Rollo could not see the engine, for the street was perfectly filled, while it passed, with a dense crowd of men and boys, all running along by its side. Rollo thought that some of them would certainly get run over.
“We’ll go a little slower,” said Jonas, “till the engine gets by, and then we shall have more room.”
“No,” said Rollo, “let’s keep up. I want to see where they will go.”
“Well,” said Jonas,——“O, there’s the fire.”
Rollo looked forward where Jonas pointed. He saw, through the opening between some tall buildings before them, a faint light in the sky. He saw it however only for a few moments; for, as they passed on, the towering walls of the city buildings intervened again, and hid it from their view.
Pretty soon, however, at a turn of the street they came in view of the light again; and now it looked much brighter than before. It spread upwards, in fact, and illuminated a considerable part of the sky. The sight of the light appeared to animate the engine-men, for they began to run on faster than before, the heavy lumbering of the wheels, and the shouts of, “Ahead with her!” sounding louder than ever. Opposite to where Rollo and Jonas were, there was a light, tossing and dancing upon the top of a tall pole, representing the number ten in figures of fire.
“O Jonas,” said Rollo, “look at that ten.”
“Yes,” said Jonas, “that is the number of the engine.”
“How can they make such fiery figures?”
“Why, they put the lamp in a glass lantern, and they paint the glass black, all except a place left bare, of the shape of the figure which they wish to have, and so the light shines through where the glass is not painted, and that makes the figures of fire.”