pon the fire.

The wood snapped and crackled, as the flames mounted the chimney and cast a
cheerful glow upon the surrounding objects: suddenly a thoroughly ignited
piece flew off from the rest and fell on the table in the midst of the
cartridges. "Run for your lives!" shrieked one of the party. "The powder!
the powder!" Simultaneously they nearly all rushed to the door.

Mr. Walters stood as one petrified. Esther alone, of the whole party,
retained her presence of mind; springing forward, she grasped the blazing
fragment and dashed it back again into the grate. All this passed in a few
seconds, and in the end Esther was so overcome with excitement and terror,
that she fainted outright. Hearing no report, those who had fled cautiously
returned, and by their united efforts she was soon restored to
consciousness.

"What a narrow escape!" said she, trembling, and covering her face with her
hands; "it makes me shudder to think of it."

"We owe our lives to you, my brave girl," said Mr. Walters; "your presence
of mind has quite put us all to the blush."

"Oh! move the powder some distance off, or the same thing may happen
again. Please do move it, Mr. Walters; I shall have no peace whilst it is
there."

Whilst they were thus engaged, a loud commotion was heard below stairs, and
with one accord all started in the direction from whence the noise
proceeded.

"Bring a light! bring a light!" cried Mrs. Ellis; "something dreadful has
happened." A light was soon procured, and the cause of this second alarm
fully ascertained.

Master Kinch, in his anxiety to give himself as warlike an appearance as
possible, had added to his accoutrements an old sword that he had
discovered in an out-of-the-way corner of the garret. Not being accustomed
to weapons of this nature, he had been constantly getting it between his
legs, and had already been precipitated by it down a flight of steps, to
the imminent risk of his neck. Undaunted, however, by this mishap, he had
clung to it with wonderful tenacity, until it had again caused a disaster
the noise of which had brought all parties into the room where it had
occurred.

The light being brought, Master Kinch crawled out from under a table with
his head and back covered with batter, a pan of which had been overturned
upon him, in consequence of his having been tripped up by his sword and
falling violently against the table on which it stood.

"I said you had better take that skewer off,"