Joan sat at the dining-room table, busy with her homework. Her older brother, Bill, was reading a book in the living room. Four little brothers and sisters were already sound asleep in the large bedroom at the back of the Joan sat at the dining-room table, busy with her homework. Her older brother, Bill, was reading a book in the living room. Four little brothers and sisters were already sound asleep in the large bedroom at the back of the house. The whole house was still and quiet.
Presently Joan finished studying and leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms and yawning widely. She then gathered her work together neatly and stacked her notebook and schoolbooks, ready to take to school the next morning. She got up from the table then shivered and pulled her sweater closer about her shoulders.
“Br-r-r! I’m cold!” Joan said in a loud whisper to Bill.
“I am too,” Bill replied, looking up from his book. “Dad’s been having trouble with that old furnace in the basement. It doesn’t heat right. He said he’ll have it fixed as soon as we have the money.
“Hope that’s soon,” Joan said, buttoning her sweater. “This old house always seems cold.” She walked to the window and looked out. “Wonder when Mother and Dad will come back from Aunt Jane’s?”
“It should be soon; they never stay late,” Bill answered. Then he sniffed the air and exclaimed, “I smell smoke!”
Joan stepped back from the window and sniffed too. “So do I!” she cried.
“Must be from the furnace in the basement,” Bill said. “I’ll go and check it.” He got up and went quickly down the center hall, where a door opened into steps leading to the basement. As he flung open the door, he looked down into the dark basement. At once strong smoke swept up the stairway and set him to coughing. He slammed the door shut quickly and ran back to Joan.
“The furnace must have started a fire in the basement,” Bill said, trying to keep calm. “Get the little ones out of bed while I call the fire department.”
Joan ran to the back bedroom where their brothers and sisters were sleeping. As she tried to waken them, she could hear Bill’s voice on the telephone, calling the fire department.
Strange crackling sounds could be heard from the basement now, and hot smoke was drifting through all the house. Little tongues of flame were licking up into some of the floor vents.
Joan wakened the sleepy children, who sat up in bed, rubbing their eyes and wondering what the excitement was all about. Trying not to frighten them, Joan finally got all four out of bed and hurried them into the center hall. Bill met her, and they tried to get to the back door, but there was fire in the kitchen. The front of the house was filled with heavy smoke.
“We must get the children back into the bedroom,” Bill shouted above the crackling noise of the fire, as he helped Joan. Then he said quickly, “You run out the front way and get under the bedroom window. I’ll hand the little ones out to you!””
Joan started, then stopped and shouted. “The window’s too high! I can’t reach it from the ground!”
“All right, I’ll go, and I’ll help you out too!” Then he disappeared through the heavy smoke toward the front door.