10. I closed the door, and went back to the parlor. Fear was knocking
loudly at my heart, for our utter helplessness destroyed all hope of our
being able to effect our escape. The girl sat upon the floor by the
children, who, unconscious of the peril that hung over them, had both
fallen asleep. She was silently weeping; while the boy who had caused the
mischief was crying aloud.
11. A strange calm succeeded my first alarm. I sat down upon the step of
the door, and watched the awful scene in silence. The fire was raging in
the cedar swamp immediately below the ridge on which the house stood, and
it presented a spectacle truly appalling.
12. From out of the dense folds of a canopy of black smoke--the blackest I
ever saw--leaped up red forks of lurid flame as high as the tree tops,
igniting the branches of a group of tall pines that had been left for saw
logs. A deep gloom blotted out the heavens from our sight. The air was
filled with fiery particles, which floated even to the doorstep--while the
crackling and roaring of the flames might have been heard at a great
distance.
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