fire in it to keep the hens warm so's they'd lay more. That wasn't
much of a blaze. Besides, it was in the daytime, and we had the brook
to get water from."

"Well, the bucket brigade's good enough for Lakeville," declared the
butcher. "What's the use of talking? I've seen it do good work."

"Well, maybe once in a while. But it can't handle a big fire. We need
a regular department, that's what we do."

"What, and increase the taxes to pay for it? I guess not much!"
exclaimed Mr. Sagger. "I pay too high taxes now. The bucket brigade is
good enough."

"That's the kind of men that keeps Lakeville from growing," thought
Mr. Appelby, as he walked off. "He's too miserly to want to pay a few
dollars extra each year to support a regular fire department. But
we'll have to have one some day."

That day was nearer than Mr. Appelby supposed.




CHAPTER IV

BERT HAS A PLAN


Lakeville was a typical New England village. It was of fair size, and