“I’ll be home soon, mother.”
“Don’t go too near, Tom.”
“No, I won’t.”
And Tom hurried out of the little cottage, and joined those who were hastening to the scene of the midnight fire.
For boys in their teens, and for some beyond that period, fires have an irresistible fascination. This is especially true in a village, where such occasions are uncommon, and where, as all are acquainted, the loss will come upon a friend or neighbor.
“Where is the fire?” asked Tom, of the first man he met.
“At Squire Simpson’s.”
“Not his house?” asked Tom, excited.
“No, it’s the old barn at the back of his house.”