The Cornhill Magazine (vol. XLI, no. 242 new series, August 1916)

A quiet night at an ancient college is shattered when a sudden blaze erupts in its oldest wing. The narrator, a methodical tutor, watches the flames lick the stone walls from his window, the heat and smoke turning the courtyard into a scene from Dante’s Inferno. As the fire spreads, scholars, servants and frightened guests gather, forming a desperate chain of buckets in a futile attempt to tame the inferno.

Amid the chaos, the Master of the college, composed yet visibly shaken, learns that a young girl, Alice, remains trapped in the blue bedroom. He, the tutor, and a fireman rush into the smoky corridors, navigating crumbling woodwork and choking fumes to reach her. The narrative captures their frantic push through darkness, the dread of collapsing floors, and the haunting question of whether they can rescue the child before the flames consume everything.