miles of them, and distant
roaring rent the air; the heat and smoke became more oppressive, and the
party were under great alarm.

As the sun set, the wind became even more violent, and now the flames
were distinctly to be seen, and the whole air was filled with myriads of
sparks. The fire bore down upon them with resistless fury, and soon the
atmosphere was so oppressive that they could scarcely breathe; the
cattle galloped down to the lake, their tails in the air, and lowing
with fear. There they remained, knee-deep in the water, and huddled
together.

"Well, Malachi," said Mr Campbell, "this is very awful. What shall we
do?"

"Trust in God, sir; we can do nothing else," replied Malachi.

The flames were now but a short distance from the edge of the forest;
they threw themselves up into the air in high columns; then, borne down
by the wind, burst through the boughs of the forest, scorching here and
there on the way the trunks of the large trees; while such a torrent of
sparks and ignited cinders was poured down upon the prairie, that, added
to the suffocating masses of smoke, it was impossible to remain there
any longer.

"You must all go down to the punt and get on board," said Malachi.
"There's not a moment for delay; you will be smothered if you remain
here. Mr Alfred, do you and Martin pull out as far into the lake as is
necessary for you to be clear of the smoke and able to breathe. Quick,
there is no time to be lost, for the gale is rising faster than before."

There was, indeed, no time to be lost. Mr Campbell took his wife by
the arm; Henry led the girls, for the smoke was so thick that they could
not see the way. Percival and Strawberry followed. Alfred and Martin
had already gone down to get the boat ready. In a few minutes they were
in the boat, and pushed off from the shore. The boat was crowded, but,
being flat-bottomed, she bore the load well. They pulled out about half
a mile into the lake before they found themselves in a less oppressive
atmosphere. Not a word was spoken until Martin and Alfred had stopped
rowing.

"And old Malachi and John, where are they?" said Mrs Campbell, who, now
that they were clear of the smoke, discovered that these were not in the
boat.

"Oh, never fear them, ma'am," replied Martin, "Malachi stayed behind to
see if he could be of use. He knows how to take care of himself, and of
John too."

"This is an awful visitation," said Mrs Campbell, after a pau