le-brain! How did you get inside the
lines?"

"Crept under the rope when the copper wasn't lookin'. It ain't any very
hard job to do that."

"Don't you know you're liable to be arrested for doing anything of that
sort?"

"Well, we had to take the chances, you see, 'cause it wouldn't do to
miss a fire like this," Seth replied, half apologetically, and Dan cried
in his shrill tone:

"It's mighty lucky for you, Mr. Davis, that he did sneak inside this
once."

"I ain't likely to forget that, you rapscallion; but it has got nothing
to do with you lads being where you don't belong, and that's right about
here."

"Please don't send us away!" Seth cried imploringly. "We'll keep out of
sight so the chief won't see us, an' nobody will know where we are."

"I'll take precious good care you can't get into more mischief. Come
over here, both of you, an' stick right by Ninety-four till I give the
word to leave. Don't you dare to so much as move till the engine does,
an' if there's any more mishaps, steer clear of them instead of doing
your level best to run into trouble. Are you hearing what I'm saying?"

"Yes, sir," Seth replied meekly, and then the boys obeyed readily, for
Mr. Davis had stationed them in the very place above all others where
they could see everything which occurred, and Dan said in a tone of
satisfaction:

"It was a mighty good thing, your stoppin' that horse. You never had a
better chance to see a fire than this is, an' we'd better hold on to it
precious close."

"That's a fact; but I ain't gettin' so many points as I might if we
walked 'round."

"You'd better be satisfied with what's a soft snap, even if you don't
get points," Master Roberts replied grimly, and then he gave himself up
to the pleasure of watching the battle between the firemen and the
elements, for a third alarm had been rung in, and the number of men at
work round about was more than either he or Seth had ever seen engaged
at any one time before.

The hours passed to these two small but decidedly interested spectators
as if they were composed of no more than one quarter the usual number of
minutes, and when night came the conflagration was subdued but not
extinguished.

Ninety-four had gotten first water, and, consequently, would be the last
to leave the scene.

Here and there the companies dismissed from this particular duty were
taking up their hose, or already driving away in order to be ready for
the next alarm.

The th