Dragon of the Red Dawn: A Merlin Mission

temple bells but a harsh clanging.
Jack smelled smoke. He and Annie threw off their mosquito nets and stumbled to the door.
Basho was standing in his yard, looking at the dawn sky. It was black with smoke. The bells kept clanging.
“Is there a fire?” asked Jack.
“Yes,” said Basho. “It must be very big, forthe bells do not stop ringing from the watch-tower. This is what we have feared most. I must go and help the firefighters.”
“We’ll help, too,” said Jack.
“No, stay here,” said Basho. He pulled on his socks and sandals, then grabbed a wooden bucket by the door. “If the fire gets close, wade into the river, where you will be safe.”
“But we want to help!” said Annie.
“Yes, wait for us!” said Jack. He and Annie pulled on their socks and sandals.
“Come, then,” said Basho. “But if the fire begins to spread, you must promise to return here to the river.”
“We promise!” said Annie.
“Then bring the other bucket and follow me,” said Basho.
“I’ll get it,” said Jack. He hurried into the hut and grabbed the wooden bucket by the hearth. It was heavy, even without water in it. Jack hugged the bucket to his chest and rushed back outside.
Jack and Annie followed Basho through the pine forest. They passed a farmhouse where two small children stood outside, looking at the fiery sky.
“Our father says the lumberyard near the river is burning!” the boy shouted to Basho.
“He has gone to help fight the fire!” said the girl. “Great piles of wood are burning!”
The fire bells kept clanging as Basho, Jack, and Annie rushed past the temple and across the narrow footbridge.
They hurried up the winding dirt path until they came to the shopping market. In the smoky red dawn, people were pushing carts piled high with goods. They were running away from the fire.
But Basho, Jack, and Annie ran toward the fire. The air grew hotter and smokier near the teahouses and the performance stages. Sparks flew through the sky. Tiles on rooftops were catching fire and crashing to the ground.
Basho led Jack and Annie farther through the smoke until they came to the lumberyard. The fire roared as it burned piles of logs. Flames rose high into the sky.
Firefighters were passing buckets of water up a line from the river to the fire. Others waved huge fans to beat back the windblown flames,while the most daring worked with hooks and axes, trying to separate the burning timber.

“Help the bucket brigade!” Basho said to Jack and Annie. “Get water from the river!”
Basho rushed to help the men beating back the fire with fans while Jack and Annie hurried down to the river. Jack filled their woodenbucket. With water inside, it was so heavy he couldn’t lift it.
“Do it together!” said Annie.
“Right!” said Jack.
Using all their strength, Jack and Annie carried their bucket up the bank of the river. As they stumbled along, they tried not to spill the water. Jack could hardly breathe in the smoke-filled air. His throat and eyes burned. His face felt red-hot. Finally, when he thought he couldn’t take another step, they got to the bucket brigade. They gave their bucket to the person at the end, who gave them an empty bucket. “Get more!” he said.
Jack and Annie hurried back to the river with the empty bucket. They filled it with water and then struggled back up the bank.
Over and over, Jack and Annie hauled buckets of water back and forth from the river to the line of firefighters. Everyone worked hard to battle the great blaze. But the flames kept shooting intothe sky. Eventually the fire leapt over the river, and timber on the far bank began to burn.
“Oh, no!” cried a woman. “All of Edo will catch fire now!”
“The rice-storage houses will burn down!” said a man. “The harvest will be destroyed!”
Several people began weeping. Jack felt like crying, too. Right in front of his eyes, the beautiful floating world of Edo was about to go up in flames. “This is hopeless!” he said to Annie.
“No, it’s not!” Annie said. “The wand! We can use the wand!”
“Of course!” cried Jack. “But it’s in my bag! Back at Basho’s house!”
“We have to get it!” said Annie. She shouted to Basho, “Basho, we’re going back to your castle!”
“Yes, run for safety!” called Basho. “Jump into the river!”
“Right!” cried Jack.
“Be careful!” Annie shouted to Basho. Thenshe and Jack started running as fast as they could. They raced past the market. They ran across the