CHAPTER XIII
AN EXCITING MOMENT
“Yes, there is smoke—and fire behind it!” cried Hiram. “And see—the windis changing—whew!”
The biplane boys had been so engrossed in their own affairs that theyhad not noticed until now that a dense, high-up vapor had graduallyclouded the sun. All of a sudden, however, some new current of winddrove the smoke downwards. As it struck the hill it wound around it likea veil. It came so thick and fast that it began to choke and blind them.Filmy cinders and a growing heat in the air were to be observed.
“See here, Dave,” spoke Hiram, “hadn’t we better get aloft?”
“Look at that now,” chimed in Elmer, pointing across the broad surfaceof the hill.
The three young aviators stood quite spellbound for a moment, witnessinga new and novel spectacle. The top of the knob was covered with a greatgrowth of dried-up weeds, fine and fibrous. From time to time, as thebranches dropped away from the parent stem, they had rolled or wereblown part way down the hill.
Great masses in the aggregate had lodged on shelves and crevices amongthe rocks. Now the sweep of the strong breeze had suddenly arisen andthe suction of the hot, swirling air moved these accumulations. Theyblew over each other and together. Gaining a momentum, here and thererounded masses began to wad up and grow as they progressed in their madcourse.
“I have heard of those,” said the young airman. “They are calledtumbleweeds.”
“Snowballs!” shouted the excitable Hiram. “Look at that now!”
A blast of hot air sent a perfect shower of sparks and smoking filamentsover the brow of the hill. These ignited the rolling spheres, some ofwhich had become gigantic globes. At one time over a hundred of thestrange, rolling balls were set aflare.
“Fireworks!” added Elmer. “It’s a pretty sight, but—whoof!”
A great sphere, all ablaze, landed against the speaker, burst likefluffy thistle down, and scorched him slightly.
“All aboard!” ordered Dave, sharply. “Don’t waste a second, fellows!”
“Yes, high time, I’m thinking,” declared Hiram, making a run for somecooking utensils he had been using in preparing their lunch.
The _Comet_ as usual was in perfect shape for a speedy flight. Dave, atthe pilot post, his assistants in their accustomed places, a touch ofthe self-starter sent them off on a sharp tangent away from the hill andacross the tinder-like fields of weeds.
“Just in time,” spoke Hiram, as they arose to a higher level, above thecrest of the hill. “There’s a grand sight for a fellow, if there everwas one.”
Each of the aviators was enwrapt in the vivid panorama beneath them. Faras they could look—south, north, and west—acres and miles of flame-sweptsurface greeted their vision. By this time the sparks had ignited theswamp. A solid wall of flame seized upon the dry stalks with a roar. Thehill was now the center of a glowing caldron of fire.
“That was pretty quick,” remarked Dave. “We were lucky to get warning intime.”
In places where little thickets beneath them were burning, entire sightof the ground was shut out for the heat or smoke. They were now too highfor the heat or smoke to reach them. The fire, however, was ofconsiderable extent, and even on the distant horizon there seemed no endor beginning to the great conflagration.
They passed over a long lake. It was shallow, but at that spot the bodyof water had presented a barrier to the immediate forward progress ofthe flames.
“See,” spoke Hiram, “the fire is eating around the edges of the lake tothe other side. Dave,” he suddenly shouted, “there’s a house!”
“Yes, and it’s on fire, too,” echoed Elmer.
The lake was about half a mile wide. Its beach was lined with clumps offlags and reeds. These had fed the flames around the body of water intwo directions. At the south end of the opposite shore of the lake, thefire had entirely surrounded a small, cultivated patch with a rude logcabin in its center. This structure was blazing fiercely. To the westand the far north the fire was sweeping in giant strides, licking upeverything that came in its path.
There was just one space between the onrushing and the backing upsection of the conflagration. This was a little stretch of beach. Asthey approached it, the young aviator made a veer with the biplane thattold his companions of a sudden change of purpose.
“What is it, Dave?” asked Elmer, quickly.
“Don’t you see?” replied Dave. “There are a woman and child down there.”
“Gracious!” shouted Hiram—“why, so there are! She’s running for herlife! No, she’s stopped. Now she’s stepped into the water. She’s wadingin. Dave, Dave, do something!”
It was truly an exciting situation. All three of the boys now saw inplain view the forlorn fugitives of the fire. A woman, terrified andfrantic, was visible. She carried a young child in her arms. Apparentlyshe had just come from the burning cabin.
Behind her a rushing wall of fire pursued. West and north a half-circleof solid flame told her of impending doom. She ran out into the lake,but there she faltered, not ten feet from shore. It seemed that sherealized that she could not get far enough beyond the fringe of flags toescape the fire, and she stood rooted to the spot in helpless despair.
“We have a bare five minutes before the flames reach her,” said Dave,his tone a trifle strained and unsteady, but determined. “Fellows, wemust take her aboard.”
“Can we land all right?” questioned Elmer.
“We’ve got to, even at a risk,” replied Dave.
“It means a big added weight,” suggested Hiram. “Something has got to goout.”
“Lighten up the best you know how,” directed Dave rapidly.
It was no careless trick to land. Dave strained every sense and nerve tocarry out the projected rescue safely. Hiram and Elmer knew the partexpected of them. The former reached back in the pocket, or compartment,containing their equipment and supplies.
“Help me, Elmer,” he said hastily. “Toss it out,” and he dragged a canof water within reach, and his companion sent it whirling over the edgeof the machine.
Two out of four heavy rods, duplicates of a part of the steering outfit,followed, then a large bag of sugar. Hiram selected from the food supplyarticles that could be readily replaced at the first town they mightreach.
“That will do,” he announced, just as the _Comet_ sailed downward,struck the ground, and glided to a stop.