CHAPTER XIII.
HOW THE SCOUTS WON OUT.
THE newcomers, whose coming the boys had noted with pleasure, certainlyshowed signs of knowing how to fight a fire in the country. In the firstplace, they had brought their tools of trade along with them, in theshape of buckets. Doubtless they remembered that on former occasions thefire had gained headway simply on account of a lack of receptacles forwater.
Then they knew the brook, and that an abundance of water could be hadfor the taking. Last of all every man was full of vim, judging from theway they started in to whoop things up.
Besides, their coming seemed to invigorate those already on the ground,and who, by reason of long service, were nearly exhausted.
"'Everybody's doin' it,' fellers!" gasped Landy, as he staggered forwardwith his sixteenth bucket, and gave the contents a fling.
"It'th a burning thame, what we're doing to that old fire, don't youknow?" laughed Ted, who followed close on the fat boy's heels.
"Keep it going another round, boys," shouted Elmer; "and by that time, Ireckon, there won't be any more need of water. We've saved the house,even if it is damaged a little with water and smoke and fire. That's theticket, Ty; you're making a record worth while to-day, old fellow! Oncemore to the breach; then it's rest for yours."
"All out!" cried Landy, in another minute, as he dropped his bucket andsank in a limp heap on the ground, a sight that would have caused hisgood mother to throw up her hands in horror.
But Landy was proud of having had a chance to prove his right to thename of a Hickory Ridge Boy Scout. He grinned, and looked particularlyhappy; for he knew that when the history of the saving of the Brady homewas written, his name would surely have a place of honor among those whoparticipated in the good work.
By this time there were fully forty people present. How the news gotabroad it would be hard to say. Some of the farmers in that neighborhoodhad telephones, and in this way it may have been passed along the line;but there were many other methods in which the fire could have madeitself manifest.
New people kept arriving every few minutes; while a few went away againto attend to the urgent business of getting in their late crops.
The four scouts remained in a bunch, talking matters over, and trying torecover a little from their tremendous exertions before returning to thecamp.
"Thay, how d'ye thuppothe the old thing got thtarted?" Ted asked, withthe natural curiosity of a boy.
"That's so," echoed Landy. "It must have been an accident don't youthink, Elmer?" for even in such a matter as this they seemed to turn tothe patrol leader for information.
"I'm sure I can't say, fellows," replied Elmer. "At this time in themorning the hands on a farm are out in the fields, and the women washingup the breakfast things. Perhaps they've got a gasoline stove here, andsomebody was careless. It happens now and then."
"But here comes Mr. Brady over this way; he may know what started theold blaze," remarked Ty.
"Looks kind of smiling," ventured Landy; "which I take it is somesingular for a gentleman whose house has pretty near gone up in smoke.Tell you what, I know why he's heading this way, fellows."
"Then thay it right out, Landy," remarked Ted, who had noted how the fatboy looked toward Ty and grinned.
"He's coming with a handful of thanks for our brave chum here, onaccount of how he saved the little Brady girl's darling baby, Bennie,"said Landy.
"Huh!" snorted Ty, "I did my best, anyhow, and that's all any fellow c'ndo. How was I to know it was only a silly little purp, and not a realhuman being? Didn't she call it the baby? Laugh all you want, Landy; butall I c'n say is that I reckon anyone of you fellers would have donejust as bad."
"And that's as fine a compliment as you could pay us, Ty!" declaredElmer, heartily. "As for me, I want to say right here and now that I'mproud of the way you went into that burning house, thinking that a poorlittle baby was in danger. In my mind it's just as if you had done whatyou meant to; and I'm glad to own you as a chum. Never mind if somefellows try to have a little fun out of it; they don't mean anything byit. But here's Mr. Brady."
The farmer was a heavy-set man in the prime of life. He, too, had workedhard in the effort to save his house; but despite his anxiety andfatigue, he approached the four scouts with kindling eyes and anoutstretched hand.
"I want to shake hands with every one of you boys," he said, earnestly."Only for you coming when you did, and takin' hold with such a vim, Iguess the old Brady farmhouse would have gone up that time. I see youall wear trousers and leggings that say you belong to the Hickory RidgeBoy Scouts; and make sure that I don't mean to forget this. I want thename of every one of you, and I'm going to make it a point to see yourfolks, to tell them what reason they've got to be proud of having suchboys in the family."
The way that horny hand of the farmer squeezed those of the boys toldthat he meant every word he uttered. Landy winced under the pressure,and came very near crying out for mercy; only he remembered that thiswould not seem just right, when they were at the time being complimentedon their manly qualities.
"We're only too glad that we happened to be coming over to your place atjust the right time, Mr. Brady," remarked Elmer. "If we'd been at ourcamp, perhaps we might not have known of the fire until it was too lateto do much good."
"Coming to see me, the four of you, were you?" said the other, looking atrifle curious. "What could I do for you, boys? All you have to do is tomention it: after your noble work this morning I guess it'd be hard forme to refuse any favor."
"But you see, sir," Landy exclaimed, "we didn't want to ask a favor.Fact is, we wanted to do you one, perhaps."
"I have been looking around, Mr. Brady," observed Elmer, "and I failedto see your two new hands working to save the house--the short man andhis tall mate."
Immediately the face of the farmer darkened, and they saw his handsclose with a movement that seemed to speak of anger.
"No, you didn't, my lad, and for a very good reason," he said,breathing hard. "They turned out to be a pair of rascals. My daughtercaught them in the act of robbing the house this very morning. I hadsent them out into a field back of the barns, and they knew that with myson and the horses I expected to go to another part of the farm. So theywaited till the coast was clear, and then sneaked back to the house,entering through a window when the women folks were busy in the kitchenand dairy."
"Oh!" gasped Landy, who had not dreamed that this could be theexplanation of the fire; "then they must have been caught in the act,and did it for revenge?"
"Just what they did," replied Mr. Brady, with his teeth gritting inanger. "My oldest daughter just happened to go upstairs, and ran acrossthem turning things upside down in the search for valuables. Shescreamed, and knowing that the rest of the women folks must have heardthe row, the scoundrels deliberately put matches to things, and then,jumping from the windows, made off, laughing."
"Did they steal much from you, Mr. Brady?" asked Ty.
"That I don't know yet, because the fire took up all my attention assoon as I got on the ground. And I don't bother much about what theytook, I'm that thankful about saving my house, and that nobody washurt," the farmer went on.
"Not even little Bennie," murmured Landy; though Elmer gave him areproachful look.
"Well, sir," the patrol leader went on, "it happens that we were just onour way here to warn you about your new hands. One of our troop arrivedin camp last night, and told us a story about two tramps trying to wreckthe express train; and that the officers of several towns were lookingfor them. When he described the fellows some of us thought the two newhands might be the ones who were wanted."
"Yes," Ty spoke up, "and if Elmer had had his way we'd have come to seeyou last night; but the rest of the bunch, being lazy or tired, voted towait till morning. Elmer knew best; he nearly always does."
"Well," the farmer went on, "it was nice of you to think of giving mewarning any time; and mighty lucky that you were on your way here whenthe fire started. Only for t
hat there would be a heap of ruins here,instead of my old house, which has been in the family many generations."
"You say the two men ran away, Mr. Brady?" remarked Elmer, who felt moreor less curiosity concerning their movements.
"So the women folks say," came the reply. "Connie, my girl, the one whocame on them while they were turning things upside down, looking underthe mattresses of the beds for money, and even under the edges of thecarpets. She says they ran toward the barns. But I had the horses withme, so they didn't find a mount."
"Thay, perhapth they're hiding right now over there in the haymow, orthomewhere!" suggested Ted.
"Oh, my goodness! That would be too good a thing, wouldn't it?" criedLandy, scrambling to his feet, part of his weariness seeming to leavehim at the prospect of new excitement.
"I never thought of that, now," said the farmer. "The rascals might havemade up their minds that, after all the excitement was over, anotherchance would crop up to do some clever robbery. Perhaps I'd be wise toget some of the men together, and take a look through the barns."
"Wait a minute, Mr. Brady," said Elmer. "Because, unless I miss myguess, yonder comes a car that holds some men in uniforms, and they mayturn out to be officers from Hickory Ridge, Fairfield, or some otherplace, looking for information about these very two men."
"Bully! Wouldn't that just be the best thing ever, to think of theirhappening here when we need them so much," remarked Landy, staring atthe coming ear.
"They must have been passing by when they met some of the neighborsgoing home, and learned of the fire," ventured Mr. Brady, who made amotion with his arm to attract the attention of the big, pompous-lookingofficer who was getting out of the automobile.
"I know who he is," remarked Ty. "That's the head of the police over atFairfield. His name is Benchley. I've talked with him more'n once. Why,he used to run some sort of auction shop before they made him the chiefover there. And here he comes to interview us. My! Just get on to hisstrut, will you, fellows?"
"Everybody look out how you talk when he's around!" exclaimed Landy. "Helooks as if he'd like to pinch everybody around, and slap 'em into thecooler, just to beep his hand in."
But Mr. Brady had stepped out to meet the man in uniform.
"What's been going on here, mister?" asked the officer, with a heavyfrown in the direction of the four boys; as though he might be soaccustomed to having his share of trouble with the untamed youths ofFairfield and Cramertown, that he naturally came to the conclusion, whenanything went wrong, in most cases, it could be traced back to thedepravity of the rising generation.
Evidently Mr. Benchley was always at war with the boys of his town,which was one of the greatest mistakes the head of the police forcecould make. In Hickory Ridge they managed things better, for the chiefthere had long since won the respect of most of the lads, who knew theyhad a good friend in the head of the force.
"Been having a fire; but we were fortunate enough to get it undercontrol before much damage had been done," replied Mr. Brady.
"Did these chaps have anything to do with it?" demanded the pompous manin uniform, again frowning at Elmer and his chums.
"Sure they did, a whole lot," replied the farmer.
"Then you want them taken in, I reckon," interrupted the officer,bracing himself, as though he might be ready to sweep the four scoutsinto his car without further ceremony.
"Taken in?" repeated Mr. Brady. "Well, I should say not. When I agreedwith you that these lads had had considerable to do with the fire Imeant that only for the grand work they did, my house would have burnedto the ground!"
"Then they didn't set the blaze going?" growled the big man. "Who did,then?"
"Two men I engaged yesterday as farm hands; and from what I hear Ibelieve they are the very scoundrels you are looking for this minute,"the farmer replied.