A
shudder shook his whole frame. Only those who lived amid such
scenes could understand the intensity of his feelings. He felt,
too, a bitter sense of injustice. The doers of these deeds were
here in warmth and comfort, while the innocent were dead or
fugitives. He turned away from the window, stepping gently upon
the snowshoes. He inferred that the remainder of Wyatt's band
were quartered in the other house from which he had seen the
smoke rising. It was about twenty rods away, but he did not
examine it, because a great idea had been born suddenly in his
brain. The attempt to fulfill the idea would be accompanied by
extreme danger, but he did not hesitate a moment. He stole
gently to one of the half-fallen outhouses and went inside. Here
he found what he wanted, a large pine shelf that had been
sheltered from rain and that was perfectly dry. He scraped off a
large quantity of the dry pine until it formed almost a dust, and
he did not cease until he had filled his cap with it. Then he
cut off large splinters, until he had accumulated a great number,
and after that he gathered smaller pieces of half-burned pine.
He was fully two hours doing this work, and the night advanced
far, but he never faltered.
Pages:
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380