CHAPTER XIX
WINNING THE TRUMPET
Bert gave his lads the order to halt, when the engine was about fifty
feet away from the burning shacks.
"Run out the hose!" he called to Tom Donnell. "The rest of you stand
ready with the hooks, and, as soon as Tom has got her pretty near out,
pull the boards apart so he can get out the last spark."
Quickly was the hose unreeled. Bert stood near the engine, ready to
swing the lever and turn the valve wheel that would send the hot
sulphuric acid into the soda water. Then, when there was a good head
of gas accumulated in the cylinder, he would open another valve, and
the fire-quenching fluid would spurt from the hose.
There was a hiss as the breaking of the glass holding the vitriol was
followed by the instant generation of gas.
"Here she comes!" cried Bert, as he turned the valve.
A second later a white, foamy stream jetted from the nozzle, and
sprayed into the midst of the blaze. The flames began to die down as
if by magic.
But Vincent was not a second behind Bert in getting his machine into
operation.
"Lively, boys!" he cried, and the hose was unreeled, the stream
playing almost at the same instant as was Bert's.
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