GRIMALKIN THE CAT 175 
skywards, dissolving into sparks and smoke. Behind 
lay utter desolation. The charred tree - trunks 
stood up among the surrounding blackness, and 
the leaves which the fire could not reach hung 
blistered from their twigs. The fire was not two 
hundred yards away from the fir tree. It was to be 
a race Zoe against the flames ; but the former had 
a mile to travel, and a kitten to carry into the bargain. 
Her eyes smarted from the smoke and she was 
dizzy with fatigue, but she gallantly took up her 
fourth baby, and ran for its life. She caught a 
glimpse of some men hastening up the hill, but did 
not heed them. She laid her kitten with the rest 
of the litter, and made the best of her way back 
to Knockdane. 
The ' Jungle ' was crowned with flames. Every- 
thing was thickly peppered with ashes and the 
sun shone luridly through the smoke. For a 
moment Zoe was utterly at a loss then she limped 
up the accustomed path towards the fir tree. 
Once or twice she trod on a burning cinder, and 
the heat made her whiskers shrivel ; but she kept 
on bravely for the sake of the baby in the pine-tree 
nursery. 
She darted to the nest. There was just half a 
minute to spare before the fire would sweep up to 
the tree. The earth was burning hot, and already 
