The words had scarcely left the lips of the girl, when, to the horror of those standing below, a third story window was suddenly thrown up, and the head of a woman appeared.

"Help! Help! Save me!" The cry came wildly from the woman, who was plainly terror-stricken.

"It's Miss Harrow!" cried a score of voices.

"Look! Look! The fire is on both sides of her!"

"Don't jump! Don't jump!" yelled Tom, at the top of his lungs, and he saw the teacher prepare to cast herself to the ground.

"Can't you come down by the stairs?" called out Sam, as loudly as he could.

"I'm afraid to open the door! The hall is full of smoke and fire!"

screamed the teacher. "Save me! Save me!"

"Haven't they got a ladder handy?" asked Tom.

"Sure, we've got a ladder--half a dozen of 'em," responded one of the men who worked around the place.

"Where is it? Show it to us, quick!" put in Sam.

"All right, this way," returned the man, and started off with Sam at his heels.

"Don't jump! don't jump! We'll help you!" cried a dozen voices to the teacher.

"We are going to get a ladder!" yelled Tom. "Stay where you are!"

And then he followed the others. The ladders were kept in a wagon shed, and it took but a few moments to bring them out. They were four in number, and of various sizes.

"I'm afraid none of 'em is long enough to reach that winder," said the man who had led the way.

"You are right," replied Tom. "But what's the matter with lashing a couple of them together? Here's a rope." And he pointed to a washline that hung on a nearby hook.

In frantic haste a dozen persons carried the ladders to the burning building. Tom followed with the rope, which he unwound on the way.

Then the washline was cut, and with it two of the longest ladders were lashed together as quickly as possible. Then the combination ladder was raised against the building and set close to the window, to the sill of which Miss Harrow clung.

"I'll go up if you want me to," cried Tom, as he saw the men who belonged around the place hold back. "You steady the ladder so it doesn't slip."

"Want me to help, Tom?" asked Sam.

"No, you see that they steady the ladder." And thus speaking, Tom began to mount the rungs.

A cheer went up, but to this the youth paid no attention. In a few seconds he was at the third story window. He had to pa.s.s through considerable smoke, but as yet the flames had not reached that vicinity.

"Come, give me your hand, and step out on the ladder," cried Tom to the teacher.

"I--I can't!" gasped Miss Harrow. And now the youth saw that she was almost paralyzed from fright. She clung desperately to the window sill, evidently unable to move. Clinging to the ladder with his left hand, Tom placed his right foot on the window sill, and then he reached down and caught the teacher under the arm.

"Come, you don't want to stay here," he ordered, almost sternly, and pulled the teacher to her feet.

"Oh, oh, we'll fall! I can't do it!" were her gasped-out words.

"You've got to do it--unless you want to be burned up. Now then, if you don't want to climb down the ladder, let me carry you."

"I--I--oh--I can't move!" And with these words, the teacher sank down across the window sill.

A sudden change in the wind drove a cloud of smoke into Tom's face, and for the moment he and the teacher were hidden from the view of those below.

"Oh, look! Tom will be burned up!" screamed Nellie.

"No, he won't," returned Sam, rea.s.suringly. "He knows what he is doing." Nevertheless, Sam was as anxious as anyone over his brother's safety.

When the smoke shifted, it was seen that Tom had hauled the teacher from the window sill and had her over his shoulder. She hung down limply, showing that she had lost consciousness. Rung by rung, the youth came down the ladder slowly with his burden.

"He's got her! He's got her!" was the glad cry, and a few seconds later Tom reached the ground, where he was immediately surrounded by the others.

"Oh, Tom, how did you do it?" cried Nellie, hysterically.

"Oh, it was not much to do--anybody could have done it," replied the youth. "Say, what am I to do with her?" he added, indicating the burden on his shoulder.

"This way, please," said the teacher who had taken charge of matters, and she led the way out on the campus and to a bench on which some of the girls had piled their fancy pillows. Here Miss Harrow was made as comfortable as possible.

By this time a third fire engine had arrived, and more streams were directed on the flames. The ladder was used by some of those at the nozzle of one of the hose lines, and by this means the fire in the wing of the main building was quickly extinguished. Nothing could be done towards saving what was left of the barn, so the firemen directed all their efforts towards keeping the conflagration from spreading.

"Well, it's about out," said Sam, a little later. "Some mess, though, believe me!"

"Oh, I am so thankful it was not worse!" murmured Grace. "Suppose it had burned down the main building!"

"Tom, you're a hero!" cried Spud, coming up.

"Nothing of the sort," retorted Tom. "Anybody could have done what I did, and you know it."

"All the same, you're the one who did it," answered Spud, admiringly.

"He certainly did," said one of the men in the crowd. "That teacher ought to be mighty thankful for what he did for her."

"I don't want her thanks," added Tom, in a low voice. "All I want her to do, is to treat Nellie fairly."

CHAPTER XII

TOM SPEAKS HIS MIND

"Tom, Miss Harrow would like to see you."

It was an hour later, and the Rovers and the Laning girls had spent the time in watching the efforts of the others to put out the last of the fire. In the meanwhile, some of those present had gone through the addition to the main building and opened the various windows and doors, thus letting out the smoke. An examination proved that the damage done there was very slight, for which the seminary authorities were thankful.