Hedwig’s Secret

The air was sultry, the smoke dense and bitter. Their eyes were inflamed, they were choking and at times had to bury their faces in the grass to escape the denser clouds of acrid smoke that rolled past. When for brief moments they could see the sun through the opaque clouds, he appeared to be a great ball of red fire. But there was work to do and it must be done at once. The Colonel had warned John that if the worst should happen, he was to leave the fire go and take to the water. John had made up his mind he would do that when his work was finished and not before.

The flat was about three-quarters of a mile in length and in the middle about, one quarter of a mile deep. It terminated at either end in a cut-bank, the foot of which extended to the water. There was little or no grass there and not sufficient fuel to carry a fire.

Starting at the lower end of the flat, the fighters first dipped their handkerchiefs in water and tied them in a single fold over their nostrils to offer some protection against smoke and cinders. One man was kept busy carrying pails of water from the river, while two men had gunny-sacks which they constantly wet to beat out the fires which John was frantically carrying along the hillside to make a guard. When he came to clumps of willows these gave him much concern. The dry leaves on top burned quickly but the under leaves which were partly rotten, smouldered. Here his men had to be very careful to see that the flames were out before they passed on.

The fire-fighters were now working against time. The wind was coming in stronger gusts and must be fanning the flames in that fiery furnace across the river. They could well imagine that the stream would offer them but poor protection against the terrific impact of the solid moving wall of fire. They must complete their fire-guard and reach the cut-bank at the upper end of the flat in the shortest space of time. Then and not until then, could they hope to gain any respite from their labours. John now madly strung out a trail of fire at the base of the hill which the three men fought as madly to extinguish on the hillside, leaving it to burn back against the wind on the flat. The blinding clouds of smoke belched past them at times making it Almost as dark as night.

The heat was unbearable when four choking, and blistered fire-fighters stumbled into the river. They had done their work and could do no more. There was a heavy peal of thunder and the rain poured down in torrents. John uttered his first prayer in public: " Thank God! The rain has come.”

For half an hour the rain came down in almost a cloud -burst. During the steady shower which followed, the four firefighters scarcely conscious sat on rocks in the river bed saying not a word. Though they had won out they were too fagged to feel in an altogether exultant mood.

Finally the launch showed up gropingly through the smoke which was still quite thick, and the men went aboard feeling more dead than alive. The boat then turned and wended its way up-stream, picking up each crew of firefighters, as they were located. After being piloted up the river out of the fire zone and away from the smoke, they came to a disused winter logging camp with its kindly offering of bunks and shelter.

The men were too tired to get their supper and would have gone to sleep in their wet clothes. Colonel Bishop, however, started a fire blazing in the rusty camp-stove, and the men stood 1n all manner of disarray around the welcome heat. Clothes were soon steaming on the lines of rope which the men strung between the upper bunks. The ranger busied himself preparing hot tea and sandwiches. After a good wash and a bite to eat the men felt much more comfortable.

The rain was still pattering on the slab roof with here and there some drops dripping through. They had now no cause for worry, so the men climbed into the bunks and lay on the loose hay, which served as an excellent mattress. It was good to rest again and breathe God' s pure air.