Page:Barbour--Peggy in the rain.djvu/247

 of the engine gongs and the trampling of the horses. From above him came a thumping sound, and as he reached the hall above he saw a shawled and bonneted woman descending the next flight dragging a small trunk behind her.

"Hurry up!" he called to her. "Is there anyone else up there?"

She paid no heed to him, seeming in a trance of terror, as, still tugging the trunk behind her, she went along the narrow passage to the lower flight, muttering to herself. Gordon's first impulse was to take the trunk from her, the next to let her manage it herself and make certain that the upper floor was empty. The smoke was pouring up the staircase well and his eyes were smarting and running. He took the next flight in bounds. The smoke was thicker here than below. Over his head a dirty skylight caught the reflection of the dim flame of the bracket gas light. Five doors opened from the hallway. He took them in succession. The room on the back of the house showed signs of hurried flight. Gordon lighted matches as he flung open closed doors. An untenanted room, a closet filled with brooms and brushes and soiled linen, another unused room,