One by one, men on each team were knocked down, and with each man who fell and had to withdraw, the hose became more and more uncontrollable for the members of the team who were left Annabel threw all of her strength into holding on to the thick rubber and canvas hose. She was wet from the spray but not soaked.
When the end arrived it came quickly. The Oakland team, with too few men left to properly control the hose, let it get away from them. It jerked out of their hands and writhed on the ground like a giant snake, spraying water everywhere. The people in the audience laughed and screamed and whooped as they scurried backward out of range of the gushing water. Without having to worry about being blasted themselves, the remaining members of the San Francisco team, Annabel among them, were able to use their hose to knock the rest of the Oakland team off their feet. The men at the valves on both pumpers turned the wheels quickly, shutting off the flow of water.
The victors, who were almost as wet and muddy as the losers, congratulated each other. Annabel was in the thick of it, but there was too much confusion for her to be recognized as not belonging there. She slipped away as soon as she could.
The helmet, high-topped boots, and long leather coat had kept the shirt and trousers underneath from getting too wet. She wasn't so soaked that she would have to change, Annabel decided. She unbuttoned the coat and flapped it back and forth, allowing the shirt and trousers to dry a little in the warm sun.
The fire hose shoot-out was the last contest of the morning. Now everyone would take a break for a few hours and indulge themselves in the picnic lunch, Annabel went to one of the food-filled tables and piled her plate high. She took it and a glass of lemonade and sat down cross-legged underneath one of the trees to eat.
She had been, there only a few minutes when she heard one of the passersby saying to a companion, ". . . saved his life, I swear that fireman did. Desmond would have choked to death."
"What fireman?" the man's friend asked. '
"Nobody seems to know. He disappeared before anybody could thank him."
"And Desmond's all right?"
"Good as new."
Without looking up, Annabel smiled. She was glad to hear that the man she had helped was all right. That was thanks and recognition enough.
"Yoo-hoo!"
Annabel heard the familiar voice and glanced up to see Lucius rolling Mrs. Noone's wheelchair toward her. It was Mrs. Noone who had called to her. Annabel wasn't sure if the elderly lady had recognized her or not, but from the twinkle in Mrs. Noone's eyes, Annabel assumed that was the case. That didn't bode well, she thought, if she could be picked out from the crowd so easily.
"Hello, my dear," Mrs. Noone said in a loud whisper as Lucius wheeled her up to the tree where Annabel was sitting. "You're doing splendidly."
Annabel smiled. "Thanks. I didn't think you'd be able to spot me so easily, though."
"Don't worry," Lucius told her. "Your disguise is excellent. Mr. Brady won't recognize you."
Annabel felt herself flushing: Had Mrs. Noone and Lucius, figured out that she was doing this primarily to impress Cole, to show him that her desire to join the fire department wouldn't be so easily dismissed?
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Mrs. Noone asked.
"As a matter of fact, I am," Annabel replied, and she realized that she was telling the truth. She was no more immune to the lure of competition than anyone else, and it had felt good to do well in the two contests in which she had participated so far. Even without the desire to show Cole he had to take her seriously, she would have enjoyed the challenge of competing.
"Are you going to take part in the fire wagon race?"
Annabel nodded. "I'm going to try." She wasn't sure yet how she was going to insinuate herself among the members of the team, but luck had been with her so far. She would continue to play it by ear.
"We should go find Mrs. Dupree, madam," Lucius said to Mrs. Noone. "You promised to have lunch with her."
"So I did," Mrs. Noone agreed. She held out a hand to Annabel, who clasped it for a moment "Continued good luck, my dear."
Annabel gave a small wave as Lucius rolled Mrs. Noone away toward the picnic tables. Music welled up from the band shell. The concerts would begin soon, giving everyone a chance to rest and relax before the big race began.
Annabel closed her eyes and leaned her head against the trunk of the tree. She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, enjoying the moment.
Somebody kicked her foot, and a voice she knew all too well said, "Better not doze off. There's still the race to come."
Cole.
Chapter 14
With patsy hurrying along beside him, trying to keep up with his longer strides, Cole had been on his way across the huge field when he'd spotted a San Francisco fireman sitting with his back to a tree, head drooping drowsily. The badge on the fellow's helmet indicated that he came from Engine Company Forty-eight. As he and Patsy had walked past him, Cole gave the man's booted foot a light kick and reminded him of the upcoming race.
"Uh, yeah," the man had responded in a low, husky voice, without looking up.
"I figured you wouldn't want to miss it," Cole had said, then he'd moved on with Patsy.