My head seemed to twist around like the clouds of pink smoke and the whirl of hot air that tossed the hanging boughs of the trees. The crackle and roar of the fire seemed to be going on in my skull. But I managed to throw my head back and my hands out to show they were empty. "God!" he cried. The world went all black for me then, but I heard voices. "Stop, Judge! Don't go! You'd never get out." "Let go of me!" "He's going into a furnace! Somebody stop him!" "Look! Look! You'll never see _him_ again." I opened my eyes. Judge Colfax's long lean body, with its sloping shoulders, was in the doorway, as black as a tree against a sunset. I saw him duck his head down as if he meant to plough a path through the fire, and then a fat roll of smoke shut off all view of him. "They're both gone--him and the baby!" roared the depot master. "Lost! Both lost!" The woman with the flying hair heard this and ran off again, screaming. I listened to the piercing voice of her and the roar and the clanging of bells. Horses came running up behind me, with heavy thuds of hoofs, and voices in chorus went up with every leap of the fire. It was like a delirium with the fever; and the grass, under my hands where I sat, felt moist and cool. Then all of a sudden the shouting and noise all seemed to stop at once, so there was nothing but the snapping and crackle and hiss of the flames, and a voice of a little boy cried out:-- "The Judge is climbing down the porch! He's got something in his arms!" "It's the baby!" yelled the depot master, throwing his hat on the ground. "He's saved the baby!" I began to cry again, and wondered why the people did not cheer. There was only a sort of mumble of little shouts and cries and oaths, and the people fell to one side and the other, as the Judge came toward me. "Come, Margaret," he said. I looked up and saw he was all blackened with smoke and soot, except where the sweat had run down in white streaks. His face was close to mine. "Come! Do you hear?" he said. "I don't believe she's hurt, but we must see. We'll go across to the Danforths'. There is nothing to do here. I've got Julianna!" Just as if the fire was answering him, there came a great ripping and roaring, as if something had given away and collapsed. A tower of flames shot up out of the roof--a sort of bud of flame that opened into a great flower with petals. It was horrible to see the shingles curl and fall in a blazing stream down onto the ground, as if they were drops of hot metal. It stupefied me, perhaps; I cannot remember how we went to the neighbor's house or who welcomed us or how we got into the room on the second floor, with a candle burning on the bureau. I noticed how small and ridiculous the flame was and laughed. Indeed, I think when I laughed, I woke up--really woke from my sleep for the first time.