"Don't go near that shore!" cried Nown. "We'll all be burnt up, take my word on't!" "Jasper, I was talking to these young men, not to you," said the lady coldly. "Yes, madam, but you know the fire----" "You seem to have lost your head completely since the fire started." "I think it's safe enough to go back to the lodge," said Owen. "So do I," added Dale. "They don't know anything," interrupted the frightened Jasper. "The sparks----" "If you don't want to go back we can land you on the island," said Mrs. Wilbur. "I fancy you'll be safe there." But Jasper Nown did not wish to be left alone, and so he reluctantly agreed to go back to the lodge, and the bow of the launch was turned for that point on the lower shore. In the meantime the wind continued to shift, and by the time the lodge landing was gained they saw that the fire near the cove was dying out. At the boathouse they found the missing servants, who, under the directions of a cool-headed forester, had gone back to the lodge for a basket of provisions and some blankets. "We were going to take to the other boat, if it became necessary," said the forester. "But the fire has shifted, and if it don't shift back this place won't be touched." At the boathouse the two young lumbermen retired for a few minutes, and wrung the water from their shirts and emptied their boots. As the weather continued hot they suffered nothing from their plunge into the lake, nor were the children affected. As the wind continued to shift, it became certain that the lodge would not be touched, and Dale and Owen determined to go back to the Paxton camp and learn how matters were going on there. "I will let you have horses," said Mrs. Wilbur, and ordered one of her servants to bring out the animals. "You see, we've got all our belongings at that camp," said Dale. "We haven't much, but what little there is we shouldn't like to lose." "I hope you save everything," said the lady of the lodge, and then she added: "You must promise to come and see me as soon as the fire is out." The steeds were good ones, and fresh, and the young lumbermen made fast time when once on the road. The sky overhead still hung heavy with smoke, and there was a strong smell of burnt pitch in the air. Along one section of the road the flames had eaten their way in the form of a circle, and here they came upon a number of snakes twisting and curling in their death agonies. They gave the reptiles a wide berth, and lost no time in leaving the locality behind them. When they at last dashed into camp, they found that the men were all out, cutting down trees and plowing up the ground at a corner of the claim, for that was the one spot threatened by the fire. Stabling the horses they got their axes and spades and joined the gang. "Hullo! back, are you?" shouted Gilroy, who was pitching in as hard as anybody. "Glad to see you. We were afraid you'd been pinched by the flare-up!" "We came pretty close to it," answered Owen.