Never since they had organized their little department had the boys worked under such difficulties. There was no getting away from this blaze. They were fast to it, and to cut loose meant to endanger other lumber1 barges3 nearby, which would mean a terrible conflagration4.
It was hard work to keep the burning boat and that on which the engine was out in the lake, as a strong wind was forcing them both toward shore. It was also difficult to operate the pump, for the engine did not set level, and the boys on top of the tank had to cling there as best they could and send the big handles up and down. It was hard work to stand the fierce heat and choking smoke which enveloped5 them every now and again, as the wind shifted.
But the boys were no "milksops." They stuck to it, though it meant much physical pain. They gritted7 their teeth, and held their breaths when it was necessary. Some clung to the poles like grim death and prevented the barges from drifting, and all the while others were dipping and pumping water.
"I--I think we've got her!" cried Cole, when this desperate work had been going on for ten minutes.
"Don't be too sure!" cautioned Captain Bert. "There's lots of fire yet!"
There was, but the three streams of water, even if one was a small one, were beginning to tell. Gradually the flames amid the lumber on the barge2 began to die away. Once or twice it seemed as if the boat would break loose and go drifting down on the others, but grit6 told, and the boys held the craft.
"She's out now!" cried Vincent, as only a pall8 of smoke seemed to hang over the barge, and the boys at the brakes, hearing this with feelings of relief, ceased pumping. No sooner had they stopped than the flames burst out in a new place, and flared9 up fiercely.
"Jump right on the barge and take the hose with you," cried Bert, for the fire had been extinguished on that end of the barge nearest the flat-boat. "The water will do more good at close range."
The young firemen needed no second order. Dragging three lines of hose with them they leaped aboard the flaming boat and scrambled10 over the piles of charred11 lumber to the farther end, where the flames now were.
Then the fire gave up the fight. The last flame was quenched12 and the boys could take a much-needed rest.
"What'll we do now?" asked Cole of Bert. Every one seemed to depend on the young captain for instructions.
"I think we'd better run the barge ashore13 below here," he said. "Then there'll be no danger if the fire breaks out again."
"I'll guarantee that fire won't break out again," boasted Cole. "We soaked it too well."
"You can't tell what a fire will do," replied Bert. "It may be smouldering down in a corner where the water didn't reach."
"Have Cole leave his force pump on guard," suggested Vincent, "That pump 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 the owner of the latest addition to the fire apparatus14. "It'll throw a stream farther than either of the big hose on this engine."
"Well, let's run the barge ashore, then pole back and get our engine off," proposed Bert. "I guess it's safe enough to leave the barge now."
They tied the blackened load of lumber in a little shallow cove15, where, if it did start to burn again, no damage would result. Then they went back to the lumber yard, where they found a big crowd waiting them. The fire on the dock had been extinguished by members of the bucket brigade and had not amounted to much.
"Boys, I want to shake hands with every one of you!" exclaimed a voice, as Bert led his command ashore. "You did me a great service to- night, and I'll not forget it. But for your prompt action my lumber yard would have been destroyed and several of my valuable barges besides."
The speaker was Mr. Perrett Bergman, owner of the lumber yard, and, as each boy stepped ashore, he shook him warmly by the hand.
"Yes, Mr. Bergman, those boys certainly did themselves proud," said Mayor Appelby. "They're almost as good as a regular department."
"That's what they are. Well, I'll have something to say about that later. Now, I must go and see if there are any stray sparks around anywhere, and I want to investigate this fire. I have an idea it was set by tramps. That barge came down the lake early this evening, and the men in charge of it told me they threw a tramp overboard who was stealing a ride on it."
"Threw him overboard?" repeated Mr. Appelby.
"Yes. I told them that was the wrong thing to do, as the man might have been drowned, but lumbermen are rather rough. However, the tramp swam ashore, they told me. I have an idea he might have set the barge afire for revenge."
"It's possible," admitted the mayor. "I'll tell Constable16 Stickler17 to be on the watch for any suspicious characters."
Bert, who heard this conversation, wondered if the tramp he had rescued from the brook18, or any of his companions, had started the fire.
"I hope the one I saved didn't do it," mused19 the boy. "He seemed like a decent chap in hard luck." Nothing was ever learned, however, of how the fire started. Certainly the tramp stenographer20 had nothing to do with it.
Several members of the bucket brigade assisted the boys in getting the engine off the flatboat. In fact, of late the men fire-fighters of Lakeville were beginning to entertain different feelings toward their boy rivals. They saw that the lads meant business, and that they were a corps21 of very efficient youngsters. Some of the men imagined that the volunteers were only doing the thing for fun, but what happened at the lumber yard blaze convinced them that they were mistaken.
"We seem to be right in it," remarked Cole, as they were dragging the engine back to quarters a little later. "Plenty of fires for us to put out lately."
"Yes. I wonder what Mr. Bergman meant when he said he'd not forget what we did for him?" asked Vincent.
"Oh, probably he's just like old Sagger," replied Tom Donnell. "You remember, Sagger promised us a hundred dollars for helping22 put out the fire in his shop."
"That's so; he did."
"Yes, but we haven't seen the hundred dollars yet, and I don't believe we ever will," declared Tom. "He's too stingy to give it to us. If we had it we could finish paying for the engine and get uniforms. That's what we need. I've worn out two suits of clothes running to fires lately."
"Uniforms would be a good thing to have," admitted Bert. "We need rubber boots, especially. My feet are soaking wet. It doesn't matter so much in summer, but if we go to a fire in the winter and get wet through 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 the owner of the lumber yard, in which Mr. Bergman thanked the young firemen for what they had done. Nor was this all. Enclosed in the letter was a check for two hundred dollars.
"I send you this as a small taken of my appreciation," the letter read. "Not that it pays for the work you did, for you saved me a good many hundred dollars by pulling that barge out of the way. But this is only a starter. I understand your engine is not yet paid for, and that you have no uniforms. Please use the check for that purpose. You will also hear further from me in a few days. I have a plan to propose, but I want to talk it over with the town authorities first."
"Say, he's all right!" exclaimed Cole, when Bert showed him the letter and 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 blue uniforms. They'll look swell23!"
"I wonder what his plan is?" asked Bert. "He says he has to consult with the town authorities about it."
"Maybe he wants us to take in the bucket brigade," ventured Vincent.
"Better wait and see," advised Bert.
收听单词发音 |
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lumber
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| n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动 | |
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barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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barges
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| 驳船( barge的名词复数 ) | |
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conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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enveloped
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| v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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grit
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| n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关 | |
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gritted
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| v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的过去式和过去分词 )；咬紧牙关 | |
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pall
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| v.覆盖，使平淡无味；n.柩衣，棺罩；棺材；帷幕 | |
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Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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charred
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| v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦 | |
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quenched
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| 解（渴）( quench的过去式和过去分词 )； 终止（某事物）； （用水）扑灭（火焰等）； 将（热物体）放入水中急速冷却 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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stickler
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| n.坚持细节之人 | |
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brook
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| n.小河，溪；v.忍受，容让 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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stenographer
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| n.速记员 | |
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corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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helping
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| n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的 | |
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swell
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| vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强 | |
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