"It's getting better. What you going to do?"
"Nothing special. What are you?"
"Same thing, I guess. I was looking for some of the boys."
"What for? Going swimming or fishing?"
It was the vacation season, school having closed about a week previously.
"Well, I wasn't exactly going swimming, but I want to talk about water."
"About water? Say, you ought to see my force-pump. I put some new washers in it, and it'll squirt fifty feet now. Come on over. I wish our house would catch fire."
"You do? What for?"
"Well, I'd show you how to put it out. I've got my pump on the cistern, and some hose ready to attach. It's got the bucket brigade beaten a mile."
"That's what I want to find some of the boys to talk about, Cole. I'm thinking of organizing a fire department."