This suggested a new plan of operations for present use.

The long gray moss grew in great abundance all around the place, and gathering this he dipped it in the river and then threw it on top of the fire.

A bunch of the moss held greatly more water than his hat, and it served also to smother the fire.
He and Joe repeated the operation, putting some of the moss on top and some against the sides of the burning pile of timber.

The steam from these perceptibly checked the burning, and an hour's work covered the fire almost entirely up, so far at least as the exposed side of the drift-pile was concerned.

But just as they were disposed to congratulate themselves upon their success in subduing the flames, they discovered that while they had been smothering the fire on one side it had been burning freely further in.