The Young Firemen of Lakeville; or, Herbert Dare's Pluck

Frank V. Webster

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• Publié par: ustla
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 35
• Langue: English

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Lakeville, by Frank V. Webster
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Title: The Young Firemen of Lakeville or, Herbert
Dare's PluckAuthor: Frank V. Webster
Release Date: July, 2004 [EBook #6114] [Yes, we
are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This
file was first posted on November 11, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE ***
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and
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[Illustration: "The other animals followed in an
instant."]
THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE OR
HERBERT DARE'S PLUCK
BY
FRANK V. WEBSTERAuthor Of "Only A Farm Boy," "The Newsboy
Partners," "The
Young Treasure Hunter," "Bob The Castaway,"
Etc.
ILLUSTRATED
1909BOOKS FOR BOYS
By FRANK V. WEBSTER
12mo. Illustrated. Bound in cloth.
ONLY A FARM BOY, Or Dan Hardy's Rise in Life
TOM THE TELEPHONE BOY, Or The Mystery of a
Message
THE BOY FROM THE RANCH, Or Roy Bradner's
City Experiences
THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER, Or Fred
Stanley's Trip to Alaska
BOB THE CASTAWAY, Or The Wreck of the Eagle
THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE, Or
Herbert Dare's Pluck
THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS, Or Who Was Dick
Box?
THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES, Or Nat Morton's
Perils
TWO BOY GOLD MINERS, Or Lost in the
Mountains
JACK THE RUNAWAY, Or On the Road with a
CircusCONTENTS
CHAPTER
I A MIDNIGHT ALARM
II IN PERIL
III TALKING IT OVER
IV BERT HAS A PLAN
V BUYING THE ENGINE
VI THE FIRST RUN
VII BERT SAVES A TRAMP
VIII ON THE LAKE
IX A NARROW ESCAPE
X MYSTERIOUS ACTIONS
XI SUSPICIONS AROUSED
XII SAGGER'S FIRE LOSSXIII SINGING A DIFFERENT TUNE
XIV A DANGEROUS GAME
XV A GENEROUS OFFER
XVI MR. BERGMAN'S PLANS
XVII THE ENGINES ARRIVE
XVIII THE PARADE AND PICNIC
XIX WINNING THE TRUMPET
XX A FALSE ALARM
XXI THE MYSTERIOUS MESSAGE
XXII THE STENOGRAPHER'S SUSPICIONS
XXIII A BRAVE RESCUE
XXIV AN ENCOUNTER WITH MUCHMORE
XXV THE MYSTERY SOLVED—CONCLUSIONCHAPTER I
A MIDNIGHT ALARM
"Fire! Fire! Turn out, everybody! Fire! Fire!"
This cry, coming like a clarion call, at midnight,
awoke the inhabitants of the peaceful little New
England village of Lakeville.
"Fire! Fire!"
Heads were thrust out of hastily-raised windows.
Men and women looked up and down the street,
and then glanced around to detect the reddening in
the sky that would indicate where the blaze was.
Timid women began sniffing suspiciously, to learn if
it was their own homes which, unsuspectingly, had
become ignited.
"Fire! Fire! Stimson's barn is burning! Fire! Fire!"
A man ran down the principal village street,
shouting as he ran. At some doors he paused long
enough to pound with his fist, awakening the
dwellers who had not heard his call, for he was
Rodney Stickler, the town constable and
watchman, whose duty it was to sound the fire
alarm, and summon the bucket brigade, in the
event of a blaze.
"Hurry up!" Constable Stickler shouted, as he ranfrom house to house, striking with his fist on the
doors of the residences where the members of the
bucket brigade lived. "The barn is 'most gone! Fire!
Fire!"
Men jumped from bed, pulled on shirts, trousers,
and shoes or boots, and thus scantily attired,
rushed forth to do battle with the flames.
In a small cottage, near the end of the village
street, a lad, hearing the midnight alarm, got up
and hurried to the window. He could make out the
short, stocky form of Constable Stickler rushing
about. Then, off to the left, he could see a dull glow
in the sky. There was, also, the smell of wood
burning.
"What is it, Herbert?" asked a woman's voice from
another room.
"Fire, mother," replied Herbert Dare. "Mr. Stickler is
giving the alarm."
"Whose place is it? I hope it isn't around here. Oh!
fire is a dreadful thing! Where is it, Herbert?" And
Mrs. Dare put on a dressing-gown and came into
her son's room.
"I think he said it was Mr. Stimson's barn, mother. I
can see a blaze over in that direction."
"Mr. Stimson's barn? He has a fine lot of cattle in
it. Oh, I hope they save the poor creatures!"
Herbert, or, as he was usually called by his chums,