The sudden roar that followed this announcement
shook the big glasses and bottles on the low table.

"So you'd keep the blankets soaked, would you?"
remarked Billy, winking at the others.

"I certainly would." This came with a certain
triumphant tone in his voice.

"Learned that practising on his head," whispered
Podvine.

"Right you are, Poddy; but Muggles, suppose the
mill caught first," chipped in Monteith. The mill
was the apple of his eye. Fire was what he dreaded
--he never could insure the mill fully against fire.
"What would you protect first--the mill or the piles
of lumber?"

"The lumber, of course--the mill can use its
pumps if the engine-room escapes."

"Better save the mill," rejoined Monteith thoughtfully.
"Trade is pretty dull." Then he rose from
his seat, reached for his hat and strolled out on the
portico to take a look around before he turned in.

Muggles's masterful grasp of a science of which his
companions knew as little as they did of the Patagonian
dialects came as a distinct surprise. What