Evans dropped his tools and ran to a window overlooking the school grounds. From his high position he could see the situation at a glance. The school grounds comprised a superb grove of stately white pines, the pride of the neighborhood. Within this grove, by its western border, was a pond, and north of the pond the grove was bounded for a short distance at its northwest corner by a small swamp, choked with dense vegetation, a place frequented by a great variety of bird life. West of the grove lay a wide expanse of low meadowland overgrown with tall grass and thick bushes. After weeks of drought the ground was parched and dry. A strong northwest wind was blowing, and a brush fire burning in the meadow was sweeping rapidly toward the pine grove, imminently threatening its destruction. Evans saw the boys dash into a building and then, emerging with buckets and brooms, start on a run, led by Sam Mortimer, chief of the fire brigade, to the south side of the pond. Here lay the greater part of the boundary between the meadow and the grove, and here it was that the shore of the pond was most easily approached, for on the north it was lined with the dense swamp vegetation. Evidently the plan of campaign was to form a bucket line from the pond along the western edge of the grove to its southern extremity. Evans could see that no one was detailed to deal with the fire north of the pond; apparently it was assumed that the natural moisture there would stop the fire. Now Evans had frequently haunted this swamp in search of birds, and knew that the drought had reduced it to a highly inflammable state. After a brief survey of the situation, he ran downstairs and out toward the grove. By the time he was out on the grounds the entire school, boys and masters, had disappeared into the grove to the south of the pond. Evans ran for the swamp where the smoke told him the fire was already entering the dense growth of brush.
Into the thicket he plunged and clawed his way through the tall bushes till, half-suffocated with smoke, he reached the advancing line of the fire. Down he went on his hands and knees and began scraping away the dried leaves from the surface of the mud, now and again jumping to his feet and uprooting bushes where the density of the growth required it, then dropping again to his knees and working among the leaves like a terrier. Thus he made across the path of the fire a swath where the flames were stopped except in the strongest gusts of wind. Now and then one of these would blow a burning leaf across the swath and start the fire anew on the other side. Then Evans would jump back and stamp out the fresh blaze. Once, when a runaway blaze threatened to spread too fast to be stopped in this way, he threw himself on it and smothered it with his body.
With feverish effort he struggled against the advancing flames, fearful lest they should get beyond his control in the larger bushes and trees by the edge of the pond and thus set fire to the entire pine grove. But now he saw the water of the pond gleaming through the smoke not far ahead, and redoubled his efforts to carry his swath of bare earth to the water’s edge. Half-blinded with smoke he dug and clawed and kicked away the leaves till at last he reached the muddy shore of the pond, and with vast relief saw the last of the flames expend themselves in the dried leaves west of the line.
He turned and walked back over the swath he had made, searching carefully for embers that might start the fire anew. Only smouldering embers did he find, and, stamping these out, he returned to the edge of the pond satisfied that no more danger lay in this quarter. He then skirted the shore of the pond and came to the south side where the rest of the boys, having put out the fire in that quarter with their bucket line, were assembling.
Evans approached the others, picking the thorns out of his fingers as he came.
When Mortimer saw him he said, “Well, Jim, where in thunder have you been?”
“In the swamp,” was the answer.
“What, looking for birds? There’s no fire there, is there?”
Evans looked at him a second before answering, then said quietly, “No.”
“Didn’t you hear the fire bell?” said Mortimer.