Produced by David Edwards, David K. Park and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) AN AMATEUR FIREMAN JAMES OTIS [Illustration: LIFE-SAVING CORPS AT WORK. _Frontispiece._] AN AMATEUR FIREMAN BY JAMES OTIS AUTHOR OF "TOBY TYLER," ETC. [Illustration: JIP AND THE FIRE-ALARM.--_Page_40] NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 681 FIFTH AVE. COPYRIGHT E. P. DUTTON & CO 1898 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE AMATEUR 1 II. 'LISH DAVIS 19 III. JIP'S REVENGE 36 IV. SAM THE DETECTIVE 54 V. TARDY REPENTANCE 73 VI. AN OBSTINATE DETECTIVE 92 VII. NEW LODGINGS 110 VIII. JIP COLLINS'S RETREAT 127 IX. THE UNIFORM 144 X. AT HEADQUARTERS 161 XI. SAM'S RETURN 179 XII. THE PRISONER 196 XIII. THE LETTER 215 XIV. THE SUBPOENA 233 XV. THE TRIAL 251 XVI. WINNING A MEDAL 270 XVII. THE BLOW-OUT 288 XVIII. THE EXHIBITION DRILL 306 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE LIFE-SAVING CORPS AT WORK _Frontispiece_ 'LISH DAVIS AND SETH 8 JIP COLLINS AND THE BOYS FROM BROOKLYN 34 JIP AND THE FIRE-ALARM--_Title-page_ 40 SETH CATCHES THE HORSE 68 SAM GOING TO PHILADELPHIA 136 THE FIRE-ENGINE GOING OUT 152 SETH RESCUES THE BABY 272 THE BLOW-OUT 298 PRESENTING THE MEDALS 322 AN AMATEUR FIREMAN. CHAPTER I. THE AMATEUR. "I ain't sayin' as how I could run a whole fire, same as some of the chiefs do; but when it comes to drivin' an engine, Dan Roberts, an' doin' it in time to get the first water, or layin' hose, I wouldn't knuckle down to the biggest man in the Department." "Now see here, Seth Bartlett, what's the sense of talkin' that way? It would be a good deal better, an' I ain't the only one who says it, if you'd stick right to shinin', an' stop playin' fireman, for that's 'bout the biggest part of the work you do."