CHAPTER XV
A GENEROUS OFFER
Never since they had organized their little department had the boysworked under such difficulties. There was no getting away from thisblaze. They were fast to it, and to cut loose meant to endanger otherlumber barges nearby, which would mean a terrible conflagration.
It was hard work to keep the burning boat and that on which the enginewas out in the lake, as a strong wind was forcing them both towardshore. It was also difficult to operate the pump, for the engine didnot set level, and the boys on top of the tank had to cling there asbest they could and send the big handles up and down. It was hard workto stand the fierce heat and choking smoke which enveloped them everynow and again, as the wind shifted.
But the boys were no "milksops." They stuck to it, though it meantmuch physical pain. They gritted their teeth, and held their breathswhen it was necessary. Some clung to the poles like grim death andprevented the barges from drifting, and all the while others weredipping and pumping water.
"I--I think we've got her!" cried Cole, when this desperate work hadbeen going on for ten minutes.
"Don't be too sure!" cautioned Captain Bert. "There's lots of fireyet!"
There was, but the three streams of water, even if one was a smallone, were beginning to tell. Gradually the flames amid the lumber onthe barge began to die away. Once or twice it seemed as if the boatwould break loose and go drifting down on the others, but grit told,and the boys held the craft.
"She's out now!" cried Vincent, as only a pall of smoke seemed to hangover the barge, and the boys at the brakes, hearing this with feelingsof relief, ceased pumping. No sooner had they stopped than the flamesburst out in a new place, and flared up fiercely.
"Jump right on the barge and take the hose with you," cried Bert, forthe fire had been extinguished on that end of the barge nearest theflat-boat. "The water will do more good at close range."
The young firemen needed no second order. Dragging three lines of hosewith them they leaped aboard the flaming boat and scrambled over thepiles of charred lumber to the farther end, where the flames now were.
Then the fire gave up the fight. The last flame was quenched and theboys could take a much-needed rest.
"What'll we do now?" asked Cole of Bert. Every one seemed to depend onthe young captain for instructions.
"I think we'd better run the barge ashore below here," he said. "Thenthere'll be no danger if the fire breaks out again."
"I'll guarantee that fire won't break out again," boasted Cole. "Wesoaked it too well."
"You can't tell what a fire will do," replied Bert. "It may besmouldering down in a corner where the water didn't reach."
"Have Cole leave his force pump on guard," suggested Vincent, "Thatpump ought to be able to put out a fire all alone."
"Humph! That pump's all right, if you do make fun of it!" declared theowner of the latest addition to the fire apparatus. "It'll throw astream farther than either of the big hose on this engine."
"Well, let's run the barge ashore, then pole back and get our engineoff," proposed Bert. "I guess it's safe enough to leave the bargenow."
They tied the blackened load of lumber in a little shallow cove,where, if it did start to burn again, no damage would result. Thenthey went back to the lumber yard, where they found a big crowdwaiting them. The fire on the dock had been extinguished by members ofthe bucket brigade and had not amounted to much.
"Boys, I want to shake hands with every one of you!" exclaimed avoice, as Bert led his command ashore. "You did me a great serviceto-night, and I'll not forget it. But for your prompt action my lumberyard would have been destroyed and several of my valuable bargesbesides."
The speaker was Mr. Perrett Bergman, owner of the lumber yard, and, aseach boy stepped ashore, he shook him warmly by the hand.
"Yes, Mr. Bergman, those boys certainly did themselves proud," saidMayor Appelby. "They're almost as good as a regular department."
"That's what they are. Well, I'll have something to say about thatlater. Now, I must go and see if there are any stray sparks aroundanywhere, and I want to investigate this fire. I have an idea it wasset by tramps. That barge came down the lake early this evening, andthe men in charge of it told me they threw a tramp overboard who wasstealing a ride on it."
"Threw him overboard?" repeated Mr. Appelby.
"Yes. I told them that was the wrong thing to do, as the man mighthave been drowned, but lumbermen are rather rough. However, the trampswam ashore, they told me. I have an idea he might have set the bargeafire for revenge."
"It's possible," admitted the mayor. "I'll tell Constable Stickler tobe on the watch for any suspicious characters."
Bert, who heard this conversation, wondered if the tramp he hadrescued from the brook, or any of his companions, had started the fire.
"I hope the one I saved didn't do it," mused the boy. "He seemed likea decent chap in hard luck." Nothing was ever learned, however, of howthe fire started. Certainly the tramp stenographer had nothing to dowith it.
Several members of the bucket brigade assisted the boys in getting theengine off the flatboat. In fact, of late the men fire-fighters ofLakeville were beginning to entertain different feelings toward theirboy rivals. They saw that the lads meant business, and that they werea corps of very efficient youngsters. Some of the men imagined thatthe volunteers were only doing the thing for fun, but what happened atthe lumber yard blaze convinced them that they were mistaken.
"We seem to be right in it," remarked Cole, as they were dragging theengine back to quarters a little later. "Plenty of fires for us to putout lately."
"Yes. I wonder what Mr. Bergman meant when he said he'd not forgetwhat we did for him?" asked Vincent.
"Oh, probably he's just like old Sagger," replied Tom Donnell. "Youremember, Sagger promised us a hundred dollars for helping put out thefire in his shop."
"That's so; he did."
"Yes, but we haven't seen the hundred dollars yet, and I don't believewe ever will," declared Tom. "He's too stingy to give it to us. If wehad it we could finish paying for the engine and get uniforms. That'swhat we need. I've worn out two suits of clothes running to fireslately."
"Uniforms would be a good thing to have," admitted Bert. "We needrubber boots, especially. My feet are soaking wet. It doesn't matterso much in summer, but if we go to a fire in the winter and get wetthrough it won't be so nice."
"Well, I don't believe Mr. Bergman will ever do anything for us,"insisted Tom.
But he was mistaken. The very next day Bert received a letter from theowner of the lumber yard, in which Mr. Bergman thanked the youngfiremen for what they had done. Nor was this all. Enclosed in theletter was a check for two hundred dollars.
"I send you this as a small taken of my appreciation," the letterread. "Not that it pays for the work you did, for you saved me a goodmany hundred dollars by pulling that barge out of the way. But this isonly a starter. I understand your engine is not yet paid for, and thatyou have no uniforms. Please use the check for that purpose. You willalso hear further from me in a few days. I have a plan to propose, butI want to talk it over with the town authorities first."
"Say, he's all right!" exclaimed Cole, when Bert showed him the letterand check.
"He certainly is. I was barking up the wrong tree," admitted Tom."Say, we'll be a sporty department, all right! Let's get red and blueuniforms. They'll look swell!"
"I wonder what his plan is?" asked Bert. "He says he has to consultwith the town authorities about it."
"Maybe he wants us to take in the bucket brigade," ventured Vincent.
"Better wait and see," advised Bert.