ld any one blame her for giving way to weeping as she hugged
Fred.

"Oh! I was sure it must be you, my son, and I feared I should never see
either of you again!" she cried, passionately.

"I wanted to go, mother," he told her, soothingly, "but I couldn't stand
alone. You see, I was struck on the head and knocked out, so I'm feeling
as weak as a kitten."

"But Lucy?" wailed the poor woman.

"Try to calm yourself, mother," urged Fred, stoutly. "If she is in there
still he may yet be in time to save her, with the aid of Providence."

"But tell me who was so ready to take his own life in his hands, so as
to try and save my child for me?" she went on, almost hysterically. "Oh!
I shall never cease to remember him for a noble man in my prayers. What
neighbor could have been such a Good Samaritan to me and mine!"

"It was the stranger, Mrs. Badger!" said one of the men close by, and
Jack, as well as Toby listened eagerly for what was coming.

"Yes, a party who's been hanging around town for a week or more,
stopping at the Eureka House," added another of the citizens, who
apparently had noticed the presence of the guest in question, and even
speculated as to his object in staying so long in Chester, where there
were no special summer attractions outside of the beautiful lake near
by.

"And he seemed to have lots of money in the bargain," a third went on to
say, as he eyed the burning house as though wondering greatly why a
stranger would accept such grave risks for people whom he could never
have seen before.

"Mebbe I might throw a little light on this thing," said another man,
eagerly. "I happened to get in conversation with the party at one time.
He goes by the name of Smith at the hotel. He told me he'd been pretty
much of a wanderer, and had seen most of the world. But among other
things he said was that once on a time he had been a fireman. He even
showed me a scar that he said reminded him of a night when he nigh lost
his life in a big blaze. So you see he's right in his line when he goes
into a burning building to effect a rescue!"

Jack was picking up points as he listened to these things so hurriedly
said. He turned to see what effect they had upon Fred and his mother.
The woman seemed more bewildered than ever. Evidently she could not
understand why a total stranger should risk his life for her child when
so many of her neighbors stood around; unless it might be the old fever
still burned in Smith's veins,