“The next time—” began Captain Murphy, but what he intended to say will never be known, for just at that moment the sharp stroke of the gong startled him to his feet. Bruce started also, from mere force of habit, little dreaming of the whole significance of that sharply clanging bell. From force of habit also he turned to see if he couldn’t lend a hand. The men were already at the heads of the engine horses, and the heavy footed black was lumbering slowly from his stall to his place at the pole of the tender.
Without waiting to be told, Bruce sprang at his head, snapped the collar about his neck, adjusted his head-stall and attached the reins, and did it all so quickly and thoroughly that Captain Murphy, who was just leaping from the floor to his place on the ash-pan, cried out: “Well done, young man, we’ll make a fireman of you yet.”
And then, acting on the spur of a sudden and fortunate inspiration, Bruce made answer, with a meaning glance at his superior: “Not unless you give me a chance to go to fires.”
“Up with you, then,” rejoined the captain, and the boy sprang up beside him just as the engine started. As they passed across the threshold the engineer lit his torch of oil-soaked rags and threw it under the boiler, which was filled with kindling wood also soaked in oil. The flames blazed up fiercely, fanned by the draft made by the swift motion of the vehicle, and in a moment the engineer was feeding them with one shovel after another of coal. By this time the engine was racing madly up the street, ringing its brass bell in sharp warning to all in its course. Captain Murphy was standing on the ash-pan, peering anxiously ahead of him, while Bruce stood beside him, keeping his place as best he could and wondering if it could be possible that the horses were running away. Just behind them came the tender, the black horse and his gray mate going at full gallop and following in the trail of glowing cinders which marked the engine’s course. Drivers and foot passengers hastened to make way for the firemen, so that they reached Fifth avenue with hardly a second’s loss of time. But just before they turned into the great thoroughfare the noise of another bell fell upon Bruce’s ears, and, with a roar and a rush, another engine with its tender close behind dashed up the avenue just ahead of them followed by a trail of smoke and red cinders.
“Just our luck!” exclaimed Captain Murphy, as he stamped his foot impatiently, for it was the rival company which had passed them half a block ahead, and as it went by Bruce noticed that Captain Baker, who was standing on the ash-pan, waved his hand in ironical salute to Captain Murphy.
“That’s the second time they’ve got ahead of us in a month,” continued Captain Murphy, “and now they’ll get first water, for I’m afraid we’ll never be able to catch them.”
Then the captain shouted some unintelligible order to his driver, who was urging his horses to even greater speed than before, in an attempt to pass the other machine. Standing on tiptoe and looking ahead it seemed to Bruce that they were slowly gaining on their rival, and that if the race were long enough they would inevitably catch up with it. But they were drawing near to the scene of the fire, and, with a sharp whirl, the foremost engine turned from the broad avenue into a side street.
“Hold fast!” shouted Captain Murphy, as his engine went round the corner in a way that nearly threw Bruce off his feet, and then, without an instant’s delay, swept on in mad pursuit of the other. Far ahead, the crowd could be seen gathering in the roadway close to a building from which a thick column of smoke was ascending to the sky. Captain Baker’s engine still maintained the lead, and it was plain that unless something remarkable happened, she would have her stream on the fire first.
But remarkable things sometimes do happen in real life, and now, just as both engines were slowing down, while their captains looked anxiously about them as if in search of something, Bruce saw a grin of delight chase the clouds from Captain Murphy’s face, and then a sharp word of command caused the driver to come to a sudden stop close to the curb, and there stood Mr. Peter Dewsnap leaning carelessly on an ash barrel and waving his hand to Captain Murphy. In an instant the barrel was lifted from the sidewalk and hurled into the street, and then Bruce saw to his surprise that it had been placed over the hydrant for which both captains were looking, and all at once he realized that Mr. Dewsnap, who was a particular friend of Captain Murphy’s, had placed it there and mounted guard over it in order to prevent the other company from getting their stream on first. Captain Baker saw through the game, but just too late, for before he could reach the spot the engineer had his coupling attached and the men were beginning to stretch hose.
“You stay with the tender until I send for you!” cried Captain Murphy, as he disappeared through the crowd.