eeping soldiers
sprang up, caught up their arms, and rushed out of their tents.
Startled, as they were, with the suddenness of the awaking, and the
sight of the blazing tents, there was none of that confusion that
would have occurred among troops less inured to warfare. Each man
did his duty and--buckling on their arms as best they might,
stumbling over the tent ropes in the darkness, amazed by the sound
of the fall of tents, here and there, expecting every moment to be
attacked by their unseen foe--the troops made their way speedily to
the wide streets, and there fell in together, in military array,
and waited for orders.

These were not long in coming. As soon as the generals reached the
spot, they told off a number of men to endeavor to extinguish the
flames; sent other parties to scour the camp, and search for the
enemy; while the rest, in solid order, awaited any attack that
might be made upon them.

But, short as was the time that had elapsed since the first alarm,
it had sufficed to give the flames such hold and power that they
were beyond control. With extraordinary rapidity the fire had
leaped from tent to tent, and threatened to overwhelm the whole
camp. The soldiers tried, in vain, to arrest the progress of the
flames; rushing among the blazing tents, cutting the ropes to bring
them to the ground, and trying to beat out the masses of fire as
they fell. Many were terribly burnt, in their endeavors, but in
vain; and the officers soon called them off, and set them to work
pulling down the tents which the fire had not yet reached. But even
this was useless: the flakes of fire, driven before the wind, fell
on the heaps of dried canvas; and the flames spread almost as
rapidly as they had done when the tents were standing.

Nor were the parties in search of the incendiaries more successful.
John had lain quiet, where he threw himself down, for a minute or
two; by which time the tents had emptied of their occupants. Then,
pausing only occasionally to circle a tent and cut away its ropes,
he made his way to the edge of the camp. By this time the sheet of
flame had extended well-nigh across the camp; extending high above
it, and lighting it almost as if by day. But between him and the
fire lay, still, a dark mass of tents; for the wind was blowing in
the opposite direction and, light as it was elsewhere, in the black
shadow of the tents it was still dark in the extreme.

John made his way along, until he came to