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Opposite Boughton's general store was another shop that made a

specialty of fishermen's "oilers," boots, and overalls. Two

houses to the westward of that was the old Schofield place, a

low, white house surrounded by a rickety fence and covered with

ivy.

Once he reached the middle of the road Code saw that he had been

mistaken in the location of the fire, for his mother's place was

intact. The flame was coming, however, from the house next but

one--Bijonah Tanner's place.

A crowd was gathering in the yard that was overgrown with dusty

wire-grass, and the squire was pushing his way through to take

charge. Code knew that only two days before Captain Bijonah and

his wife had sailed in the Rosan to St. John's for lumber,

leaving Nellie alone in charge of the three small Tanners. He

wondered where they all were now.

He found his mother on the edge of the crowd that was helping to

save the furniture, and learned that Nellie and young Burns had

already arrived and were doing what they could.