for the Fourth of
July. It had been arranged that they should have quite a display of
fireworks on the lawn of the senator's home, and many folks of that
vicinity were invited to attend.

"Here is Buster Beggs!" cried Roger, that evening, and the youth who was
so fat and jolly hove in sight, suit-case in hand. He shook hands all
around and was speedily made to feel at home.

"Glad you are going to have fireworks," he said to Roger. "I don't care
much for noise on the Fourth, but I dote on fireworks. Let me set some
of 'em off, won't you?"

"Of course," was Roger's reply. "We boys are going to give the
exhibition, while the older folks, and the girls, look on."

"But we are going to have a little noise--at sunrise," put in Phil.

"What kind of noise--a cannon?"

"No, some firecrackers."

"Oh, that will be all right," answered Buster, thinking the firecrackers
were to be of ordinary size.

So they were--all but one. But that one was a monster--the largest Phil
and Roger had been able to buy. They had not told the others about this
big fellow, not even Dave, for they wanted the explosion of that to be a
surprise.

"It will sure make them sit up and take notice," said Phil to Roger, as
the pair hid the big cannon cracker away in the automobile garage.

"We'll set it off back of the kitchen," answered Roger. "It won't do any
harm there."

On the night of the third the boys retired somewhat early, so as to be
up bright and early for the glorious Fourth.

They had been sleeping less than an hour when a sudden cry awakened
them.

"Fire! Fire! Get up, boys! The garage is on fire, and I am afraid the
gasoline tank will blow up!"

CHAPTER VIII

FIRE AND FIRECRACKERS

"What's that!"

"The garage on fire!"

"Say, look at the blaze!"

Such were some of the cries, as the boys tumbled out of bed, one after
another. A bright glare of fire was dancing over the walls of the rooms.

"It's some brushwood behind the garage!" announced Dave, as he poked his
head out of a window to look. "It's that big heap the gardener put there
yesterday."

"He shouldn't have placed it so close," said Luke. "Why didn't he rake
it to some spot in the open?"

All of the boys were hurrying into their clothing as fast as possible.
The alarm had been given by Senator Morr, and by the chauffeur, who
slept in a room of the barn next to the garage.

"Oh, Roger!" gasped Phil. "That big cannon cracker!"

"I was thinking of it