to be permitted to proceed in peace,"
answered Emma. "Why don't you go home?" teased the little Overland girl.

"My wife won't let me. Of course you are not bound by any such
restrictions," reminded Hippy.

Tom suddenly broke into a run. The others followed, calling to him to
know what was wrong, but the forester did not at first answer, as he
sped towards their camp, leaping logs and other obstructions in his
path.

"Hurry!" he shouted, upon reaching the scene.

"What is it?" called Hippy.

"We have set the woods on fire!" answered Tom.

What the party had supposed to be only the campfire blazing under the
tree that had fallen across it, in reality was a forest fire in the
making. In falling, the tree had scattered the burning embers of the
campfire, and set fire to the leaves and pine boughs that covered the
ground. By the time Tom Gray reached the scene the fire was running up
the little saplings, tracing out their limbs until they resembled
decorated Christmas trees, and leaping from tree to tree.

"Isn't it beautiful!" exclaimed Emma enthusiastically, as the spectacle
burst into view.

"You won't think so before many hours have passed," answered Grace, who,
as well as her husband, fully understood what this blaze with so good a
start might mean.

"Grab those spruce boughs near the lean-tos and follow me!" shouted Tom.
"Every one of you get to work. Stamp out what is left of the campfire,
Hippy, so that it doesn't spread towards the river and get away from us
along the bank. Stir yourselves!"

Through the smoke, the flying sparks and the pungent, almost
overpowering odors, the Overland Riders ran with their arms full of
spruce boughs.

"What are we to do?" cried Elfreda. "I feel as helpless as a child."

After they had hurried around the outer edge of the fire, which was
rapidly reaching towards them in little wriggling, snake-like streams of
fire, Tom directed the girls to spread out, each taking several rods of
front to protect.

"Beat it out as fast as you can. When you see a wriggler reaching for a
tree, beat it out with your spruce boughs," he ordered. "Don't try to
put out a tree on fire. You can't do it, and may set yourselves on fire.
Grace, you take the lower end of the line and keep the girls at work. I
will look after this end. Should assistance be needed at any one point,
shout and we will all concentrate on it. All of you be careful that you
don't get burned."

The girls quickly took