Leslie laughed. To tell the truth it pleased the boy to know that Dick considered him a worthy partner. And it was just like Dick to want to share and share alike with a chum, no matter if he himself had done most of the work.
Meanwhile, the greedy flames fought hard to eat up the rest of the house, and as there was difficulty in getting a sufficient supply of water for the fire engine, at times it looked as though only a heap of ruins would be left.
Hen Hess, the blacksmith, who acted as foreman to the volunteer department, knew how to go about blocking the progress of the flames, however, and the wind changing helped him considerably.
Inside of half an hour, by furious work, the gallant fire-fighters had managed to head off the flames, and it looked as though the front half of the house might be saved.
“I heard one man say the old rookery was insured for almost its full value, anyway,” Dick told several of the boys who stood there with him; “so the owner isn’t going to lose much.”
“Mebbe he’ll take advantage of the opportunity to put up a decent modern building on the grounds,” suggested Elmer Jones.
“I heard Mr. Nocker say he had a good notion to buy the place in,” remarked Phil Harkness. “He even laughed when he explained that his family was getting so big now he would want more ground; and then Billy had kind of got used to this Brandon place too. Say, I have to rub my eyes when I hear that man laugh as he does now.”
“Sure thing,” echoed Peg Fosdick. “Why, before this it used to make me shiver to hear him chuckle; but now he shakes all over. And would you believe it, he actually turned and grabbed hands with me when I stumbled into him by accident. Whee! the old world must be coming to an end when Jed Nocker’ll do such a thing as that.”
Dick found himself yawning. Now that all the excitement had died down, and the three people in whom he was so deeply interested had gone over to the Nocker house, with the fire also well under control, the boy was feeling a reaction setting in.
“Me for home and my comfy bed!” said Leslie, also gaping in sympathy. “If you feel of the same mind, Dick, let’s be trotting along.”