on the Tenth, he found his chum the centre of a wildly excited group,
and engaged in beating out his third conflagration. Dan was
immediately fired to emulation. He would be disgraced forever in the
eyes of the Flats if he allowed Scotty to get ahead of him, and already
the room was filling with admiring MacDonalds and envious Murphys. So,
in spite of the imploring shrieks and commands of the girls, he struck
a match and soon had the festoons along the wall crackling merrily.
When this rival blaze was extinguished Hash Tucker stepped into public
notice. Considering his blood and breeding, this son of the house of
Tucker should have been a phlegmatic Saxon. But no one can say what
Canadian air will do with the blood; and under its influence Hash had
long ago commenced a reversion to type, the aboriginal wild Indian.
Whatever Scotty or Dan did therefore, that he could outdo. Seizing a
burning brand from the stove, he scrambled up on the teacher's rickety
old desk, and the next moment the triumphal arch, reared in honour of
the new master's coming, was in a blaze. But just as he reached up to
beat out the flames he was gripped violently round the knees, and down
he came to the floor, Scotty on the top of him. Hash roared lustily
for his followers; the Tenth responded gallantly, Scotty was engulfed
in their on-rush, and, to help on the good work, Dan Murphy headed a
rescue party from the Oa to extricate his friend from the yelling heap.

What the outcome of this affray might have been is doubtful, but just
at its inception a terrified cry of "fire," from the remainder of the
school parted the combatants. They came to their feet to find the
flames leaping up the walls, and clouds of smoke rolling through the
room.

It was no joke this time and the boys wasted not an instant. Scotty
leaped from the floor to head an impromptu fire brigade, and for a few
moments they worked desperately. They dragged down the burning
branches and flung them out of doors; they flew to and from the pump,
they flung snow and water among the flames, and after a short but
desperate struggle the fire was conquered.

It was all over in a few moments, and the victors stood, begrimed and
breathless, and rather ruefully surveyed the havoc they had unwittingly
wrought. The lately spotless walls were scorched and blackened, the
decorations depended from the fastenings, charred and ugly, and the
floor was swimming in inky water.

"Horo!" crie