They actually seemed to hate to leave it to
go home to bed. "Say, I guess it isn't going to run away," remarked
John Boll, at length. "It'll be here tomorrow and the next day. I'm
going home."
This started the boys to moving, and soon Cole shut up the barn,
taking extra good care to see that the doors were locked.
"Maybe some members of that jealous bucket brigade might take a notion
to run our engine off," he said to himself.
But no such calamity happened, and the machine was safe in the barn in
the morning when Cole overhauled the valves and fixed them. Bert and
some of his chums called around after breakfast, and they talked fires
and engine to their hearts' content.
In the next few days several meetings were held, and the Boys'
Volunteer Fire Department of Lakeville was formally organized. Because
of his part in starting it, Herbert was unanimously elected captain.
There was a little contest as to who should be the lieutenant, but the
honor went to Vincent in recognition of his good work at the Stimson
barn fire.
Of course, Cole was made engineer, chief mechanic and everything else
that pertained to the actual operation of the engine.
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