MRS。INCHBAREwasthefirstpersonwhoactedintheemergency。
Shecalledforlights；andsternlyrebukedthehouse-maid，whobroughtthem，fornothavingclosedthehousedoor。“Yefecklessne’er-do-weel!“criedthelandlady；“thewind’sblawnthecandlesoot。“
Thewomandeclaredwithperfecttruththatthedoorhadbeenclosed。AnawkwarddisputemighthaveensuedifBlanchehadnotdivertedMrs。Inchbare’sattentiontoherself。Theappearanceofthelightsdisclosedher，wetthroughwithherarmsroundAnne’sneck。Mrs。Inchbaredigressedatoncetothepressingquestionofchangingtheyounglady’sclothes，andgaveAnnetheopportunityoflookingroundher，unobserved。Arnoldhadmadehisescapebeforethecandleshadbeenbroughtin。
InthemeantimeBlanche’sattentionwasabsorbedinherowndrippingskirts。
“Goodgracious!I’mabsolutelydistillingrainfromeverypartofme。AndI’mmakingyou，Anne，aswetasIam!Lendmesomedrythings。Youcan’t？Mrs。Inchbare，whatdoesyourexperiencesuggest？WhichhadIbetterdo？Gotobedwhilemyclothesarebeingdried？orborrowfromyourwardrobe——thoughyou_are_aheadandshoulderstallerthanIam？“