“I assured her that I would do whatever lay in my power; and with that I walked on in the direction in which I had been going, while she rode by my side.  Some further questions as to the situation of the house where she had been staying showed me that it was on the banks of the river about fifty miles above Ottawa.  By my own calculations I was about that distance away.  It seemed to me, then, that she had got lost in the woods, and had wandered thus over some trail to the path where she had met me.  Every thing served to show me that the river lay to the left, and so I resolved to turn in at the first path which I reached.

“At length, after about two miles, we came to a path which went into the woods.  My companion was sure that this was the very one by which she had come out, and this confirmed the impression which the sight of it had given me.  I thought it certainly must lead toward the river.  So we turned into this path.  I went first, and she followed, and so we went for about a couple of miles further.

“All this time the heat had been getting worse and worse.  The air was more smoky than ever; my mouth was parched and dry.  I breathed with difficulty, and could scarcely drag one leg after another.  The lady was almost as much exhausted as I was, and suffered acutely, as I could easily see, though she uttered not a word of complaint.  Her horse also suffered terribly, and did not seem able to bear her weight much longer.  The poor brute trembled and staggered, and once or twice stopped, so that it was difficult to start him again.  The road had gone in a winding way, but was not so crooked as I expected.  I afterward found that she had gone by other paths until she had found herself in thick woods, and then on trying to retrace her way she had strayed into this path.  If she had turned to the left on first reaching it, instead of to the right, the fate of each of us would have been different.  Our meeting was no doubt the salvation of both.

“There was a wooded eminence in front, which we had been steadily approaching for some time.  At last we reached the top, and here a scene burst upon us which was rather startling.  The hill was high enough to command an extensive view, and the first thing that we saw was a vast extent of woods and water and smoke, By-and-by we were able to distinguish each.  The water was the river, which could be seen for miles.  Up the river toward the left the smoke arose in great volumes, covering every thing; while in front of us, and immediately between us and the river, there was a line of smoke which showed that the fires had penetrated there and had intercepted us.

“We stood still in bewilderment.  I looked all around.  To go back was as bad as to go forward, for there, also, a line of smoke arose which showed the progress of the flames.  To the right there was less smoke; but in that direction there was only a wilderness, through which we could not hope to pass for any distance.  The only hope was the river.  If we could traverse the flames in that direction, so as to reach the water, we would be safe.  In a few words I communicated my decision to my companion.  She said nothing, but bowed her head in acquiescence.