shut,' the other woman fiercely said; 'you're Lily's sister, but Tom, he's my brother. If you don't shut your silly mouth you'll be getting of them into trouble. It's insured, ain't it?' 'I don't see,' said Eliza. 'You don't never see nothing,' said the other. 'You just don't say a word 'less you're arst, and[Pg 79] then only as you come to look after her and found the fire a-raging something crool.' [Pg 79] 'But why——' The other woman clawed hold of her and dragged her away, whispering secretly. All this time the fire was raging, but there were lots of men now to work the well and the buckets, and the house and the barn had not caught. When we had got out all the furniture, some of the men set to work on the barn, and, of course, Oswald and Dicky, though weary, were in this also. They helped to get out all the wool—bundles and bundles and bundles of it; but when it came to sacks of turnip seed and things, they thought they had had enough, and they went to where the things were that had come out of the larder, and they got a jug of milk and some bread and cheese, and took it to the woman who was lying in the dry ditch on the nice bed they had so kindly made for her. She drank some milk, and asked them to have some, and they did, with bread and cheese (Dutch), and jolly glad they were of it. Just as we had finished we heard a shout, and there was the fire-engine coming across the field.[Pg 80] [Pg 80] I do like fire-engines. They are so smart and fierce, and look like dragons ready to fight the devouring element. It was no use, however, in spite of the beautiful costumes of the firemen, because there was no water, except in the well, and not much left of that. The man named Honeysett had ridden off on an old boneshaker of his to fetch the engines. He had left the key in the place where it was always kept, only Eliza had not had the sense to look for it. He had left a letter for her, too, written in red pencil on the back of a bill for a mowing-machine. It said: 'Rix on fir'; going to git fir'-injins.' Oswald treasures this letter still as a memento of happier days.
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