it had given me. I thought it certainly must lead toward the river. So
we turned into this path. I went first, and she followed, and so we
went for about a couple of miles further.

"All this time the heat had been getting worse and worse. The air was
more smoky than ever; my mouth was parched and dry. I breathed with
difficulty, and could scarcely drag one leg after another. The lady
was almost as much exhausted as I was, and suffered acutely, as I
could easily see, though she uttered not a word of complaint. Her
horse also suffered terribly, and did not seem able to bear her weight
much longer. The poor brute trembled and staggered, and once or twice
stopped, so that it was difficult to start him again. The road had
gone in a winding way, but was not so crooked as I expected. I
afterward found that she had gone by other paths until she had found
herself in thick woods, and then on trying to retrace her way she had
strayed into this path. If she had turned to the left on first
reaching it, instead of to the right, the fate of each of us would
have been different. Our meeting was no doubt the salvation of both.

"There was a wooded eminence in front, which we had been steadily
approaching for some time. At last we reached the top, and here a
scene burst upon us which was rather startling. The hill was high
enough to command an extensive view, and the first thing that we saw
was a vast extent of woods and water and smoke, By-and-by we were able
to distinguish each. The water was the river, which could be seen for
miles. Up the river toward the left the smoke arose in great volumes,
covering every thing; while in front of us, and immediately between us
and the river, there was a line of smoke which showed that the fires
had penetrated there and had intercepted us.