“Against the rules.”
“See, there they are!” almost shrieked the boy, pointing to two men who came rushing down the embankment. “Oh, don’t let them get me.”
“Give him a show till I learn his story,” said Ralph to the engineer, so the latter put on steam and the two men were outdistanced.
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” panted the boy, clinging close to Ralph.
“Come up on the water tank,” said Ralph, “and I’ll have a talk with you.”
The lad, whom the young fireman had befriended, was a forlorn-looking being. He wore no shoes, was hatless, and had on a coat many sizes too large for him.
“Now then, what’s the trouble?” inquired 207 Ralph, when they were both seated on the water tank.
“Those men were pursuing me,” said the lad.
“What for?”
“I was running away from them. They are my uncles, and they have been very wicked and cruel to me. They want to send me to a reform school to get rid of me, and locked me up. I ran away this morning, but they got trace of me again.”