Page 83 - An Amateur Fireman

began to be apparent.

Master Collins was a stranger in this section of the city, and they might question a dozen boys without finding
one who had so much as heard of him, therefore the quest was likely to be a long if not a vain one.

"It'll soon be too late to do anything if we don't hustle," Seth said when he realized all the possibilities against
success. "Let each feller start out alone, and there'll be jest so many more chances of runnin' across him. We'll
meet here by the ferry slip in half an hour."

This plan was acted upon without delay, and each member of the searching party did his best to bring the
labor to a speedy and final conclusion; but when at the expiration of the time set the four met once more,
nothing had been discovered.

"He's turned in," Bill Dean said in a tone of conviction.

"If it's with that chum of yourn it ought'er be easy to find him."

"He wasn't a chum of mine, an' I don't so much as know his name. It's a feller I've run across two or three
times down-town, that's all."

"Then I can't see but what we must call it a bad job, for there's no kind of use in foolin' 'round here any
longer."

"But if we don't find him now all Sam Barney's got to do is to walk over here in the mornin'," Dan said
mournfully, and Bill Dean cried emphatically:

"I'll get ahead of that bloomin' detective if I have to set up all night! You can count on my bein' right here at
daylight, an' that's the best anybody can do. You ought to get to bed, Seth, 'cause you've got to turn out pretty
early in the mornin'."

That it was useless to remain in that vicinity any longer with the hope of meeting Jip by chance, all
understood, and mournfully they turned their faces homeward, Teddy Bowser suggesting that he might be
able to do the repentant firebug a friendly turn by delaying Sam a certain length of time next morning.

"I'll ask him to tell me about his detective work, an' you can bet he won't lose such a chance, 'cause there's
nothin' in this world he likes to talk about as well as himself."

"All right, you do that, Teddy, an' I'll snoop over here," Bill added. "Of course Seth can't take a hand in this
work, on account of havin' to go to headquarters, but Dan will kind-er lay 'round anywhere, either to head
Sam off, or find Jip."

Then Teddy Bowser took his departure for the night, and Mrs. Hanson's three lodgers returned to their room
thoroughly distressed in mind.

The greater portion of the night might have been spent by them in discussing this new phase of affairs but for
Seth, who said when his comrades began to hold forth on the subject:

"You fellers can't do any good talkin'. I've got to get some sleep if I count on bein' up early enough in the
mornin' to do the work over to the engine-house an' get to my job at seven o'clock, so s'pose you quiet down
and give me a chance?"

This was no more than a reasonable request, and soon Mrs. Hanson's lodgers were enjoying their needed