ed to remark, almost joyously. Evidently
they had emptied the pail of cold water over his head in the effort to
revive him, and with more or less success.

Jack was considerably relieved. It was not so bad as he had feared,
though Fred certainly looked weak, and next door to helpless.

"I hope he'll not be knocked out from playing that game with us
Saturday," Steve took occasion to say.

"Oh! Fred's made of tough stuff," asserted Toby, the wish being father
to the thought; "he'll recover all right. I only hope they've got their
goods covered by insurance. It'd be pretty rocky if they didn't, let me
tell you. Nearly everything is gone, I'm afraid. Fred did manage to drag
a little out, but that fire is bound to eat up the balance, no matter
what the firemen can do to throw water inside."

Jack suddenly discovered that the man whom he had seen talking with Fred
was pushing his way through the group. He acted too as though he might
be deeply interested in matters, for he shoved folks aside with an air
that would not stand for a refusal to allow him free passage. Toby
discovered him at about the identical moment.

"Look who's here, Jack!" he muttered, tugging at the other's coat
sleeve. "Now, what under the sun's gone and fetched that duck out here
to bother Fred again? We really ought not allow such a thing, Jack. The
nerve of the slick sport to push his way in to where Fred lies there."

"Just hold your horses, will you, Toby?" Jack told him. "As yet we don't
know anything about that man, who or what life is, and the nature of his
business with Fred. There, you see the boy seems to be glad to have him
around. Why, the man has gripped his hand. He seems to be a whole lot
excited, for he's questioning Fred as if he wanted to make sure
everybody was safe out of the cottage."

"I wonder if they are?" remarked Toby. "I've seen little Barbara, and
here's our comrade, while I reckon I glimpsed Mrs. Badger over there
among those women; but how about the crippled girl, Jack? Anybody seen
her around?"

A fresh thrill seized Jack's heart in a grip of ice. Of course it was
almost silly to suspect that the cripple could have been forgotten in
all the excitement; but anything is liable to happen at a fire, where
most people lose their heads, and do things they would call absurd at
another time.

"Fred would be apt to know, I should think," suggested Steve, anxiously,
casting an apprehensive glance in the direction of the burni