Bert and Vincent were praised on all sides, and when Bert
appeared in the streets, with one hand bandaged up, where it had been
slightly burned, he was congratulated by nearly every one who met him,
until he blushed like a girl.
"If Constable Stickler had given the alarm a little earlier, so's the
bucket brigade could have got there quicker, we could have saved the
barn," said Moses Sagger, the owner of the only butcher shop in town.
He was a member of the brigade.
"That bucket brigade could never have put out that fire, Moses," said
Peter Appelby. "There wasn't water enough."
"Yes, there was. Didn't we put out the fire at Sim Rockford's, one
day, about two years ago?"
"Yes, but that was only his henhouse, when his wife put a charcoal
fire in it to keep the hens warm so's they'd lay more. That wasn't
much of a blaze. Besides, it was in the daytime, and we had the brook
to get water from."
"Well, the bucket brigade's good enough for Lakeville," declared the
butcher. "What's the use of talking? I've seen it do good work."
"Well, maybe once in a while. But it can't handle a big fire. We need
a regular department, that's what we do.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40