[CHAPTER XI]
THE FIRE
THOROUGHLY wide awake now, Melina jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. It was closed, and, as she opened it, she was met by a volume of smoke ascending the stairway: evidently the fire was downstairs. The smoke almost blinded and choked her; nevertheless she called "Gran! Gran!" as loud as ever she could, and made her way into her grandmother's room, which was over the parlour. It did not surprise her to receive no answer, for she knew Mrs. Berryman was always a heavy sleeper, more especially when she was the worse for drink; so, going at once to the bed, she put out her hands, intending to shake the old woman and thus awaken her, but to her dismay she found the bed unoccupied. It took her but a few minutes after that to ascertain that her grandmother was not in the room at all.
In a panic of fear Melina now rushed out on the landing, meaning to go downstairs in search of Mrs. Berryman, but she found it was quite impossible to do that, for the smoke was momentarily growing denser and great tongues of flame were shooting up the stairway; so she went into her bedroom and hastily dressed herself, then returned to her grandmother's room, where the smoke was rather less thick than in her own, and made her way to the window, which she opened wide, calling loudly as she did so, "Help! Help!"
To her great joy she had an answer at once, a voice in the street, which she recognised as a neighbour's, shouting back:
"All right! Keep by the window, and we'll get you out in a few minutes. Some one's gone for a ladder, and we've sent for the fire-engine."
"Where's Gran?" demanded Melina.
"Mrs. Berryman?" said the same voice; "isn't she up there with you?"
"No," the little girl replied, "and I can't find her! I think she must be downstairs."
There was a murmur of consternation from below, and, leaning out of the window, Melina saw, by the light of the street lamp, that a small crowd had congregated, amongst whom she thought she recognised Mrs. Jones.