t Stephen
would inevitably set the place on fire some night or other, and how
little weight she had attached to the dismal prophecy. But the matron's
fears had not been groundless, it seemed. The threatened calamity had
come.

"Stephen!" she cried, with all her might, and then flew to Mrs. Tadman's
door and knocked violently. She waited for no answer, but rushed on to
the room where the two women-servants slept together, and called to them
loudly to get up for their lives, the house was on fire.

There were still the men in the story above to be awakened, and the smoke
was every moment growing thicker. She mounted a few steps of the
staircase, and called with all her strength. It was very near their time
for stirring. They must hear her, surely. Suddenly she remembered an old
disused alarm-bell which hung in the roof. She had seen the frayed rope
belonging to it hanging in an angle of the passage. She flew to this, and
pulled it vigorously till a shrill peal rang out above; and once having
accomplished this, she went on, reckless of her own safety, thinking only
how many there were to be saved in that house.

All this time there was no sign of her husband, and a dull horror came
over her with the thought that he might be perishing miserably below.
There could be no doubt that the fire came from downstairs. That
crackling noise had increased, and every now and then there came a sound
like the breaking of glass. The red glow shining in at the front windows
grew deeper and brighter. The fire had begun in the parlour, of course,
where they had left Stephen Whitelaw basking in the warmth of his
resinous pine-logs.

Ellen was still ringing the bell, when she heard a man's footstep coming
along the passage towards her. It was not her husband, but one of the
farm-servants from the upper story, an honest broad-shouldered fellow, as
strong as Hercules.

"Lord a mercy, mum, be that you?" he cried, as he recognised the white
half-dressed figure clinging to the bell-rope "let me get 'ee out o'
this; the old place'll burn like so much tinder;" and before she could
object, he had taken her up in his arms as easily as if she had been a
child, and was carrying her towards the principal staircase.

Here they were stopped. The flames and smoke were mounting from the lobby
below; the man turned immediately, wasting no time by indecision, and ran
to the stairs leading down to the kitchen. In this direction all was
safe. There was smo