how a
hero behaves at a fire.

So I took advantage of a policeman turning another way, to break bounds
and run into the open space.

"Come back!" shouted the policeman.

"Come back!" yelled the mob.

"Mind the wall!" cried a fireman.

I was delighted, and already glowed with glory.

Alas! how soon our brightest hopes may be damped!

The fireman, seeing that I still advanced on the burning ruin, wheeled
round on me with his hose, and before I could count five had drenched me
through and through, and half-stunned me with the force of the water
into the bargain.

The crowd screamed with laughter; the police seized me by all fours; the
fireman executed a final solo on my retreating person, and the next
thing I was aware of was being delivered at my own door from a four-
wheeled cab, with my interest in conflagrations completely extinguished.

My faith in the history of heroism began to be a trifle shaken after
this adventure. However, I was committed to a course of gallant action;
and it were cowardice to lose heart after a rebuff or two. I must at
any rate try my hand at a railway rescue before giving in.

In my studies I had only met with one successful case of extracting
individuals from between the wheels of locomotives in motion, and
therefore entered upon this branch of my experiments with considerable
doubt. Nor did anything occur to remove that doubt. I watched the
trains carefully for a month; and whenever I saw any one place himself
near the edge of the platform as a train came up, I made a point of
placing myself hard by. But we never got beyond the platform; and,
indeed, the whole course of my experiments in this department resulted
in nothing beyond my one day being knocked down by the unexpected
opening of a carriage door; and on another occasion being nearly placed
under arrest for clutching a man's arm as the train came up, he said
with intent "to chuck him on the line," but as I told him, and
unsuccessfully tried to explain to him, because he seemed to me to be
about to be swept over by the engine.

It was on the whole a relief to me, when, in order to extricate myself
from the serious consequences of this last adventure, I was obliged to
promise never to do such a thing again. That settled the locomotive
business. As a man of honour I was forced to quit it, and cast about me
for a new road to glory.

Now, I think it argues considerably for my heroism that after the
unfortunate resul