Page 52 - 1960

48
"Miss! Y ou'd best come back. Y ou'll be lost."
"Don't be a fool, John," she muttered. ''I'm not coming back to you. I'm alone here and I like it."
The fever in her brain pounded harder than ever. Her cheeks were fiery.
"Miss, there's a cliff there! Falls to the sea. Don't move and I'll get you."
The woman felt unreasonably irritated. It was just like John to be melodramatic. She began running, her
breath coming in deep sobs.
Harry heard the faint, pounding footfalls.
"Daft," he muttered and began running after her.
"Stop, miss! Y ou'll kill yourself!"
Suddenly, ahead of him the fog lifted slightly. He heard long, shri II scream as the horror of her feet treading
air came to her.
Harry fell on his knees in terror.
"It's that filthy fog," he sobbed.
The murky, strangling fog closed in to hide the cliff.
Forest Fire
Tracey Lord
I stood paralyzed. 'From my perch on top of the hill I could see the fire racing up the slope
towards my camp. What had been a picture of beauty and serenity only hours ago was now an 1
inferno of red hell I Huge clouds of biting smoke billowed skyward as if to escape the very cause of their existence. Stately pines toppled and fell under the furious attack as greedy tongues of fire Iieked through their branches, sending up showers of sparks in a brief blaze of glory. Pine needles exploded in the tense heat, sounding like thousands of miniature firecrackers. By now
I could feel the hot fetid breath of Death upon my face as if to claim me next. With an almost superhuman effort I wrenched myself away from the hypnotic scene before me and began stumbling my way towards the small lake about a qvarter of a mile behind my camp. Thrashing my way through the underbrush, heedless of the cuts and
smarts I received, I was bent on only one thing-reaching the lake. "Surely I must be near the lake," I thought, for the fire had seemed to redouble its efforts to capture me in its red talons. Every step seemed an eternity and, for a moment,·my steps faltered as I found myself wondering if I had somehow missed the lake. Breaking through a clump of bushes I saw my salvation lying before me1 its cool waters inviting me to safety.
Plunging into the lake, I swam for the small island at the centre and dragged myself onto the shore, panting with exhaustion. Animals from every direction were making their way towards this watery sanctuary1 heedless of former enemies as they made their hasty exodus from the edge of the woods, heedless of me as they clambered up the banks to·safety. Stragglers were quickly overtaken and silently devoured. The wind wafted the sickly, sweet smell of charred flesh to my nostrils as mute evidence. How I cursed the fate that had brought this calamity to myself and to the poor souls of the forest I
The fire, now at the edge of the lake, was encircling us. More than once the flames leaped forward as if to bridge the gap between us, but the distance was too great. A rain of ash settled about us; the heat seared our eyes; the foul smoke gripped our lungs in a vise of steel but the gap remained. Almost as quickly as the fire had come it was gone, racing around the lake and down into the valley in search of new victims. All that remained were afewsmoulderingstumps,endafewfiresburningasif·determinedtocompletely~ipeouteveryformoflife. The stark trees stood against the skyline; their blackened arms out"7Stretched.