  We investigate the propagation of a coherent probe light pulse through a
three-level atomic medium (in the $\Lambda$--configuration) in the presence of
a pump laser under the conditions for gain without inversion. When the carrier
frequency of the probe pulse and the pump laser are in a Raman configuration,
we show that it is possible to amplify a slow propagating pulse. We also
analyze the regime in which the probe pulse is slightly detuned from resonance
where we observe anomalous light propagation.
