“Hold your hosses—we’ll get goin’ an’ have you out o’ that mess in a jiffy;” and then turning upon his companion Perk almost savagely demanded: “It’s up to us, Jack—now how’re we goin’ to do it?”
“There’s only one chance that I can see,” Jack told him, “which is by way of this other building here. We must rush up to the third floor and if luck backs us we can find some way of passing over to her room—see, it’s only a matter of five or six feet at most. Come on, buddy!”
“Whoop! here we go then!” thundered Perk, making one more sweep of his arms as if to reassure the trapped inmate of the tenement and then rushing in the wake of the fast moving Jack.
Several people were emerging from a rear door of the brick building, and lugging all manner of household things in a mad endeavor to save cherished possessions. Evidently they had been seized by an overpowering fear that the fire might leap to their establishment and acting under this impression were hardly conscious of what they were doing.
Indeed, it began to look as though they might so block the narrow passage with the stuff they sought to salvage that no one could either get up or down. Jack was finding it difficult to push past and had almost to climb over a bulky bundle of bedding that had become lodged in the passage.
Perk, more impetuous, bowled over a stout man who had come down the stairs dragging a trunk, that banged and skittered in a dangerous fashion.
By great good luck and the exercise of some muscle, they both managed to brush past the blockade and the stairs seemed free above them. The first landing was reached and the second almost immediately afterwards; then came the final climb and the two pals, almost breathless, reached the third floor.
There was enough illumination for them to see what lay about them for the fire seemed to be breaking out of all the upper windows by this time and despite the thick smoke, shone through into the interior of the brick tenement.
Smoke had found entrance too, and made their eyes smart but that was a small matter and could be tolerated with such a vital stake in view.
Perk saw his companion take a swift look around as though to get his bearings, after which he turned to the left and ran along the hall. By this time Perk, a bit bewildered and confused, was willing to follow wherever Jack saw fit to lead, so in blind confidence he put after the other.