CHAPTER XIII A FIRE
Patricia thrust her head into each room on her way down the corridor, butno trace of fire did she find until she reached the very end. There, inthe room occupied by Frances and Katharine, flames were flickering aroundthe window frames, apparently coming from outside. Quickly closing thedoor again to prevent a draft, she dashed to the telephone and called theFire Department. Then she ran into her own room to look out of the windowand see how much space the fire covered. The side of the house belowFrances' window was ablaze, and tongues of flame were creeping steadilyup the frame building.
"Tiny's room is directly over Frances'!" was the thought which flashedthrough Patricia's brain.
Darting back into the hall and up the stairs, two steps at a time,Patricia burst into Evelyn's room crying:
"Get up quickly!" She pulled the covers off of the astonished littlegirl. "There's a fire."
"I can't get up; I'm too weak!" whimpered Evelyn.
"You've got to!" replied Patricia, snatching up a heavy bathrobe, pullingthe girl up from her pillows, and forcing her arms into the sleeves. "Nowcome--_quick_."
Still Evelyn hesitated; so Patricia literally dragged her out of bed,and, grasping her firmly from behind, pushed the reluctant girl out tothe stairs. There, overcome by fright and weakness, Evelyn sat down onthe top step. Without wasting any more words, Patricia grabbed her by theankles, pulled her all the way down the long, straight flight of stairs,and landed her on the rug at the foot of them just as the fire apparatusclattered up to the house. Clutching Evelyn under the arms, Patriciadragged her into the parlor, rolled her onto some cushions before thefireplace, threw a rug over her, and ran out to consult with the FireChief who was already in the hall.
"Shall we have to get out?" inquired Patricia, somewhat breathlessly.
"Hardly think so. Seems to be confined to back corner. Keep all doorsclosed," was the man's curt reply, as he directed his assistants who werebringing in extinguishers and hose.
Immediately a huge crowd assembled and some policemen were trying to keepthe excited people far enough away from the house; even the students wholived in the Hall were not allowed to enter it. Watching from the frontwindows of the parlor, Patricia could see the Alley Gang on the edge ofone group; Jane, calm as usual; Frances crying and holding ontoKatharine; Hazel gesticulating wildly as she talked to Anne; and theothers dodging this way and that, trying to get closer to the house. Justas Mrs. Vincent worked her way through the crowd to speak to one of thefiremen, she came face to face with Clarice and Ivan who had edgedthrough from the opposite side of the street. Patricia held her breathfor an instant, but after receiving the fireman's reply Mrs. Vincentseemed to be chatting quite naturally with the couple. Probably she didnot realize that they had been out together.
A grey coat and hat in the background caught Patricia's eye, and as asudden movement of their owner brought him fully into the light of astreet lamp, she recognized Norman Young. Like lightning her mind racedfrom the skulking figure beside the dormitory earlier in the evening, tothe subsequent outbreak of fire. Surely there could be no connection. Nodoubt an investigation of the fire would surely follow, to which, in allprobability, she would be summoned. What should she say? "I should hateto tell a mere suspicion. I'm not really certain," she stated to herself."I wish I knew what to do about it."
Evelyn, who had lain shivering and weeping just where Patricia had lefther, now raised up and inquired plaintively: "Do you suppose my room willbe burned? I just bought all my spring clothes; and if they're lost--I--"
"I'm quite sure they must be getting the fire under control; otherwise,they would have ordered us out," replied Patricia calmly. "I hardly thinkthe flames reached your room at all."
"Thank goodness!" sighed Evelyn, collapsing again onto her pillows.
Not a word of gratitude to the girl who had rescued her. People areawfully queer, thought Patricia, gazing wonderingly at Tiny. Imagine,thinking of her new clothes when she, herself, might have been trapped upthere, alone and sick! Turning again to the window, she was amused to seeher Aunt Betsy dash determinedly through the crowd only to be stopped bya policeman. Patricia could imagine the things she was saying to the manwho dared block her way. Nearby stood Ted and John, scanning the crowdanxiously. She wished she could in some way attract their attention sothey might know she was safe. Presently the crowd shifted a little,bringing the two boys more directly in her range of vision. Ted'srestless eyes soon spied her; he said something to John, and they bothmade grotesque gestures, which she interpreted as offers of rescue. Gailyshe shook her head, thereby causing Ted to shed imaginary tears into hishandkerchief, while Jack patted him on the back.
Half an hour later sounded the welcome two gongs which indicated that thefire was out. Then the crowd made a dash for the front steps; but acouple of officers, with whom the Dean had been quietly conferring, tooktheir stand on the bottom step and refused admittance to all but ArnoldHall students. Slowly the townspeople strolled away, while the excitedgirls hurried in to see how much damage had been done.
"Oh, Pat!" cried Anne, flinging both arms around her. "We were so worriedabout you!"
"Until we caught sight of you at the window, we were absolutely frantic,"added Jane.
A loud burst of laughter from Clarice, who had just entered with Bettyand Hazel, made them all turn to see what had occasioned it.
"Just look at Tiny!" cried Clarice. "How did you get down here?"
"Patricia dragged me down!" retorted Evelyn in injured tones. "She burstinto my room, scared the life out of me, and literally pulled me down thestairs--"
"Pat to the rescue!" interrupted Hazel admiringly.
"Our Pat's a heroine!" cried Anne, while the rest of the Gang pressedcloser.
"Who sent in the alarm?" inquired Mrs. Vincent.
"I did," acknowledged Patricia modestly. "I smelled smoke and discoveredthe cause of it in Katharine's and Frances' room--"
"She's a double heroine!" exulted Jane.
"Have you any idea what started it?" continued Mrs. Vincent sharply.
"I told you all I _know_ about it," replied Patricia, with a faint accenton the word _know_, which was lost on the troubled chaperon. "I was onthe Black Book all the evening, except once when I went to my room for abook and when I was looking for the fire--"
"And when you were dragging me around," added Tiny, provoking a burst oflaughter.
"At the Black Book?" repeated Mrs. Vincent. "It wasn't your turn. You hadit night before last. Who _was_ supposed to be on it?" looking accusinglyaround the room.
"I was," admitted Clarice; "but I had a date, so Pat relieved me."
"You're altogether too fond of getting out of some of your obligations,"said Mrs. Vincent severely, while the girls stared in astonishment at herrebuking thus publicly the favored Clarice.
"Pat didn't mind," murmured Clarice.
"That doesn't matter. Hereafter, if you wish to relieve one another,you'll have to get my permission. I want that clearly understood."
"Nice time we'll have finding her sometimes, to get permission," murmuredHazel to Betty.
"Must be dreadfully upset, or she'd never lay Clarice out like that," wasAnne's comment to Patricia.
"There will be an investigation made," continued Mrs. Vincent. "DeanWalters is very much disturbed. Morton College has recently had a regularepidemic of fires of late, all apparently incendiary; and she--"
"Mrs. Vincent," interrupted Mary, "Norman Young is at the front door andwants to see you."
The chaperon hurried out, and, quite shamelessly, the girls kept quietenough to hear what was said in the hall.
"Mrs. Brock sent me over to inquire how much damage had been done, andespecially if anyone was injured," said Norman. "If necessary, she wouldaccommodate three or four of the girls tonight."
"Tell Mrs. Brock that I am very grateful for her offer," replied Mrs.Vincent, "but no one was harmed; and since the damage w
as confinedprincipally to one room, we shall be able to manage quite nicely withoutsending anyone out."
"Ah--" exclaimed Hazel, disappointedly.
"What are you ah-ing for?" demanded Katharine. "We'd be the ones to go."
"Did you lose much of your stuff?" asked Patricia, putting her arm aroundFrances, whose face still showed traces of tears.
"I don't know yet."
"Now, girls," ordered Mrs. Vincent, coming briskly back to the parlor,"let's get to bed. Some of you help Evelyn upstairs, and I'll get beddingto put on the davenport. Katharine and Frances will have to sleep hereuntil we can get cleared up a little."
It was a long time before silence settled down in the Hall. Even afterthe lights were out, and she and Betty had stopped talking, Patricia layin her bed as wide awake as if it were noon. What was she going to say atthe investigation? Suppose Norman Young _was_ the man she had seen, whatpossible object could he have had in setting fire to the Hall? It wascertainly bold of him, in that case, to come and inquire so coolly aboutthe damages. Yet it didn't seem as if a perfectly respectable secretary,however much one might be inclined to dislike him, _could_ be a fire bug.
After another hour of restless tossing, she decided to tell the wholetruth if questioned closely.