Page 10 - An Amateur Fireman

all over the business with him, an' said if we couldn't hitch together easy like, why we didn't want to stay in
the same place, an' he was satisfied with it. Now, I don't see how I can do anythin' if he's bent on settin' fire to
the shed, more'n lookin' 'round pretty sharp before I go to bed."

"If I owned this place same's you do, I should set up nights, 'cause then's when he'll try his game," Sam said
with an air of wisdom. "It ain't likely he'll come 'round here in the daytime; but after the men have gone away
from the shop it wouldn't be anyways hard for him to get in an' strike a match to some of these shavin's."

"But accordin' to that you couldn't do very much work, if you set up all night watchin' for Jip Collins. You'd
have to sleep in the daytime. I don't see how a feller is goin' to earn his livin' any sich way."

"I didn't say you ought'er do it," Sam replied quickly; "but was only tellin' what I believed in. It ain't likely
you'd have to stand watch many nights, 'cause the first time you caught Jip you'd put an end to it by pretty
nigh thumpin' the life out er him; then I don't reckon he'd come again."

"Do you s'pose he's countin' on doin' this all alone?"

"No; he's got a couple of fellers from Brooklyn that he's chummin' with jest now, an' most likely they're
comin' into the game."

"If they do, an' I should watch for Jip till I caught him, there ain't any great show of my thumpin' him very bad
if he's got two others to lend a hand."

"You ain't scared of him, are you?" Sam asked quickly.

"Not much I ain't; but I'll keep clear from that kind of a racket till I know somethin' 'bout it. I can't 'ford to
have a row, don't you see, 'cause if any of Ninety-four's men heard I was fightin' my way along, as likely as
not they'd shut me off from goin' to the engine-house, an' then ag'in when the time comes for me to get into
the Department it would give me a black eye if I had the name of doin' sich things. I don't s'pose that would
hurt a detective; but they're mighty careful what kind of fellers they have in the Department, an' I don't count
on havin' a bad mark to my name four years from now."

"Well, suit yourself about that, of course. It ain't any of my business, only I thought I'd tell you what Jip's
sayin', an' I've got to get along over towards Hoboken."

Then, from the noise he made, his hosts understood that Sam Barney was making his way out of the
apartment, and Dan asked in a friendly tone if he had made any new discoveries regarding the theft of his
money.

"I'm follerin' up a pretty good clue now," Sam replied in a tone calculated to give the hearer an impression that
he could tell more if it was necessary, and then with a cheery "So long," he rapidly made his way across the
lumber-yard to the street.