Bemis and General Ward rode in front of the troop of horsemen. Carnine
was still in the burning barn asleep, and there was no leader to give
command to the dazed guards. Ward and Bemis ran up, motioning the men
back, and Ward cried, "Shall we help you save your stock and barn, or
must we fight?" It was addressed to the crowd, but before they could
answer, Dolan stumbled out of the barn through the smoke and flames
crying, "Boys,--boys,--I can't find him." He saw the rescuing party
and shouted, "Boys,--Gabe's in there asleep and I can't find him."
The wind had suddenly veered, and the crackling flames had reached the
straw roof of the barn. The fire was gaining headway, and the three
buckets that were coming from the well had no effect on it. As the
last horse was pulled out of the door, one side of the straw wall of
the barn fell away on fire and showed Gabriel Carnine sleeping not ten
feet from the flames. Lige Bemis soused his handkerchief in water,
tied it over his mouth, and ran in. He grabbed the sleeping man and
dragged him through, the flames; but both were afire as they came into
the open.

Now in this story Elijah Westlake Bemis is not shown often in a heroic
light. Yet he had in his being the making of a hero, for he was brave.
And heroism, after all, is only effective reliance on some virtue in a
crisis, in spite of temptations to do the easy excusable thing. And
when Lige Bemis sneaks through this story in unlovely guise, remember
that he has a virtue that once exalted even him.

"Gabe Carnine," said Ward, as the barn fell and there was nothing more
to fear, "we didn't fire your haystack; I give you my word on that.
But we are going to take these boys home now. And you better let us
alone."