The meetings of the Fire Brigade were held after school in Mr. Downing's form room. The proceedings always began in the same way, by the reading of the minutes of the last meeting. After that the entertainment varied according to whether the members happened to be fertile or not in ideas for the disturbing of the peace. Today they were in very fair form. As soon as Mr. Downing had closed the minute book, Wilson, of the School House, held up his hand. "Well, Wilson?" "Please, sir, couldn't we have a uniform for the Brigade?" "A uniform?" Mr. Downing pondered. "Red, with green stripes, sir." Red, with a thin green stripe, was the Sedleigh color. "Shall I put it to the vote, sir?" asked Stone. "One moment, Stone." "Those in favor of the motion move to the left, those against it to the right." A scuffling of feet, a slamming of desk lids and an upset blackboard, and the meeting had divided. Mr. Downing rapped irritably on his desk. "Sit down!" he said. "Sit down! I won't have this noise and disturbance. Stone, sit down--Wilson, get back to your place." "Please, sir, the motion is carried by twenty-five votes to six." "Please, sir, may I go and get measured this evening?" "Please, sir--" "Si-_lence!_ The idea of a uniform is, of course, out of the question." "Oo-oo-oo-oo, sir-r-r!" "Be _quiet!_ Entirely out of the question. We cannot plunge into needless expense. Stone, listen to me. I cannot have this noise and disturbance! Another time when a point arises it must be settled by a show of hands. Well, Wilson?" "Please, sir, may we have helmets?" "Very useful as a protection against falling timbers, sir," said Robinson. "I don't think my people would be pleased, sir, if they knew I was going out to fires without a helmet," said Stone. The whole strength of the company: "Please, sir, may we have helmets?" "Those in favor ..." began Stone. Mr. Downing banged on his desk. "Silence! Silence!! Silence!!! Helmets are, of course, perfectly preposterous." "Oo-oo-oo-oo, sir-r-r!" "But, sir, the danger!" "Please, sir, the falling timbers!" The Fire Brigade had been in action once and once only in the memory of man, and that time it was a haystack which had burned itself out just as the rescuers had succeeded in fastening the hose to the hydrant. "Silence!" "Then, please, sir, couldn't we have an honor cap? It wouldn't be expensive, and it would be just as good as a helmet for all the timbers that are likely to fall on our heads." Mr. Downing smiled a wry smile. "Our Wilson is facetious," he remarked frostily. "Sir, no, sir! I wasn't facetious! Or couldn't we have tasseled caps like the first fifteen have? They--" "Wilson, leave the room!" "Sir, _please_, sir!" "This moment, Wilson. And," as he reached the door, "do me one hundred lines." A pained "OO-oo-oo, sir-r-r," was cut off by the closing door.