Peter let the telephone-box door swing shut, jumped on his bicycle, and cycled along the same path as the others. He caught them up as he came to the fire, and stared in horror. Whatever had stood there on the hillside was almost burnt out!
"What was it? A house?" he asked, shielding his eyes from the fierceness of the roaring flames. "I hope no one was in it!"
"A ginger cat was the only live thing we saw," said George, looking very solemn. "It shot by us as we came up. It must have been a small house, Peter. Did you get on to the fire-brigade?"
"Yes. They're coming. But it will be too late," said Peter. "Janet, don't cry. I don't expect there was anyone in the place."
"My word ... it must have been old and rotten to go up as quickly as that," said Colin. "What a crackling and roaring! Look out, Barbara " there are bits of burning stuff blowing about still."
Peter took Jack with him, and the two boys anxiously walked all round the burning house, trying to see if there was anything they could do. But there was nothing to be seen but flames, now dying down a little, and tumbled, smoking pieces of wood. No wonder the poor old cat had been terrified!
Then came the sound of a clanging bell, and Colin called out in excitement. The fire-engine! Hasn't it been quick? Well, they can't help seeing at once where the fire is!"
"We left the field gate open, didn't we?" said George, and Peter nodded. "Yes " and look, the fire-engine's coming through it now. Gosh, I wish I could drive it!"
The fire-engine came slowly up the narrow, rutted path, gleaming brightly in the light from the roaring fire. "Anyone know if there's a well?" shouted a fireman, leaping down to unroll a long hose-pipe.
"There's a stream running down the hill just here!" called Jack, and the firemen went over to it. In less than a minute they were playing water on the flames, and a great sizzling noise arose.
"Like a million bacon rashers frying at once," said Janet in wonder, and she was right!
"Did you see anyone about?" asked one of the firemen, as the flames died down under the water.
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"No. Nobody," said Peter. "But the whole place was on fire when we came up - nobody could have been saved if anyone had been in there. But surely they would have run out, wouldn't they?"
"Might have been children asleep there," said the man shortly. "Whose is this shack?"
Nobody knew ... but just then Peter saw someone hurrying up the field-path, wheeling something in front of her that bumped wildly over the ruts.
"It's the woman who was making gingerbread at the fair!" cried Janet. "Oh ... she said she lived in a shack on the hill-top. It must be her place! Poor, poor thing!"
It was the gingerbread woman. She came up quite breathless, her eyes staring in fright, the baby being almost bumped out of its pram.
"My Benny!" she shouted. "Where is he? I left him here."
"Well, Mam " we haven't seen anyone about," said the chief fireman, and a little shiver of horror went through the children. No! No, surely no one could have been in that burning shack!
"Benny, Benny, Benny! Where are you, my little Benny?"screamed the woman. And then, to everyone's enormous relief, a child's high voice answered shakily from somewhere.
"Mammy! Mammy! Mammy!"
"He's safe," said the little gingerbread woman, and tears ran down her cheeks. "I'll go find him, mister. He won't come out while everyone's staring round. He's in the bushes somewhere, my little Benny."
She took the baby out of its pram, and, carrying him in her arms, she hurried in the direction of a row of thick bushes a little way below the still-burning shack. "Benny!" she called. "Benny! Mammy's here. Everything's all right, love."
And then, quite suddenly, it seemed as if there was a whole crowd of people staring at the dying fire - people who had left the fair, seen the flames, and come hurrying in at the open gate. Perhaps the woman's husband was there too? The children hoped so. Then he could comfort the poor little woman.
"What will they do for the night?" wondered Janet. "Where will they sleep?"
"Oh, someone will lend them a barn, or take them in for the night," said one of the firemen, busy rolling up the hose. "It's a mercy no one was hurt. You kids go along home now. Thanks for letting us know."
"I wish we'd some money left," said Jack, thinking that the pound his mother had given him would have been a godsend to the gingerbread woman just now.
Two policemen arrived, and one began taking notes. The other moved the crowd away. "Move along, please," he said. The fire's over. We can't do anything more. Will you move along, sir, please? And you too, madam?"
He came to the little crowd of children, still standing there with Scamper, feeling rather miserable.
"Are you the kids who warned the fire-station?" he said. "Well, that was good work on your part. But get along home now, please. You can't do anything more."
"What will happen to the poor woman and her children now?" asked Peter. "I mean ... she must have lost everything in the fire."
"We'll look after her and the family," said the policeman, stolidly. "She'll be all right. That was only an old shack they lived in, not a house " they didn't have much of anything. You go home now, please, and let us do what we can for the woman."
The fire-engine departed with a clanging of its bell, trying to make the crowd get out of its way. The children found their bicycles and wheeled them to the gate, Scamper following, wondering if they were going home. What an evening!
They all mounted their bicycles and rode along the road, very silent. Even Susie found nothing to say. Binkie began to talk first, the words suddenly pouring out.
"I've never seen a fire before, I've never seen a fire-engine so close. Ooh, wasn't it exciting? I've never..."
"Be quiet," said Peter. "You make it sound as if it was a sort of treat! Think of that poor woman!"
"Yes. I'm thinking about her too," said George. "I say, Peter ... I think we ought to call a meeting of the Secret Seven, and see if we can't plan something to help her. What about tomorrow morning at ten o'clock?"
"Fine idea!" said Peter, really pleased. "I was just thinking the same thing myself. Secret Seven, those are your orders ... be down in our shed, ten o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Susie and me too?" said Binkie, thrilled.
"No," said Peter. "Only theSecret Seven. Susie ... do you hear that? Only the Secret Seven!"
