As Stuart started to rise, he fell back, choked by the incoming smoke. The man stooped quickly and placed his own coat over Stuart's head.
Crawling, the rescuer spied Stuart's coat on the floor and picked it up. He threw this, likewise, over Stuart. Choking, he pressed the two coats together.
Stuart's coat was still somewhat damp from the rain. The added moistness sufficed to make it a good protection against the smoke. The stranger slipped the coat over his own head and tried to help Stuart to his feet.
Progress was slow at first. But Stuart, responding to his rescuer's heroic efforts, used all his strength. The man had dropped a revolver in his work; he picked it up. Together, Stuart and his companion made the stairs. There they began a terrible descent.
It was like a trip into an active volcano. The smoke came upward with blinding thickness.
Only by holding their coats tightly over their heads could the men make their way. Flames were licking up the side of the stairs. Some of the steps were charred. But ahead lay safety. The roaring furnace was directly beneath the room where Stuart had been, and the stairs led in the opposite direction.
Stuart was on the inside. The other man took the dangerous outer portion of the stairs.
Once his foot went through a burning step; he caught himself and continued.
The front door was straight ahead. It was partly opened. Before it seethed a ring of hot-tongued flame. Stuart staggered before they reached the bottom step. With a mighty effort, his companion seized him and dragged him roughshod through the fast-increasing blaze.
The rescuer used every ounce of strength to make the passage a rapid one. He virtually flung his helpless burden through the door and came staggering afterward. Then both men lay face downward on the rain-soaked drive, panting and choking.