“Tell mother not to worry about me—that I’ll keep out of danger,” said our hero.
He had scarcely spoken when Mrs. Hardy rushed up, all out of breath and with her face full of fear.
“They told me you had gone into the store,” she gasped. “Are you unharmed?”
“Yes, I’m all right, mother.”
“Thank Heaven for that!”
“Here are father’s papers and account books. I’m afraid the whole place is doomed.”
“Yes, it looks like it—and the next place, too,” answered Mrs. Hardy.
She remained at the fire for only a few minutes and then returned home, to tell her husband that Frank was safe. Georgie went with her, but Ruth stayed to see the end of the conflagration.
It was a full hour before the fire was under control. By that time not only the feed store was gone, but also the butcher shop next door, and a barn in the rear. Yet many felt that the firemen had done well to save the surrounding property, considering how dry everything was and what a breeze was blowing.
“That’s the end of the feed business,” thought Frank. “I hope father is insured. If he isn’t, the loss will be a heavy one for him—especially after this Garrison disaster.”