Harry gathered all the large water pails he could carry, and hurried up to the tank followed by Bert.
"It has gone down already," said Harry, as they looked into the tank again. "But we had better dip out all we can, to make sure. Lucky we found it as soon as we did, for there are all father's tools on the bench right under the tank, besides all those new paints that have just been opened.""Here comes John now," said Bert, as he heard the barn door open and shut again.
"Come up here, John!" called Harry; "we're almost flooded out. The tank overflowed.""It did!" exclaimed John. "Gracious! I hope nothing is spoiled.""Oh, we just caught it in tine," Harry told him, "and we opened up the faucets as soon as we could. Then we began dipping out, to make sure.""You were smart boys this time," John told him, "and saved a lot of trouble by being so prompt to act. There is going to be a flood sure. The dam is roaring like Niagara, and they haven't opened the gates yet." "I'm glad we are up high," Bert remarked, for he had never seen a country flood before, and was a good deal frightened at the prospect.
"Hey, John!" called Freddie from the back porch. "Hey, bring me some more nails, will you? I need them for my ark.""He's building an ark!" laughed Bert. "Guess we'll need it all right if this keeps on."Harry got some nails from his toolbox in the carriage house, and the boys went up to the house.
There they found Freddie on the hard cement cellar floor, nailing boards together as fast as his little hammer could drive the nails in.
"How's that?" asked the little fellow, standing up the raft.
"I guess that will float," said Bert, "and when it stops raining we can try it.""I'm going to make a regular ark like the play one I've got home," said Freddie, "only mine will be a big one with room for us all, besides Frisky, Snoop, Fluffy, and - ""Old Bill. We'll need a horse to tow us back when the water goes down," laughed Harry.
Freddie went on working as seriously as if he really expected to be a littleNoah and save all the people from the flood.
"My, but it does rain!" exclaimed somebody on the front porch.
It was Uncle Daniel, who had just returned from the village, soaking wet.
"They can't open the gates," Uncle Daniel told Aunt Sarah. "They let the water get so high the planks sailed away and now they can't get near the dam.""That is bad for the poor Burns family!" exclaimed Aunt Sarah. "I had better have John drive me down and see if they need anything.""I stopped in on my way up," Uncle Daniel told her, "and they were about ready to move out. We'll bring them up here if it gets any worse.""Why don't they go to the gates in a boat?" asked Bert.
"Why, my dear boy," said Uncle Daniel, "anybody who would go near that torrent in a boat might as well jump off the bridge. The falls are twenty- five feet high, and the water seems to have built them up twice that. If one went within two hundred feet of the dam the surging water would carry him over.""You see," said Harry, explaining it further, "there is like a window in the falls, a long low door. When this is opened the water is drawn down under and does not all have to go over the falls.""And if there is too much pressure against the stone wall that makes the dam, the wall may be carried away. That's what we call the dam bursting,"finished Uncle Daniel.
All this was very interesting to Bert, who could not help being frightened at the situation.
The boys told Uncle Daniel how the tank in the barn had overflowed, and he said they had done good work to prevent any damage.
