ead of the stairs. They knew which room it was--the farthest window
from the front door--and flung themselves against the door so hard that
it burst open and they fell headlong into the room. The little
black-and-tan dog, barking more wildly than ever, had heard them coming
and was dragging with all his might at something on the bed.

Bob and Sure Pop, half choked with smoke, ran to the bedside. There lay
a little girl only five or six years old. Yes, she was breathing!

Just then the hungry flames burst in through the flimsy closet door and
came licking along the ceiling. Bob's eyes smarted and burned, and his
lungs felt as if they would burst. He remembered his Boy Scout studies
in First Aid, though, and threw himself beside Sure Pop on the floor,
where the smoke was not so thick. Together they dragged the little girl
to the window.

Bob put his lips close to Sure Pop's ear. "Shall we jump?"

Sure Pop shook his head. "Too risky. We'll try the stairs."

With the little girl held close between them, their bodies shielding her
from the flames, the two groped and stumbled down the short flight of
stairs, fairly falling through the whirlwind of flame that swirled
upward from the first floor. Scorched, singed, with their clothing afire
in places, they fought their way back to the street--safe!

Betty ran forward with a glad cry and flung her arms around her twin.
"Bob! Oh, Bob, I thought you were _gone_!"

Just then they heard a shout as a frightened little family group came
running up, and a roughly dressed laborer snatched the little girl and
kissed her till her eyes opened and she smiled.

"Good Schneider! Nice Schneider!" said her small brother, patting the
dog, who was wagging his tail almost off for joy.

"Nice little Schneider--he took--care--of--me!" exclaimed the little
girl between kisses. And the father gathered up the little dog in his
arms and kissed him, too!

As the tired Safety Scouts opened the front gate half an hour later, the
boom of a cannon roared out, somewhere on the other side of town, and
the twelve o'clock bells and whistles joined in an echoing chorus.

Sure Pop raised his hand with a tired smile. "Midnight!" he cried.
"Hurrah for the glorious Fourth!"

_Don't let a careless match cost a dozen homes._
--SURE POP

[Illustration]

ADVENTURE NUMBER NINE

"CHANCE CARTER'S WAY"

BOOM! It was the distant roar of some