Part 9 (2/2)

Through the open transom over the door of Mrs. Mantel's office Ruth saw that one end of the room was ablaze.

CHAPTER X-SUSPICIONS

There was a patter of feet overhead and racing down the stairway came half a dozen frightened people. They had been aroused by Mr. Mayo's shout, and they knew that if the flames reached the stairway first they would be driven to the fire escape.

There seemed little danger of the fire reaching the stairs, however; for when Ruth got to the lower hall the door of the burning office had been opened again, and she saw one of the porters squirting the chemical fire extinguisher upon the blaze.

Mr. Legrand had flung open the door, and he was greatly excited. He held his left hand in his right, as though it were hurt.

”Where is Mrs. Mantel?” demanded Mr. Mayo.

”Gone!” gasped Legrand. ”Lucky she did. That oil spread all over her desk and papers. It's all afire.”

”I was opening a gallon of lubricating oil. It broke and spurted everywhere. I cut myself-see?”

He showed his hand. Ruth saw that blood seemed to be running from the cut freely. But she was more interested in the efforts of the porter.

His extinguisher seemed to be doing very little good.

Ruth heard Mr. Mayo trying to discover the cause of the fire; but Mr.

Legrand seemed unable to tell that. He ran out to a drugstore to have his hand attended to.

Mr. Mayo seized the second extinguisher from the wall. The porter flung his down, at the same time yelling:

”No good! No good, I tell you, Mr. Mayo! Everything's got to go. Those extinguishers must be all wrong. The chemicals have evaporated, or something.”

Mr. Mayo tried the one he had seized with no better result. While this was going on Ruth Fielding suddenly remembered something-remembered it with a shock. She had seen the man, Jose, tampering with those same extinguishers some days before.

While a certain spray was puffed forth from the nozzle of the extinguisher, it seemed to have no effect on the flames which were, as the porter declared, spreading rapidly.

Mrs. Mantel's big desk and the file cabinet were all afire. Nothing could save the papers and books.

An alarm had been turned in by somebody, and now the first of the fire department arrived. These men brought in extinguishers that had an effect upon the flames at once. The fire was quite quenched in five minutes more.

Ruth had retreated to Mr. Mayo's office. She heard one of the fire chiefs talking to the gentleman at the doorway.

”What caused that blaze anyway?” the fireman demanded.

”I understand some oil was spilled.”

”What kind of oil?” snapped the other.

”Lubricating oil.”

”Nonsense! It acted more like benzine or naphtha to me. But you haven't told me how it got lit up?”

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