THE FIRE FIEND. 107 



and was iible lo prexent them from following the 

 waggon. With this incident in her mind, and also the 

 breakages of the winter before, Maggie naturally 

 grew anxious when the waggon was so long behind 

 its usual time for returning. At length she could 

 restrain her nervous anxiety no longer. She rose and 

 went out of the back door into the yard, whence she 

 would be able to command a view of the road for 

 a short distance. 



After the lapse of half a minute she was back 

 again, crying in excited tones: — 



"John! John! Oh, do come! There's such a 

 blaze just outside the gate! " 



I could not conceive what there was in the spot 

 indicated that was capable of going into a blaze. All 

 the same, I ran out as quickly as I could. It might 

 be the wooden fence that was on fire. It might even 

 be the stable. 



As soon as I reached the gate, I saw, only ten or 

 twelve feet from it, a big stack of ties, or railway 

 sleepers, blazing away with long tongues of licking 

 fire, and the wind was blowing them and the sparks 

 which rained off them in showers directly towards the 

 roof of the stable. There was not a moment to lose. 

 Running back a few yards, I caught at a prop which 

 held up a branch of the nearest cherry tree, and with 

 it I attempted to lever down the topmost of the 

 burning ties. The prop broke off short in my hand. 

 Still, enough remained, and I stuck to the work. 

 Very soon I was receiving valuable assistance from 

 Lawrie, who had somewhere found a long stout piece 

 of iron, which he used very effectively as a lever. 

 Nor were the other men of the place at all backward. 



