All day they watched the progress of that, fiery sea whose waves were
flame--red, rolling flame. Onward it came, with resistless speed,
overpowering every obstacle, widening its sphere of action, till it formed
a perfect semicircle about them. As the night drew on, the splendour of the
scene became more apparent, and the path of the fire better defined; but
there was no fear of the conflagration spreading as it had done in the
daytime. The wind had sunk, and the copious dews of evening effectually put
a stop to the progress of the fire. The children could now gaze in security
upon the magnificent spectacle before them, without the excitement produced
by its rapid spread during the daytime. They lay down to sleep in perfect
security that night, but with the consciousness that, as the breeze sprung
up in the morning, they must be on the alert to secure their little
dwelling and its contents from the devastation that threatened it. They
knew that they had no power to stop its onward course, as they possessed
no implement better than a rough wood shovel, which would be found very
ineffectual in opening a trench or turning the ground up, so as to cut off
the communication with the dry grass, leaves, and branches, which are the
fuel for supplying the fires on the Plains.
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