oking towards a faint light which
brought the profile of the tree-tops into relief against the horizon.
"There must be fire in the woods."

The party rode on, all eyes being directed to the phenomenon pointed out
by Horse Shoe. The light grew broader, and flung a lurid beam towards
the zenith; and, as the travellers still came nearer, the radiance
increased, and illuminated the summit of a hill, which, it was now
apparent, lay between them and the light.

"We must rest here for a while," said the sergeant, reining up his horse
in a dark and narrow ravine; "the fire is just across this hill in
front. It would be wise to reconnoitre a little; there may be travellers
camping on the t'other side, or troops for aught we know; or it may be
an old fire left by the last persons who passed. You, Allen Musgrove,
stay here with the women, and I will ride forward to look into the
matter."

Henry accompanied the sergeant, and they both galloped up the hill. When
they came to the top, a rich and strange prospect broke upon their
sight. Some three or four hundred yards in advance, at the foot of the
long slope of the hill, a huge volume of flame was discovered enveloping
the entire trunk of a tall pine, and blazing forth with sudden flashes
amongst the withered foliage. The radiance cast around from this
gigantic torch penetrated the neighboring forest, and lit up the trees
with a lustre more dazzling than that of day; whilst the strong shades
brought into such immediate proximity with the sharp, red light, as it
glanced upon every upright stem or trunk, gave a new and grotesque
outline to the familiar objects of the wood. The glare fell upon the
sward of the forest, and towards the rear upon a sheet of water, which
showed the conflagration to have been kindled on the bank of some river.
Not less conspicuous than the local features of the scene were the
figures of a considerable party of soldiers passing to and fro in idle
disarray through the region of the light, and a short distance from them
a number of horses attached to the branches of the neighboring trees.
Horse Shoe and his young companion stood gazing for some moments upon
the spectacle, the sergeant in silent conjecture and perplexed
thoughtfulness as to the character of the persons below, Henry intent
only upon the novel and picturesque beauty of the view.

The light shone directly up the road, and fell upon the persons of our
two friends, a circumstance to which the se