Later that night, another horse came into the stable. A young man named Dick Towler came in too. Dick Towler was smoking a pipe (a small tube used for smoking tobacco). He was talking to the other workers.
A worker asked Dick Towler to put hay in the loft (a space under the roof to keep hay). The worker told Dick Towler to leave his pipe. Dick Towler went up the ladder, but he was not careful.
James Howard checked us one last time. Then he locked the door. I went to sleep. Later, I woke up. I felt very uncomfortable. The air was thick and I could not breathe well.
The stable was full of smoke. I heard Ginger coughing. The other horses were moving a lot. I heard a strange, soft noise. It was the sound of fire. I began to shake with fear.
A man ran into the stable with a lantern (a light in a glass box). He was very scared. He tried to lead the horses out. But he was shouting and moving fast. He frightened us. We did not want to move.
The man tried to pull me, but I stayed in my place. He went to the other horses, but they stayed too. The man ran out of the stable. We were alone in the smoke and the dark.
Then, I saw a red light on the wall. People outside shouted, "Fire! Fire!" The old hostler came in. He was quiet and quick. He moved one horse out. But the fire was growing fast.
Suddenly, I heard James Howard’s voice. He was calm and happy. "Wake up, my beauties," James Howard said. He came to me first. He put a scarf over my eyes.
Because I could not see the fire, I was not afraid. James Howard led me out of the stable. I was safe in the yard. James Howard gave me to a tall man. Then, James Howard ran back into the smoke.
I made a loud sound to call Ginger. Ginger heard me and found the courage to leave the stable. The yard was full of people and noise. I watched the stable door. The smoke was very thick.
Then, I heard Squire Gordon’s voice. "James Howard! Where are you?" Squire Gordon shouted. I saw James Howard come through the smoke. He was leading Ginger. James Howard was coughing.
Squire Gordon was very proud of James Howard. "You are a brave lad," Squire Gordon said. Then, we heard a loud noise. A fire-engine (a large machine that uses water to stop fire) arrived.
The firemen tried to stop the fire, but the roof was burning. We went to another hotel across the street. We were safe, but we heard the cries of two horses inside the burning stable. It was a terrible sound.
The next morning, we learned the truth. Dick Towler took his pipe into the hay loft. The pipe started the fire. The stable was destroyed. Two poor horses died because of a man's mistake.