"And some of our engines are old-timers."

"Why is it necessary always to fight a fire with water?" Tom
continued. "There are plenty of chemicals that will put out a
fire much quicker than water."

"Of course," Ned answered. "There are plenty of chemical fire
extinguishers on the market, too, Tom. If your idea is to invent
a new hand grenade, stay off it! A lot of money has been lost
that way."

"I wasn't thinking of a hand grenade," said Tom, as he drew
some sheets of paper across the table to him. "My idea is on a
bigger scale. There's no reason, Ned, why a big fire in a tall
building, like a sky-scraper, shouldn't be fought from above, as
well as from below. Now if I had the right sort of chemicals I
could--"

Tom paused in a listening attitude. There was the rush of feet
and a voice cried:

"I'll get them! I'll get the scoundrels!"



CHAPTER IV

AN EXPERIMENT