ew stronger, just as the
smoke grew steadily denser and more choking, and the crackle of flames
seemed to come from behind the closed doors with ominous distinctness.
When the electric lights suddenly went out leaving only the two oil
side-lamps burning dimly, it was all he could do to keep from crying out
with terror. Indeed, he instinctively took a quick step out of line
toward the window, but Mr. Curtis's cool voice halted him:

"Steady, Bob. Not quite yet."

The boy's fingers dug into his palms and he stepped quickly back into
his place, a flush of shame mantling his cheeks. Had any of the other
fellows noticed? he wondered. His questioning glance swept along the
line and was suddenly arrested by the face of Dale Tompkins, who stood
a little beyond.

Dale was not looking at him; on the contrary, he was staring back into
the murky gloom of the big room with an expression of such desperate
anxiety and fear that Gibson's heart leaped, and instinctively he turned
his head to see what new peril threatened. When he glanced back, after a
scrutiny that revealed nothing unexpected, Tompkins had disappeared.

"He's gone!" gasped the boy, his surprise mingled with a touch of envy.
"He's cut out and got away!"

But Dale had not run away. At that very moment, instead of flying
panic-stricken to a window, as Bob supposed, he was groping his way
through the darkness toward the farther end of the smoke-filled hall. As
he passed behind the line of scouts and pushed on through the thinning
throng of frightened people, fear filled his soul and brought a tortured
look into his smarting eyes--that fear for another which is often so
much more gripping than the fear for self.

Ages ago, it seemed to the anxious boy, Ranny Phelps had disappeared in
this same direction and had not returned. Dale had caught a disjointed
word or two about water-buckets, but where they were or to what use Ranny
meant to put them he did not know. With growing alarm he had watched
and waited, and then, unable to stand the suspense another instant, he
slipped out of the line and went to seek his friend.

As he passed the double doors the smoke seemed to thicken, causing him
to choke and sputter. Where was it coming from, he wondered dazedly. It
was as if great volumes were pouring freely into the hall, yet the doors
to the corridor had been closed from the first.

He stumbled over a chair and nearly fell. Recovering, his outstretched
hands struck the wal