There had been smoke enough to be seen in the distance; and when the fire was fully extinguished, people began to arrive. The smoke had been seen by some men at work in the field, and they had given the alarm. They were too late to be of any service in putting out the fire; but they took the two children, and conveyed them to the next house.
The older girl was not so badly burned as the boys feared in the beginning. She and the little one had evidently begun to scream before her dress took fire, probably terrified when they saw the flames running up the wooden wall. It takes longer to tell the story than it did for the fire to get under way. The boys were not far from the house when they heard the screams; and the child's clothes could not have been burning more than a moment when they came to her relief.
The girl's hands, and her limbs near the knees, were considerably burned, and she had received injury enough to cause her great pain. The farmer and his two men were the first to arrive; but the fire was out, and the good man gave all his attention to the sufferer. His house was but a short distance from the cottage; and he carried her there, assisted by one of his men. On his arrival he sent his companion for the doctor.
Before he could reach his home, an engine from the town, which was not half a mile distant, rushed to the scene of the fire. The foreman examined the premises, but he could not find any fire. He bustled about for a time while he made his examination, but there was nothing else for him to do.
"It came very near burning the house," said he to Ash Burton, who showed him over the premises, and explained the situation. "How did it take fire?"
"The girl was in so much pain that I did not ask her any questions," replied Ash, as he led the fireman into the front room, in which the family lived. "There is a kerosene-lamp on the floor, and the fire began there. The shade is broken, and perhaps the girl dropped the lamp on the floor after she had lighted it."
"What was she doing with a lamp in the middle of the afternoon?" asked the foreman.
"That is more than I know; but it looks as though the fire was caused by dropping the lamp on the floor," replied Ash.
"It was lucky for the owner that you happened to be near," continued the fireman. "Where were you when you saw the fire?"
"We were just coming around that bend in the road when we heard the screams of the children. We did not see the fire at first. When we got here the doors were all fastened, and we had to beat in the back one with a stick of wood. We put out the fire in the girl's clothes first, and then we poured water on the flames."