pports of the porch, which, quite invisible before, now
stood out plainly, and in a very few minutes was blazing furiously,
while a light from the back showed that it had been fired there as well.

"Watch for the men who are doing this, my boy," said the General.
"Here, sentry, can you use that piece of yours?"

"Middlin', sir, middlin'," replied Morgan.

"Then wait till you see one of the wretches, and try and bring him down.
No," he said, directly after, "it would be useless. It would have no
good effect."

The Indians who had fired the General's house must have stolen off by
the back, for Pomp did not see them go; and we were not long in learning
that they were busy still, for at intervals of only a few minutes, six
more of the best of the settlers' houses were blazing furiously,
lighting up the whole of the clearings, while the sparks ascended in
great clouds, and floated gently away as if a fall of snow had been
suddenly turned into gold.

Overhead a cloud of wreathing smoke rolled over and over, turned ruddy
by the burning homes, as if a second fire were in the heavens, and
reflecting the light so that the block-house and the encumbered
enclosure, with its piles of boxes and rough furniture, with here and
there a tent, rapidly grew lighter and lighter, but with shadows of
intense blackness marked out where the light did not fall.

So clearly did the defenders' faces show now, as they sheltered behind
the defences, that had there been high ground near that the enemy could
have held, our position would have been bad, so excellent a mark should
we have made for the Indian arrows. But, fortunately for us, save where
Colonel Preston's house stood, the land round the fort was absolutely
flat, and the Indians could not very well get into position for attack
without exposing themselves to a rain of bullets.

Our officers were soon fairly well satisfied that if an attack were
coming it would be from the dark side, and there our forces were
concentrated to stand waiting, while scarcely any one but the sentries
stood at the fence nearest the house and watched the flames.

Had the houses been together, the whole place would have been rapidly
burned down; but, fortunately for us, each little house stood in the
middle of its own plot, fifty, a hundred, and sometimes several hundred
yards apart, so that they burned as so many separate fires, others
springing up in various directions till twelve were blazing, and no
ef