by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VI.
FIRE!
One Saturday evening early in October the boys had been for a longwalk down among the marshes. They had told Mrs. Andrews they would belate, and it was past eight o'clock when they came along past theworks.
"We shan't get home at this hour again for some time, I expect,"George said, "for they say that we are going to begin to work overtimeon Monday, and that the orders are so heavy that it will very likelyhave to be kept up all through the winter."
"I am glad it didn't begin earlier," Bill replied; "it would have beenhorrid if we had lost all our walks while the weather was fine. Howdark the place looks how it's shut up, and how quiet and still it isafter the rattle we are accustomed to!"
"Stop a moment," George said, putting his hand on his arm.
"What is it, George?"
"I don't know. It seemed to me, for a moment, as if I saw the bigstack clearly and then it was dark again."
"How could that be, George?"
"I don't know; it looked to me as if it was a reflection of lightfrom one of the windows at the back there. There it is again."
"Yes, I saw it," Bill agreed. "What can it be?"
"I don't know, Bill; let's run around to the back. There mightbe--it's awful to think of--but there might be a fire."
The boys ran down a narrow lane by the side of the works onto a pieceof waste ground behind.
"Look, Bill, look at the glare in the molding-room. There must befire. Here, help to put this bit of old timber against the wall."
The piece of wood was placed into position, the two lads climbed up itonto the wall, and dropped into the yard within. Just as they did sothere was a clatter of falling glass, followed by a glare of light asa body of flame burst out from one of the windows.
"Let's ring the dinner-bell, Bill; that will call people's attention,and then we must do the best we can."
They ran along until they reached the front gate, and then, seizingthe bell-rope, rang it violently.
In a minute or two there was a clatter of feet outside, and shouts of"What's the matter?"
"There is a fire in the molding-room," George shouted; "run for theengines, someone, and break the gate open. Now come on, Bill."
The two boys ran towards that part of the building where the flameshad been seen, broke a window, and climbed in. There was an almoststifling smell of burning wood and at a door at the end of theplaning-room they could see a light flame flickering through thecracks of the door leading into the molding-room, which was next toit.
"Quick, Bill, screw that leather pipe onto the hydrant. We must stopit from getting through here till the engines come."
The hydrant communicated with the great tank at the top of thebuilding, and as soon as the hose was screwed on and Bill stood withthe nozzle directed towards the burning door, George turned the cockand volumes of water flew out.
The first result seemed disastrous. The door was already nearly burnedthrough, and, as the powerful jet flew against it, it seemed tocrumble away and a mass of flame darted out from the molding-room. Thejoists and timbers supporting the floor above the planing-room wouldhave caught at once, but the boys deluged them with water, as also theframework of the door, and then, throwing the stream of water into theblazing workshop, they kept down the flames near the door. The smokewas stifling.
"We shall be choked, George!" Bill gasped.
"Lie down, Bill. I have heard the air is always better near theground."
This they found to be the case, and they were still able to direct thejet of water. But three or four minutes had elapsed when the outerdoor of the planing-house was unlocked and Bob Grimstone and severalother men rushed in, but were at once driven back by the smoke. Georgehad recognized Grimstone's voice, and shouted:
"This way, Bob, the fire hasn't got through yet. Come and lend a hand,for it's gaining on us in spite of the water. You can breathe if youkneel down."
Grimstone, with two or three of the men, crawled in and joined theboys.
"What! is it you, George? How on earth did you get here?" Bobexclaimed.
"We saw a light as we were passing, and got in from behind. When wesaw what it was we rang the alarm-bell, and then came on here to dowhat we could till help came."
"You are good-plucked, you are," Grimstone said admiringly; "but I amafraid it's not much good."
"You take the hose, Bob, and keep the rafters drenched there. Bill andI will crawl forward and clear the shavings out of the way if we can.They have caught half a dozen times already."
The two boys crawled forward, and although the heat was tremendousthey managed to clear away the shavings for a considerable distance.The smoke and heat were so great that they were obliged to crawl backinto the outer air, where for a while they lay almost insensible.There were crowds of men in the yard now, but most of them were roundat the back, powerless to aid at present, and only watching theflames as they roared through the whole of the windows of themolding-room.
Men were hurrying past with buckets of water, and one of them, seeingthe condition of the boys, dashed some over their heads and faces, andthey presently staggered to their feet. It was now a quarter of anhour since they had first given the alarm, and they were just about tore-enter the planing-shop to rejoin Bill when they met him and hiscomrades coming out.
"All the water's gone," he said; "if the engines aint here in a minuteor two it will be too late."
But just at that moment there was a cheer outside, and immediatelyafterwards a fire-engine dashed through the gate. Grimstone ran up tothe firemen as they leaped off.
"The great thing," he said, "is to prevent it spreading from that shopinto this. We have been keeping it back till now, but the tank hasjust run dry."
While the other firemen were fitting the hose to the fire-plug justoutside the gates one of them made his way into the planing-room toascertain the exact position of affairs.
"Quick, lads," he said; "there's no time to be lost; the fire ismaking its way through. Another five minutes and we should have beentoo late to save any of this block. Is there any communication throughthe upper floors?" he asked Grimstone.
"Yes, there is a door on each floor,"
"Have you got any empty sacks about the place?"
"Yes, there is a pile of them in there."
The fireman gave instructions to one of his comrades, while he himselfmade his way into the planing-room with the hose; the other got outthe sacks, and assisted by Grimstone and some of the hands drenchedthem with water, and then proceeding to the door on the first floorpiled them against it.
"It is hot already," he said as he laid his hand upon it. "Now, do youmen bring me buckets of water. Keep the sacks drenched till anotherengine comes up."
George and Bill, finding they could be of no more use, made their wayout to the back and joined the crowd watching the flames, which hadalready spread to the first floor. They were, however, with the restof the lookers-on, speedily turned out of the yard by the police, who,having now arrived in sufficient strength, proceeded at once to clearthe premises of all save a score or two of men who were engaged inassisting the firemen.
As the boys went out through the front gate another engine dashed upat full speed, dropping lighted cinders on its way.
"Hurray!" Bill said; "this is a steamer. I expect they will do now."
Then the boys made their way round again to the back, and by means ofthe pieces of timber established themselves on the wall, where theywere soon joined by a number of others, and watched the struggle withthe flames.
In half an hour six engines were on the spot; but even this force hadno visible effect upon the flames in that portion of the building inwhich they had taken possession, and the firemen turned the whole oftheir efforts to prevent it from spreading.
The party wall dividing it from the main building was a very strongone; but so hot had it become that the floor boards touching it wereover and over again in flames.
A score of men with saws and axes cut away
the flooring adjoining thedoors on the first and second stories. The planing-room wasfortunately not boarded. While a portion of the fire brigade workedunceasingly in preventing the spread of the flames in this direction,the rest turned their attention to the great wood piles, which wererepeatedly ignited by the fragments of burning wood.
Presently the roof fell in, and the flames shot up high into the air,but grand as the sight was, the boys did not wait any longer lookingon. Their faces smarted severely from the heat to which they had beenexposed; their hands had been a good deal burned by the shavings;their hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes were singed, and the eyeballsached with the glare.
"I will run home now, Bill; mother will likely enough hear of thefire, and as we said we should be back soon after eight she will begetting anxious."
"I will go and tell her it's all right; you stop and see the end of ithere."
But this George would not hear of.
"Very well, then, I will go with you. I must get some grease orsomething to put on my face and hands; they are smarting awfully."
Mrs. Andrews gave an exclamation of surprise and alarm as the boysentered. The irritation of the wood smoke had so much inflamed theireyes that they could scarcely see out of them, and their faces lookedlike pieces of raw beef.
"Whatever has happened, boys?" she exclaimed.
"There's a great fire at Penrose's, mother; it broke out just as wewere passing, so we stopped to help for a bit, and then came home totell you, thinking that you might be anxious."
"A fire at the works!" Mrs. Andrews exclaimed; "that is dreadful.Dreadful for Mr. Penrose, and for all of you who work there; more,perhaps, for you than for him, for no doubt he is insured, and you maybe out of work for months. Thank God I have plenty of work, so I daresay we shall be able to tide it over."
"It is not all burned, mother; only the molding-shop and the floorsabove it are on fire at present, and as there are six fire-engines atwork, and they keep on arriving every minute, I hope they will savethe rest; and now, mother, what can we do to our faces and hands, theyare smarting awfully?"
"Dear me, George, are you burnt? I thought you were only dreadfullyhot."
"We feel hot, mother, just as if our faces were being roasted."
"I will get some oil, that will be the best thing," Mrs. Andrews said,hurrying away to the kitchen, and coming back with a piece ofcotton-wool, and some olive-oil in a cup.
"You are burned, George. Why, child, your hair is all singed, and youreyebrows and eyelashes. Why, what have you been doing to yourselves?There could have been no occasion to put your heads into the flameslike that. Why, your hands are worse still; they are quite blistered.I had better wrap them up in cotton-wool."
"It's the inside that's the worst, mother; perhaps if you put a bit ofcotton-wool there and tie it round the back it will do; we can't goout with our hands all swaddled round like that. And now, please,directly you have done we want to go down again to see the fire. Justyou go up to the road corner, mother. It's a grand sight, I can tellyou."
"We will have tea first," Mrs. Andrews said decidedly; "everything hasbeen ready except pouring the water in since eight o'clock, and it's aquarter past nine now. After we have done I will put on my bonnet andwalk down with you as near as I can get. I am not going to lose youout of my sight again."
So after their meal they went down together, but could not getanywhere near the works, all the approaches now being guarded by thepolice. It was a grand sight, but the worst was over, and there was ageneral feeling of confidence in the crowd that it would spread nofurther. A dozen engines were at work now. Some of the firemen were onthe roof, some on the stacks of timber, which looked red-hot from thedeep glow from the fire. The flames were intermittent now, sometimesleaping up high above the shell of the burned-out buildings, thendying down again.
"Thank God it's no worse!" Mrs. Andrews said fervently. "It would havebeen a bad winter for a great many down here if the fire had spread;as it is, not a quarter of the buildings are burned."
"No, nothing like that, mother; not above a tenth, I should say. It'slucky that there was a strong wall between that and the next shops, orit must all have gone. I have heard them say that part was added onfive or six years ago, so that the wall at the end of the planing-shopwas an outside wall before; that accounts for its being so thick."
After looking on for about half an hour they went back home. Butneither of the boys got much sleep that night, the excitement they hadgone through and the pain of their burns keeping them wide awake tillnearly morning. As Mrs. Andrews heard no movement in theirrooms--whereas they were usually up and about almost as early onSundays as on other days, being unable to sleep after their usualhour for rising--she did not disturb them. George was the first toawake, and looking out of the window felt sure by the light that itwas later than usual. He put his head out of the door and shouted:
"Bill, are you up?" There was no answer. "Mother, are you up; whato'clock is it?"
"Up! hours ago, George. Why, it's past eleven!"
George gave an exclamation of astonishment and rushed into Bill'sroom. The latter had woke at his shout.
"It's past eleven, Bill, and mother has been up for hours;" and hedashed off again to his room to dress. It was but a few minutes beforethey came downstairs just at the same moment.
"Why didn't you wake us, mother?"
"Because I thought it better to let you sleep on, George. I guessedthat your burns had kept you awake for some time."
"That they did. I thought I was never going to get to sleep," Georgesaid; and Bill gave a similar account of himself. "Still, mother, ashort night does no harm for once, and you haven't been able to get tochurch."
"It does not matter for once, George. What figures you both are!"
"We are figures," George said ruefully. "I hardly knew myself when Ilooked in the glass. My eyes are almost shut up, and the skin ispeeling off my nose, and my hair is all rough and scrubby; and Billlooks as bad as I do. You are a figure, Bill!" and George burst into afit of laughter.
"He's no worse than you, George; but come along, breakfast iswaiting."
"You haven't waited breakfast for us, I hope, mother?"
"I made myself a cup of tea the first thing, boys, and had a slice ofbread and butter, for I thought you might not be down for some time;but I am quite ready to join you; we have got fish. I put them downdirectly you called."
"Well, I am glad you are not starving, mother; and I am glad too youdidn't have your regular breakfast. It would have been horrid to sitdown on Sunday morning without you, when it's the only regularbreakfast we get in the week."
Just as they had finished their meal there was a knock at the door. Itwas Bob Grimstone. Bill opened the door.
"Well, how are you to-day, lad? I thought I would just come round andsee. You look pretty badly burned; and so do you, George," he added,as he followed Bill into the sitting room.
"Good-day, Mrs. Andrews."
"Good-morning, Mr. Grimstone," Mrs. Andrews said. Since her coming theGrimstones had several times come in on Sunday afternoon to LaburnumVillas. Mrs. Andrews would, indeed, have wished them to come in morefrequently, for she felt much indebted to them for their kindness toGeorge, and, moreover, liked them for themselves, for both were goodspecimens of their class.
"I see you were busy last night too, Mr. Grimstone; your face looksscorched; but you did not manage to get yourself burned as these sillyboys did. What a blessing it is for us all that the fire did notspread!"
"Well, Mrs. Andrews, I don't think those two lads can have told youwhat they did, for if they had you would hardly call them silly boys."
Mrs. Andrews looked surprised.
"They told me they lent a hand to put out the fire--I think those wereGeorge's words--but they did not tell me anything else."
"They saved the building, ma'am. If it hadn't been for them therewould not have been a stick or stone of Penrose's standing now; theshops and the wood piles would all have gone, and we shoul
d all havebeen idle for six months to come; there is no doubt about that atall."
"Why, how was that, Mr. Grimstone? How was it they did more thananyone else?"
"In the first place they discovered it, ma'am, and rung thealarm-bell; it mightn't have been found out for another five minutes,and five minutes would have been enough for the fire. In the nextplace, when they had given the alarm they did the only thing thatcould have saved the place: they got into the planing-shop and turnedon the hose there, and fought the fire from spreading through thedoor till we got in seven or eight minutes later. It was all we coulddo to stop it then; but if they hadn't done what they did theplaning-shop would have been alight from end to end, and the floorsabove it too, before the first engine arrived, and then nothing couldhave saved the whole lot. I can tell you, Mrs. Andrews, that thereisn't a man on the works, nor the wife of a man, who doesn't feel thatthey owe these two lads their living through the winter. I don't knowwhat Mr. Penrose will say about it, but I know what we all feel."
"Why, George," Mrs. Andrews said, while her eyes were filled withhappy tears at the praises of her son, "why did you not tell me aboutit?"
"Why, mother, there was not anything to tell," George said, "and Bobhas made a great fuss about nothing. As I told you, we saw a light aswe came along and when we went round behind and got on the wall we sawthe place was on fire, so we rang the alarm-bell, and then turned onthe hose and flooded the place with water till Bob and some more cameto help us."
"It sounds very simple, Mrs. Andrews, but I can tell you it wasn't so.When we opened the door of the planing-shop it was so full of smokethat it didn't seem as if anyone could breathe there for a minute, andas we could see the glare of the flames at the other end we thoughtthe place was gone. We should have gone out and waited for the enginesif we hadn't heard the boys sing out that they were there; and eventhough we knelt down and crawled in, as they shouted to us to do, wewere pretty nearly stifled. When we took the hose they crawled forwardand got the shavings cleared away; that was how they burned theirhands, I expect; and I hear they tumbled down insensible when they gotout. Now, ma'am, they may make light of it, but if ever two youngchaps behaved like heroes they did, and you have every right to beproud of them--I say of them, because although Bill's no son of yoursI know he is what you and your boy have made him. He was telling meabout it one day."
"Will work go on to-morrow as usual, Bob?" George asked, in order tochange the subject.
"In some of the shops it will, no doubt," Bob said; "but in our shopand the floors above it it will take a day or two to clear up. I sawthe foreman just now, and he tells me that a strong gang of carpenterswill be put on, for both the floors are burned away at the end of thewall and pretty near twenty feet of the roof are charred. Twosurveyors are coming down this afternoon to examine the wall and saywhether it is safe. The walls of the shops that are burned out mustcome down, of course. The surveyor says that if the wall at the end ofthe planing-room looks pretty strong they will build up another wallagainst it as soon as it gets cold enough and the rubbish is clearedaway for men to work; that will make a strong job of it, and therewon't be any loss of time. Of course if the old one has to come downthere can't be much work done in the shops till it's finished. Thegovernor got down about ten o'clock last night. A messenger went up tohim almost directly after the fire broke out, but he was out atdinner, and by the time he got down here all danger of it spreadingwas over. He had a talk with the foreman and arranged about the wallwith him. He is as anxious as we are that there should be no delay,for there are some heavy orders in, and, of course, he doesn't wantthem taken anywhere else."
"Will you look at their hands, Mr. Grimstone. I don't know much aboutit, but they seem to be badly burned."
"That they are, ma'am," Mr. Grimstone said when he had examined them;"pretty nigh raw. If I might give an opinion, I should say as thedoctor had better see them; they are precious painful, aint they,George?"
"They do feel as if they were on fire, Bob, but I don't see any use ina doctor. I don't suppose he can do more than mother has."
"Perhaps not, George, but he had better see them for all that; he maygive you some cooling lotion for them, and I can tell you burns on thehand are apt to be serious matters, for the muscles of the fingers mayget stiffened. I have known two or three cases like that. You hadbetter go at once to Dr. Maxwell; he always attends if there are anyaccidents at the works. You know the house, George; it is abouthalfway between this and the works."
"Yes, you had better go at once, boys," Mrs. Andrews said; "there, puton your hats and be off."
"I will walk with them. I must be off anyway, for the missis will bewaiting dinner for me."
"Are we to pay, mother?"
"No, not till you have done, George. I dare say you will have to haveyour hands dressed several times."
"There won't be any occasion to pay him, Mrs. Andrews. The firm alwayspays the doctor in case of accidents, and you may be very sure that inthis case they will be only too glad."
"Well, in any case, George," Mrs. Andrews said, "you can tell thedoctor that you will pay when he says that you need not come to himagain. If Mr. Penrose hears about it and chooses to pay I should notthink of refusing, as you have been burned in his service; butcertainly I should not assume that he will do so."
"Shall I go in with you, boys?" Bob asked when they reached the door."I know the doctor; he attended me two years ago when I pretty nighhad my finger taken off by one of the cutters."
"Yes, please, Bob, I wish you would."
They were shown into the surgery, where the doctor soon joined them.
"I've brought these two young chaps for you to look at their hands,Dr. Maxwell. They got them burnt last night at the fire. Mrs.Andrews, the mother of this lad, wished me to say that she would paythe charges when you have done with them; but as if it hadn't been forthem the works would have been burnt down as sure as you are standingthere, I expect the firm will take the matter in their own hands."
"Yes, they are nasty burns," the doctor said, examining the boys'hands. "Can you open and shut them, boy?"
"I think I could if tried, sir," George said, "but I shouldn't like totry, for if I move my fingers at all it hurts them awfully."
"I see you have had oil and cotton-wool on your hands."
"Yes."
"The best thing you can do, boys, is to put on some soothingpoultices. Tell your mother to get some linseed and mix it witholive-oil. I will give you a bottle of laudanum. Let her put abouttwenty drops of that into the oil before she mixes it with thelinseed. Every four or five hours change the poultices. I think youwill find that will relieve the pain a good deal. I see your faces arescorched too. You can do nothing better than keep them moistened withsweet-oil. I should advise you to keep as quiet as possible for threeor four days."
"But we shall want to get to work, sir," George said.
"Nonsense! You will be very lucky if you can use your hands inanother fortnight. I will send in the usual certificate to the works."
"Will you tell the foreman, Bob," George said when they left thedoctor's, "how it is we can't come to work? You tell him we wanted to,and that we hope to come back as soon as our hands are all right;because, you see, the men and boys at the shops which have been burntdown will be all out of work, and it would be awful if we found ourplaces filled up when we went to work again."
"Don't you be afraid, George; there is no fear of your being out ofwork after what you have done."
"Well, what did the doctor say?" was Mrs. Andrews' first question whenthey returned home.
"He didn't say much, mother, except that we must not think of going towork for a fortnight anyhow, and we are to have poultices made withlinseed mixed with oil, and twenty drops of laudanum from this bottle,and it must be put on fresh every three or four hours. I am afraid itwill be an awful trouble."
"The trouble won't matter," Mrs. Andrews said brightly. "Did he sayyou were to go to bed?"
"No, mother; but we were
to keep as quiet as we could."
"Then in that case, George, I think you had better go to bed."
"No; I am sure we had better not," George said. "I should toss andfidget about there horridly. The best thing will be for us to sithere, and then we shall be all together. And if you talk to us, andperhaps read to us, we shan't feel it half so much. What are you goingto do, mother?" he asked five minutes afterwards, as Mrs. Andrews camedown with her bonnet on.
"I am going to get some linseed, George, of course. I haven't got anyin the house."
"But it's Sunday, mother, and the shops will be shut."
"I shall get it at the chemist's, George. They will always supplythings that are needed even on Sunday. People are ill on Sunday aswell as any other day, you know. I shan't be gone more than a quarterof an hour. You must keep very quiet till I come back."
The boys found a good deal of relief from the effect of the poultices,and were very much better after a good night's rest. At ten o'clockthe next morning, as Mrs. Andrews was sitting at her work, with theboys both on the hearthrug in front of the fire, there was a knock atthe door. It was a loud double knock, quite unlike the ordinarysummons of the baker's boy, who was the only regular caller. The boysjumped up in surprise.
"Who can that be, mother?"
"We shall soon see," Mrs. Andrews said quietly.
She was not surprised, on opening the door, to see a gentlemanstanding there, whom, by the description the boys had given of him,she guessed to be their employer. A little girl was standing by hisside.
"Is this Mrs. Andrews?" the gentleman asked.
"I am Mrs. Andrews," the lady answered quietly.
"My name is Penrose. I have called with my daughter to inquire afterthe two lads--one of them your son, I believe--who so gallantly savedmy place from being burned down on Saturday evening. I only heardabout it late yesterday evening, when I came down to arrange aboutsome matters with the foreman. He did not know the facts of the caseon Saturday night, but had learned them yesterday, and there can be nodoubt whatever, from what he says, that had it not been for thepresence of mind and bravery of these two lads nothing could havesaved the entire works and all the wood piles from destruction. I toldmy daughter this morning, and she insisted on coming down with me. Youknow she is already indebted to your son for saving a locket which weboth greatly valued."
"Will you walk in, sir?" and Mrs. Andrews showed them into the sittingroom.
Mr. Penrose had been somewhat surprised by Mrs. Andrews' manner,although the foreman, in telling him of the boys' conduct, had alsostated what he knew about them.
"They are out-of-the-way sort of boys, sir," he said. "There was quitea talk about them in the shops in the spring. They lodged withGrimstone, and it seems that after they had been here at work fivemonths Andrews' mother, who had been ill, was coming to them, and theygot Grimstone to take a house for them, and it turned out that eversince they had been at work here they had been putting by half theirwages to furnish a place for her, so they must have lived on aboutfive shillings a week each and got clothes for themselves out of it.Now, sir, boys as would do that aint ordinary boys, and there wasquite a talk among the men about it. I hear from Grimstone that Mrs.Andrews is a superior sort of person, he says quite a lady. She doeswork, I believe, for some London shop."
Mr. Penrose, therefore, was prepared to find the boys in a morecomfortable abode than usual, and their mother what the foreman calleda superior sort of woman; but he perceived at once by her address thatGrimstone's estimate had been a correct one, and that she was indeed alady. The prettiness of the little sitting room, with its comfortablefurniture, its snowy curtains and pretty belongings, heightened thisfeeling.
"I have come to see you, boys," he said, "and to tell you how indebtedI feel to you for your exertions on Saturday. There is no doubt thathad it not been for you the place would have been entirely burned. Itwas fully insured, but it would have been a serious matter for me, asI should have lost four or five months' work, and it would have beenstill more serious for the men to have been thrown out of employmentat this time of the year, so we all feel very much indebted to you. Ihope you are not much burned."
"Oh, no, sir! our hands are burned a bit, but they will be all rightin a few days. Bill and I are very glad, sir, that we happened to bepassing, and were able to give the alarm and do something to stop theflames till the others came up; but we don't feel that it was anythingout of the way. It was just a piece of fun and excitement to us."
"They didn't say anything about it, Mr. Penrose, when they came home,and it was only when one of the men came in next day to ask after themthat I heard that they had really been of use."
"It is all very well to say so, lads," Mr. Penrose replied; "but thereis no doubt you showed a great deal of courage, as well as presence ofmind, and you may be sure that I shall not forget it. And now, Mrs.Andrews," he said, turning round to her, "I feel rather in a falseposition. I came round to see the lads, who, when I last saw them,were not in very flourishing circumstances, and I was going to makethem a present for the service they had done me, and my daughter hasbrought them a basket with some wine, jelly, and other things such asare good for sick boys. Finding them as I find them, in your care andin such a home, you see I feel a difficulty about it altogether."
"Thank you, sir," Mrs. Andrews said, "for the kindness of yourintention; but my boys--for although one is in no way related to me Ifeel towards him as if he were my own--would not like to take moneyfor doing their duty towards their employer."
"No, indeed!" George and Bill exclaimed simultaneously.
"As you see, sir, thanks to the work you were good enough to give theboys and to my needle,"--and she glanced towards the articles on thetable,--"we are very comfortable; but I am sure the boys will be veryglad to accept the things which your daughter has been so kind as tobring down for them, and will feel very much obliged for herthoughtfulness."
"That is right," Mr. Penrose said, relieved. "Nelly, you may as wellleave the basket as it is. I am sure you don't want to carry it backagain?"
"No, papa," Nelly said; and indeed even the empty basket would havebeen more than the child could well have carried. It had come on thetop of the carriage to the railway-station, and a porter hadaccompanied Mr. Penrose with it to Laburnum Villas.
"You would have hardly known your young friend. Would you, Nelly?"
"I don't think I should," she said, shaking her head. "He looksdreadfully burned, and his hair is all funny and frizzled."
"It will soon grow again," George said, smiling. "The doctor says ourfaces will be all right when the skin is peeled off. Thank you verymuch, Miss Penrose, for all the nice things. It was a fortunate dayindeed for us when I caught that boy stealing your locket."
"And it was a fortunate day for us too," Mr. Penrose responded. "Now,Mrs. Andrews, we will say good-by. You will not mind my calling againto see how the boys are getting on?"
"It will be very kind of you, sir, and we shall be glad to see you,"Mrs. Andrews replied; "but I hope in a few days they will both be outof the doctor's hands."
"I can't shake hands with you," Mr. Penrose said, patting the boys onthe shoulder, "but I hope next time I see you to be able to do so.Good-morning, Mrs. Andrews."