The Young Firemen of Lakeville

The Young Firemen of Lakeville

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Title: The Young Firemen of Lakeville or, Herbert Dare's Pluck
Author: 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
Character set encoding: ASCII
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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. WEBSTER
Author Of "Only A Farm Boy," "The Newsboy Partners," "The Young Treasure Hunter," "Bob The Castaway," Etc.
ILLUSTRATED
1909

BOOKS 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 Circus

CONTENTS
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 LOSS
XIII 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--CONCLUSION

CHAPTER 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 ran from 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, Bert, grabbed up his clothes from