The night was very dark, though the stars still shone through rifts in the ever moving clouds.

The Indian and I walked rapidly on,--my footfalls sounding clear and sharp on the frosty ground, he as noiseless as a shadow.

We had reached the further side of the lane, when he put forth an arm and plucked from the blackness a small black figure.
In the middle of the square was kept burning a great brazier filled with pitched wood.

It was the duty of the watch to keep it flaming from darkness to dawn.

We found it freshly heaped with pine, and its red glare lit a goodly circle.