“Not yet. Will you do it? I’ll wake up Mother Morris. Bring the extinguishers from each floor, fellows. The fire’s in the cellar, I guess. Tap, you beat it over and get the fellows in Fuller up. Come on, now!”
They hurried down the lower flight in a smother of smoke. Mullins groped his way to the telephone and Tappan slipped through the front door on his way to alarm the occupants of the next house. Monty beat a tattoo on Mrs. Fair’s door, finally opening it and calling. There was no reply, however, and he swung the door wider and looked in. The light was burning low and a glance was enough to show that the room was empty, although the disordered bed suggested recent occupation. The others had swung open the door that led to the basement only to retreat. Black smoke billowed out at them and filled their eyes and throats. Someone slammed the door shut again as Monty strode past, choking and with streaming eyes, and sought the kitchen. A small passage with a door that opened on the rear of the house intervened, and as he groped his way through it the sound of crackling and roaring became louder. And then two things happened simultaneously. He faced the partly-open door of the kitchen and saw the flames eating their way across the floor and up the further wall and he stumbled over something underfoot and went crashing against the door with a force that at any other time would have left him half-stunned. Somehow he saved himself from measuring his length on the kitchen floor as the door swung wide under his weight and, recovering, stooped and groped at his feet. Then his voice rang out.
[“Help here, fellows!”] But the others were close behind him, and in a moment they were carrying Mrs. Fair back to her room. “She’s fainted,” Farnsworth panted. “I’ll look after her. You fellows go on.”
Mullins joined them and they returned to the kitchen and, covering their faces with crooked arms, launched the contents of the three fire-extinguishers at the flames. But the effect was no more than noticeable.
“That’s all we can do unless we can get water,” shouted Monty. “Isn’t there a hose somewhere?”
“It’s in the cellar,” answered one of the boys.
“Close the door,” said Mullins. “Maybe we can keep the fire there until the engine comes.”
“Did you get them?” Monty asked.