“Come on, let’s head that way,” said Hugh quickly. “Here’s a road to get in, and it must lead straight there.” While saying this, he threw himself off his wheel to open a gate that stood in their way.
Together the two scouts pedaled along the wagon road that led from the main highway toward the clump of trees, back of which doubtless lay the house and barn connected with the farm.
“It’s the Ketchem place,” said Alec. “You know the family is related to that good-for-nothing Lige Corbley you were just talking about. Queer how things happen, isn’t it? You never speak of an angel but you hear the quiver of wings; though I reckon Lige is far from being that kind of a fellow. Hugh, it is a house afire! Hurry, and let’s help put the blaze out. There are only a widow and her three children living here. She runs the farm since her husband died last year.”
Both boys strained themselves to the utmost to reach the scene of the excitement as speedily as possible. They could see a woman carrying two buckets of water, and several children running back and forth, while the smoke continued to ooze from the doors and windows of the farmhouse.
“But that was a man who shouted for us to come,” declared Alec. “Do you see him anywhere around, Hugh?”
“Somebody’s up on the roof with a bucket of water,” replied the other scout. “He has a ladder placed against the side of the house. Well, would you believe it, Alec, it must be the very boy we were talking about? I saw him look this way when he waved his hand just then, and it was surely Lige Corbley.”
“Well, for once, then, we’ll have to give him a helping hand. This isn’t a time to stand back for fear of getting contaminated. Come on, Hugh, let’s find some buckets. We’ve just got to get this fire under control!”
Letting their wheels lie where they had dropped, the boys hurried forward to the place where the almost distracted widow was standing. Hugh took the empty buckets from her hand, and Alec, spying several tin milk pails sunning on a picket fence near by, hastened to help himself to a couple.
“To the well, and fill up!” he shouted, at the same time dashing off at full speed.
The boy on the roof came down hastily, as though he realized that this additional force might mean another method of attacking the fire.