Page:Randall Parrish - The Red Mist.djvu/176

 160 believe the sky is becoming lighter in the east already."

She stared out intently, and then sank to her knees.

"Come over here quick! they are getting ready for something."

I swept my eyes over Nichols, who lay motionless, his arms folded across his face. To my mind the fellow was acting a part, and was not half as badly injured as he pretended to be. However, he could do us no great harm at present, and I stole silently across the room, and knelt beside her. She held the curtain aside, leaving just space enough for my eyes. For an instant the glow of the burning building blinded me, and intensified the surrounding darkness. I shadowed my eyes with my hand.

"Where are the men you saw? To the left?"

"Yes—back under the trees, close to the first negro cabin; see! just where I point."

Once located I could perceive the shadowy outline, which grew more distinct as I gazed. There were men there beyond doubt; it seemed to me twenty or thirty, although it was impossible to judge the number. But the shadow seemed to be disintegrating. Even as my eyes focused it, a section moved to the right, and then another swung into the open, circling along the orchard fence.

"There is a slew of them," I muttered