“Bless you, my boy!” was the heartfelt reply; and, relieved from this dreadful fear, all hands were soon at work to rescue the property from the devouring flames.
But the firemen had now gained the victory, and the fire was extinguished before it had reached the main part of the building. Only the left wing was burned; but it was there that the powder had been placed, and from there Frank had removed it, in his late visit at the store the previous evening. He thanked the Lord that he had done this, as he thought of the dreadful loss of life and property which might otherwise have taken place.
Again the little party had assembled around the table to enjoy their pleasant evening chat. It was on the day after the fire, Frank’s seventeenth birthday.
“And now, mother, I have a piece of good news to tell you,” he said, as he finished the recital of the adventures of the previous night; for, at Clara’s request, he had told the story a second time.
“Mr. Lewiston has doubled my salary; and, moreover, he assures me that he will continue to advance me, and will at some future time endeavor to establish me in business for myself. And now, Miss Clara, you may put away your needle, and read and study a part of your time; and mother will no longer be so incessantly occupied with her work, but will have leisure to take some air and exercise, and she will look bright and happy again, as she used to when dear father lived with us.”
“I ought to look happy when I have such kind children to take care of me,” answered Mrs. Wilbur, smiling through her tears.
“I am so glad you went back to the store last evening, Frank!” exclaimed Clara. “I will never again try to persuade you to neglect the prompt performance of any duty.”
“It will be a lesson to both of us,” replied Frank. “You do not know how happy I felt this morning when our head clerk offered me his hand, and told me that I had saved him from a life of misery; for, had there been an explosion, he should have considered himself as the cause of the disasters which must have followed.”
“It must make you very happy to think that you have been the means of preventing so frightful a calamity,” answered Mrs. Wilbur. “The lesson is indeed a useful one to us all; and in every duty, whether great or small, we will ever bear in mind your favorite motto, ‘There is no time like the present.’”