THE HERO OF THE BRIGADE

New Zealand Tablet, 15 November 1906, Page 37

THE HERO OF THE BRIGADE

Milke was the pet of the fire brigade men, He was only ten, quite a little boy, in fact, but he liked to be considered a man. His father had belonged to the lire brigade, and he died from the wounds inflicted while endeavoring to save the inmates of a burning \ h ?! ls t- , llis mother h ad died from the shook, and had left behind her little baby boy Mike, when he was" only a few days old. Another fireman's wife had taken the tiny fellow ii n^ s ? Wlth her owu driven, and he had been- called Michael, after his father. As he grew up ho loved to go to drill with the brigade men, and to watch them cleaning the biass of the big fire-engines and escapes. He would run, fetch, and carry for the reward ot hearing some story about people rescued from burning houses, and so on. If any boy were liable to be spoiled that boy would have been Mike, but it seemed impossible to spoil him. He was always obedient to his foster parents and teachers and unselfish toward the children when he played with them. Mike's ambition was to go on the fire-engines with the men when they were called to action. He had often pleaded Lo be allowed to go, but in vain. One night as he lay dreaming a strange light seemed to fill the room through the window from outside, men the cries and shouts of men and women from the street below filled his ears. Something was ?*U V -? or a momenfe W s brain grew dizzy, 1 an d 'he felt afraid, for he knew that the fire must be' near. ™ h * lumped up -and- looked out of the window. me lire station was built with, two great wines ' from the main building, .and between them was a large courtyard In this courtyard Mike could see a throng of people looking -up toward the house, their Sf 5 \ b7 S( ?i ne . n S' ht which came from abovewhence he could not tell. With trembling hands hepushed up the window and looked up. The "flames C rZ e £? m the of , of ' the ver y Elding he was in. TO WaS qUlt6 Cl ° Se t 0 him ! When the people.. saw Mike at the window they" gave a great shout. , "

The little fellow looked down on the great seething mass of ' faces, and then above and around at the huge flames leaping and jumping higher and higher. They' seemed' to be closing, in all' around/rbim .--,-. He wondered how it was he had been' left ' there" alone, when a child's cry 'of fear made him turn round to see little Willie, a child of three, come through his bedroom door. As the door was opened a volume of- dense poured in, an-d beyond Mike could ' see ,'the ""angry- • "fed .flames that curled up and 'up. For a moment the -smoke blinded him; then he- rushed forward and»slammed the door to, clasping- the little sobbing boy in his arms. • . - . , • ' I'se so fwightened,"' Willie whimpered: • ' Hush ! hush ! ' said Mike soothingly t to the little fellow, who was motherless like himself^ and a great favorite. ' Mike will take care of you.' This he - sail with great courage, but feeling- as if . he were telling a story, for he was perplexed and bewildered, and saw no way of escape: He took Willie to the window ,.and called and shoutr \ ed to the people below. They; 'called and shbuted^iri"--return, and in the din and roar of,- voices Mike could scarcely hear what they said. It' seemed as if ' they were bidding him have courage, that the fire-escapes were all in use on the other wing, of . the building, and that help was coming." - ' He tried- to be brave for Willies sake, who- was/ quite happy now he was no longer alone. He clapped . his hands with glee as he saw the flames leaping up_, "and laughed in childish mirth as he watched the people below. ■ •-.-:..- ' What are they -all doing, Mike ? '"he "asked. ';'- And Mike, who saw the smoke slowly creeping hiT under the bedroom door, and heard the hissing and crackling of the burning wood, laughed too, watching all the time for the promised help to come. Then he saw -the firemen talce a large blanket and". ' hold it under the window where he stood, and which was three stories high. He knew what that meant well enough; he had" not lived in a fire station all his life for nothing. It meant that he was to leap from the .window into the blanket, which would be lowered as he reached it. For himself he was not afraid, but for Willie. He was such a little chap and could never be persuaded - to jump. He could not throw him into the blanket for he was small himself, and knew instinctively that his strength would not be equal to the task of aiming straight. ** With a cry, almost of agony, and -with a tightening ■ of his arms around Willies baby form, he hurled himself into space - below. - ' ' Cheer after cheer arose from the anxious spectators but Mike heeded them not, for he was quite stunned .by the fall. When he came to it was to find Tiimself and Willie in a warm room with a cozy fire, while his foster mother was bending over him and 'trying; to eet him to drink some cor di a/1. '""'., . ' Brave boy ! ' she whispered, and Mike's heart leaped at the words. Then she. explained to him how he had been left behind in the hurry and confusion of- the fire . alarm, fcvhe had taken her two children away, meaning to return for him and- Willie. But the fire had gained ' ground so rapidly that she had been -unable to do as * she wished.-- v , - ■ 'But you are safe now, my darling, • arid little" Willie, too. \ou saved his life, Mike?' ,«•*-• 'Oh, no ! ' cried Mike, flushing all over. ies, she returned, 'if you had not carried him in , your arms he would have dropped to r the ground through irignt and have been dashed to pieces, and you risked your hfe by carrying him, too. Every one says so.' > But Mike would not have it. ' There was nothing else to do,' he answered,, simply, and said the same when he- was grown, up " and a fireman "with more than one medal from the.Royal Humane • Society , for saving lives at the risk of his ,own.— < Little