"
Bert, who heard this conversation, wondered if the tramp he had
rescued from the brook, or any of his companions, had started the fire.
"I hope the one I saved didn't do it," mused the boy. "He seemed like
a decent chap in hard luck." Nothing was ever learned, however, of how
the fire started. Certainly the tramp stenographer had nothing to do
with it.
Several members of the bucket brigade assisted the boys in getting the
engine off the flatboat. In fact, of late the men fire-fighters of
Lakeville were beginning to entertain different feelings toward their
boy rivals. They saw that the lads meant business, and that they were
a corps of very efficient youngsters. Some of the men imagined that
the volunteers were only doing the thing for fun, but what happened at
the lumber yard blaze convinced them that they were mistaken.
"We seem to be right in it," remarked Cole, as they were dragging the
engine back to quarters a little later. "Plenty of fires for us to put
out lately."
"Yes. I wonder what Mr. Bergman meant when he said he'd not forget
what we did for him?" asked Vincent.
"Oh, probably he's just like old Sagger," replied Tom Donnell.
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