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Updated: June 25, 2025
The thieves and night-birds fell away in the darkness, and like black cats scurried down town to pillage the stores and warehouses of the fire-fighters on the hill. The few clerks and watchmen defending the stores, these knaves made short work of.
"I know you did," admitted the chief; "but I thought you was so excited you didn't know what you was sayin'." "So did I," admitted several of the volunteer fire-fighters. "It's too bad!" "Well, you meant all right, anyhow," went on Mr. Ringold, with cheerful philosophy; "and I'll make the department a donation. But next time, please don't interfere.
The darkness served also to tinge the lowering sky to south and to westward with a steadily brightening lurid glare. The Master had been right in his glum prophecy that a strong and sudden shift of wind would carry the conflagration through the tinder-dry undergrowth and dead trees of that side of the mountain, far faster than any body of fire-fighters could hope to check it.
The ladder happened to be up against the building at a point where the flames had now burst forth, driving the fire-fighters back. Himself, the foreman led in a bold forward rush to capture the required ladder; nor was he to be denied, scorning the efforts of the licking tongues of fire to daunt him. Then, with a swarm of followers, he pushed around the corner.
A stiff wind was blowing, but it was no longer a steady one. Sometimes it bore from the northeast; again in a cross-current almost directly from the east. The smoke poured in, swirling round them till they scarce knew one direction from another. The dense cloud lifted for a moment, swept away by an air current. To the fire-fighters that glimpse of the landscape told an appalling fact.
Pile burn, burn hot, grass catch fire, put out grass." "You mean," said the mountaineer, "that you an' Mickey were burnin' up brush?" "Yes, brush all in piles, burn." "It's a pretty risky business," said Rifle-Eye, "this burnin' brush in the late spring, but Mickey's right enough to have had Ben along. He's one o' the best fire-fighters that ever happened. He never knows enough to quit."
"There's too few of us to handle such a big fire," his wife replied. "You can't do it with six men." "Seven," amended Charley. "You're as good as any of us. Don't you worry, Lou. Even if we don't stop her and I think we will we're checking the run of her until we get help. We're doing well. There's only two old fire-fighters in the lot you and me. All the rest is green hands.
Into the mysterious house rushed the young fire-fighters, with Mort at their head to show them the way. The partly shattered door leading into the corridor was quickly broken open, in spite of the protests of Mrs. Blarcum, who did not seem to understand that Muchmore had fled, and that the real owner of the mansion was again in possession.
Toward midnight a black, staggering body of men began to weave through the entrance. They were volunteer fire-fighters, looking for a place to throw themselves down and sleep. These men dropped out all along the line, and were rolled out of the driveways by the troops. There was much splendid unselfishness here.
Meanwhile the glare of the flames brought the fire-fighters out in hot haste with their engines, and up from the military station at the Presidio, on the Golden Gate side of the city, came at double quick a force of soldiers, under the efficient command of General Funston, of Cuban and Philippine fame.
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