“Fire!” cried the watcher. Elfreda turned, startled, and fled towards the “burn” that her companions had made.
They saw her coming on fleet feet. Hamilton White waved to her to keep to the right, for the grass was still holding fire on the course she was following, but Elfreda took the gesture for a wave of welcome, and waved back. In the next second she saw the guide running towards her, followed by Grace.
Elfreda darted ahead, and was nearly at the edge of the burn when she came up with them. To her amazement, the guide picked her up, then threw her flat on the ground. He rolled her over and over in the blackened ashes of the grass, Grace assisting by vigorous pats, for Elfreda’s skirt had caught fire.
The blaze was out in a moment, and now the girl began to feel the sting of burns. Assisted to her feet Elfreda was a sight, her face, neck and arms black, little patches of white showing here and there, accentuating the blackness of the rest.
“Quick, take her somewhere and look her over. Get oil from the store and put on her burns if she has any. Be lively. I—”
“The fiery serpents are there!” gasped Elfreda.
“What!” demanded the guide.
“They’re there, darting all around just beyond the edge of the burn in the forest. I don’t know—I think—”
“Take her away!” commanded White sternly.
The guide bounded across the burned space and plunged into the forest. He came back a few moments later, even more rapidly than he had gone out, never stopping until he reached the store porch.