Among the new members of the Boys’ Club was Asa Gardner, a boy whose reputation had not been very good in times past, for he had always been called “light-fingered,” being prone to take things that did not belong to him. His mother, whom Asa dearly loved, had died not long before, and the boy was said to have solemnly promised her at the last that he would never again surrender to his strange weakness that had amounted to what is called “kleptomania”—an itching to take the property of others when an opportunity arises.
Some of the boys were doubtful as to Asa’s ability to overcome his faults; but Mr. Holwell stood by the lad, and stoutly backed him up. Dick, too, had a certain amount of faith in Asa, for reasons of his own, in spite of the fact that Dan Fenwick, who was more skeptical, had more than once urged him to “keep an eye on that Asa.”
Dick had been enabled to do Old Jed Nocker, the richest merchant in Cliffwood, a great favor, whereby he found happiness in the possession of a grandchild, little Billy, together with his only son’s widow, Tilly Nocker. Since that time Mr. Nocker had lost much of his former cynicism regarding boys in general, and found numerous opportunities to stretch out a helping hand to the growing Junior Department of the local Y. M. C. A.
It was the unexpected home coming of Silas Langhorne, a brother of Mrs. Horner, from the Alaska gold fields, that had brought contentment and peace to Dick’s family. That was a strange and dramatic homecoming, for an account of which the reader is referred to the previous volume of this series. These summer days were happy ones in the Horner cottage, and little seven-year-old Sue, Dick’s sister, went singing about all the time.
The boys had settled down once more to their game, and the greatest interest was seizing upon them, with the score a tie, when all of a sudden Phil Harkness, out in center field, was seen to be waving his arms excitedly as he gave vent to a series of shouts.
“Hey! look yonder!” they plainly heard him calling. “See all that smoke, would you? It’s Bratton’s barn afire!”
CHAPTER II
AN INVASION OF PIGS
There is nothing under the sun capable of exciting a crowd of lively boys as much as a fire. Consequently when the ball players saw the smoke pouring from Bratton’s barn they instantly forgot all about their game, even with the score a tie, two out, Dick to the bat, a runner on third, and but a single hit needed to win for his side.
Helter-skelter they ran toward the scene, most of them shouting “Fire!” as they went, and thus increasing the already growing confusion. The clang of the suspended locomotive steel rim struck by a hammer added to the din. People came running from every direction toward the Bratton place, about which a crowd had already collected.
