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When they arrived at the tent they found that every one was awake except Ready, who appeared still to sleep very sound. Mrs. Seagrave had passed a very good night, and felt herself much refreshed. William made some touch-paper, which he lighted with one of the glasses from the telescope, and they soon had a good fire. Mr.
As he spoke he drew a flat box from his pocket, and several wooden tubes, which he screwed together to form a long pipe. This he stuffed with tobacco, and having lit it by means of a flint and steel with a piece of touch-paper from the inside of his box, he curled his legs under him in Eastern fashion, and settled down to enjoy a smoke.
Nicholas made no reply until the fire of his pipe was established, while he stood in the water quite as if he were on land, supporting himself by nothing more than a gentle movement of his feet, while the glow of the touch-paper lit his round face and yellow leather skull-cap. "In coorse I has," he said at last, blowing a roll of smoke along the gleaming surface; "over to yon little cornder."
Ten more took refuge in a channel to the left, but a division of the boats was sent after them. No sooner, however, did the English appear, than the crews, setting fire to their vessels, abandoned them, and swam to shore. They burned like touch-paper, and were quickly destroyed.
"Not quite as much as that, Harry, because we shall want the powder alone for the crackers and the bangs of the squibs, and also for making the touch-paper for all of them." "Well, we will say ten pounds, anyhow. We have a big stock of cartridges, and can spare a few of them for so good a purpose." They were soon at work.
This was done after each half-spoonful of the mixture was poured in. Then he inserted a strip of his touch-paper. "I will take this in my hand," he said, "there is no fear of its exploding. I want to throw it into the air and see how it burns there." The touch-paper was lit, and when the mixture started burning Bertie waved the squib high above his head and threw it into the air.
All are attentive to the godlike man; you might hear a pin drop: the subject is announced once and again in a very audible voice; the touch-paper is ignited, the magazine will blow up presently!
The wind still appeared to be rushing up past us at a fearful rate, and, to add to the horror, we came among the still expiring discharge of the fireworks which floated in the air, so that little bits of exploded cases and touch-paper, still incandescent, attached themselves to the cordage of the balloon and were blown into sparks.... I presume we must have been upwards of a mile from the earth.... How long we were descending I have not the slightest idea, but two minutes must have been the outside.... We now saw the houses, the roofs of which appeared advancing to meet us, and the next instant, as we dashed by their summits, the words, 'Hold hard! burst simultaneously from all the party.... We were all directly thrown out of the car along the ground, and, incomprehensible as it now appears to me, nobody was seriously hurt."
Then, inserting the touch-paper among the spines, he unscrewed one of the lenses of the binoculars, converted it into a burning-glass, and had a fine blaze roaring merrily in a few minutes. With the aid of pointed sticks he grilled some slices of ham, cut with his clasp-knife, which he first carefully cleaned in the earth.
Now the fire worked its way amid the leaves and dry grass, now the flames mounted the trees, wrapping round the tall palms, the leaves being like touch-paper; and no sooner was one ignited, than the next caught fire. Thus both banks of the river soon bore the appearance of being covered with gigantic torches flaming and waving in the air.
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