exclaim, "Where?"

Without waiting for a reply she too bounded out of bed like an
indiarubber ball, and seeing (for there was always a night-light in the
room) that Miss Tippet's face was as white as her night-dress, she
attempted to shriek, but failed, owing to a lump of some kind that had
got somehow into her throat, and which refused to be swallowed on any
terms.

The repetition of the cry, "Fire! fire!" outside, induced both ladies at
once to become insane. Miss Tippet, with a touch of method even in her
madness, seized the counterpane, wrapped it round her, and rushed out of
the room and downstairs. Emma followed her example with a blanket, and
also fled, just as Matty Merryon, who slept in an attic room above,
tumbled down her wooden staircase and burst into the room by another
door, uttering a wild exclamation that was choked in the bud partly by
terror, partly by smoke. Attempting in vain to wrap herself in a
bolster, Matty followed her mistress. All three had utterly forgotten
the existence of Miss Deemas. That strong-minded lady being, as we have
hinted, a sound sleeper, was not awakened by the commotion in the
street. In fact, she was above such weaknesses. Becoming aware of a
crackling sound and a sensation of smoke, she smiled sweetly in her
slumbers, and, turning gently on her other side, with a sigh, dreamed
ardently of fried ham and eggs--her usual breakfast.

While these events were occurring the cry of fire had reached the ears
of one of London's guardians; our friend Samuel Forest. That
stout-hearted man was seated at the time rapping the sides of his
sentry-box with his head, in a useless struggle with sleep. He had just
succumbed, and was snoring out his allegiance to the great conqueror,
when the policeman on the beat dashed open his door and shouted "Fire!"

Sam was a calm, self-possessed man. He was no more flurried by this
sudden, unexpected, and fierce shout of "Fire," than he would have been
if the policeman had in a mild voice made a statement of water. But,
although self-possessed and cool, Sam was not slow. With one energetic
effort he tripped up and floored the conqueror with one hand, as it
were, while he put on his black helmet with the other, and in three
minutes more the fire-escape was seen coming up the lane like a rampant
monster of the antediluvian period.

It was received by the crowd with frantic cheers, because they had just
become aware that a lady was asleep i