seven in the morning
gasped Ruth , and just then the tinkle of breaking glass betrayed the fact that the heat of the flames was bursting the panes of the window . `` Fur the love of -- Begorra ! I 'll git the hose-cart , an ' rouse herself an ' the gals in the kitchen -- '' Poor Tony , so wildly excited that he dropped the little `` dhudeen '' he was smoking and did not notice that he stepped on it , galloped away on rheumatic legs . At this hour there was no man on the premises but the little old Irishman , who cared for the furnaces until the fireman and engineer came on duty at seven in the morning . Ruth was quite sure that neither Tony nor `` herself '' -LRB- by this name he meant Mrs. Foyle , the cook -RRB- or any of the kitchen girls , could do a thing towards extinguishing the fire . But she remembered that Miss Scrimp , the matron , must be in the threatened building , and the girl dashed across the intervening space and in at the door . There was not a sound from upstairs -- no crackling of flames .