"I can't breathe!" he sobbed. "I wish I had a drink of water."

"George!" suddenly shouted a big voice in his ear. "Say, George, here
he is! I've found him!"

Somebody grabbed Sunny Boy up in strong, rough arms and he was carried
swiftly through the halls and out to the porch again. The children
shouted when they saw him.

"Don't you know any better than to go into a house that is on fire?"
said a big, rough voice that seemed to belong to the big arms.

Sunny Boy opened his eyes. It was the tall policeman! And before he
could speak, with a clang and a whistle and a toot and a great deal of
noise and excitement, up came the fire engines to put the fire out.

The tall policeman dipped a clean white handkerchief in water and
bathed Sunny Boy's eyes while another policeman kept the children off
the porch. The other policeman was the "George" to whom Sunny Boy's
policeman friend had shouted. They had heard Maria screaming and had
run through the alley to see what the matter was. And then George had
sent in the alarm of fire while the tall policeman had come to look for
Sunny Boy.

"What possessed you to go in there, anyway?" asked the tall policeman,
paying no attention to the firemen running past him into the house.
"What made you do it?"

"I had to get Jessie's coat," explained Sunny Boy. "And her rubbers."