difficult thing to head it off. Here, there and in many places the
flames would break forth, and eat up whole sections of the frame
building, despite the vigorous efforts of the firemen to control them.
Fortunately there was no house near enough to be caught in the
whirlwind of flames that poured furiously forth from time to time. A
myriad of red sparks flew on the wind; but those who lived in the
quarter whence they went were doubtless taking all necessary
precautions to prevent damage, even to wetting the roofs of their
dwellings with the garden hose, or by means of buckets.

Taken in all, it was a pretty lively time in Chester, and one not soon
to be forgotten either. The fire burned well through the house. It
would have gone like a bundle of shingles only that the flames had
started at the leeward end, and consequently had to eat their way
against the wind.

Some of the boys had gone home, well tired out, but a number of them
still hung around, and seemed bent on staying as long as Jack Winters
did. If he had seen old Mr. Adkins approaching, Jack might have tried
to slip away, but he was unaware of the fact, though Joel and Toby
knew it, and exchanged nods, while refraining from putting the other
on his guard.

So suddenly Jack found himself once more seized upon by Philip Adkins.
The miser was looking a thousand per cent better than before. That
agonized expression had left his face, and something seen there caused
Toby to say aside to Joel, "He almost looks human."

"You are the boy who saved my Carl's life!" exclaimed Mr. Adkins, in a
voice that trembled with emotion, all the while he was clinging to