A Raging Fire

Nancy pulled on her jeans and a sweater right over her pajamas, slipped her feet into her shoes, and raced out to the hall. George and Bess emerged right behind her.

“Wh-what happened? ” Bess asked in a shaky voice.

“Let’s find out, ” Nancy replied, and the three of them quickly followed the cold draft of night air to the open rear door.

Once outside, the situation became obvious to them instantly. “It’s the cottage farthest from the house! ” George cried.

The little building was blazing like a torch in the darkness. Chuck and Ward were already spraying water from the two garden hoses on the inferno, but seemed to be making no progress at all.

Nancy looked around quickly. “Did anyone call the fire department? ” she shouted above the roaring of the flames.

“I did, ” Heather called as she and Maria came racing from the direction of the stable. They were carrying what looked like burlap feed sacks. “They’ll be along as soon as they can, but in the meantime, we’d better wet these sacks and try to keep the fire from spreading.”

Nancy nodded and they all helped Heather dip the feed sacks in the swimming pool. Once they were soaked, each took a couple and began chasing the sparks that were already floating away from the blaze.

The men, having given up on the cottage, were now using the hoses to wet the walls and roofs of the nearby buildings to keep the fire from spreading. This left it up to the girls and Maria to put out the small blazes that seemed to start everywhere in the grass, the hedge, even in the clumps of desert wild flowers and bushes nearby.

It was like a nightmare. While one spark was being extinguished, three more were igniting close-by areas. The smoke rolled over them and, as it reached the stable, set the horses to whinnying in terror. When the crashing of hooves became too loud, Heather left the others and went to open the stall doors, allowing the terrified animals to get out into the corrals if they wanted to.

By the time the small, rural fire truck arrived, Nancy and the others were smoke-stained and weary. They were all glad to stand back and watch as the firemen tamed and finally put out the roaring blaze. Only then did they have a chance to relax and sit down on the damp chairs near the pool.

“How did it get started, Chuck? ” one of the firemen asked, and for the first time, Nancy recognized him as Floyd, the young man she’d ridden to the barbecue with earlier that evening.

Chuck shook his head. “Your guess is as good as mine, ” he answered. “I was sound asleep when it started. Heather woke me up.”

All eyes turned toward the redhead. “I guess it was the smell of smoke that woke me, ” she said. “My room faces this way and when I opened my eyes, I could see the flames. It scared me half to death. I thought the whole resort was on fire.”

Floyd looked around. In the pearly beginning of daylight, the charred places on the lawn and bushes were very clear. “You’re just lucky that it wasn’t, ” he said. “If you hadn’t come out in time, the place could have gone.”

“Anybody out here ready for sandwiches and coffee? ” Maria called from the doorway. When there was a chorus of assent, she and Ngyun emerged with two big trays.

“When in the world did you do this? ” Heather asked in amazement.

“As soon as the firemen arrived, ” Maria answered. “I knew you wouldn’t need me any more and I already had Ngyun at work making sandwiches in the kitchen.”

Everyone began to eat with enthusiasm, and Ngyun’s shy smile soon appeared as everyone commented on his handiwork. The ham, cheese, and beef sandwiches did taste delicious and helped to lift their spirits in the cold aftermath of the battle with the fire.

Ngyun’s smile faded, however, when one of the firemen frowned at the charred and smouldering building and commented, “I just don’t see how it could have started accidentally, Chuck. There wasn’t anyone staying in that cottage, and you weren’t working on it yesterday, were you? ”

Chuck shook his head. “We finished the rough work before Grandfather’s accident, and I haven’t had the time to do anything else since. I’ve been waiting for Grandfather. He makes all the final decisions about the wiring and finishing, you know.”

“Are you saying that the cottage could have been deliberately set on fire? ” Nancy asked, her attention caught by the idea.

“I not do it! ” Ngyun protested, getting to his feet so quickly that he spilled the remainder of his milk in the grass. “I not set any fires! ”

For a moment, no one spoke. Maria cleared her throat, but before she could say anything, the boy was gone, fleeing not toward the house, but toward the stable. In a moment, the black and white pinto appeared, Ngyun clinging to his bare back as they raced away from the house into the desert.

“I didn’t mean to make him think I was accusing him, ” Nancy protested quickly, getting up. “Should I ride after him? ”

“You’d never catch him, ” Maria told her sorrowfully.

“Why should he think you were accusing him? ” George asked. “You were just asking a logical question.”

“Perhaps he should be questioned, ” Ward observed, looking uncomfortable. “There have been so many fires since that first signal fire on the ridge. I don’t think that Ngyun could have anything to do with them, but...” He let his voice trail off, shaking his head, then continued, “Burned saguaro cactus and fenceposts are one thing, but the cottage is something else.”

“No! ” Maria was on her feet, her face full of pain. “It can’t be Ngyun, ” she cried. “Honestly, Chuck, he was in his bed when you pounded on our door. There’s no way he could have done it. He wouldn’t, I just know that he wouldn’t.”

“I think we’re all jumping to conclusions, ” Floyd said. “The fire is too hot to check now, but I’ll come back late this afternoon and look around. I’ll see if I can find any clues to how it happened. Maybe that will give us some answers.”

His words seemed to signal the end of the brief rest period. The firemen finished their sandwiches and coffee and began to gather up their equipment and put it back on the truck.

The rest of the group, including Nancy, Bess, and George, all set about cleaning up what they could of the debris that had been left behind. By the time the truck drove away, the sun was over the horizon and the new day had begun.

Once things had been set to right, Nancy wandered slowly toward the house. “What’s wrong? ” Bess asked as they started down the hall to their rooms, anxious to clean up.

“I’m worried about Ngyun, ” Nancy admitted. “I promised to try to clear his name and now he thinks I’ve accused him of setting the cottage on fire.”

“Do you believe there’s a possibility that he did? ” George asked.

Nancy considered, then shook her head. “I don’t think he’s guilty of anything except being alone too much and pretending to be the kind of boy he thinks his father was.”

“Poor kid, ” Bess murmured compassionately. “But why would someone else set fires and let him be blamed? I mean, someone has to be doing all these things.”

Nancy sighed. “I wish I knew who it was, ” she admitted, then brightened. “Maybe we’ll find a clue after the fire cools.”

“If there’s a clue, you’ll find it, ” Bess told her loyally.

After they parted, Nancy showered to remove the stains of her fire fighting, then dressed in a bright blue-and-yellow print, cotton dress. Ready to start the day, she went out to see if she could help Maria or Heather.

She found Heather alone in the lobby and asked her where Chuck was, hoping that he’d gone after Ngyun. Her hope was short-lived.

“Chuck has gone into town to talk to Grandfather. He wants to tell him about the fire and about the journal you found. Then, too, he feels he should tell him about that rattler someone threw at you last night.” She frowned. “Chuck and I are still worried about you getting hurt, Nancy.”

“And I’m worried about Ngyun, ” Nancy said, changing the subject.

Heather nodded. “So am I, ” she admitted, “but I don’t know what to do about him. There are people who can’t help setting fires, you know, Nancy. Do you think Ngyun could be like that? ”

“Oh, I hope not, ” Nancy said, not liking the idea at all.

“Did you find out anything from the journal? ” Heather asked, changing the subject.

“Not about any treasure, ” Nancy told her. “But it does make it clear that Jake Harris and the Indians were friends, so I very much doubt that they were the ones who caused his death.”

“I’m glad of that for Maria’s sake, ” Heather said.

“Do you think she’d like to read the journal? ” Nancy asked. “Jake mentions several of the Hopi chiefs and elders by name. One of them might be her great-grandfather.”

“Oh, she’d love to read it, ” Heather assured her. “She’s always been so sure that the Indians were wrongly accused. It will make her happy to see some proof of their innocence. And after what happened this morning, I’m sure she could use some cheering up.”

Nancy nodded, remembering only too well her part in Ngyun’s hasty exit from their early morning gathering by the pool. “She must be very worried about Ngyun, ” she agreed. “I’ll go and get the journal.”

She hurried back to her room and opened the drawer in the bedside table. Her nails scraped the wooden bottom as she reached inside, then she stared unbelievingly into the empty drawer. The journal was gone!