the children, who was ill. She gently soothed it and carrying some damp
clothing into the sitting-room, placed it before the open fire to dry. She
returned to the child and I lay down by the fire. I must have slept for
some time when I was awakened by a suffocating sensation. To my horror I
saw that the clothes had caught fire and that the wood-work around the
fireplace was burning also.

What should I do? Oh, how my eyes smarted! I had a hard task to find my
way to the door and was very glad to find it not quite closed. I crept
through the small opening, rushed to my master's room and stood by his
side, giving the same cry of warning that I did when the house was
entered. He jumped up and touching the button exclaimed, "That is the same
cat who gave the alarm before!" At the same instant he smelled smoke and
made his way out into the hall where he found the fire. All was confusion
at first, but as the chemical engine was just around the corner, the
firemen were soon in the house and had the fire quickly extinguished. One
of them said that if master had not waked as soon as he did, all would
have been burned in their beds.

Perhaps I was not a hero! No one could do enough for me. I had an entire
chop for breakfast (I thought of Lord Roberts and his liver). I did wish
that mother and my nephew Tom, who, I had heard, was helping mother keep
the mice away from the store, could see me now.

They called me "Hero," I who had never had a name before! After the fire
the master and mistress did not want me out of their sight and I heard
master say, "Emily, don't you think we ought to get another cat for the
heavy work down stairs, such as killing the rats and mice?" She said,
"Yes." My heart gave a great bound for I thought of Tom, my nephew, who
was a fine young cat.