarked.
"I should remark it did," added Giraffe; "and who can say what lies aheadof us yet? One thing follows another like a procession. But I'm glad wehappened to be here at the right time, so we could help save thefarmhouse. These people have been mighty kind to us, and it's nice to beable 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 tohave 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 thehouse 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 foundthat Giraffe, like a true scout, had thrown water on the last spark. Itwas cold and dead. So you see, Davy, we couldn't have had anything to dowith its starting."
"Then what happened?" asked Smithy, who evidently did not know that hehad a ridiculous long black smooch down one side of his face, or he wouldnot have looked so well satisfied, because Smithy still cared a greatdeal for his personal appearance, and sometimes even brushed his hair onthe 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 beenseen, but he was not there. Just then they heard him calling them.
"Come in here, boys!" he kept saying; and presently they located thevoice 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; butas the farmer's wife had already told Thad they were fully insured, theresult would be more of an inconvenience, and the loss of familytreasures, than any great amount of pecuniary damage.
The farmer was standing at an old desk that was part bookcase. It hadsomehow managed to escape the flames that came upon most of the contentsof the sitting-room.
"They got my little pile, all right," he started to say, as the scoutscrowded into the damaged and blackened room, now several inches deep withwater; "but I'm glad it wasn't very much. If this had happened threeweeks ago I'd have stood to lose several thousand dollars, because I solda patch of land, and had the cash overnight in this same desk, though Ibanked it next day."
Thad was immediately deeply interested. He saw in these significant wordsof the farmer an explanation of the mystery as to how the fire could havestarted.
"Do you mean to tell us that you have been robbed, sir?" he asked; andthe 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, pickedup my gun, and came down the stairs. They creak like all get-out, andmust 'a' told the scamps somebody was coming. Just as I got to the door Isaw two men by the desk here, that they had forced open; and I guessthey'd copped my little roll of bills about that time. Well, I was struckdumb at the sight at first, and then I remembered my gun; but before Icould swing it up to my shoulder one of them swept the lighted lamp fromthe table to the floor.
"The flash that came blinded me, and I forgot all about the robbers inthinking about saving my house. Then Nancy she came down, and we gotbusy. All at once I remembered you boys in the barn, and Hiram, and Istarted to yellin' at the top of my voice, but pitchin' water all thewhile. That's how the fire started, you see; and we're sure beholdin' aheap to you boys for helpin' put it out as smart as we did. It lookstough, for a fact, but sho! it might 'a' been heaps worse."
"But the dog--what d'ye reckon they could have done to him?" askedGiraffe.
"It might be they pizened Toby," replied the farmer; "I wouldn't put itpast that tough pair to do anything. But chances are the dog's off to thewoods huntin' rabbits. He often runs away like that and stays all nightlong. If I tie him up he barks enough
to set us crazy. I'll have to getrid of him, and find a better watchdog."
"Well, things are getting warmer right along, ain't they?" Step Henwanted to know. "A fire was bad enough, but when you find out that it wasstarted by thieves, and that they actually robbed the house first, itgets more and more exciting. Now the Silver Fox Patrol has done somethingalong lines like that before; and mebbe we might again, given half a fairchance."
"I suppose the two men didn't wait to see what happened after they hadknocked 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 ofthe pair," he admitted. "But then they got what they came after, and thatsatisfied the rascals. And I don't reckon there's a single chance in tenI'll ever recover that fifty dollars, barring twenty cents, that I gotfor the last two loads of hay I took into town. But then my house isleft, and we'll get some insurance to pay for repairs, so I'm notcomplaining. 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 forgotI had an old Civil War musket in my hands. I had ought to've let fly, andknocked one of the pizen critters silly. I'll never forgive myself forbein' so slow to act."
Thad had his own ideas about that. Had the farmer fired thatlong-barreled musket at such close range he would possibly have killedone of the men; and whether such a tragedy would have been justifiedunder the circumstances was and must remain an open question. If his lifehad been threatened of course the farmer would have done right to defendhimself to the utmost; but Thad believed that had it been him he wouldhave allowed the men to get some distance away before sending a load ofshot at them, his object being to wound and not slay.
It was certainly good, however, to find that Mr. Bailey took things sophilosophically all around. Some men would have been bewailing theirmisfortune, 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 happenedto set eyes on them, sir?" asked the patrol leader, with an object inview.
"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 Ithinkin' about, to be sure? Say, you boys ought to know that you've gotnigh as much interest in findin' them tramps as I feel. You wonder why Isay that, do you? I'll explain it to you in a jiffy. Listen then. One ofthe thieves had red hair, and he was wearin' an old faded blue army coatwith red lining in it. That's why!"
It seemed as though every one of those eight scouts drew a deep breaththat had the sound of a sigh. They looked at one another, at first withwonder in their faces, and then Giraffe was heard to give vent to what heintended should be a joyous chuckle. The sound was contagious, forimmediately broad smiles began to appear here and there, and there was ageneral hand-shaking as though the news were deemed important enough tomake them congratulate each other.
It was a fact calculated to make them feel that the long chase had notbeen useless, when they thus learned so suddenly that the man they huntedhad been almost in their power half an hour before.