de the sleeper open his eyes to say meekly,

"I only ran into Nat's room to see him about something. Go away, and let
me alone; I'm awful sleepy."

Nursey tucked Demi in, and went off to reconnoitre, but only found two
boys slumbering peacefully in Dan's room. "Some little frolic," she
thought, and as there was no harm done she said nothing to Mrs. Bhaer,
who was busy and worried over little Teddy.

Tommy was sleepy, and telling Demi to mind his own business and not ask
questions, he was snoring in ten minutes, little dreaming what was going
on under his bed. The cigar did not go out, but smouldered away on the
straw carpet till it was nicely on fire, and a hungry little flame went
creeping along till the dimity bedcover caught, then the sheets, and
then the bed itself. The beer made Tommy sleep heavily, and the smoke
stupified Demi, so they slept on till the fire began to scorch them, and
they were in danger of being burned to death.

Franz was sitting up to study, and as he left the school-room he smelt
the smoke, dashed up-stairs and saw it coming in a cloud from the left
wing of the house. Without stopping to call any one, he ran into the
room, dragged the boys from the blazing bed, and splashed all the water
he could find at hand on to the flames. It checked but did not quench
the fire, and the children wakened on being tumbled topsy-turvy into
a cold hall, began to roar at the top of their voices. Mrs. Bhaer
instantly appeared, and a minute after Silas burst out of his room
shouting, "Fire!" in a tone that raised the whole house. A flock of
white goblins with scared faces crowded into the hall, and for a minute
every one was panic-stricken.

Then Mrs. Bhaer found her wits, bade Nursey see to the burnt boys, and
sent Franz and Silas down-stairs for some tubs of wet clothes which
she flung on the bed, over the carpet, and up against the curtains, now
burning finely, and threatening to kindle the walls.

Most of the boys stood dumbly looking on, but Dan and Emil worked
bravely, running to and fro with water from the bath-room, and helping
to pull down the dangerous curtains.

The peril was soon over, and ordering the boys all back to bed, and
leaving Silas to watch lest the fire broke out again, Mrs. Bhaer and
Franz went to see how the poor boys got on. Demi had escaped with one
burn and a grand scare, but Tommy had not only most of his hair scorched
off his head, but a great burn on his arm, that made him hal