CHAPTER XX
THE RESCUE
Allen, rushing up with his company, gave one quick glance at thegroup of women and girls before the burning house, then strode grimlyover to Amy's side.
"Where's Betty?" he demanded roughly, his voice sounding strange,even to himself.
"Allen, Allen, they've gone to rescue her," cried Amy, shaking like aleaf. "She's still in the house---"
With a hoarse cry Allen turned, and ran like a madman toward theburning building. A fireman, stumbling gaspingly from the house,almost knocked him down.
"Isn't any use!" he cried. "That stair's on fire, too. We've got toreach 'em from the outside."
"Get out of the way!" cried Allen, shoving him roughly to one side.
The fireman called after him, but there was no stopping the terrorthat forced him on. Terror for Betty--up there alone--Betty--Betty.He clapped a hand before his eyes and stumbled blindly on.
Flames lapped at him hungrily as he forced his mad way through them,smoke choked him, blinded him, and yet he must go on. Betty--Betty...A section of the stairs gave way before him and he had to jump tokeep from going with it.
Was this the head of the stairs? He felt for it with his hand andpulled it back with an involuntary cry of pain. He was horriblyburned, his hands, his face, his hair--his clothing had started. Hebeat at them as he ran. He must live until he had rescued Betty--andthen----
A door. Fumblingly he opened it--then forced it shut from the otherside. Blindly he felt for the bed. Yes, she was here. Thank God hehad found her! But there was another figure--someone else to save.
Then he felt a sharp pain. He looked down and found that the flameswere rapidly creeping up--creeping up... There was a rug on thefloor--with feverish haste he wrapped himself in it--smothering theflames. He must live until----
He staggered to his feet, lifted one of the unconscious figures inhis arms and staggered with it to the door. A hades of flame leapedat him. It was too late. They were trapped!
He groaned aloud and great tears rolled down his face. Betty--Betty!Carefully he laid his burden down and staggered to the open window.
The firemen were raising a ladder to another window. He beckoned tothem, he shouted to them in a hoarse voice that seemed to him to makeno noise at all.
But they saw him and shifted the ladder to his window. Was there achance, after all? The flames were eating away the door, were leapinginto the room. Down below the firemen had stretched a net.
Sobbing now, his breath coming in great gasps, Allen rushed back tothe bed, picked up one of the figures, and staggered with it back tothe window. They saw him standing there; and a great cheer went upfrom the spectators.
Gathering all that wonderful reserve strength that comes to every onein time of greatest need, he swung his burden far out from thewindow--then dropped it.
Allen paused for a moment, steadying hand on the windowsill, thengathered himself for the last great effort. The bed was invisiblenow, the room an inferno--he had to fight every step of the way backto the bed. Then he found what he sought, and fought the slow fightback to the window.
But his strength was going--going--his arms were iron weights--theroom was going black. With a great effort he fought off thefaintness. Then he saw a great, helmeted head peering in at him fromthe window.
"Give her to me, son," said a hearty voice; then, it seemed to Allenmiraculously, he was relieved of his burden. Swaying, dizzy, he clungto the windowsill to keep himself erect.
"Now I guess I can die," he heard himself saying, through an eternityof space.
"You just hold tight, son," said the hearty voice, as its ownercarefully lowered himself and the poor little unconscious figure downthe ladder. "I'll be back for you in jig time."
But it was an eternity while Allen waited, every nerve tense in thefight for consciousness, red hot irons searing his flesh, thatroaring hades of flames creeping closer, closer----
"Your turn, son!"
Dimly he saw the helmeted head through a haze of smoke and tried tospeak--but no sound came from between his cracked, parched lips. Heswayed. A brawny arm gripped him like a vise.
"Can you climb out," asked the voice, "or will I have to carry you?"
"ALLEN!" SHE CRIED, DRAWING A CHAIR TO THE BED-SIDE.]
Allen's head jerked up proudly, and he forced still a little morefrom that splendid reserve of strength. Afterward he could neverremember how he clambered over that windowsill, and got his feet uponthe ladder.
That he did it and managed the descent with the aid of the firemen,he afterward learned from his friends. All he could remember, was thegreat shout which came to him like a little murmur that went up fromthe crowd at sight of him.
He was a hero, a great hero, but at the time the fact interested himnot at all. He wanted to sleep--to sleep--if they would only let himsleep!
Four days later, he awoke and looked around him lazily. A delightfuldrowsiness surrounded him; he was too comfortable even to inquirewhere he was.
Then a sweet voice reached his ears and he turned his head sharply.
"No, thank you," it said. "I think I'll take these to him myself, ifyou don't mind. This door? Thank you."
Fascinated, Allen watched the door as it slowly opened,admitting--Betty! Betty, sweeter and more beautiful than he had everseen her. Her eyes widened at sight of him, and she ran forwardimpulsively.
"Allen!" she cried, drawing a chair to the bedside and taking hisoutstretched hand. "Oh, I'm so glad! I was afraid you were just goingto sleep on forever. How do you feel?"
"Not at all," he responded whimsically, his eyes devouring her face."I haven't been awake long enough to feel anything--except your handin mine," he added softly.
She thoughtfully regarded the hand he still held, yet did not try todraw it away. Instead she smiled a little--a smile that set Allen'sheart to throbbing painfully, and said, so softly he could hardlyhear her:
"Aren't you just a little bit curious to know what I think of you--andeverybody else, for that matter--after what you did the other day?"
"Yes, what do you think of me?" he asked breathlessly. "I've wantedever since I can remember, to know that."
"I think," said Betty, flushing, yet meeting his eager eyes steadily,"you're the dearest and most wonderful person I ever knew."
"Betty," he cried hoarsely and would have leaped from the bed had shenot forcibly restrained him. "Oh, Betty, Betty," he murmured over andover again. "Did you mean that--did you?"
"I--I'm not the only one," said Betty, startled at what she had done."Everybody is talking about you and praising you to the skies, andthere was even a piece about you in the paper. I--I'm afraid when youare able to get out and hear how everybody is raving about you,you'll be spoiled entirely."
"Betty," he commanded, in so very different a tone from any he hadever used before that she started and looked at him shyly, "what areyou running on about such nonsense for? If I did anything, it was foryou and because I loved you, Betty. There wasn't any heroism. I don'tdeserve any fuss about it and I don't want any thanks. I don'tdeserve any. You weren't hurt, Betty?"
"No," she answered softly, not daring to look at him. This was such adifferent Allen and so wonderfully attractive. "Mollie and I wereboth a little sick from the smoke and shock, but it didn't take uslong to recover. You were the one who was so terribly burned that forone horrible long day, the doctors didn't know whether you'd pullthrough or not. Oh, Allen, that awful day!"
"Were you worried?" queried Allen gently.
"I--I never want to live through another one like it," she said witha little shiver, then suddenly rose to go. "The doctor said youmustn't be excited," she explained as he looked up at her reproachfully."And I," she looked away again, "I just wanted to--thank you,Allen--but if you won't let me----"
"Betty," he broke in, an eager light of daring in his eyes, "I knowit's sort of taking advantage--but--there's just one way you can--thankme. Won't you--please----"
Slowly his meaning da
wned upon Betty, and the color flamed into herface. Then, light as thistledown, her lips brushed his cheek and shewas gone, closing the door softly behind her.
With wildly beating heart Allen pressed a hand to his cheek and gazedlongingly after her.
"Betty," he whispered. "Oh, my Betty!"