ould judge, this odd march lasted until he had
tramped a hundred yards, when it was terminated by another emphatic
"_Waoof!_"

They were in the woods, where the trees were close and there was little
undergrowth. So far as could be seen, the nearest water was the river,
but the captor showed that his purpose was to go into camp, as may be
said, for a time at least. He broke off some dead limbs, threw them on
the ground at the base of a large oak, and motioned to the captive to do
the same. Jack's previous experience had taught him that the wisest
course, under such circumstances, is promptly to obey, and he sprang to
work with such vigor that it did not take him long to collect a large
pile. As he always carried a flint and steel with him, he hoped to
conciliate his captor to a slight extent by starting the fire, though
the latter had also a stone in hand, from which, it is probable, he
would have extracted fire with but little trouble. He stood still and
watched the lad.

It was many years before such a thing as a lucifer match was known, and
our ancestors acquired a deftness in igniting a flame from the simple
contrivance named, which leads us to doubt whether they gained a great
advantage when they threw it aside for the modern invention.

With the help of dried leaves, small dead twigs, and the swift blows of
the steel across the face of the flint, a spark speedily darted to the
combustible material and stuck there. Jack did not use the rag soaked in
chemicals, which was common among the settlers, but caught the fire from
the direct source, as it may be called. The tiny twist of flame was
fanned and nursed by gently blowing until, in a brief space, a big fire
was roaring, and scorching the shaggy bark of the oak.

It was impossible to tell from the looks of the Indian whether he was
pleased or not. He stood a few paces off, watching the operation, and,
when the fire was well under way, sat down cross-legged like a Turk,
where he could feel the warmth, though, as I have stated in another
place, the weather was not cold.

It was now growing dark. The shadows were on every hand, and the trunks
of the trees looked grim and ghostly, as revealed by the fire, which
Jack continually fed, until the circle of illumination was several rods
in extent.

"I would give a good deal to know what he is thinking about," said the
lad to himself, furtively watching the face on the other side of the
fire; "something seems to have g