The morning of the sixth of October dawned. The heat of the weather
had increased and become wellnigh intolerable. At breakfast, Mr.
Dubois and Mr. Norton gave accounts of fires they had seen in various
parts of the country, some of them not far off, and owing to the
prevalence of the forest and the extreme dryness of the trees and
shrubs, expressed fears of great devastation.
They united in thinking it would be dangerous for the two gentlemen to
undertake their journey home, until a copious rain should have fallen.
During the forenoon, the crackling of the fires and the sound of
falling-trees in the distant forest could be distinctly heard,
announcing that the terrible element was at work.
Mr. Dubois, accompanied by Mr. Norton and John, ascended the most
prominent hills in the neighborhood to watch the direction in which
the clouds of smoke appeared. These observations only confirmed their
fears. They warned the people around of the danger, but these paid
little heed. In the afternoon, the missionary crossed, from the Dubois
house, on the northern side of the river, to the southern bank, and
explored the country to a considerable distance around.
In the evening, when the family met in the Madonna room, cheerfulness
had forsaken the party. The languor produced by the heat and the
heavily-laden atmosphere, solicitude felt for the dwellers in the
forest, through which the fire was now sweeping, a hoarse rumbling
noise like distant thunder, occasionally booming on their ears, and
gloomy forebodings of impending calamity, all weighed upon the
dispirited group.
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