e and in her dog mind duty lay here. But the
dear mistress' voice repeated the order and with a low bark of
intelligence Tzaritza tore away into the burning building.

"Oh, call her back! Call her back! She will be burned to death" cried a
dozen voices. Polly dropped upon the lawn and began to sob as though her
heart would break. Peggy never moved, but with hands clinched, lips set
and the look in her eyes of one who has sacrificed something
inexpressibly dear she stood listening and waiting. When she felt most
deeply Peggy became absolutely dumb.

Those minutes seemed like hours, then through an upper window giving on
the piazza roof scrambled a singed, smoke-begrimed, and uncanny figure,
dragging, tugging, and hauling with her a limp, unconscious woman. She
made the sill, hauled her burden over to safety, then lifting it bodily
carried it to the roof's edge, where putting it carefully beyond the
volume of smoke now pouring from the window, she threw up her head and
emitted howl upon howl for aid.

It was Shelby who heard and recognized that deep bay, who rushed with a
ladder to the spot, and scrambling up like a monkey, caught up Miss
Sturgis' seemingly lifeless form and carried her down the ladder, where
a dozen willing hands waited to receive her, while Tzaritza's barks
testified to her joy. Then back Shelby fled for the faithful creature,
but just as he reached the roof a sheet of flame darted out of the
window and enveloped her. In a second the exquisite silky coat was
a-blaze, and poor Tzaritza's joyous barks became cries of agony.

"Quick, somebody down there hand me one of those blankets!" shouted
Shelby.

Ere the words had left his lips a little figure scrambled up the ladder,
a blanket in her arms. Polly had seen all and had not waited for orders.
Gym work back in Annapolis stood in good stead at that moment. Shelby
flung the blanket about Tzaritza's sizzling fur, smothered out the
flame, then by some herculean mustering of strength, caught the huge dog
in his arms and crawled step by step down the ladder from which Polly
had quickly scrambled. A dozen hands lent aid and poor burned Tzaritza
was carried to the stables, Peggy and Polly close beside her. Others
could now care for Miss Sturgis, who, indeed, was little the worse for
her folly, while Tzaritza, the lovely coat quite gone, was moaning from
her burns.

"Hear, Jim, you stay here and don't you leave Miss Peggy or that dog for
a minute. Now mind