“Better go an’ get some,” Jimmie suggested.
Ned looked toward the line of smoke off to the east.
“We can reach the firing line with what we have,” he said, in a moment, “and that may be sufficient for the present.”
“What you goin’ to do?” demanded the boy.
“Going to see if I can’t help fight this fire,” was the reply.
“From here?” laughed Jack.
Ned indicated a distant line of hills where the forest still stood green on the slopes.
“We’ll fight the fire from there,” he said. “We can see the location well enough now, but the smoke will soon shut it out from here.”
“What can we do when we get there?” asked Jack. “We are safe enough here. The smoke and heat may scorch us a little, but we’ll live through it, and that is more than we can say about the safety of the place you point out.”
“Pat will be making his way here,” Ned said, “and you may as well remain here and meet him. I’ll take Frank and go over to the place where the foresters are fighting the blaze.”