What at first had seemed an easy task had grown to an almost insurmountable one. Now they would check the fire at one point, only to discover that it had leaped over the line at another. By the time they had conquered the second one, the first blaze generally would be found to have taken a new start.
A canopy of fire and smoke covered the scene high overhead. Tom hoped that a forest lookout might discover the blaze and send a.s.sistance to them, though he knew that much territory might be burned over before help could reach them.
Leaving his own position for a survey of conditions, Tom ran along the line of fire-fighters, giving an encouraging word here and there while his experienced eyes sized up the situation.
"How is it?" gasped Grace when he reached her end of the line.
"Serious! We must fight as long as we have an ounce of strength or a breath left in our bodies," he added, starting back towards his position.
"Keep it up! It"s getting the best of you!" he shouted to each Overlander in turn as he pa.s.sed.
"Can"t we send to Forty-three for a.s.sistance?" called Hippy.
"No. You or I would have to go. Neither of us can be spared."
"We"ll have to be spared if this keeps up much longer. Do you think the horses are safe?"
"Yes. They are on the river side of the fire. The breeze is carrying the fire the other way," answered Tom.
Three hours after the discovery of the fire found the Overland Riders still fighting, to all appearances, just as stubbornly as when they began. Their faces were almost unrecognizable, blackened as they were with smoke and streaked with perspiration. In places, their clothing showed black where it had been seared or scorched. Emma Dean had, for the time being, forgotten to listen to the voices of nature, even though they were sizzling and roaring at her from the far-flung tops of the giant pines.
At the end of the fourth hour, a great tree came crashing down with a ripping, rending roar. Another followed it soon after, and at intervals still other trees lost their foothold and surrendered to their implacable enemy, _fire_!
It was an awesome sight and the air was full of thrilling sounds. There was not one of that party of fire fighters that did not feel the awe.
Henry disappeared, and his mistress had no thought for him. She had been through other forest fires, and, though she worked desperately, she did so without emotion so far as external appearances indicated.
Hindenburg, on the contrary, was very much in evidence, running up and down the line, barking at each individual fire fighter and sneezing as he breathed in the pungent smoke.
The graying dawn found the Overlanders still beating at the flames that still kept them on the retreat, driving them deeper and deeper into the forest.
About this time Tom Gray made his second survey. What he found raised his hopes and his spirits.
"We"ve flanked it!" he cried. "That old cutting to the left has saved us on that side."
"Thank Heaven!" answered Grace in a choking voice. "Te--ell the others!"
"We aren"t through yet," reminded Tom, hurrying back to give the others the encouraging news and to urge them to continue their efforts.
Shouts, choking, gasping shouts, greeted the announcement. Then how they did work, the girls with handkerchiefs stuffed in their mouths, and Hippy Wingate with a piece of his khaki shirt gripped between his teeth and partly covering his nostrils as an aid in keeping the smoke out of his lungs. The throats of all were parched and aching for water, but there was none to be had near at hand, and no time to go to the river for it.
At nine o"clock in the morning the forest fire was conquered, after having burned over several acres of timber. Here and there little blazes were fanned into life by the morning breeze, but alert eyes discovered, and ready hands quickly whipped them out.
"Done! But it will have to be watched. You girls go back to camp and make some coffee. I don"t believe that much of our belongings have been destroyed," said Tom.
Instead of starting for camp, the girls sank down in their tracks, and dropped instantly into a sleep of exhaustion. Neither man made an effort to arouse them.
"I wish I might do that too. What do you say if we take just one little cat-nap, Tom?" urged Hippy.
"Can"t be done. The fire might start again."
"Oh, hang the fire!" growled Lieutenant Wingate.
"It might "hang" you; in other words, we should be in danger of being burned, for we surely would sleep all day, once we permitted ourselves to drop off!"
"All right. Carry on! If I could have a nip of sleep I know I should dream of food, which would fix me up all right. How long are we going to let them sleep?" asked Hippy, pointing to the sleeping Overland girls.
"Until we make certain that the fire isn"t going to break out afresh. We will then shake the girls up and go back to camp. It doesn"t look as though I should get away to-day, does it?" grinned Tom.
"We can sit down, can"t we?"
"Not yet! Not for another two hours."
The men separated and began a steady patrol of the fire-line, dragging themselves along wearily until the two hours had lengthened into three.
Hippy then declared himself and announced his intention of going straight back to camp for something to eat and a sleep.
Tom, after a final look about, agreed. It took some little time to get the girls sufficiently awake to enable them to stand on their feet, but finally the men had marshalled them all and the journey to camp began.
It was blackened and cheerless acres of bare and fallen trees that their swollen eyes gazed upon on the way back to camp. Thousands of feet of virgin timber had been burned. Tom Gray, whose love of the forest was almost a pa.s.sion with him, gazed on the wreckage sadly.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you. Always be careful with your campfires," he warned.
The girls were too tired to eat when they reached camp. All they desired was sleep and rest. Hippy"s crying need was food, and that was what he proposed to get first, but Tom would not hear to either of them sitting down until the horses had been looked after and watered.
While they were doing that, the forest woman made coffee and fried bacon, which was ready for Tom and Hippy upon their return. The Overland girls had found their blankets, and, rolled tightly in them, lay sound asleep on the bare ground.
"Poor kids! Aren"t you proud of each and every one of them, Hippy?"
glowed Tom.
"Oh, I suppose so. That is, I presume I should be if I weren"t famished."
Henry came ambling in at this juncture and, sitting down, began washing his face with his paws, giving not the slightest heed to the tirade that Joe Shafto was hurling at him.
"Ye git no breakfast to-day," raged the forest woman.
"Oh, don"t be so hard-hearted," begged Hippy. "Give the poor fish a rind of bacon at least. You don"t know what it means to have an appet.i.te."
Hippy"s urgings bore fruit, and Henry got his breakfast, as did Tom and Hippy, and their appet.i.tes fully equalled that of the bear.
"Come along, Hippy," urged Tom after they had finished breakfast.
"Wha--at? Where?"
"Let"s have a look at the tree that so mysteriously fell on our camp."
"Have a heart! Have a heart, Tom! I want to lie down and sleep."
"So do I, but I cannot until I have learned why that tree came down as it did, and what caused the report just before it fell. Come! The sooner we start, the quicker we shall be in dreamland."
Hippy followed his companion begrudgingly.