Before the hinder flames had caught him, Bender and Jacko had been with him, and they had thus managed to consume the fuel which, had it remained there, would have fed the fire which was too strong to be mastered.

By watching the extremities of the line of fire, they overpowered it, and so the damage was for the moment at an end.
The method of dealing with the enemy was so well known in the bush, and had been so often canvassed in the hearing of the two sisters, that it was clearly intelligible to them.

The evil had been met in the proper way, and the remedy had been effective.

But why did not Harry come home?
Mickey O'Dowd, after his fashion, explained that too.

The ladies were not to wait dinner.