CHAPTER XX--THE FIRE BRIGADE
Ruth and Barbara related to Miss Sallie their adventures of the daybefore. She went through a dozen stages of emotion, and fairly wrung herhands over the tramps. The part about Jose she could not believe.
"That nice boy!" she exclaimed. "It is impossible." Then she grewindignant. "What does John Ten Eyck mean by bringing us into thislawless country, I should like to know?"
"But, auntie, the major declares it was never like this before. Thewoods have always been perfectly safe. When Stephen and Martin werelittle boys they used to play in them with only Old Jennie to look afterthem."
"Ruth," cried Miss Sallie, "the major is one of the nicest men in theworld, but he always would overlook disagreeable things. He runs awayfrom anything that hurts. He may have overlooked the tramps and robbers,just as he has been blind to ugliness whenever he could."
"He's a dear," said Mollie.
"Dear or no dear," cried Miss Sallie, "this time we really must go. Tellthe chauffeur to fix up the machine, Ruth, my child, for to-morrow weshall leave this barbarous place."
"All right, auntie," replied her niece, relieved that they were not togo immediately, since they all wanted to see the episode of Josethrough.
Time passed, but the four horsemen did not return. The girls weresitting with Miss Sallie at the shady end of the piazza, watching thesun sink behind the forest. There was a smell of burning in the air thatthe sensitive nostrils of the chaperon had sniffed immediately.
"The wind must be blowing from the mountains to-day," she observed. "Ismell burning as plainly as if it were at our gates."
"But, Miss Sallie," said Grace, "remember that it smelt like this in NewYork last week."
"My dear," replied Miss Sallie, "I am perfectly familiar with the smellof burning forests, I have smelt them so often in imagination. Why, see,the air is filled with fine ashes," she exclaimed, shaking out herlavender skirts with disgust. She had hardly spoken before a tall figurewas seen hurrying across the lawn.
"It's blind Jennie," cried Ruth. "Perhaps she can give us news of themajor or Jose."
As old Jennie approached they could see she was fearfully excited. Herface was working and several times she waved her stick wildly in theair. Just then a strange thing happened. Half a dozen terrified deerappeared from the direction of the forest, dashed madly across the lawnand disappeared in a grove on the other side. Squirrels and rabbitsfollowed by the dozens, while distracted birds flew in groups andcircled around and around the tops of the trees.
"What has happened, Jennie?" cried Ruth, shaking the blind woman by thearm.
Jennie seemed to scan the company with her sightless eyes, sniffing theair wildly.
"The woods are burning," she said. "The flames are coming nearer. Theyare slow, but they are sure. Everything is so dry. You must hurry, ifyou would save the house!"
"Save the house?" repeated Miss Stuart mechanically. "Do you mean to saythere is danger of this house being burned down? Is the fire coming thisway? Great heavens! Order the car at once, children. We must leave atany cost. This is the last straw!"
"But, Aunt Sallie," urged Ruth, laying a detaining hand on her aunt'sarm, "you wouldn't have us desert the major's house, would you, andleave all these beautiful things to burn? Besides, we may be runningaway from the major and the boys. How do we know but that they are inthe woods? They may need our help."
"My child, we are not a fire department," exclaimed Miss Sallie, "and ifwe are to save this beautiful house, how do you propose to do it?"
"If worse comes to worst," cried Bab, "we can form a bucket brigadehere, and keep the fire from getting to the house."
"What about water?" demanded Miss Sallie.
"Don't you remember the major said he had a well of water reserved forfires?" said Ruth.
"It may not be necessary to use the water," Bab continued. "The firstthing to do is to cut off the forest fire by having a trench dug on thatside of the house. Everybody will have to get to work. Come on! We mustnot lose time."
Miss Sallie ran into the hall and rang a bell violently. John, thebutler, came at once.
"John," she cried, speaking very rapidly, "the forest is on fire. Getevery available person on the place as fast as you can, with shovels andhoes and help the young ladies dig a trench to protect the major'shouse."
John looked dazed, sniffed the air and ran without a word. Presently abell thundered out in the stillness. It had not been rung for manyyears, but the employees on the place knew what it meant, and camerunning from their cottages, and the work of digging a trench beyond TenEyck Hall was begun. Each moment the air was growing more dense and adarkness was settling down which was lit up, toward the west, by a luridglow. The heat was intense and fine ashes filled the toilers' throatsand nostrils. Birds, blinded by the smoke dashed past, almost hittingthe workers' faces. People came running from the burning forest, the oldGypsy woman and her granddaughter and other women from the Gypsy band.The men were bringing the wagons around by the road; old Adam and hiswife, driving their wood cart and frantically beating the worn-outhorse; and finally, the hermit, with his white locks flying. Ten EyckHall would seem to have been the refuge of all these terrified dwellersin the forest. They regarded it with pride and love. Even the Gypsieshad sought its protection, and the gray, rambling old place appeared tostretch out its arms to them. Blind Jennie strode up and down the lawn,wildly waving her stick, while old Adam called to Miss Sallie:
"Where is the master? Where are the young masters?"
And where were the old master and the young ones? If ever they wereneeded, it was now!
In the meantime, the girls, leaving Miss Sallie to direct the digging ofthe trench, had run to the house.
"I think, Ruth," called Bab, "we had better collect all the buckets andpails we can find."
"Yes," replied Ruth, "and the hose should be attached to the reservewell. John is attending to that. Mollie and Grace, run and get whateverblankets there are in the bed rooms, and close the windows all over thehouse."
While John was attaching the hose to the faucet of the reserve well,Ruth and Bab invaded the enormous kitchen of the hall. The servants hadfled. Only Mary and John could be depended upon. The pumping engine hadbeen started and the tank was rapidly filling.
"O Ruth," exclaimed Bab, "how careless of us to have forgotten the cars!The garage is nearest to the forest and the automobiles should be runout right off. We may need them if things get very bad."
"Of course," replied Ruth. "Where is the chauffeur? Did you ever knowany of these people to be on hand when they were needed?"
Dashing to the garage, they cranked up the two machines and ran them outonto the lawn in an open space. Jose's motor cycle came next.
"The fire has come," cried Grace and Mollie running up with their armsfull of blankets. They could hear the roaring, crackling sound as theflames licked their way through the dry underbrush.
"Where is Miss Sallie?" demanded Ruth. "She will faint in this terribleatmosphere."
"There she is," answered Grace; "she is overseeing the trench-digging. Ithink she has ordered them to make it broader."
Miss Sallie, her lavender skirts caught up over her arm, was standingnear the men, giving her orders as calmly as if she were in her owndrawing room.
The line of forest about a quarter of a mile distant began to glow red.The girls clutched each other.
"There it is!" they cried. "And now to save the major's house!"
Bab organized a bucket brigade with Mollie, Grace and the Gypsy women.John was ordered to manipulate the hose, while Bab and Ruth carried wetblankets over to the garage, the building nearest the line of fire. Thena cry went up from the men who were digging the trench. The flames,which had been steadily devouring the dried grass of the meadow dividingthe garden from the wood, had reached the trench. A sudden gust of windcarried them over. Instantly a group of bushes caught fire; and, like anangry animal seeking its prey, a long, forked tongue licked the groundhungrily for a
moment, paused at the gravel walk, followed its edge,eating up the short, dry grass in its path, and made for the garage. Allthis happened in much quicker time than it takes to tell it--tooquickly, in fact for any precaution.