These might not succeed in reaching
the imprisoned men, but the stifling vapor, the suffocating smoke held
captive by that overhanging rock, would prove a most serious menace.
He encountered a number of men running down as he toiled anxiously
forward, but they avoided him, no doubt already aware of the trouble
below and warned by his uniform. He arrived finally where the ground
was charred black and covered with wood ashes, still hot under foot and
smoking, but he pressed upward, sheltering his eyes with uplifted arm,
and seeking passage where the scarcity of underbrush rendered the zone
of fire less impassable. On both sides trees were already wrapped in
flame, yet he discovered a lane along which he stumbled until a fringe
of burning bushes extended completely across it. The heat was almost
intolerable, the crackling of the ignited wood was like the reports of
pistols, the dense pall of smoke was suffocating. He could see
scarcely three yards in advance, but to the rear the narrow lane of
retreat remained open. Standing there, as though in the mouth of a
furnace, the red flames scorching his face, Brant hollowed his hands
for a call.
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