AT HEADQUARTERS.
When he first saw Seth in his new uniform a certain feeling of envy came
into Dan Roberts's heart; but he was not a fellow who could give himself
up to this kind of thoughts very long, and within a few moments all that
had passed away, leaving in its stead rejoicings that his partner had
taken such rapid strides toward the desired end.
Before they had gained the seclusion of their own room Dan was his old
self once more, and from that moment it is safe to say he was never
again envious of Seth's good fortune, but sufficiently wise to profit by
his partner's example.
When they entered the house, Mrs. Hanson, who must have been informed by
'Lish Davis of the expected change in Seth's condition, came to the door
to see the boy in his uniform, and when she ceased her words of praise
his cheeks were glowing red.
"You'll cut a terrible swath down-town to-morrow morning," Dan said
sagely when they were alone. "Here's a woman that never saw either of us
till yesterday, an' she goes pretty nigh crazy over the way you look. I
reckon Sam Barney would have a reg'lar fit if he should run up against
you now."
To Seth's mind there was nothing wrong in admiring himself, or listening
to words of praise from others, and he enjoyed to the utmost these
speculations of his partner until Master Roberts, wearied of gazing at
the amateur fireman, hinted broadly that if there was to be a spread set
out in honor of the uniform, now was the time to "start her goin'."
"How much did that lay-out cost you last night?"
"Twenty-three cents."
"That's pretty stiff to pay for one supper; but it ain't every day I get
a uniform, an' I guess I can stand it this once. We shan't spread
ourselves in the same way ag'in, though," Seth said thoughtfully,
speaking half to himself, and then taking some coins from his pocket, he
added, "You go out and buy the stuff. I'll wait here."
"Why don't you come with me?"
"I'm 'fraid if Ninety-four's men should see me they'd think I was
runnin' 'round swellin'."
"Well, s'posen they should? Haven't you got the right? Wouldn't most any
feller who's got as near into the Department as you have?"
"Mr. Davis said I was to go down-town to-morrow mornin', an' perhaps
that's all he thought I ought'er do, so I'll hang on here instead of
goin' out ag'in."
Dan was not averse to making the purchases, and so deeply occupied was
Seth with pleasant thoughts that it seemed to him Master Roberts had no
more than left the room before he returned laden with packages.
As on the previous night he was accompanied by Bill Dean, who exclaimed
in a tone of satisfaction as he entered the room:
"It seems like as if I'm allers 'round when you fellers are puttin' up
swell lay-outs, don't it?" Then getting a full view of Seth for the
first time he cried in an accent of unquestionable admiration, "Well,
I'll be jiggered! Dan said you was lookin' mighty fine; but I never
thought you could flash up like this! Why, you're a reg'lar fireman
already."
"You wouldn't think that if you could hear what Ninety-four's men say,
an', besides, there's no brass buttons on this uniform, you know."
"I ain't certain but it looks better without 'em. Anyhow, you're way up
in G."
"He ought'er know it by this time," Dan added with a laugh. "Everybody
has been tellin' him so, an' he come mighty near paralyzin' Miss Hanson.
She jest threw up both hands when we opened the door."
"Well, I don't wonder; but say, I didn't come round to sponge off you
fellers, 'cause I never thought of your havin' two such lay-outs one
right after the other. I didn't know but you'd like to hear how we'd
left Jip, an' then agin I wanted to talk 'bout bunkin' in here with you
fellers."
"This is Seth's spread; but you'll hold on an' get your share of it now
you're here," and Dan began to arrange the food on the table in the most
tempting manner possible.
"Of course you'll stop," Seth added, "an' even if you'd known we was
goin' to kind of celebrate, what would be the harm in comin' 'round an'
gettin' some?"
"Well, I don't want you to think I'm playin' it on you, that's all; but
it struck me a little while ago that if we could make a trade with the
woman what runs this house, it would come easier on all hands. Now, that
bed is plenty big enough for three, an' it ain't likely you'll be here
much of the time, except to sleep, so why wouldn't it be a good idea to
see how much extra she'll charge to let me in with you fellers?"
Seth knew of no good reason why Bill should not be allowed to share
their palatial quarters, providing Mrs. Hanson did not object.
He knew Master Dean to be an industrious, well-intentioned boy, whose
company, now that he was to be absent from home so much, might be
desirable to Dan, and at once signified his willingness that the
landlady should be consulted.
"I reckon Dan will be lonesome here when I'm gone so much, an' perhaps
it would be a good plan. S'pose you two fellers go down an' see what
she's got to say."
"Why don't you tackle her?" Master Roberts suggested. "She'll be so busy
lookin' at your uniform that perhaps you could make a better trade."
Seth hesitated only an instant, and then went down-stairs.
When he returned his companions knew from the expression on his face,
before he made a report, that the mission had been successful.
"She says if we keep quiet an' don't have a crowd hangin' round, or too
many visitors, that we needn't pay any more for three than we do for
two. I didn't think that would be jest the square thing, an' besides, we
couldn't divide half a dollar up in three parts, so I told her we'd call
it sixty cents, an' that will make the lodgin' come mighty cheap for all
hands of us."
"When are you willin' I should come?" Bill Dean asked eagerly.
"Whenever you want to."
"Then I'll start right in to-night an' pay the same as you fellers do,
for you've only got one day ahead of me."
And thus the matter was settled to the manifest delight of the new
lodger.
The feast was an unusually satisfactory one on this particular evening.
Seth was as happy as a boy well could be because of the good fortune
which had come to him through Ninety-four's men; Bill believed himself
unusually lucky in having secured such desirable lodgings at an
exceedingly low price; and Master Roberts had suddenly conceived an idea
which seemed to him a remarkably happy one.
Not until his hunger had been appeased did Dan give words to his new
train of thoughts, and then he announced with the air of one who has
made a great discovery:
"If Seth hadn't laid himself right out to get into the Department, an'
stuck to it whether the fellers were makin' fun of him or not, he
wouldn't be wearin' that uniform now, would he? Course not. If I keep on
sellin' papers an' don't try to do anything else, I'll never get some
other kind of a job, will I? Course not. Now, I've made up my mind to
own a store on Third Avenoo where I'll sell papers, an' books, an' sich
truck, an' keep a lot of kids to do the outside work."
"An' you can do it, too, Dan, if you stick right at it," Seth replied
confidently.
"Well, she goes from this out! I shan't spend any more money buyin'
swell grub same's this is, an' if I don't get down-town every mornin' by
daylight it'll be 'cause I'm broke up so bad I can't move."
Then the feasters discussed this new idea of Dan's, approaching it from
every point of view, until the Third Avenue store was to Master Roberts
an accomplished fact; nothing stood between it and him save hard work
and a strict adherence to his purpose.
After this subject was exhausted a certain amount of their attention was
given to Jip Collins's affairs. They speculated briefly as to what Sam
Barney might be doing at that particular moment, or regarding matters
connected with his departure, and it was not yet nine o'clock when all
three were lying comfortably in bed, sleeping peacefully.
Dan awakened shortly after daybreak, and, strong in his purpose of one
day owning a Third Avenue store, lost no time in making ready for
business.
He and Bill Dean started down-town before sunrise, and Seth made his way
to Ninety-four's house, where he busied himself in doing such work as
came to his hand.
Before seven o'clock he had blackened the boots of all the men, swept
the floors, and groomed one of the horses.
'Lish Davis came down just as this last task was performed, and
observing what had been done said gravely:
"Look here, Amateur, we don't count on your doing up all the odd jobs
'round this place, else the rest of us will rust out for lack of
exercise."
"I got 'round pretty early, sir, an' 'd rather be at work than layin'
still."
"After this noon you won't complain of having too much spare time on
your hands. Been to breakfast?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then clear out an' go down-town, 'cause this is likely to be your last
day off for quite a spell. I'll look after the other horses."
Seth would have been better pleased to remain in the engine-house two or
three hours longer, but 'Lish Davis's injunctions, although given as a
permission rather than a command, were not to be disobeyed, and without
protesting he left the building.
It is hardly necessary to attempt to describe the reception accorded the
amateur fireman, when he arrived at Printing House Square.
Every bootblack or newsboy in that section of the city had heard from
Bill or Dan the fullest possible particulars regarding the new uniform,
and all were expecting to see a great change in Seth's appearance, but
not prepared for such a decided transformation.
During at least two hours business was practically suspended, and Seth
was literally forced to remain on exhibition because of the throng which
surrounded him.
Many times did the policemen in the vicinity disperse the gathering; but
the admiring ones reassembled immediately afterward, regardless of the
threats of the officers, and thus the Society for the Admiration of Seth
Bartlett was virtually in continuous session.
Those who had laughed the loudest because of his ambition were now the
most extravagant in their praises, and there was not a boy on Printing
House Square who did not realize as never before how much might be
accomplished by persistent effort. Until eleven o'clock Seth "visited"
with his friends and acquaintances, and then made his way up to keep the
appointment with 'Lish Davis.
The driver, clad in his best uniform, was awaiting the boy's arrival,
and cried good-naturedly when the latter appeared:
"Well, Amateur, you've spread yourself, eh? Been swelling all the
morning till your head is so big that you need to borrow a new cap?"
"There's no danger of that yet a while, Mr. Davis. I'll wait till I see
how I get along at headquarters before puffin' myself out very much."
"That's a good idea, Amateur, though at the same time I believe you'll
pull through in great shape, providing you hang on as you've done since
I knew you. Now, if it so be you've tended to all your business and are
ready to duf into the work, we'll mosey along toward Sixty-seventh
Street."
"The sooner I get to work the quicker we'll know whether the folks up
there are goin' to let me stay," Seth replied, and with words expressive
of kindly cheer and friendly wishes ringing in his ears, the Amateur set
out on this his first real step toward a position in the Department.
"I don't want them as you'll meet at headquarters to think you're a
dummy, Amateur, and it's in my mind to give you a little outline, so to
speak, of this 'ere school, after which there'll be no need of your
showing ignorance by asking questions. In the first place it ain't
counted on that this 'ere branch of the service is to educate anybody
and everybody that may come along. It's for such men as are admitted to
the Department on trial, 'probationary firemen' chiefly; but the old
hands have had a deal of good out of it.
"This plan was started long about '83 for no other reason than to show
the men who were then in the service how to use the scaling ladder which
had just been introduced, and the idea seemed to work so well that it
gradually grew, kind of swelled out, so to speak, till it became a
reg'lar school. First off, before the new headquarters was built, the
city hired an old sugar warehouse on One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Street
and North River, where the men were shown how to use scaling ladders and
a life net, and I've been there when one class counted up sixty
scholars, all of us old hands at the business. Remember this, Amateur,
you'll never be too old to go to school, leastways that's what I've
found.
"After the new headquarters building was opened in '87 the sugar
warehouse was given up, and we firemen had what you might almost call a
college. There's a yard at the back of the building nigh on to a hundred
feet square, which is put up in such shape that water can be used the
same as you would at a fire, and here drills go on like this, for
instance: An alarm is sent out for a certain company when they least
expect it, and the men find themselves called into headquarters to show
what they can do. All that you're going to see, lad, and talking about
getting points, why, you can learn more there in one exhibition drill
than you could at forty fires, 'cause you're understanding just how the
thing is going to be done.
"You'll find when one of these unexpected drills comes off that the
engine is run into the yard, hose coupled on to the hydrant, dragged up
to the top of the building, water started and shut off, ladders used,
and in fact the whole business gone through the same as if a hundred
lives were in danger."
"Do the men really work as hard there as they do at a fire?" Seth asked.
"Do they, Amateur? Well, now, you can be mighty certain they do, 'cause
it's owing to what they show at such times that gives them their rating.
Now, for instance, Ninety-four's company is in the first grade;
Eighty-six, that we bucked up against on that storage warehouse, is in
the second grade; and there ain't a great many third grade nowadays,
'cause the men are drilled too well. And here's a point I want you to
understand, Amateur: In case some man comes along and tries to tell you
that the Department in this city or that is better than what we've got
here, stick straight up for the fact that the New York Fire Department
heads the world, and you won't be a grain away from the truth. Taking it
all in all I'm free to say, open and above board, that you can't find a
Department anywhere that can beat this, and I'm reckoning pretty strong
that you wouldn't find one to equal us, taking all things into
consideration.
"Now, we'll suppose you was old enough, and stout enough, and plucky
enough, and knew enough to pass a civil-service and a physical
examination for admission to the Department. You wouldn't be put into
regular service, but sent up to headquarters, where we're going now, and
drilled in the yard, raising ladders, tossing 'em 'round, setting 'em
up, and keeping at that kind of work till you could handle one the
same's you might a knife or fork. Now, considering the fact that the
lightest of 'em weighs twenty and the heaviest sixty-five pounds, with a
length of from fourteen to twenty feet, you can see that you've got to
be pretty nimble before getting through the first lesson, eh?
"Then we'll allow you've satisfied them as are giving the lesson. You'll
be set at climbing up to the first window to start with; after you can
do that, to the second, and so on till you've got to the top of the
building by aid of the scaling ladders. It ain't such a mighty easy
thing when you come to do it yourself as it looks while you're watching
somebody else; about the time you're half-way up the hair on your head
will come pretty nigh to standing on end; but bless you, Amateur, a man
soon gets over that, till shinning outside of a building don't seem
more'n child's play.
"Then there's the drill of building a chain--making a line of ladders
from the roof to the street--and getting from the upper window out over
the cornice. Straddling sills is another lesson you'll have to learn,
till you can get astride of one, and by holding on with your knees,
work as handy as on the ground. Standing on sills; working the
life-line; climbing crosswise so's to step from one window and go to the
next story on a slant, instead of straight up; using the life net by
jumping down, or holding it for others to leap into--and if it so
chances that you are ever set to holding one, Amateur, my boy, you'll
find it ain't child's play. I've heard it said that when a man weighing
one hundred and fifty pounds jumps from the sixth floor of a building,
he strikes the net with a force of nigh on to eighteen hundred pounds,
and I tell you them as are holding it have to keep scratching."
"Do you reckon I'll be allowed to practise with the men, Mr. Davis?"
Seth asked as the driver paused an instant.
"I'm counting on it, lad; but don't make up your mind it'll be right
away. We of Ninety-four's company believe we know what kind of a boy you
are, because we've tried you, so to speak; but up here where we're going
they've got only our word for it, and won't count very much on that till
they've found it out for themselves. It may take a long time, and then
again it mayn't; but every boy, whatever business he goes into, is bound
to prove himself before he's thought to be of much account. It'll be the
same at headquarters. Turn to, Amateur, the same as you've done since we
knew you, and before a year goes by I reckon on seeing you in the
drill."
"Are the men always practising?"
"Not every minute of the time, you know, because it comes precious nigh
being hard work; but you can count on their doing all a man ought to do
in the twelve hours. When it's storming, or too cold to work in the
yard, you'll find them 'ere grown-up scholars in the gymnasium on the
fifth floor, at work coupling or uncoupling hose; learning how to fight
cellar fires, or practising with the tin-cutters for opening roofs.
They're told about battering-rams, axes, hooks, and, finally, everything
that we use, until the man who graduates up at headquarters is fit to
handle a company all by himself, save, of course, that he lacks
experience. Now, if it so happens that one don't learn quick enough, or
shows he hasn't got a good head for the business, he's switched right
off, and that ends his chance of getting into the Department. Of course
kids are never taken on, and it ain't held out to you that you're going
there on probation. We've got a job for you as a boy in the building,
that's all, but with what little influence Ninety-four's men can use,
and some thrown in from the other companies that we're friendly with,
the idea is to slip you through on the sly, so to speak. If you please
them at headquarters there'll be no voice raised agin your practising
now and again with the others, and then is the time that everything
depends on you.
"You've run to fires for the sake of getting points; but never had a
chance to see whether you could carry them out or not. Now the
opportunity is coming; if it's in you to do the work, why, when you're
sizable we shan't have any trouble in getting you taken on probation,
providing, of course, you can pass both examinations, and about that
we've got to talk later. I don't want you to think a fireman is a
regular idiot when it comes to book-learning. The older hands of us may
be 'way off on such things; but them as goes through the civil-service
examination have got to be pretty well posted, an' I'm counting on your
working into some night-school."
Seth had listened attentively to the old driver's words; but there was a
cloud on his face when mention was made of the fact that a fireman must
have a certain amount of book-learning.
"I don't know hardly anythin' at all, Mr. Davis," he said in a mournful
tone.
"You can read, can't you?"
"Yes, if the words ain't too long."
"And write?"
"Well, I wouldn't like to say I really could, 'cause it's just puttin'
down letters same as they're printed."
"Didn't you ever go to school, Amateur?"
"No, sir."
"Why not?"
"'Cause I've allers had to hustle for my livin,' an' it never seemed as
though I had the time; but now since you've begun to talk I know I might
have done it evenings, instead of hangin' 'round with the fellers, or
sleepin'. If I'd known folks had to go to school before they could be
firemen, I'd been studyin' these last two years."
"I believe you, my boy, and if you had put into the work at books
anywhere near as hard as you have on what you call 'picking up points,'
you'd have been pretty well along by this time. Howsomever, we can
remedy that, though we can't call back lost time. Jerry Walters and I'll
figger up what's to be done, and explain further as soon as we've
settled matters, 'cause you see, Amateur, you belong to Ninety-four, an'
we ain't of the mind to have you fail in what you set out after."
"Shall I have any chance to see you?"
"Bless you, lad, yes. You'll be through between six and seven o'clock,
and we'll be glad to have you drop in any evening till you set about
studying; then I allow we'll fix up some place so's you can be away from
your partner and his friends. We won't have any soft talk after we get
inside, so I'll say it all now. Keep your upper lip stiff, Amateur;
don't get down at the heel if them as are in charge seem to bear on a
little too hard; remember that all hands of Ninety-four's company are
counting on you to make good their words, and be a man. Unless we get a
call you'll see us to-night, so there ain't need of saying very much
more just now."
By this time they had arrived at headquarters, and 'Lish Davis entered
the building with the air of one who has no especial interest in whoever
may be following him.