her arms out toward the
mansion she had lately left, where lights were twinkling gaily, whence
sounds of music now came faintly to her ears. "You'll soon forget the
little mounting girl. You'll never know she loved you. I'm goin'
back--back to the old mountings."

As she rose an ominous crackling caught her ear and held her at
attention, then, in a horrid flash, the fire blazed out among the hay
and brush which Holton had piled up against the stable door.

"Oh, oh!" she cried. "Th' stable is burnin'! Fire! Fire! Fire! Neb, are
you in there? Don't you hear me, Neb? Th' stable air on fire!"

Neb's voice came from the dim interior, muffled and skeptical. "What
dat?" he said. "Don't want no foolishness 'round heah. I's ahmed."

"It's me, Neb, me," she cried. "Th' stable 's burnin', Neb!"

"Gorramighty!" she heard Neb exclaim, now in a voice expressive of great
fright. "Dat's so, dat's so! Quick, honey, open up de doah!"

Madge was working at the biggest log which Holton had thrust against
the door to feed the blaze. The flames and smoke surged 'round her as
she struggled with the unwieldy thing, her hands grasped, more than
once, live coals, without making her release her hold. Once or twice the
bursting flames, swung hither and swung yon by the light, vagrant
breezes of the night and the drafts born of the fire, itself, flared
straight toward her face, and, to save her hair, which, once igniting,
would, she knew, make further work impossible, she had to draw back for
a second; but each time, as she saw another chance, she sprang again to
the desperate task. At last, after a dozen efforts, she had thrust the
blazing log so far from the already burning door that Neb could push it
open. He stumbled out, his old hands held before him, gropingly,
half-suffocated.

"Neb, you ain't hurt," said she.

"You go ring dat bell," said he, pointing to a standard bearing at its
top an ornamental iron crotch in which a big plantation bell was swung.
"Soon's I get my bref from all dat smoke I'll go back an' git Queen
Bess."

The girl sprang to the rope and soon the bell was ringing out a wild
alarm.

"Hurry, Neb!" she cried. "Oh, hurry! Th' fire's a-gainin', ev'ry second!
Hurry!"

Neb dashed back into the stable upon trembling limbs, while, without a
pause, the girl kept up the clangor of alarm. Her eyes were ever on the
door through which the faithful black had disappeared, watching
anxiously to see him come out with the mare