Before he had gone five steps, down dropped the extinguisher, then
followed the snuffers with a great crash, but Laura seemed too busy
cropping her ringlets, to notice what was going on. All the way along
upon the floor, Harry let fall a perfect shower of hot wax, which
spotted the nursery carpet from the table where he had found the candle
into the next room, where he disappeared, and shut the door, that no one
might interfere with what he liked to do.

After he had been absent some time, the door was hastily opened again,
and Laura felt surprised to see Harry come back with his face as red as
a stick of sealing-wax, and his large eyes staring wider than they had
ever stared before, with a look of rueful consternation.

"What is the matter!" exclaimed Laura in a terrified voice. "Has
anything dreadful happened? Why do you look so frightened and so
surprised?"

"Oh dear! oh dear! what shall I do?" cried Harry, who seemed scarcely to
know how he spoke, or where he was. "I don't know what to do, Laura!"

"What can be the matter! do tell me at once, Harry," said Laura, shaking
with apprehension. "Speak as fast as you can!"

"Will you not tell Mrs. Crabtree, nor grandmama, nor anybody else?"
cried Harry, bursting into tears. "I am so very, very sorry, and so
frightened! Laura! do you know, I took a candle into the next room,
merely to play with it."

"Well! go on, Harry! go on! what did you do with the candle?"

"I only put it on the bed for a single minute, to see how the flame
would look there,--well! do you know it blazed away famously, and then
all the bed clothes began burning too! Oh! there is such a terrible fire
in the next room! you never saw anything like it! what shall we do? If
old Andrew were to come up, do you think he could put it out? I have
shut the door that Mrs. Crabtree may not see the flames. Be sure, Laura,
to tell nobody but Andrew."

Laura became terrified at the way she saw poor Harry in, but when she
opened the door to find out the real state of affairs, oh! what a
dreadful sight was there! all the beds were on fire, while bright red
flames were blazing up to the roof of the room, with a fierce roaring
noise, which it was perfectly frightful to hear. She screamed aloud with
terror at this alarming scene, while Harry did all he could to quiet
her, and even put his hand over her mouth, that her cries might not be
heard. Laura now struggled to get loose, and called louder and louder,
till at