"How is he?" Nothing seemed to dash Grayson, and he took time to ask this quite comfortably, still holding to Ben, while the other boys moved off the steps and around the corner of the master's house.
"Somewhat better. Be off with you!" The teacher waved his hand, and closed the door.
"That old Sterrett,—well, he's a dragon," declared Grayson, between his teeth, and, dragging Ben to a convenient angle, where the other boys soon gathered, the narrative was taken up where it had been dropped.
"I grabbed King, but you might as soon try to hold an eel. He would go."
Ben groaned, and this time so heavily that Grayson pulled himself up short. "See here, I won't tell any more; you're going to keel over."
For answer he was in an instant whirled completely around on his two feet, and instead of his having any sort of a grasp on Ben, it was the visitor who held his coat collar in a woollen-gloved hand in such a way that it didn't seem as if Grayson were ever to be free again.
"Now tell everything you know! I can't wait! Be quick about it!"
It was the same face he had shown to Jane, and, just as she had done, Grayson made all possible haste to answer, "Oh, I will, I will!" the other boys in their astonishment staring silently at the two.
"Pip couldn't be found. He slept in the north wing, but he'd run into another boy's room, so King lost time, and if he hadn't screeched,—Pip, I mean,—why, he never would have got out. And there King—oh, well, he crawled under the bed,—Pip, I mean, nasty little beggar,—and there King found him, and dragged him out. He told us all about it,—Pip, I mean,—and King slung him on his back, and by that time it was no use to try for the stairs; the flames were roaring up like mad, so King tried for the roof of the 'Lab.' Had to go through Toddy's room, and jumped out of one of the windows. And he made it.—Oh, don't hang on to a fellow so!—And there we saw him, and the firemen got a ladder up, and, oh—" Here Grayson gave out and actually blubbered.
Ben looked around for some one to take up the tale. And the tall, dark-haired boy they had called "Tim," now seeing his opportunity, pushed up.