With tears streaming down her cheeks from the smoke, she groped along the cellar walls. Suddenly she bumped into a large filing cabinet. Running her fingers behind it, she felt something sticking out from the wall. Could it be—? “I think there’s a window behind this cabinet!” Nancy cried out excitedly. “Come on, Laurie, let’s try to move this out of the way—” The smoke was thick in the room now, and the heat of the fire was heavy. Nancy felt as though she was smothering. But the two girls pushed and shoved until the cabinet had been moved aside. Behind it was a grimy, narrow little window. Nancy wiped the window with her sleeve and saw booted feet outside. Firefighters! She grabbed the casement in both hands and rattled it. “Help!” she cried with Laurie joining in. The firefighters heard them. One knelt and shouted, “Stand back from the window and cover your heads!” Nancy put an arm around Laurie’s waist and the two of them stepped back with their backs to the window, their arms covering their faces.
