by Mary Wingfield Bell
Chapter Five -
Miss Rains was in a good mood. She smiled a lot. The students
were really enjoying their class. Now and then the teacher had to
remind Kent to turn around. Kent thought the Capley girl was
beautiful. He just had to look at her, but Delight wished that he
would never turn around.
Abner watched Delight from across the room. Since the two knew
each other so well the teacher had arranged for them to sit far
apart.
As soon as school was over each day Abner joined Delight and
Maggie always found them. The three of them usually rode the
school bus.
It was a month later and the days and nights were much colder.
Grandma only let Delight stay out of doors for short periods in
the late afternoon.
Delight and the Canberry children played near the brook often.
Abner took off his shoes and socks to wade in the thin stream
which was getting drier everyday because there had been no rain
lately. "E-ee-ee! he shouted. "It's like ice." He came out very
quickly. Maggie did not try the water. She just threw little
sticks and stones in to watch the stones sink and the sticks float
on by.
When Grandma called for Delight to come in the house, Abner
and Maggie went in with her. They all drank cocoa. Soon Grandpa
came in and told the Canberry children to go home. The sun was low
behind the trees and it was almost dark.
"I see smoke rising from over the ridge," said Mr. Capley. "I
guess there are campers out tonight or very late picnickers. The
woods are so dry. It's been three weeks since we've had rain. I do
hope they put out the fire. It will be bad for us if they
don't."
"There were some clouds today," returned Grandma. "Maybe we
will have rain. It's so cold though, I doubt it."
"Maybe there will be snow," said Delight.
"It's a little early for that," said Grandpa, "but it is
getting awfully cold outside."
The man rubbed his hands together and looked at the tureen of
homemade vegetable soup steaming on the table. Nearby was a plate
of corn bread squares and a bowl of damson plums. Grandma had
canned all the vegetables for the soup and the damson plums. With
milk the three Capleys had a satisfying meal.
"Delicious, Comfort! Grandpa said smiling.
"Sure was," joined Delight.
The girl went into the living room to sit by the fire to do
homework while Grandpa helped Grandma in the kitchen.
When homework was done, Delight decided to go to bed early.
She was tired and her leg ached. Sleep did not come right away.
She lay thinking about the children she knew from school. Many of
them were her friends. Brett might even be nice to her from now
on. Lately her teacher had been friendly.
Thoughts raced in her mind. She saw herself under the secret
grapevine tree beyond the thicket behind the house. Just thinking
about being there was fun. She had felt the warm presence of one
that she could not see. With this pleasant feeling, she closed her
eyes and slept.
About two o'clock in the morning she awakened with a burning
sensation in her nose. Rubbing her nose and sitting up in bed,
Delight smelled wood burning. It was a different smell from the
wood in the cook stove and fireplace. It was the smell of live
trees and leaves that lay on the ground in Dogwood Hollow.
"Something's on fire! she said aloud and got out of bed,
limping to the window which had an open crack at the bottom. The
window, not closed tightly, was allowing the smell to come into
the room. When Delight reached the window she saw the brightness
of the sky and flaming smoke curling up over the ridge - all up
and down the length of it.
"Grandma! Grandpa! she called. "There's a fire! Hurry! Get
up!
"That's Delight, dear," said Grandma, "and she is excited!
"My lands! shouted Grandpa as he came into the girl's room.
"Grandpa, look on the ridge! said Delight, pointing.
"Just as I feared," Grandpa said sadly. "Get dressed, dear! I
don't know what we will do yet."
Someone was banging on the front door. Mr. Capley hurried to
answer it. When he opened the door, there stood Hank Canberry.
"May I use your phone," he asked walking right in. "Ours is
not working."
"Sure," Grandpa pointed, seeing how anxious Hank was.
Grandma came into the kitchen dressed in her housecoat.
Mr. Canberry called the Apple Hill Fire Department. He hoped
the fire truck would come quickly with enough volunteers to put
out the fire.
Delight watched with fright from a front window of her house.
She had never before now seen the ridge on fire. Grandpa had said
often that it was bound to happen someday as people were careless
with their camp fires. It was an awesome sight. At first the girl
saw only small flames on top of the ridge. The little flames were
licking the ground and playing tag with each other. Soon small
flames grew bigger and bigger. They were not playing tag now, but
wrapping themselves around each other. There was a long wall of
fire. Trees stood like helpless soldiers in the fire, burning and
many falling. It was a dreadful sight!
The smell of smoke grew stronger. When Delight opened the
window she could hear the roar and crackle of leaves and limbs.
The fire had turned into a raging monster.
"What will we do, Grandma?" Delight shouted to the woman in
the kitchen.
"We will be O.K.," Grandma called back to her. She knew if the
fire was not put out that Grandpa would drive them out of Dogwood
Hollow to a safer place.
Mrs. Capley was brewing coffee to keep hot for the firemen
when they finished their work. She hoped they would arrive
soon.
Grandpa and Mr. Canberry had gone with their axes and shovels
to fight the fire. Hilda Canberry dressed in work jeans. She and
Abner carried rugs to beat out small patches of fire. Maggie came
to stay with Delight, wearing a heavy coat over her pajamas.
"That fire is something, Delight! said Maggie very excited.
"You know we are supposed to be sleeping. It is a terrible fire!
It's so smoky at our house and it is getting smoky here, too."
"Sure smells awful," remarked Delight. Maggie pulled over a
chair and joined her at the window. Now Delight could sit when she
wanted to. But the Capley girl leaned her elbows on the window
sill. They both watched the fire destroy much of their beautiful
Dogwood Hollow.
"Look at the giant pine trees falling! exclaimed Maggie with a
tear in each eye.
"Oh, no! cried Delight. "The fire is coming down where the
pretty dogwoods are."
There was a siren wailing and screaming. Coming over the rough
road way of the hollow was Apple Hill's only little fire truck.
The hose on the truck was too short to reach the fire so the
fireman jumped from the truck with picks and axes. They started to
work on the ridge not far from the highway, coming up toward the
direction of the Canberry house where Grandpa, Mr. and Mrs.
Canberry and Abner were working with all their might.
The bubbling brook of the summer had almost dried up. The fire
fighters could walk through at any place without getting very
wet.
Now and then as the smoke blew upward, Grandpa and the
Canberrys could be seen near the top of the ridge working very
hard.
"I hope Grandpa doesn't get burned," said his
granddaughter.
"I hope no one gets burned," added Maggie. She was thinking
about her father, mother and brother all out there near that
horrible monster.
"I'm sorry," Delight apologized." I don't want anyone to get
burned either, including the firemen. It was selfish of me to
think only of Grandpa."
"Look! cried Maggie. "Much of the fire is out."
"Oh, good! was her friend's response.
"The firemen are doing a good job," said the Canberry girl.
Just when the girls thought the fire would soon be over, the
wind began to blow fiercely.
"Oh, no! Grandma! called Delight. "The fire is getting worse!
The wind is blowing again."
"Surely, Grandpa will come and take us down to the highway,"
said Mrs. Capley coming out of the kitchen.
Grandpa did not come soon. He and the others kept working
hard.
The beastly fire had a new strong hold on the ridge and was
edging down toward the dried up brook. The monster like millions
of giant flaming hands, grabbed trees and limbs bringing most of
them to the ground.
"I'm scared, Delight," Maggie cried softly. "My family is out
there."
"I'm scared, too," returned Delight. "We have to do something!
We just got to. I know! Let's pray!
"Yes, God is the only answer now," agreed Grandma.
Grandma and Maggie dropped to their knees and bowed their
heads. Delight leaned on the window sill to pray.
"Heavenly Father, we need your help and quickly," the old
woman prayed. "You can dry up seas and move mountains. Now please
stop the fire! Save us and our homes. We thank you for hearing
us.
Maggie prayed, "God please keep Ma, Pa, Abner and all the
others safe. Don't let the fire touch our houses."
"God, I know you can change anything," the Capley girl
continued the prayers. "Please send rain or snow or anything to
stop that awful fire. Thank you and please hurry!"
While they prayed, the wind died out. The air became moist and
heavy.
"Look! Grandma! exclaimed the granddaughter. "There is no
wind."
"Praise God! Praise God! shouted the old woman. "God is
working for us now! I know everything will be fine."
Below the ridge Grandpa and the others moved slowly. Everyone
was tired.
"My the air has changed all of a sudden," Grandpa said.
Just then drops of cold rain hit his face. Faster and faster
they fell mingled with ice needles that pricked his face. Sleet
was falling.
"It will be over now," said Mr. Canberry joyfully.
The firemen stopped the blazes. The fire was going out. They
joined Grandpa and the Canberrys.
"The greatest fire fighter of all has taken charge," Mr.
Kindlin, one of the volunteer firemen, said.
Right there in the cold wet night, Grandpa fell on his knees,
thanking God for his help.
Grandma and the girls still watched from the house.
"Look, Grandma! said Delight. "They're quitting work. The fire
is burning low, I can hardly see them. Oh, I can see the rain.
It's raining! It's raining!
"Oh boy! Maggie said clapping her hands. "God heard our
prayers."
"Praise His name! Grandma was happy. "God is faithful, bless
the name of the Lord."
"I think they are all coming," said Delight. "I can hear them
talking."
"They'll be wet and cold," said Grandma. "I'd best poke the
fire in the kitchen stove."
The woman went into her kitchen to prepare for the weary fire
fighters. There was a large pot of hot coffee for the grown ups.
She made hot chocolate for the three children.
What a pitiful looking group of people Mrs. Capley faced when
she opened the door. They were all soaking wet from the rain and
sleet, which made black dirty streams of water run down them
because of the dirty smoke that settled on each one.
"Come in quickly, brave ones," she said lovingly. All of you
need to rest.
Hilda, Hank and Abner sat at the table, too tired to say a
word.
Mr. Kindlin and the other two fire fighters stood by the cook
stove. The warmth of the kitchen felt so good to these tired weary
workers who had fought so hard to save Dogwood Hollow and its two
families.
Grandma poured coffee for the adults. She thanked the men for
coming.
"But we would have lost this beautiful Dogwood Hollow if God
had not put out the fire," Mr. Kindlin said.
"Please sit by the fire and relax," invited Grandma.
The men said they must go before the highway was overlaid with
ice.
"Mr. Kindlin," Hilda finally spoke, "The children will not be
on the bus today. They need to sleep, especially Abner."
"That's O.K.," he returned. "If the weather gets any colder
there will be too much ice for buses to run.
"Did you hear that, Maggie?" asked Delight. "There will not be
any school today." She was tired from all the excitement and
her leg hurt from being on it so long. It would be good to stay
home.
The youngsters drank the chocolate. Abner's head fell on the
table and he was asleep.
"I'll cover the sofa with an old sheet," said Grandma. "Let
the dear boy sleep here. He deserves to rest."
"That is kind of you," said Mr. Canberry.
When Grandma had covered the sofa, Abner's Pa picked him up
and carried him into the living room. The old woman covered him
with afghans. He never woke while being moved, his head just
flopped around.
"Kindlin, we had better go," said one of the men.
"Right," agreed Mr. Kindlin.
The tired workers thanked Grandma for the coffee and the
chance to warm up a bit. They hurriedly left in their damp
clothes.
Grandpa was very tired and hardly said anything. He dragged
himself to the bathroom to wash before going to bed.
"Why not leave Maggie here, also," said Mrs. Capley. "There's
no need for her to be going out in the cold wet air. You folks are
welcome to stay."
"The kids will stay but Hilda and I are going to the house,"
Hank said. "We had better go quickly."
Coffee had refreshed Mr. and Mrs. Canberry. They went outside
in a hurry. Sleet was coming down and the icy needles scratched
their noses and cheeks.
Soon they were in their own warm house and they were thankful
that the house was still there. Fire did not reach their
property.
Maggie climbed into bed with Delight. They could not sleep
right away. It had been an unusual night. They talked about all
that happened, including the firemen.
"God was good to us tonight, right?" said Maggie.
"Sure, that is the kind of God he is," returned Delight. "See
what He did. He does lots of miracles. He put out the fire so fast
with the rain and sleet. I know he will do a miracle for me. I
just don't know when it will happen. He will heal my leg so that I
can do everything you can do."
"I'll be happy to see you walk without that brace and
crutches," said Maggie. "We will have even more fun when you can
run."
Delight went back to school the next day after her fall. There
wasn't much said about her injuries and she was glad. Everything
had returned to normal in the classroom. Brett settled down and
paid attention in class. He was almost like a new person.
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