Two Young Lumbermen by Edward Stratemeyer

"This looks as if the whole camp would be swept away! " cried Owen, as he and Dale hurried back to the cabin with the others.

"The fire will certainly lick out a big portion of the forest," answered Dale. "And by the look of things, I begin to think we'll be lucky if we get out with a whole skin."

"Perhaps we would have done better had we remained at the Wilbur lodge."

"Never mind, we have the horses and can go back, if the worst comes to the worst."

The lumbermen were soon at the cabin, and then, amid considerable confusion, the things there were packed and loaded on the horses and mules. Dale and Owen had a valise apiece, and also a box containing the precious musical instruments and other things, and these they strapped on the Wilbur horses.

The retreat came none too soon, for the wind was blowing more wildly than ever, and the sparks and embers were flying in all directions over their heads, scaring the horses and mules, and starting a fresh fire wherever they landed.

"That's the end of this tract," said Andrews sorrowfully. "It won't grow up again in fifty years."

"It will be a big loss to Mr. Paxton," answered Owen. "Maybe it will ruin him."

"That wind means a storm," said Gilroy. "But it aint coming just yet."

Away they went, and hardly had they left the clearing when they saw the barn and one of the shanties catch fire, and presently the cabin followed.

The men started for Pine Tree Lake, but long before that body of water was reached the flames headed them off and they were forced to turn in another direction. They could now hear the distant rumble of thunder, and all prayed earnestly that the storm might come speedily, and prove of sufficient strength to drown out the fire.

"We are getting hemmed in," said Gilroy, at last, as he called a halt. "Do you see that flicker of fire on Two-Top Mountain? That's coming this way too. It's a different fire altogether from the one back of us."

Between the smoke and the clouds in the sky the sun was now no longer visible, and only the conflagration at a distance lit up the weird scene. Again came a rumble of thunder, and then a distant flash of lightning told them that the storm was coming up more quickly than they had anticipated.

"If it had only come early this morning," said Andrews, as the first drops began to fall. "Then thousands of dollars' worth of lumber would have been spared."

"Let us be thankful that it has come, even at this hour," answered Dale.

Soon the storm was on them in all its fury, the fierce blasts of wind hurling the fire all around them. Then came flash after flash of vivid lightning, and thunderbolts that seemed to fairly split the heavens. A deluge of rain followed, causing the fire to hiss and steam and send out huge volumes of black smoke that all but suffocated them. The horses and mules were tied up with their heads close to the ground, and each person of the party hurled himself flat.

It was a grand display of natural elements, but it cannot be said that anybody in the party enjoyed it. All were grateful for the rain, but as the lightning continued, and one tree after another in that vicinity, was struck down, each was awed into utter silence.

At last came a lull and the center of the storm passed to the northward. The rain still fell in torrents, but to this they paid little attention. The worst of the smoke was clearing away, allowing them to breathe more freely. One by one the men arose and began to look after the frightened horses and mules. One horse had gotten away, and sped into the burning territory, and he was never seen again.

"Well, I guess this is the last of the fire," said Owen, as he arose. "This rain looks as if it would hold out for the rest of the day."

"What do you think Gilroy will do next? " questioned Dale.