"His name is James Burnham," replied the superintendent. "He has been here two or three years, but we are going to send him home next month. He is a pretty good boy now."
"He used to go to school to me," said Miss Jackson. "I think he meant well, but he was careless about little things, and didn't always choose the right friends."
The horses gallop madly down the street
"That was just the trouble," Mr. Bruce told her. "He got into the company of some bad boys, and they led him into all kinds of mischief. At last they began setting fires to some of the old barns in the town; but one night there was a high wind that blew the sparks to a house near by, and it was burned to the ground. Then the police caught the boys, and they were all sent away to schools like this. It has been a good lesson for James, and his mother is proud of his improvement."
"Boys don't realize what a dangerous thing fire is," said Miss Jackson, as she turned to go home. "If they only knew how much property is destroyed by fire every year, a large part of it through carelessness, they would be more thoughtful about starting a tiny blaze that might so easily become a great conflagration."
What were Jamie's "little faults"?
Into what trouble did they lead him?
Why did the boys set fire to the old barns?
Why is it dangerous to burn any building, no matter how old or useless it is?
Did you ever see a big fire in the country? In the city?
Describe it. What damage did it do? How was it extinguished?
Have you read in the newspaper about any big fires recently?
Where were they, and how were they caused?
Was your own house ever on fire? What did you do?
It is against the law to burn a building, even if it is nothing but an old barn. No one can tell where a fire will end if it once gets a good start. Sparks will fly in all directions, and if there is a high wind they will blow for a long distance and set fire to the roofs of other buildings.
A man who willfully sets fire to his own property, or that of his neighbors, is liable to imprisonment. Arson is a serious crime and calls for severe punishment.