A quarter of an hour later Harry, who was moodily poring over his Latin grammar and wondering whether Bruce had been severely hurt or not, saw from his seat by the window the two girls crossing the garden and disappearing through a side gate. He wondered idly where they were going to, and then he fell to thinking about how to get even with his sister for the trick she had played him that morning, and he was engaged in this manner when Mr. Reed suddenly entered the room and asked him what progress he was making with his lessons. The boy took up his book again with a sigh that was so deep that the tutor asked him if he was sick or if anything serious had happened.
“No,” he replied, “nothing has happened to me, but I’m afraid something awful has happened to Bruce.” And then he told the tutor what he had read in the Herald, and Mr. Reed becoming very much interested went out and found the paper where the young girls had dropped it in the summer house, and then returned to his pupil’s room and said, “I’m afraid he’s badly injured and I’m very sorry for it, for he was a very manly, polite young man, and I should judge from the account in the newspaper that he had showed himself to be a brave one as well. I really think you ought to go down to the hospital and see how he is getting along.”
Harry leaped to his feet, but Mr. Reed restrained him by saying firmly, “not until your lessons are finished. If you can recite them to me within an hour, we will start at once.”
With this incentive to work, Harry returned to his task with such industry and enthusiasm, that when his tutor returned at the close of the hour he found his pupil able to recite his lessons without a single mistake, which was altogether an unusual condition of things with him. Then putting on his hat, Mr. Reed told Harry to accompany him and they started for the elevated railroad together.
Chapter XXI.
“I’ll not shake hands with you, Bruce, but I’d like to, and so would all the men at the quarters,” was Mr. Trask’s greeting as he seated himself beside the bed of the injured boy. “I don’t think that arm of yours will stand much shaking for some weeks to come, but we’re all proud of you nevertheless.” The boy’s face flushed with pleasure, and his eyes grew dim for the chief had never spoken to him in such a strain before, and besides he had fancied for a month or two past that his superior rather looked down upon him as a boy who was good for nothing except to bed down horses and make himself generally useful about the quarters. To be sure he did not quite understand why Mr. Trask should say that all the men wanted to shake hands with him, for he had but a hazy remembrance of the events of the previous day, and did not know that his name had been published in the papers with an account of his bravery in saving a boy’s life. He did not know what to say, so he simply remarked, “thank you sir.”
The chief was silent for a moment and then went on, “well I suppose you’ve had enough of the fire department by this time, but when you get well I’ll see to it that you don’t lose anything by what you did yesterday. I had a talk with Mr. Dewsnap, and he’ll find a good position somewhere in case you don’t want to come back to the quarters again.”
Bruce’s lips quivered and an expression of dismay came into his face: “What!” he cried piteously, “leave the department the minute I begin to like it! Why, chief, what have I done that you should want to treat me in that way?”
“Then you’re not scared of the service by finding yourself laid up in a hospital, are you?” said the chief inquiringly.
“Scared out of it?” echoed the boy, “Why should I be scared out of it? I don’t remember everything that happened yesterday but I know that fire was the grandest thing I was ever at in my life. Why, I wouldn’t take all the money in the world for my experience yesterday.