“Come!” he shouted. “Quick! Here, take this!”
He stripped off the coat and threw it over her head and shoulders.
She was trembling so that she could hardly stand and he had to support her while he adjusted the garment.
“Oh!” she screamed, as he led her toward the door which he had taken the precaution to close after him. “I cannot go down! Everything is afire down there! I will be burned!”
“Not if you do as I tell you,” said Joe hurriedly. “Keep your eyes shut and bury your mouth and nose in this coat. I will hold your arm and we will get down all right.”
He dragged her toward the door and opened it. As he did so the draft from the window drew in a sheet of flame that drove them back.
The woman screamed and sank inert to the floor and Joe knew that she had fainted.
There was not an instant to lose. Joe stooped, lifted her, threw her over his shoulder and staggered out of the door, shutting his eyes for a moment as the flames swirled round him.
He reached the stairs and, holding on to the banisters with one hand while the other held close his unconscious burden, he made his way down, pressing his nose and mouth against the coat so as not to inhale the flames.