moment to the boys.

"Come on with the water!" shouted a voice. Instantly the engineer turned the valve, and a loud puffing began, while a shower of sparks shot upward through the smoky air.

By this time, the fire had worked its way through the central portion of the school and found a vent in the cupola. The windows had been broken by the heat and long streamers of flame pierced the whirling smoke.

An extension ladder was placed against the eaves and a number of firemen ascended to the roof, where, almost hidden by the smoke, they dropped a rope and began hauling up another line of hose.

But the fire in the cupola was rapidly increasing. The flames having united into a solid body leaped furiously upward, presenting the appearance of a gigantic torch surmounted by a column of smoke and burning brands.

Within a few minutes, the scene had wonderfully changed. The entire mass of smoke seemed to be drawn upward by the rush of air, and mingling with that from the cupola, stood out with a deep, sullen red from a background of starlit sky.

The electric lights began to look pale and ghostlike, and a ruddy glare suffused the landscape, while myriads of embers drifted slowly earthward.

"My eye, that certainly is a pretty sight, eh, Somers?"

A very tall, thin youth standing close by uttered this exclamation.

"Hello, John Hackett!"

"Hello! Say, you fellows look like a minstrel show! What's happened?"

"Didn't you see us hauling out stuff from the president's room, and helping to carry water?"

"My eye! Were you in that—and Chubby, too?"

"Of course," replied the stout boy. "Look, fellows, there goes the water."

A swish and a hiss sounded, as a heavy stream suddenly poured upon the cupola. The flames slowly began to die down, and a great cheer arose from the crowd.

"Must be an awful mess inside," observed Hackett, meditatively. "Isn't it too bad?"

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