As he spoke there was a burst of flame and smoke from one of the buildings that had not before caught fire, and then followed an explosion louder than any of the previous ones.
“There she goes!” shouted Harry.
“And look at the rockets!” added Joe.
A sheaf of sky rockets, part of a shipment just finished, had become ignited and now were whizzing up in the air, bursting with loud reports far above the earth, for they were large-sized pyrotechnics.
“If this were only night it would be a grand sight!” murmured Charlie, narrowly missing a fall as he stumbled over a stone.
“Too bad they couldn’t wait,” commented Joe, grimly. “Say! I wonder if any one’s hurt. It came so suddenly that a lot of the workers may be trapped in there.”
“That’s so,” agreed his chums. They increased their pace. They could now see others running to the fire—men, boys, and some women and children, coming from the direction of the town. Others were leaving their work in fields, gardens, or in houses to view the unusual sight.
There was not a little alarm, too, for many of the men and some girls and boys of the town worked in the Universal Fireworks Factory, particularly at this season of the year.
The factory was located close to the freight station of the Bedford and Point Barrow Railroad, a spur, or short track, running in among the factory buildings. On the sidings were a number of freight cars, which carried big red signs, marked: “Dangerous! Explosive! Keep all lights away!”
But there was plenty of light now, even though the glaring sun took away the effect that would have prevailed had there been darkness—plenty of light and fire.