Somewhat crossly Doris switched out the light and tumbled into bed beside her chum. So far she felt that everything had gone wrong. First, Marshmallow and Dave had been delayed. Then, it appeared that there would be a long wait before she could see the President of the National Bank about her Uncle John Trent’s Estate. It was all very annoying! To top it off, Ollie Weiser was bent upon making her existence an unhappy one!
Long after Kitty had fallen asleep, Doris lay awake thinking. Back at Chilton it had seemed an easy matter to come to Cloudy Cove and settle up the financial affairs of her uncle, but now she realized that it would not be as simple as she had anticipated. Things moved so slowly.
“Mrs. Mallow is a dear,” she thought, “but she isn’t very businesslike and I’m afraid won’t be of much help to me. How I wish Uncle Ward could have come with me!”
After a time Doris fell into a troubled sleep. When she opened her eyes again, it was with the feeling that something was wrong. She found herself wide awake, though she could not imagine what had disturbed her. Kitty was sleeping soundly beside her.
“I must have had a bad dream,” she told herself.
Resolutely closing her eyes again, she turned over on her side and tried to sleep. Suddenly she heard a strange, crackling noise.
Startled, Doris sat up in bed and listened intently. Had she imagined it? No, there it was again. Something was amiss.
Springing from the bed, she rushed to the window and looked down. She saw a red glare against a pane of glass, and shooting flames. They leaped upward from the vicinity of the kitchen wing.
For an instant Doris was too startled to cry out. Then she ran to Kitty, shaking her violently.
“Fire!” she warned. “Quick! We must wake Mrs. Mallow and get out of here!”
CHAPTER XI
Fire!
“What is it?” Kitty murmured drowsily, nestling deeper into the blankets.
“The hotel is on fire!” Doris cried, dragging her from the bed. “Get dressed as quickly as you can! There’s not a minute to lose!”
“Oh!”
Assured that her chum was thoroughly awakened, Doris ran into the adjoining room to arouse Mrs. Mallow. Already she could smell the smoke and hear people rushing down the halls. Frightened shouts were to be heard from all parts of the building.
Mrs. Mallow was out of bed in an instant, but, as she realized the danger, she became so excited she could not find her clothing. Doris switched on the light, thrust the garments into her hands, and raced back to her own room.
Kitty was nearly dressed and it required but a moment for Doris to slip into her clothing. Frantically, they tore their clothes from the hangers and thrust them helter-skelter into the suitcases.
Their own luggage ready, the girls hurried to the aid of Mrs. Mallow. Fortunately, she had removed only a few articles from her bag and it required but an instant to sweep the dresser clear and cram other scattered objects inside.
“Hurry!” Doris commanded, flinging a coat over Mrs. Mallow’s shoulders.
“My purse!” Kitty cried, rescuing it from a bureau drawer.
Smoke had commenced to filter into the suite and the three dared tarry no longer. Snatching up their bags, they rushed out into the hall. The elevator did not appear to be running, so Doris led the way to the stairs. Halfway down she suddenly halted and gave a little cry of horror.
“Oh, I’ve left my ruby ring!”
“You can’t go back,” Kitty warned, catching her chum by the arm.
“I must get it! I believe there’s time. You two go on!”
Before Mrs. Mallow could prohibit the rash act, Doris dropped her heavy bag and dashed back up the stairs. Groping through the hall she found her room and entered. The lights were off and she could see nothing. Blindly she made her way toward the dresser. She distinctly remembered leaving the ring in the pin tray. She must find it!
She stumbled over a chair and fell against the dresser. Eagerly she ran her hand over the top in search of the tray. If she only had a light!
Suddenly her hand touched it and with a cry of joy she located the ring and slipped it on her finger. At that instant a blazing timber fell into the court below the suite window. At the sound of the loud crash Doris bolted for the door.
Smoke was now so dense in the hall that she could scarcely get her breath. The heat was terrific. At the far end of the hall Doris could see leaping flames, and the sight threw her into a momentary panic.
“Trapped!” she thought.
Then her mind cleared and she raced for the stairs. The fire had not reached there. Coughing and choking, she groped her way down to the lobby. What had become of Kitty and Mrs. Mallow? She hoped they had reached safety.
Someone grasped her by the arm. It was Kitty.
“We were dreadfully frightened! It took you such a long time!”
“I found the ring all right!” Doris gasped.
The lobby was comparatively clear of smoke, but fearful lest the floor above topple upon their heads Mrs. Mallow and the girls rushed to the door. A large group of men, women and children had gathered outside, many of them scantily robed.
“I wonder if everyone is out?” Mrs. Mallow murmured anxiously.
“I didn’t see anyone in the halls,” Doris returned. “Why aren’t the firemen here?”
Just then they heard the familiar siren and two red engines swung into view. In a twinkling the men had their ladders up and several streams of water were trained upon the blaze.
“The fire seems to be confined to the east wing,” Mrs. Mallow observed. “If you hadn’t awakened us when you did, Doris, we’d have been burned in our beds.”
Several of the firemen had entered the building and the girls watched anxiously for their return. Two women were carried out, but, although they were unconscious, they quickly revived once they breathed the fresh air.
“I guess everyone is out now,” Mrs. Mallow said in relief. She had just overheard the excited manager talking with the fire chief.
Doris and Kitty were eager to aid in the rescue work, but it appeared that there was little to be done. Fortunately, no one had been injured. Several women whimpered and sobbed, but only from hysteria. However, the early morning air was chilly and few of the hotel guests were heavily clothed. Many of them had been forced to abandon all of their baggage. Everyone shivered from the cold, until a generous quick-lunch owner volunteered to serve hot coffee. Doris and Kitty were assigned to the task of pouring out the steaming liquid to the dejected hotel guests, neglecting their own appetites entirely.
“I guess they’ll be able to save most of the building, after all,” Doris commented, as she surveyed the smoking ruin of the east wing.
The firemen had worked swiftly and effectively, with the result that very soon, after their arrival on the scene they had the fire well under control. However, before the blaze could be extinguished, the east wing had been reduced to a blackened shell and the entire hotel was damaged by smoke and water. The manager, greatly distraught, went from one guest to another, assuring them that the hotel would be ready for occupancy within a week or ten days.
“A week nothing!” Doris remarked. “He’ll be lucky if he gets the place fixed up in a month.”
“The hotel wasn’t much to boast of, even before the fire,” Mrs. Mallow said dryly, “but I must say that this disaster comes at a most inconvenient time for us. Every hotel in Cloudy Cove jammed! I guess we’ll have to go back home.”