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
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FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE ***

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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