CHAPTER XV
A NARROW ESCAPE
As usual Dave Connors awoke to find himself alone in camp that morning.Jack and Bart, his camping companions, had left at dawn and gone outpartridge hunting exactly as they had done every day since Dave fell downinto the gully and twisted his ankle. They were thoughtful enough toleave the coffee pot within reach of Dave's cot, however, along with somefried strips of bacon, bread and butter and a couple of boiled eggs, sothat the injured man did not have to hobble about to get his ownbreakfast.
Dave dashed a cup of water over his hands and splashed a little in hisface by way of performing his toilet and then sitting on the edge of hiscot, proceeded to devour what was before him eagerly, for, although hisfoot was injured, his appetite was entirely healthy.
"Um--m--m that was good," he muttered as he wiped his mouth on his sleeveand looked down at his bandaged foot.
"Now if my old kick was in good order I'd go for a long tramp with a gunbut--Ah,--ouch--still sore and swollen. Guess I won't be able to hobbleabout for a couple of days yet," he reflected as he felt of the injuredmember.
Then steadying himself on the edge of the cot with the assistance of acane that Jack cut for him three days before, he hobbled to the tentdoorway and looked out.
"Jove, what a corking day! It's a shame I had to get laid up right atthe beginning of the trip. But I'll be all right in a couple of days andI suppose I can stand it as long as my books hold out. But, blame itall, look at this camp. Jack and Bart are the sloppiest fellows I eversaw. Look at the blankets on the ground again and the papers scatteredeverywhere. And look at the big fire they've left. What for, I wonder?I wish I could get out there and clean up the place. I'll speak to themto-night. I don't think such conditions are sanitary. I--I--ouch, blastit, I can't clean up the place," and with a look of disgust the man fromBoston limped over to his camp chair and picked up the book that had heldhis interest the day before.
How long he had been reading he did not know; perhaps an hour, perhapstwo. But suddenly he was aroused by a strange, unnatural cracking sound.He looked up with a start, and his eyes dilated with horror at what he saw.
There, not ten feet from him, creeping and writhing through the driedgrass and leaves and darting long yellow tongues toward him menacingly,wormed a streak of fire.
It was like a serpent that had crawled out of the embers and sought tocatch him unawares. Slowly it moved forward, fanned by the fall breezeuntil it was a big V extending across the camp clearing, with each armburning.
On it advanced, licking up everything in its path. Here it consumed aleaf, there a scrap of paper, and each time it devoured something itwaxed stronger and more threatening. Even while Dave sat there staringat it, it reached a dried branch. With a crackle this burst into flame,setting fire in turn to a sheet of newspaper nearby. Instantly this wasa burning torch. Dave tried to knock it out with his cane. But beforehe could reach it a gust of wind seized and whirled it across theopening, flinging it spitefully against a fir tree.
With a hiss and a crackling roar this blazed up. In a moment it was acolumn of fire stretching skyward. The sight was terrible to behold.Then like a whirlwind the arms of fire reached out and enveloped anothertree, and sparks flying with the wind lodged in a spruce nearby andconverted it into a roaring furnace. And thus in the space of a minutea forest fire was started!
The scorching heat of the burning spruce brought Dave to his senses. Hesaw before him a hideous fate. Heedless of the pain in his foot hejumped up. His handkerchief be plunged into a pail of drinking waterjust inside the tent door, then with this wrapped about his face andmouth and with his stout cane in hand, he scrambled across the clearingand into the long wood road that led eastward through the forest towardthe lake, half a mile distant.
Oh, if he could run! If he could only have the use of his injured footfor fifteen minutes, he thought, as he limped on. Behind him he couldhear the roar of the fire as it reached out and gathered energy bylicking up tree after tree. The air was filled with smoke, pungent andnauseating. All about in the forest on either side of the road lividtongues upleaping, consuming everything and growing stronger everymoment.
On hobbled the man from Boston, trying desperately to make time; tryingmightily to cheat the fire demons that shrieked and roared behind him.And he was not the only one that was fleeing from the seething furnacethat once had been a cool autumn woods. Three deer whisked by him likeflashes of the fire itself. Rabbits, skunks and foxes darted here andthere among the trees, all headed for the safety of the lake. And a bigblack bear lumbered by, grunting with every gallop. How Dave enviedthem. They would be safe. Would he?
Forward he hurried, braving excruciating pain in his injured limb to savehis life. Acrid smoke blasts swept down upon him and almost stifled him.On every side he could feel the heat of the flames. Once a sparkdropped upon his shoulder and fired his shirt. With a cry he beat it outand strove harder. The pain in his foot was unbearable. It made theperspiration stand out upon his forehead. It made him whirl withgiddiness. But on he plunged, fighting the fire, the smoke and the painand striving his hardest to gain the lake.
Once he thought of Jack and Bart and grew very bitter, for somehow thefire seemed the result of their carelessness. Would they be trapped byit? They had two good strong legs. They would save themselves, hehoped. So must he! Gritting his teeth and stifling a groan, he tried togallop, using the cane and injured foot in unison. It was painful, buthe must make time--he must go fast, faster.
The fire was close behind. It was gaining. He could hear its triumphantroar. It would catch him soon. Only a few minutes and a fiery arm wouldreach out like a python and wrap about him. The thought made him shudder.
"No! No! It must not reach me!" he cried in horror and leapt forward.But his cane slipped and jammed between his legs. He tripped and losthis balance. In a mad effort to save himself from falling he put hisinjured foot forward. His entire weight came down upon it and the anklesnapped. The pain was more than he could stand. With a cry of agony hesank into a limp heap.
Bruce's startling revelation that there was a life to be saved spurredthe scouts to action. One more glance in the direction of the smoke pallto the westward and in a twinkle every lad had his blanket in hand andwas sousing it into the lake. Handkerchiefs were doused too, for theyoungsters knew well that the smoke would soon be so thick that they wouldneed this kind of protection.
And while the rest were thus occupied, Bruce held a hasty conference withJiminy, and the two boys quickly cut scout staffs. With these in handthey waved the troop forward and started off at a mad pace up the woodroad to meet the advancing forest fire.
On they raced, the smoke growing heavier and more pungent as they nearedthe flames. They could hear the deep toned muttering of theconflagration. And all the way along the road they were breasting a tideof forest dwellers, deer, rabbit, bears, and a host of smaller animals,all scurrying away from the roaring doom behind them.
Soon the lads were in the zone of flying sparks. Here and there alongthe road small fires were being started. These were quickly beaten out,for the boys were determined not to have their retreat cut off. As theymoved forward Bruce's heart grew heavy, for he could see that already theflames had swept by the camping site of Dave Connors and his companions.The patrol leader hoped fervently that the injured youth had been able tokeep ahead of the rushing fire.
They were approaching the fire belt. Their eyes smarted from the smoke.They could feel the heat on every hand. They pulled their hats low toprotect their foreheads and pushed on. Fire was everywhere. Here andthere pine trees burst into flames with a hiss and a roar, and now andthen blazing branches would come hurling through space to fall with acrash in the roadway.
Bruce began to be worried. Had he brought the scouts out on a dangerousbut useless mission? Had Dave Connors come down the wood road, or had hegone wandering blindly through the forest to be trapped and burned tode
ath? Perhaps even now he was a charred mass somewhere back there inthat seething forest. The smoke was so thick that the boys could not seetwo feet ahead of them, but they struggled forward, beating out menacingtongues of flames on every hand, hoping to keep the roadway open for aretreat.
Through the smoke they groped; bending low and breathing through theirwet handkerchiefs. Their eyes burned. Their lungs pained with the gasesthey had inhaled, but they pushed on until suddenly with a cry Brucestumbled and pitched forward.
But he was on his feet in an instant, and examining the apparentlylifeless mass in the roadway that had tripped him. Then with a shout ofdelight, he summoned Jiminy and in an instant a coat stretcher was madewith the aid of the scout staffs they had cut. Then with the limp formof Dave Connors between them the two scouts started struggling backtoward the lake. Away from the fire they raced with the troop behindthem still beating out the menacing sparks and flames.
Forward they hurried, but as they advanced this time their way greweasier and the smoke less pungent. Soon they were among the refugeesagain. Rabbits, mink and foxes scuttled along with them, and the boyshad to turn out to keep from treading on some of the smaller animals whocould not travel as fast as their bigger woods neighbors. The heat ofthe fire was left behind and falling sparks no longer bothered them.Their way to the lake was clear.
A few minutes later they reached the knoll upon which their lumber campwas being constructed. Here they paused long enough to permit Bruce andJiminy to administer first aid to the unconscious Dave Connors. Andwhile the lads were reviving him, others gathered together hatchets,axes, cooking utensils and whatever else they could conveniently carry,and bidding farewell to their doomed camp they made ready for a plungeinto the shallows of the lake.
All that afternoon and a good part of the evening, the scouts stoodshoulder deep in the cool waters and watched the landscape burn. Acresand acres of woodland with thousands of dollars' worth of timber wasconsumed before their eyes. Dave watched it sadly, for he knew that allthis ruin had been wrought by him and his careless camping companions.
Every shallow of the lake was crowded with animal life of all kinds, andthe lads knew that thousands of forest dwellers must have perished inthat inferno. They stood among deer and bears and other more timidforest dwellers, but the fear of man and the natural enmity toward eachother was completely blotted out by the greater fear of the fire, and aseeming sense of comradeship born of common danger.
Night came, and the sky was a livid pink. The lake had checked thefire's advance to the eastward and the wind had driven the flames northtoward the mountains. Further and further away traveled the flamespainting the sky a sinister color and producing a spectacle that thescouts never forgot.
At midnight, though the woods still smoldered, the boys contemplatedleaving the shallows in which they had been standing and going ashore,for they argued that if the heat from the embers was not too intense theycould work along the margin of the lake until they reached the oppositeshore.
But while they were contemplating this, off across the lake they sawlights advancing toward them. They heard shouts, too, and they shoutedin answer, and it was not long before they had guided a flotilla of smallboats toward them. This proved to be a rescuing party organized andheaded by the anxious Mr. Ford and old Dr. Lyman, who were almostdistracted until they made doubly certain that every lad was safe andwhole of limb and body.
CHAPTER XVI
QUARRY TROOP'S CHRISTMAS
"Whew-w-w! Hi, shut that door--good night! want to freeze us out?" shoutedRomper Ryan, as he glared across the workshop at Bruce Clifford and BudWeir.
"Aw, don't get fidgety. You won't ever freeze the way you're hangingover that forge. What's the matter, Romper?" asked Bruce.
"Busted the frame of my snowshoe. Trying to make a little brace for itand get it fixed up before you fellows arrived."
"When'll you be ready? Where are the rest of the fellows?"
"They're upstairs. I'll be ready in a jiffy now."
The two scouts crossed the shop and made their way noisily up the woodenstairs to the meeting room, where they found half a dozen lads in ananimated discussion as to where the biggest and best Christmas trees wereto be found.
"I tell you the forest fire cleaned everything out of the Long Lakedistrict," asserted Ray Martin.
"Well, I suppose you want us to go all the way over into Bland Countythis cold day," said fat Babe Wilson sarcastically.
"Speaking of forest fires," said Bruce, who had come into the room justin time to hear Ray Martin's remark; "speaking of forest fires, did anyof you fellows see the Northern Lights last night up back of HaystackMountain? Father and I thought first it _was_ a forest fire. The sky wasall pink and white. But we concluded it must have been the reflection ofthe Aurora Borealis. You can see 'em this time of year, you know. Snowhelps their reflection, Pop says."
"Is that what it was? I saw it too, and when I saw the red glow in thesky I just naturally thought of that Long Lake fire last month. Say, bythe way I got a postal card from that fellow in Boston, we rescued.Remember? Dave Connors is his name--Gollies, every time I think offorest fires I shudder. He sure had a close squeak and so did we.That's why that glow in the sky last night sort of made an impression onme. I wondered if any one was caught in it, same as we were nearlycaught?" said Nipper Knapp.
"Aw, I tell you it wasn't a fire. It was the Northern Lights back ofHaystack Mountain. Dad said so, and he knows, and, say, speaking ofHaystack Mountain," added Bruce, "why not go up there for our tree? Ifthis is going to be the town's Christmas tree it must be a whopper. Mostall of that land up there belongs to the people Mr. Ford works for and hehas permission from them to cut as many trees as we need. How about it?"
"By Jiminy! that's just what I said, Bruce," cried Jiminy Gordon, "andRomper agrees with me."
"Sure I do," said Romper, suddenly making his appearance from theworkshop, his mended snowshoe in hand.
"Then it's Haystack Mountain. Come on, fellows, get ready; half themorning will be gone before we start," said Bruce, and in a twinkle ahalf-score of scouts were donning mackinaws and sweaters and makingthemselves generally secure against a temperature that hovered very closeto the zero mark. And five minutes later the entire crew, armed withaxes and snowshoe-shod were to be seen leaving headquarters in singlefile and heading up Otter Creek Valley over three feet of December snow.
Woodbridge had once more honored the Quarry Troop. But the lads hadearned the honor by suggesting that the town hold a public celebration inthe square in front of the Town Hall on Christmas Eve. Moreover, theyhad worked their hardest to gain the interest of village officials,ministers, and men and women of the community in such a celebration andit could well be said that through the efforts of the khaki-cladyoungsters, Woodbridge, as a community, would for the first time welcomethe coming of Christmas. Neighbors and friends, rich and poor, young andold, would stand shoulder to shoulder this Christmas Eve and sing the joyand happiness of the Yuletide.
And for their share in the organization work the scouts had been grantedthe privilege of providing the town with a big community Christmas tree,which was to stand in the center of the square and be decorated frombottom to tip with colored electric lights. This decorating was anaffair of the Quarry Scouts also. They had been given the commission byMayor Worthington and the councilmen to do all the electric wiring andthe stringing of the bulbs.
Of course the lads welcomed such an important task, for they were eagerto demonstrate how useful they could be. Also they were pleased todisplay their knowledge of mechanics. So it can be easily understood whyBruce and his chums were eager to get an early start the Saturday morninga week before Christmas. They intended to search the woods for thetallest and straightest fir tree in the township.
In spite of the fact that their ears tingled with the bitter cold and thewind whistled through the valley, whirling the powdery crystals of snowinto their faces, the scouts were
a happy lot of youngsters as they swungtheir way northward. Who could be other than happy with Christmas but aweek off? Snowballs flew thick and fast among them, and now and thensnowshoe races were run, too.
The lads chose the valley bottom for their journey and avoided thehighway which swung to the left and made a wide detour before the byroadthat approached Haystack Mountain joined it. With this route the ladscould cut down the journey at least three miles and then, too, they hadfine snow for shoeing.
Soon they had left the open and entered the hardwood belt from which allthe firs and other evergreens had long since been trimmed. Snowshoeingthrough the woods was not so much of a lark, for the lads had no trail tofollow and must needs work their way between half-covered underbrush.The snow was softer here, too, and their shoes dragged. But most oftheir surplus energy had been worked off by this time and they werewilling to settle down to single file. Each took his turn breaking atrail.
On they traveled for more than an hour, always keeping the shoulder ofHaystack Mountain, which loomed up above the tree line, their objective.About half a mile from the mountain they suddenly came clear of the woodsand into the highway. Here a brief conference was held as to theadvisability of trying to climb the shoulder of the mountain or takingthe road which led around. The last route was decided upon, because uphere the thoroughfare was little traveled and was practically unbroken.Indeed, they saw signs of very few sleighs having passed there since thesnowstorm four days previous.
Away they swung, keeping an eye out on either side of the road for aChristmas tree, but they did not find a fir tall enough to be used forthe town's tree.
Soon they were around the shoulder of the mountain and traveling west.The woods were thicker here and trees more numerous. But there was apeculiar odor of burnt wood in the air, too, which all the scoutsdetected.
"Cracky! I believe your Northern Light was a forest fire, or--or--say,isn't that smoke rising above those trees there?" demanded Nipper Knapp.
"Right, by go lies!" shouted Bruce, "but--oh, I know, now. There's alittle farm in there. It's been vacant for--no, it hasn't, by jingoes!an old lady has been living there all Fall. I've seen her in town.Nanny Haskells, they call her. Cracky! come on, fellows, maybe the poorold soul has been burned to death!"
The scouts were off at a gallop, stirring up the snow like a whirlwind asthey loped along the road. Soon they came to an unbroken lane throughthe woods. Into this they turned and a hundred yards further on theyemerged into the little farm clearing. What a sight met their eyes.
In a smoldering, smoking heap of charred ruins lay what remained of anold-fashioned farmhouse and barn that had stood there for years. Thefire had burned itself out, except here and there where glowing coalsshowed themselves. Only two blackened timbers remained standing. And inthis picture of devastation, looking the most lonesome and patheticfigure in the world, wandered the tiniest, most old-fashioned andmotherly looking woman the lads had ever seen.
She seemed all but distracted with her misery, for she went aboutwringing her hands and sobbing as if her heart were broken. Here andthere she picked her way, peering into the smoking ashes and now and thenpoking among them for a trinket or a keepsake that the fire had onlyblackened. It was a pathetic sight indeed, and the sturdy scouts allfelt heavy hearted as they watched her.
Finally Bruce left the group and went toward her. Then for the firsttime the little woman looked up, startled at first. But when she saw theuniforms the lads wore she was no longer frightened. In truth, sheseemed to welcome them as the only sympathetic human beings she had seento whom she could tell her woes.
"Oh, boys, boys, it's gone, all, all gone. Look--my old home all inruins. Oh, dear! oh, dear! I'm so miserable. What shall I ever do?Why should this be taken from me, too? They took--they tookher--her--and, oh, dear! oh, dear! what shall I do?" she cried.
Bruce put his hands out to comfort her as best he could and the littlelady came toward him and laid her head upon his chest, sobbing as if herheart was broken. But the all-night strain on one so old had been toogreat and presently she became very quiet, so quiet indeed that Brucebecame frightened and looked down into her face. And instantly herealized that she was completely worn out.
"Here, fellows," he called in a business-like tone, "the poor old lady isall in. We must take her to town and get her into the hospital. Come,fellows, quickly now. You, Jiminy, and Nipper, make a coatstretcher--cut some staffs--strong ones. The three of us will take herback to town. The rest of you fellows go after the Christmas tree. Butfirst lend us a jacket or a sweater or two to bundle the old lady in."
In a twinkle the scouts were busy. Staffs were cut, the stretcherconstructed and old Nanny made comfortable with extra coats and sweatersthat the more warmly clad scouts could spare. Then, as the three ladsstarted townward, Bruce shouted:
"Hi, Bud, see that you get a whopping big tree. A thirty footer, if youcan. We'll be back in an hour or so to help you. So long."
Crisp weather and an additional snowstorm during the week that precededthe holidays gave the youngsters of the Vermont town full assurance of awhite Christmas. And they would have been mightily disappointed lads ifsuch had not been the case, for what would a Community Christmascelebration and a town Christmas tree be like without snow everywhere?It was good packing snow, too, as numerous snow fights at noon time, onthe academy campus, attested.
But, aside from these noon-day diversions, the Quarry Scouts had littletime to indulge in Winter sports that week. The hills about town werejust right for coasting and the broad Champlain Valley stretched northand south to be explored on snowshoes, skis, and with sleigh-ridingparties, but the scouts could not find time to enjoy these opportunities.Rather, they found their fun in anticipating a good time afterChristmas, providing the snow lasted, for they had work to do. There wasthe big Christmas tree to be erected and trimmed.
It was a monster tree. Thirty-two feet from base to tip, and as it laythere in front of the town hall waiting to be elevated into position, itcommanded the admiration of the whole town. Thursday afternoon, afterthe carpenters had finished a big platform and grandstand, the ladserected timber shears and block and tackle and set the tree into place inthe very center of the pavilion, which was to accommodate the mayor, townofficials, visitors, the orchestra and a host of school children who wereto sing carols.
"Wow, it looks great," said Nipper Knapp, surveying the tall fir proudly,"and won't it look corking after we get it all trimmed to-morrowafternoon?"
"Yes, but mind you, fellows, we'll have to work like everythingto-morrow. All the wiring has to be strung and all the lights put onbetween one o'clock in the afternoon and half past four. It'll be somejob," said Bud Weir.
"You're right it will," said Bruce, "thank goodness we have everythingshipshape up at headquarters to get a good start. There's more thanenough wire in the lot Mr. Ford sent over. And I guess we must have puton about three thousand lamp sockets during the last few days, haven'twe?"
"Two thousand and eighty-seven," corrected Romper, "and it's a good thingschool lets out at noon to-morrow."
"It'll be a sight for sore eyes. Say, fellows, I'll tell you what.Let's bring old Nanny Haskell down and give her a seat on the visitors'stand. I guess Mr. Ford could arrange that for us. It might cheer thepoor old soul up a little. How is she to-day? Any one been up to thehospital?"
"Sure, Romper and I were up there. She's all well and ready to leave,but the poor thing hasn't any place to go to, it seems. She's bluer thanall git out, too. Jiminy, but I feel sorry for her," said Jiminy Gordon.
"Well, then, by gollies! we'll see if we can't make her happy onChristmas Eve at least. We'll have her all bundled up and bring her downhere. Listening to the kids sing and all the fun and things might helpher spirit a little."
"Fine idea, if she'll come," said Bruce.
"Oh, we'll arrange that, all right, I think," replied Romper. "I'll goup to the hospital to-morrow. Perhaps
Mr. Ford will go along, and we cantalk it over with Doctor Bassett."
"Good enough; I'll go with you. And now let's go home and get somesupper, fellows. It's getting dark," said Bruce. And presently thescouts were tramping off through the snowy Winter twilight to theirrespective homes.
Fortunately, Mr. Clifford allowed Bruce the use of Blossom, his big blacktrotting horse, and a light box sleigh, or otherwise the lads would havehad to make a dozen trips up the steep, snow-covered Otter Hill toheadquarters to get their coils of wire and boxes of lamps to town nextday.
As it was, the spirited animal had to haul three sleigh-loads ofequipment to the Town Hall before the scouts could even start the task ofdecorating. As soon as the coils of wire arrived a dozen scouts began toswarm the big Christmas tree, looping the wires from branch to branch andfastening them securely. Other scouts followed in their wake and screwedred, white and blue, green and yellow lamps into the vacant sockets. Andwhile all this was going on, a crew of linemen and meter-setters from thelocal electric light company were running an extension, or service line,from the nearest street wires, for the electric company had promised tofurnish current free for the evening's celebration.
The square was a very busy place for several hours that afternoon, andevery one was working with a will for he realized that he must befinished before dusk came. By half past three, however, the scouts foundthat they could ease up a little for, with the arrival of one more loadof colored lamps from headquarters, the tree would be thoroughlydecorated even to the shining electrically illuminated star on top whichJiminy Gordon placed there with the help of an extra long ladder.
"Whoope-e-e! almost through. Don't it look fine, eh? And here comesBruce with the last load of lamps. Come on, fellows, and help unload thesleigh," shouted Bud Weir as Jiminy finally reached the ground after hehad finished wiring the big star in place.
"Right-o-o! and last man to the curb is no good," shouted Nipper Knapp,starting to run. Next moment there was a scurry of scouts through thesnow that covered the square and a pell-mell race to the curb where Brucedrew up the panting Blossom with a jingle of bells and a shower ofpowdery snow.
"Whoa there, Blossom," he shouted. Then to the scouts, "Come on, youduffers, and get these things unloaded. I want to get the horse into thestable so I can do some work, too."
The "duffers" arrived with a rush and in a twinkle the boxes were beingremoved from the sleigh in a manner quite violent, and this to theimminent peril of the contents.
"Hi, not so bloomin' reckless," shouted Bruce, "don't smash 'em, whateveryou do. They are the last colored lamps in town and we need 'em. And,say--listen--what's the fuss up the street? Hear 'em shoutin'? Gee,it's a runaway an' here it comes--no--no--it's going to turn down HighStreet toward the railroad--an'--cracky! fellows, there's a freightpulling out of the siding! See the smoke! And there's a woman and agirl in the cutter! Wow! Look at those chumps up the street shoutin'and wavin' their arms. That's no way to stop a horse! Those women willbe killed. Hi, Bud, hop in here. Come on, we've got to stop 'em. I'mgoin' after 'em with Blossom. Geet_yap_ there, Blossom. Git, now, that'st' girl. Go!"
There could be no mistaking the fact that the horse and cutter comingdown the street was a runaway. The big animal was almost mad withfright. His eyes bulged out until the whites showed and its nostrilswere distended with fear. And, to make matters worse, there were a dozenmen and boys shouting and waving their hands in a foolish effort to stopthe horse. But all that they accomplished was to make the animal stillmore frightened.
Fortunately, Bud's mind acted as quickly as Bruce's. He came into thesleigh with a bound, but almost before he landed Bruce had Blossom underway. Just a touch of the whip was all that was needed and the nervoustrotter shot forward like a flash of lightning. A moment later she was ajet black streak flying toward the corner of High Street around which therunaway cutter had just disappeared.
Almost in the wink of an eye Blossom reached the corner and swept aroundit at a gallop while the sleigh careened first on one runner and thenupon the other, each time on the brink of turning over and pitching itsoccupants into the snowbanks that lined the road. But the scouts gave noheed to this. All their attention was on the flying cutter a hundredyards ahead and upon the railroad crossing half a mile down the road.The freight train had left the siding, and at the moment the scoutsrounded the corner she was chugging her way slowly toward the crossing.Of course, the gates were down but this only added to the peril. Therunaway horse was blind with fright. He would plunge into the gates,tear through them and probably kill himself and the women in the sleighby dashing headlong into the freight train.
"Go it, Bruce, go it. We _must_ save them. They'll be killed if wedon't," cried the half frantic Bud.
And Bruce, pale of face but determined, cut Blossom with the whip to urgeher forward. Rarely was the trotter treated that way and when the cutcame she leapt forward like a deer. Then her racing instinct seemed tocome back to her. She knew what was wanted. The horse ahead must bepassed. She stretched her long legs to their utmost and the pace she setmade the light sleigh pitch and rock like a ship in a gale. Bruce neverused the whip again. Indeed, he tossed it into the road, for he mustneeds use two hands to govern the flying horse.
The animal ahead was flying, too, and it was a question for a few momentswhether the scouts could make up the distance. But Blossom was at herbest. Faster and faster she went while town folk stood on the sidewalkand gaped in amazement at the pace she held. The hundred yard lead wascut down to fifty, now to forty, thirty-five, thirty. Bruce and Budcould see the look of terror on the faces of the girl and the woman inthe cutter. Also they could see the reason for the accident. The reinshad parted and one short length dangled over the horse's side and slappedhim continually on the ribs while the longer section dragged under thecutter.
"We'll make it, Bud, we'll make it. We've _got_ to make it. I'll drivelike mad. We'll start to pass them and I'll run Blossom as close as Idare and then when we get abreast of the horse you hang out upon therunning-board, and jump for the shafts of the cutter. Get astride thehorse's back and grab those reins. Get ready, Bud! Out on therunning-board, now! Hurry!" cried Bruce.
Blossom was drawing abreast of the cutter. Bud clung to therunning-board and crouched for a spring.
"Go it, Blossom," cried Bruce. "Good old girl, go it. Go on, go on.Get ready, Bud--steady--ready now--_jump_!"
Bud reached far out and leaped. One foot struck the shafts. He threwhimself forward and grasped the runaway's mane and in an instant he hadswung himself astride the horse's back. For a moment all that he coulddo was cling to the swaying animal And when the horse felt the extraweight drop upon him he bounded forward like a stag uttering a shrillwhinny of fear.
For a fleeting moment the lad thought of the peril of his position. Butwhen he recalled that the lives of two women depended upon him, he becameactive. Reaching forward he grasped the broken line and the long one andforced the bit home into the horse's mouth. The animal snorted andplunged. Bud pulled back again. The runaway reared and pawed the air,snorting and shaking its massive bead. "Whoa," cried the scout, "whoa,boy, steady now," and it seemed as if the animal recognized the authorityin his command for the next time the lad reined in the panic-strickenhorse slowed up and presently came to a complete standstill and stoodtrembling like a leaf.
Then, when the scout looked up for the first time, there, not twentyyards away, was the railroad crossing, with the freight train rumblingslowly by.
"Fine work, Bud, fine," cried Bruce, who had pulled in on Blossom themoment the scout had jumped from the sleigh. "Fine work,and--and--gee! but it was a narrow escape."
Indeed it had been a narrow escape. Bud realized it as well as Bruce.And so did the woman and the little girl in the cutter, for their faceswere white and they hardly had strength enough left to step from thecutter when Bruce tried to assist them.
"Goodness me, what a day--what a day,"
said the woman, trembling withnervousness. And when the little girl heard this she began to cry.
"Oh, mother, I'm unhappy, too," she wept. "Poor Nanny, poor Nanny, justthink she's been burned to death, and all because you and father sent meto school last September. Oh, mother, mother, it's terrible. And thenthe horse acting up like that. I--I--oh, Mr.--er--Mr. Boy Scout, do youknow anything about old Nanny--Nanny Haskell? She was my dear nurse.Last Fall she left our house in St. Cloud because my father and mothersent me to school down in Boston. She--she--oh, dear!--she said shewouldn't live in St. Cloud without me, because she would be toolonesome, so she came back to her old farm in the woods here, where shehadn't been for ten years, and--now--oh, dear! oh, dear;--it burneddown--and--Nanny must have been burned to death."
"Why--why--no--no, she wasn't burned to death," said Bruce, when he fullyunderstood, "she--she--why she's over in the Woodbridge hospital. Thatbig building over there on Willow Street. We found her and took herthere, and she wasn't a bit hurt, only sick, that's all."
"What! is she alive--really--honest--Nanny Haskell--boy, you're sure?"cried the woman excitedly. "We--we--came over to-day to get her andbring her back to St. Cloud. We wanted to tell her that Genevieve hadcome home from Boston to stay, and that we wanted her to come back withus on Christmas Eve and live with us for good. Are you sure--?"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure. I helped bring her into town," said Bruce.
"Then come, mother, come. I must see old Nanny and cheer her up. Theboys will take care of the horse and put him in a stable. Won't you,boys?" said Genevieve, excitedly.
"Sure--Bud will fix the reins and drive him to the hotel stable. Comeinto my sleigh and I'll take you to the hospital," said Bruce.
A cold wind was driving powdery flakes out of the darkness overhead whenthe Woodbridge town folk began to gather in the square to celebrate theirfirst community Christmas. The scouts were there early, for, besides thefact that several of them had the task of taking care of the electricswitches that controlled the lights on the big tree, the rest of thetroop had been delegated to police the square.
The ceremonies were supposed to begin at eight o'clock, but by half-pastseven the big platform was filled with visitors, officials and prominenttownsmen. The orchestra had arrived, too, and taken its place, and thechorus of four hundred school children stood waiting, song books in hand.The big square was literally jammed by joyous men and women andshivering, though none the less enthusiastic, youngsters. And over thesethousand or more silence reigned and every eye was fastened on the tallsomber looking tree.
Then came the signal from the Mayor. The next moment the orchestraleader swung his baton and the orchestra rang forth. Simultaneously thevoices of the children took up the opening bars of a good old EnglishChristmas carol. This was the cue the four scouts at the switches werewaiting for. One by one they jammed the tiny rubber covered connectionshome and in circuits of eight and twelve, the colored lamps on the greattree began to twinkle until it was a blaze of glory from the lowermostbranches to the great glittering star on the top.
What a wave of applause greeted this illumination. Then some one in thethrong took up the carol the children were singing and in a momentthousands of throats were pouring forth the happiness of Yuletide. Thepeople's enthusiasm seemed boundless.
But though the lights of the great tree revealed joyous countenanceseverywhere, the scouts could single out three in the group on theplatform that seemed far happier than the rest. In truth, tears of joywere coursing down old Nanny Haskell's cheeks as she sat there huggingthe form of Genevieve to her and listening to the rejoicing of the vastthrong. And close beside them, her arm about the old nurse's shoulder,sat a very happy mother.
All through the ceremonies they stayed, lingering even till the lights onthe big tree began to go out in groups. And when the star on the top,after a preliminary wink, went dark too, they turned and made their wayslowly across the square to where their cutter, a hired driver in theseat, stood waiting.
"Well, fellows," said Bruce, as with a jingle of bells the sleigh startedin the direction of St. Cloud City, "I guess old Nanny's Christmas won'tbe such a sad one after all, thanks to Bud, here."
And then with boisterous shouts of "Merry Christmas, everybody," thescouts all started for home.
The End
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