Even were
it not for those others at Wareville he could never desert his friend at
such a moment. So he pulled on Paul's hand to hasten his speed, and
together the boys went on.
The two noticed presently that they were not alone in their flight, a
circumstance that had escaped them in the first hurry and confusion.
Deer and rabbits, too, flew before the hurricane of fire. The deer were
in a panic of terror, and a great stag ran for a few moments beside the
boys, not noticing them, or, in his fear of greater evil, having no fear
of human beings who were involved in the same danger. Three or four
buffaloes, too, presently joined the frightened herd of game, one, a
great bull running with head down and blowing steam from his nostrils.
Paul suddenly sank to his knees and gasped:
"I can't go on! Let me stay here and you save yourself, Henry!"
Henry looked back at the great fiery wall that swept over the ground,
roaring like a storm. It was very near now and the smoke almost blinded
him. A boy with a spirit less stanch than his might well have fled in a
panic, leaving his companion to his death.
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