plainly.

"Sweet heart, sweet heart, where art thou--oh where art thou?"

It was Lord Desborough's voice; she recognized it with a thrill of
gladness. But there was another voice mingling with it which she
also knew, and she heard her own name called with equal urgency.

"Dinah! Mistress Dinah! Ah, pray God we have not come too late!
Dinah, we are here to save you both! Show yourself, if you be still
there. Pray Heaven they have not rushed forth in their fears and
perished in the flames!"

In another instant Dinah had rushed to a window, which seemed to be
on the same side of the house as the voices--namely, at the back;
and, in the narrow court below, she saw Lord Desborough, the Master
Builder, her brother, and Reuben, all clustered together, with
ladders and ropes, and all calling aloud to those within to show
themselves.

"We are here! we are safe! but the fire is well nigh upon us,"
answered Dinah, who had just been convinced by the rolling of the
smoke up the staircase that the lower part of the house was in
flames.

"Thank God! thank God! they are still there!" cried Lord Desborough
at sight of her; whilst the Master Builder, who was getting a
ladder into position in order to run it up to the window where she
stood, spoke rapidly and commandingly:

"There is no time to lose. The house is ringed by fire. It will be
all we can do to make good our escape. The front of the place is in
flames already; we cannot approach that way, and the street is full
of waves of fire. Can you make shift to bring out the sick lady to
this window? or--"

Dinah vanished the moment she understood what was to be done; but
quick as were her movements, Lord Desborough was in the room almost
as soon as she was. He must have darted up the ladder almost ere it
was in position, and the next moment he had his wife in his arms,
straining her passionately to his breast, as she cried in joyful
accents:

"O my love, my dear, dear love! methought thou hadst perished in
yon fearful fire!"

"It is more fearful than thou dost know, sweet heart, but with
Heaven's help we will bear thee safe through it. Shut thine eyes,
dear heart, and trust to me. We have won our way thus far in the
teeth of many a peril. Pray Heaven we make good our escape in like
fashion. We have taken every measure of precaution."

In her great delight at having her husband back safe and sound, and
in her state of exceeding weakness, Lady Desborough understood
litt