CHAPTER XIX
A THRILLING RESCUE
"What's that?" asked half a dozen of the white-robed lads.
"Fire, somewhere," answered Hiram, pausing in his rush toward Joe.
"Come on, this can wait," added one of his companions. "We're throughwith this initiation, anyhow."
"But I'm not through with him," snapped the bully with a glance of angerat the young pitcher. "I'll settle with him later."
"Fire! Fire!"
Again the cries rang out on the night air.
"The school must be on fire!" yelled Luke Fodick. "Come on, fellows!"
"Fire! Fire!"
Many voices now took up the cry outside, and through apartially-curtained window could be seen the dancing light of flames.
"Come on!" cried Joe to Tom. "We've got to be in on this, whatever itis!"
"Surest thing you know," agreed his chum.
They rushed from the room, following after Hiram and Luke. The othersstraggled out as fast as they disrobed, for they did not want to be seenin their regalia by any of the school authorities who might be on handafter the alarm of fire.
"I hope it isn't any of the school buildings!" exclaimed Joe as he andTom raced along.
"That's right. So do I. Look, you can see the reflection from here."
The boys were opposite a window in the corridor, and over the roof andspire of the school chapel could be seen a lurid glare in the sky, butwhat was burning could not be made out.
"It's the gym!" gasped Tom.
"Don't you dare say that!" cried Joe, "and with the baseball season juststarting."
"Well, it looks like it anyhow."
Together they raced on until they came to a door that gave egress to thecampus. Students were pouring out from their rooms in all directions,some eagerly questioning, and others joining in the cries of "Fire!" Noone seemed to know where the blaze was.
Professor Rodd came out with his precious tall hat in one hand and abundle of books in the other.
"Is the school doomed, boys?" he asked. "How did it start? Have I timeto save anything else? I have some Latin books----"
"I don't know where it is, Professor," answered Joe. "But it isn't thisbuilding, anyhow."
"Good! I'm glad of it. I mean I'm sorry it's anywhere. Wait, and I'll bewith you to help fight the flames."
He ran back to his quarters to return quickly minus his silk hat and thebooks, and he wore an old fashioned night-cap.
"There now, I'm ready," he announced, and he ran on as though he haddonned a modern smoke helmet, used by the firemen. The boys laughed,serious and exciting as the situation was.
Dr. Rudden saw our two friends hurrying across the campus together.
"Why, boys!" cried the coach and athletic director. "You're all wet! Howdid it happen? Have you been playing the hose on the fire? Did itburst?"
"No, we haven't been to the blaze yet," answered Joe. "We had----"
"A sort of accident," finished Tom, as his chum hesitated for the rightexplanation. Then they avoided further conversation by racing toward theblaze, the light of which was becoming every minute more glaring.
A stream of students and teachers was now hurrying across the campus,heading for the path around the chapel, which building hid the fire fromsight. As Tom and Joe turned the corner they saw at a glance what wasburning.
It was an old disused factory about half a mile from the school, abuilding pretty much in ruins and of little value save as a sleepingplace for tramps. Several times in the past there had been slight firesthere but they had been quickly extinguished, though many said it wouldhave been as well to let the old structure burn down.
This time it seemed as if this would happen. The factory was of wood,and there had been no rain recently, so it was quite dry, and there wasa brisk wind to fan the flames.
"I guess it's a goner," panted Tom.
"Looks that way," agreed his chum.
"Here comes the fire department," went on the other, as they heard theclanging of a bell down the road. A little later they could see, by theglare of the fire, a crowd of village men and boys dragging, by the longrope attached to it, a combined chemical engine, and hook and laddervehicle. It was a new acquisition in the town of Cedarhurst, and thecitizens were very proud of it, though they had no horses to pull it.But everyone who could do so grabbed hold of the long rope.
"They're making good time," commented Joe.
"But they might as well save themselves. The old factory is betterburned than standing. Guess some more tramps went in there."
"Then they'd better be getting out by now," observed the young pitcher,"for it must be pretty hot."
The lads ran on, and soon found themselves close to the burningstructure. The heat of the flames could be felt, and Tom and Joe movedback into the crowd that had gathered. Up clattered the fire apparatus,and there was the usual excitement, with everyone giving orders, andtelling how it ought to be done.
Finally a chemical stream was turned on, the whitish foaming mixture ofbicarbonate of soda, sulphuric acid and water spurting upon the flames.There was a hiss, and the part of the fire that was sprayed quickly diedout.
But it was evident that several chemical streams would be needed if thefire was to be completely extinguished, whereas two lines of hose wereall that were available. In fact nothing but a smothering deluge ofwater would have been effective, and this was not obtainable.
"They'll never get that fire out!" cried a man in the crowd. "Why don'tyou let it burn, Chief?"
"Because we're here to put out fires. I'm going to----"
But what the chief was going to do he never said, for at that moment,above the crackling of the fire and the shouts of the men and boys,there arose an agonized shout.
"Help! Help! Save me!"
All eyes turned instinctively upward, and there, perched on the ledge ofwhat had once been the clock tower of the factory, high above theroaring, crackling flames, stood a man, wildly waving his arms andcrying:
"Help! Help! Save me!"
"Look! A man! He'll be burned to death!" yelled a score of persons asthey saw the danger.
"That's about right, unless he gets down pretty soon," shouted Tom intoJoe's ear. "Why doesn't he go down?"
"Probably because the stairs are burned away," was Joe's shoutedanswer--everyone was shouting, partly to make themselves heard andpartly because of the excitement, which was contagious.
"Help! Help!" cried the man again. He gave one look below him andcrowded closer to the outer edge of the tower.
"Look out! Don't jump!" someone cried.
"We'll save you!" shouted the chief. "Get the ladder, boys! Lively now!"
Scores of willing ones raced to the wagon and began pulling out theladders. They were the extension kind, and could be made quite long.Several men ran with one toward the building.
"Not that side! The flames are too hot! You can't raise it there!" criedthe chief. "Try around back!"
The men obeyed but a moment later there came a disappointing shout:
"Too short! The ladder's too short! Get a longer one!"
"That's the longest we've got!" answered the chief.
"Then splice two together!" urged some one, but the suggestion couldhardly have been carried out with safety. No one knew what to do. Theflames were mounting higher and higher, bursting out on all sides now,so that in a few moments, even had there been a ladder long enough toreach to the man, it could not have been raised against the building.
"Help! Help!" continued to call the seemingly-doomed one. He movedstill nearer to the edge of the tower.
"Don't jump! Don't!" yelled the crowd. "You'll be killed!"
"He might just as well be killed by the fall as burned to death,"remarked one man grimly. "In fact I'd prefer it."
"Can't someone do something?" begged a woman hysterically.
The man held out his hands appealingly.
"Oh, if we only had an airship, we could rescue him!" murmured Tom.
"By
Jove!" exclaimed Joe. "I have an idea. If I could only get a rope upto him he could slide down it, if we held the outer end away from thefire--a slanting cable you know."
"That's it!" yelled his chum.
"How are you going to get a rope up to him?" asked Luke Fodick, who wasstanding beside our hero. "No one could throw a rope up there."
"No, perhaps not a rope," admitted Joe, "but if I could throw a stringwe could tie the rope to the string and he could haul it up and fastenit."
"But you can't even throw a string up there," insisted Luke.
"Of course not!" added Hiram, who had joined his crony. "Nobody could."
"Yes they can--I can!" cried Joe. "I'll throw up this ball of cord. Itwill unwind on the way up if I keep hold of one end of it," and hepulled from his pocket a ball of light but strong cord. Joe used it towind around split bats. "I'm going to throw this," cried the youngpitcher. "Hey there!" he yelled to the man on the tower. "Catch this asit comes, and pull up the rope we're going to fasten on!"
The man waved his hands helplessly. He could not hear.
"Where you going to get the rope?" asked Tom.
"Off the fire apparatus, of course. It's long and strong. Tom, you goget the rope off; I've got to make the man hear and understand before Ican throw the cord."
"That's the stuff! The rope from the engine!" cried the man near Joe."That's the idea, young fellow!"
Accompanied by Tom, the man raced to the engine. He quickly explainedwhat the plan of rescue was, and others aided in taking from the reelthe long rope by which the apparatus was pulled. Once more Joe shoutedhis instructions, while the fire raged and crackled and the crowdyelled.
"Quiet! Quiet!" begged Joe. "I've got to make him hear!"
"Make a megaphone--here's a newspaper," suggested a man. He quicklyrolled it into a cone, tore off the small end to make a mouthpiece andJoe had an improvised megaphone. Through it he begged the crowd to keepsilent, and at last they heard and understood.
"I'm going to throw you a ball of cord!" called Joe through the papercone to the man on the tower. "Catch it, and when I yell again, pull upthe rope. Fasten it to the tower and we'll hold the ground end out andaway from the flames. Then slide down."
The man waved his hands to show that he understood. Then Joe got readyto throw up the cord.
"He can't do it! He'll never be able to get that ball up to the man. Itwill fall short or go into the flames," said Luke Fodick.
"He can't, eh?" asked Tom, who came back, helping to pull the long rope."You don't know how Joe Matson can throw. Just watch him."
And, amid a silence that was painfully tense, the young pitcher gotready to deliver a ball on which more depended than on any other he hadever thrown in all his life.