CHAPTER XVI
ANOTHER CLEW
With a hissing sound, the chemical streams from the extinguishers spurted upon the blaze. The fire died down around the edges of the big hole that had been burned in the floor, but in the centre there was hot flame.
"Can we get it under?" panted Sid, who, having emptied one extinguisher—a small one—ran after another.
"We've got to!" declared Phil, trying to shield his face from the fierce heat.
"If we can only keep it down until the fellows come with the hose, we'll do all right," gasped Tom, choking from the smoke.
There was a high pressure water service maintained at the college, hose being connected with a big tank, for the buildings were so far from town that the fire department could not easily get there.
Again and again the alarm boomed out from the big bell, rung by the vigorous arms of the Cali-
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