s who appeared to be
rather curious about the operations of the firemen.

"I say," exclaimed the Bloater in great excitement, "why--that's the
'ouse w'ere _Martha_ lives!"

"Who's Martha?" asked Ned, without interrupting his operation of
screwing on an additional length of hose.

"W'y, the friend o' Joe Dashwood's wife--Martha--Martha Reading, you
know."

"Eh!" exclaimed Ned, looking up.

At that moment Martha herself appeared at a window in the upper storey,
waving her arms and shrieking wildly for help. Men were seen
endeavouring to bring forward a fire-escape, but the crowd was so dense
as to render this an unusually difficult and slow operation.

Without uttering a word, Ned Crashington dashed up the blazing
staircase. For a moment he was lost to view, but quickly reappeared,
attempting to cross a half-charred beam which overhung a yawning gulf of
fire where the first and second floors had just fallen in. Suddenly a
dense mass of smoke surrounded him. He staggered, threw up his arms,
and was seen to fall headlong into the flames. A deep groan, or cry of
horror, arose from the crowd, and wild shouts of "fetch a ladder,"
"bring up the escape," were heard, while poor Martha got out on the
window-sill to avoid the flames, which were rapidly drawing towards and
almost scorching her.

Just then a man was seen to dash furiously through the crowd, he fought
his way madly--knocking down all who opposed him. Gaining the door of
the burning house he sprang in.

"I say," whispered Little Jim, in an excited voice, "it's Phil Sparks!"

"I'm glad to hear it," observed a quiet, broad-shouldered man, who stood
near two policemen, to whom he winked knowingly.

The Bloater attempted to move off, but one of the policemen detained
him. The other detained Little Jim.

Meanwhile the crowd looked for Phil's reappearance on the beam from
which poor Ned Crashington had fallen, but Phil knew the house better
than Ned. He gained the upper floor by a back stair, which was not
quite impassable; seized Martha in his arms, just as she was about to
leap into the street, and dragged her back into the smoke and flames.
It appeared almost certain that both must have perished; but in a few
seconds the man was seen to descend the lower stair with the woman in
his arms, and in another moment a wild enthusiastic cheer burst from the
vast multitude as he leaped into the street.

Laying Martha gently down on a doorstep, Sparks bent ov