Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. [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.