Quite a crowd had collected around the engine, examining it by the light of the four lanterns. All the boys were there save Bert, and he had remained near the brook to gather up some of the engine buckets that had been dropped there.
As he was picking them up he saw some one crossing the little bridge that spanned the stream, over a hole that was quite deep. The bridge had no side rails, and the figure, which was that of a man, seemed to be unfamiliar with this fact.
As Bert watched he saw the man sway toward the edge, and, an instant later, topple over into the water, where there was quite a swift current.
"Help! Help!" the man cried. "I'm drowning!"
[Illustration: "Caught the man by his long hair">[
Bert hesitated only long enough to toss off his coat and in he plunged. He could just make out the head of the man, being swept under the bridge, and he swam rapidly toward it. An instant later he had caught the man by his rather long hair and was pulling him toward shore.
"You—you saved my life!" gasped the rescued one, as soon as he was on the bank and could speak, for he had swallowed some water. "I can't swim."
"Oh, I guess you'd have been all right," said Bert. "It is shallow a short distance below here, and you could have waded out."
"No," said the man, rather solemnly; "I'd have gone to the bottom and stayed there. I'm that unlucky."
He seemed quite affected and spoke sadly. Then, by the distant gleam of the lanterns on the engine, Bert saw that the man was ragged and quite unkempt. In short, he was a tramp.