ived, however, from the innocent look of inquiry returned by the
latter, that she did not understand her.

After taking some of the tea, the poor woman revived, and I whispered to
her daughter,--"Don't you think it might please her to see the little
picture?"

"Perhaps. I am not sure. Yes, give it to me. I will show it, but say
nothing about my father's writing or wishes. I have not yet been able
to speak to her."

To our disappointment she could make nothing of the portrait. Perhaps
the moonlight was insufficient, though very bright, but it is more
probable that her sight was even then failing.

"What is that?" said Eve, with a startled look, pointing at something
behind me.

I turned sharply round, and beheld a column of bright flame shooting
high up into the night-air. An exclamation of bitter chagrin escaped
me, for I knew well what it was. After I had got the fire kindled down
in the thicket on our arrival, I had noticed that I had laid it close to
the roots of a dead fir-tree, the branches of which were covered to the
top with a species of dried moss. At the time I knew that there was
danger in this, but as our fire was to be very small, and to be
extinguished the moment we were done with it, I had allowed it to remain
rather than be at the trouble of shifting and rekindling it. I
afterwards found that Big Otter had left the fire in charge of
Salamander, and gone to shift the position of the horses; and Salamander
had left it to fetch water from a neighbouring spring. Thus left to
itself, the fire took advantage of the chance to blaze up; the moss on
the dead tree had caught fire, and the instantaneous result was a blaze
that told of our whereabouts to whoever might be on the look-out within
ten or fifteen miles of us in every direction.

Immediately afterwards Big Otter and Salamander came leaping into our
fortress.

"What is to be done now?" I asked, in a tone of deep mortification.

"I would say mount and fly," replied the Indian, "if it were not for
_her_." He pointed to the dying woman as he spoke.

"It is quite out of the question," said I. "She cannot be moved."

"The pale-face talks wisdom," said Big Otter. "We must put the place in
a state of defence, and watch instead of sleep."

A deep sigh from Salamander told that the proposed mode of spending the
night was most unsatisfactory.

Having no other resource left, however, we at once set about our task.

A number of large loos