in his whole bearing.

"Mr. Cheniston--sir--there's been an accident--Miss Cherry--she's
burnt----"

"Burnt!" Iris and Bruce echoed the word simultaneously; and the man
hurried on.

"Yes, sir, yes, miss--Miss Cherry got playing with matches--Tochatti
left her alone for a moment when she did not ought to have done"--in his
distress his usual correctness of speech and deportment fell away from
Hagyard, leaving him a mere human man--"and Miss Cherry's dress--a
little flimsy bit of muslin it was, caught fire, and before it was put
out she'd got burned----"

"Where is Mrs. Carstairs?"

"Upstairs with Miss Cherry, sir. We've been ringing up the doctor--but
we can't get no answer----"

Bruce cut him short without ceremony.

"Come, Iris, let's see what's to be done. We can go ourselves and fetch
the doctor, anyway."

Together they ran up the broad staircase, and Bruce led the way to
Cherry's little room, where, as he guessed, the child was lying.

As they entered Chloe Carstairs looked round; and her eyes appeared
almost black, so dilated were the pupils.

"Bruce!" Her deep voice held a note of relief. "You have come at
last--now perhaps we can do something for the child."

"Is she badly burnt?" Iris approached softly and stood looking down at
the moaning little figure in the bed.

"Yes." Chloe's manner was impressive by reason of its very quietness.
"She is--very badly burnt, and until the doctor comes we can do so
little...."

"You have done _something_ for her?"

"Oh, yes--Tochatti and I have done all we can, but"--for a second
Chloe's face quivered--"we can't do anything more, and I'm afraid if
something isn't done soon----"

The child on the bed gave a sudden convulsive cry, and Chloe's white
face grew still paler.

"You see--she's in horrible pain, and--oh, why doesn't the doctor come?
We've rung up again and again, and they've never answered!"

"Shall we go and fetch him, Chloe? The car's here, and we'll bring him
back in no time!" He turned to Iris. "You'll come?"

She hesitated.

"Won't you go--and I'll stay here?"

Chloe looked up at that.

"No, Iris. I don't want you to stay--yet. Go with Bruce, and when you
come back you shall stay--if you will."

"Very well." Iris deemed it best to do as she was requested. "We will
go--immediately--we shall soon be back."

They ran downstairs together as swiftly as they had run up a few minutes
earlier; and in an incredibly short space of time the ca