s face, and the open, staring eyes met my view. In
the midst of the bustle and confusion, the spirit of Sam had taken its
flight without uttering a groan, or one repining word. We gazed upon his
face again, and left the corpse where we found it, to be licked by the
greedy flames which were now roaring around on every side.

"We must burrow like rabbits," cried Murden, "or we shall be burned to
death. It seems already as though I could hardly breathe. A breath of
fresh air would now be worth all the gold of Australia."

"Don't talk of feeling suffocated yet," Fred replied, stripping off all
of his surplus clothing--an example which the rest of us were glad to
follow; and to prevent it from being burned, we rolled it into one pile,
and covered it deep with dirt.

"When the fire reaches the edge of the clearing, and the wind blows the
flames within a few inches of our heads, and the earth blisters the skin
at a touch, then I shall not blame you for asking for fresh air," Fred
continued.

"I certainly am obliged to you," Murden said, with a rueful look; "but
if you will explain how we are to keep those same flames from melting
our brains while we are huddled in that hole, like sheep in a pen, I
shall feel gratified."

"Then I will explain immediately, for I see that only a few minutes will
be allotted us by that moving circle of fire to make our preparations.
Let the place which your men have excavated be covered over, with the
exception of a hole to crawl into, with the pieces of half-burned timber
which you see lying around."

"For what purpose?" asked Murden.

"To save our heads from being burned, as they otherwise would, unless
protected," Fred replied.

"But the logs will get on fire."

"Not if they are protected by a heavy covering of dirt," answered Fred,
composedly.

"An idea that I should not have entertained," muttered Murden, in
astonishment.

"But now that you understand me, hasten the men in their work, for
already our clothes give tokens of singeing."

Our situation was one which might well make a timid man fear for his
life; for on each side of us the flames were roaring and surging like
the grass of a prairie on fire, and over our heads the heavens were
concealed by the black clouds of smoke which, urged by the wind, were
traversing the sky at a rapid rate; and on that same night an alarm was
entertained at Ballarat, ninety miles distant, that Melbourne had burned
to the ground. So dense was