THE A LA EH IN TOWN.

43

Many started from their seats, at the thoughtof fire on such a night. Presently the sky wasilluminated: a strange glare filled the heavens.It was not like a distant flame, that cast itsshadow on the sky. It was not like a nearer firethat shot up sparks and smoke. It was a glarethat pervaded the whole horizon. It cast a paleand sickly color into the fleecy air. It coveredeven the snow with a pinkish, almost crimson,hue. It seemed like an extensive burning, as ifthe flames were suddenly arising from wide-spread structures. No one could tell, however,what it was, nor what was the matter.

The men who rushed into the street firstwhispered, it was an oil train, that had caught fireon the track. Others said that it was the build-ing at the depot. Women who were kept athome were impressed that it was something morethan a common fire. Uneasiness seized the agedwho were residing in houses far distant. Manyhastened for the engines; others ran in the direc-tion of the light. All plunged into the deep snow,and, out of breath, could only follow in single filealong the path which the foremost had broken.