"Me, too," shouted Sarah. "Wait for me, Hugh."

He was already in the lower hall, struggling into his overcoat.

"Go back to bed, and don't be silly," was his parting injunction as
he opened the door. "You'll catch cold, running through the halls.
Send 'em to bed, Winnie."

The door banged behind him and they heard a familiar whistle.

"Hugh!" some one called. "Hugh, it's down Plummers Lane. Going to
get the car out? I'll help you."

"That's Jack," cried Rosemary, trying to see through the white
curtains without being seen. "Oh, dear, men have all the fun!"

In spite of Winnie's remonstrances and Aunt Trudy's worry that they
would have pneumonia, the three girls tried to stay up till their
brother came back. After half an hour they gave up and went sleepily
to bed. The next morning they heard that the fire had been in one of
the novelty factories and that several houses had also been
destroyed.

"If the hydrants hadn't been open and the street clear, they say the
whole block would have gone," the doctor reported. "In some way it's
got over town that Jack and his gang were the only high school boys
on the job yesterday and that they voluntarily cleaned the snow out
of Wycliffe street. The Common Council is talking of doing something
handsome to show their appreciation."

Rosemary beamed, but Sarah who never could keep still blurted out
the truth.

"Rosemary told Mr. Jordan last night," she said matter-of-factly.

When Doctor Hugh had heard the details, he declared that while Jack
might not approve at once, he was sure he would later be glad.

"You're a loyal friend, Rosemary," said the doctor patting the
gold-red hair now long enough to tie back in a thick bunch of curls
again, "and there are few finer qualities to possess than that."

The Common Council, through Mr. Jordan passed a resolution thanking
the boys, by name, for their faithful "and valuable" services, and
the resolution was printed in the Eastshore "Chronicle" much to the
confusion of the lads and the delight and pride of their admiring
families. The Council also voted each boy the sum of $25, not, Mr.
Jordan explained, as an attempt to pay them, but in recognition of
"the devotion to duty which is able to ignore personal pleasure and
the initiative which is directed by common sense."

"Incidentally," he added, "the property, saved because the street
was clear and the fire apparatus could get through, totals
considerable more than the sum w