Then, again, he could only throw water on one spot at a time, and this only a short distance above the ground, whereas most of the fire was near the top. But the hose lines could be aimed to send the water high into the air, whence it descended in a shower, wetting the stack all over. Such vigorous treatment could have but one effect. In a little while the fire was under control, save at one place, and this was opposite the line formed by the bucket brigade. The young firemen had refrained from directing water from their lines there, as they did not want to wet the men. "Douse the blaze there!" cried Mr. Kimball, as he saw that in spite of the good work of the boys much of his hay might yet be burned. "Don't you dare do it!" cried Mr. Sagger to John and Tom. "We can put this out." "Why don't you do it, then?" inquired the owner of the hay. "You've been long enough at it. Here, I'll do it." He made a grab for the nozzle Tom held, and in doing so doused Mr. Sagger. "I'll have you arrested for that!" cried the butcher. "You done it on purpose!" "Wa'al, I'm going to have this fire out!" replied Mr. Kimball, and a few seconds later, with the aid from the other nozzle, the blaze was comparatively out. It still smouldered a bit on top, but a few sprinkles from a hose quenched that. "Fire's out!" cried Cole, from his place on top of the engine. "How's that for the new department?" "Boys, you're all right!" exclaimed Mr. Kimball. "There ain't more than half my hay burned. If I'd waited for that bucket brigade it would all be gone!" "That's not so!" cried Mr. Sagger. "We'd have had it out in five minutes, if those lads hadn't interfered with us." "That's right," added several men, who did not like the praise accorded to the young fellows. In spite of the good work they had done, there was not the best of feeling toward the boys on the part of the members of the bucket brigade. But on unprejudiced observers the work of the young firemen made a good impression, and they were warmly praised. Quite a crowd had collected around the engine, examining it by the light of the four lanterns. All the boys were there save Bert, and he had remained near the brook to gather up some of the engine buckets that had been dropped there. As he was picking them up he saw some one crossing the little bridge that spanned the stream, over a hole that was quite deep. The bridge had no side rails, and the figure, which was that of a man, seemed to be unfamiliar with this fact. As Bert watched he saw the man sway toward the edge, and, an instant later, topple over into the water, where there was quite a swift current. "Help! Help!" the man cried. "I'm drowning!" [Illustration: "Caught the man by his long hair"]