“Right,” Mimi affirmed; then without waiting to hang up the receiver, she flung the telephone from her and was off on her second and more important task. Any person, neighbor or someone out in the country, might see the blaze and turn in the fire alarm but she, Mimi, was the only person awake and she was the one who must arouse the whole dormitory. She had known this before she left the roof. She had not wasted a step or a second. From the broken office window she ran as fast as she could and pounded loudly on Mrs. Cole’s door.
“Mrs. Cole! Mrs. Cole,” she called loudly. “Fire! Fire!”
The instant Mrs. Cole answered she was on her way again. With all speed, she must reach the basement—and set off the alarm bell!
The corridors were long and dark like some of the passages in Mammoth Cave. On she ran and then down, down, down the back flight of stairs to the basement. With a steady hand she threw the alarm switch.
Not until after the fire was over did Mimi understand the risk she ran. The janitor’s part of the basement where all the bells were was under the kitchen! But none of this now; she had still another task. She must rouse the girls. She knew how soundly some of them slept. She had seen Betsy sprawl across the bed after a soccer game and sleep through noise which Cissy would say was “loud enough to wake the dead.” No one must be left asleep now. No one!
As she came up the steps out of the basement she could smell smoke. Soon the crackling and popping could be heard.
Amid all the confusion which followed Mimi coolly and systematically raced up one corridor and down the other, opening doors, shouting names, and making sure all beds were empty. She did not pass up a Prep door.
Lights were appearing. Girls were clinging to each other crying. Some grabbed armfuls of clothes as they fled; others carried dresser drawers, or weekend bags and were spilling things leaving a trail of lingerie and toiletries behind. Once Mimi stumbled in a pile of clothes which had been dropped. They tangled her feet but she shook them free. She must go on—and on!
All was chaos. Not a single instruction which had been given during fire drills was carried out by the frightened girls. Startled out of their sleep by the most dreaded cry of all—“Fire, fire!”—they were panic stricken. To get out quickly was their only thought. Some jumped. A few used the rickety old fire escapes but most of them followed blindly after the first two who had run for the stairs.
Mimi had begun her room search on the third floor and was working down. By the time she had reached the third floor from the basement her heart had been pounding wildly but she did not check her speed. The smoke was thick as fog. It burned her eyes and gagged her.