"That'll do, Rad!" broke in Ned, with a laugh. He knew that when Tom's helper grew excited on the subject of his mule there was no stopping him, and Boomerang was a point on which Eradicate and Koku were always arguing. "The fire is under control now."
"Yes, it seems to have gone visiting," observed Koku.
"Visiting?" queried Ned, in some surprise.
"Yes, that is, it is going out," went on Koku.
"Oh, I understand!" laughed Ned. "Yes, and I hope it doesn't pay us another visit soon. Oh, look at Tom, would you!" he cried, for the young aviator had swung his ship about over the flames, to bring another row of sand bags directly above a place where the fire was hottest.
Down showered more sand from the bags which Tom opened. No fire could long continue to blaze under that treatment. The supply of air was cut off, and without that no fire can exist. Water would have been worse than useless, because of the carbide, but the sand covered it up so that it was made perfectly harmless.
Moving slowly, the airship hovered over every part of the now slowly expiring flames, the burned opening in the roof of the shed making it possible for the sand to reach the spots where it was most needed. The flames died out in section after section, until no more could be seen—only clouds of black smoke.
"How is it now?" came Tom's voice, as he spoke from the deck of the balloon through a megaphone.
"Almost out," answered Mr. Damon. "A little more sand, Tom."
The eccentric man had caught up a piece of paper and, rolling it into a cone, made an improvised megaphone of that.