The wood was saturated with oil, a powder flash laid, then Tom laid a fuse-train.

Lighting the fuse, the three speedily decamped.
Presently they saw the flames of the newly kindled fire shooting up through the trees.

Then the volleying began, for Tom had carefully deposited through the fire-pile all the captured cartridges.
For fully five minutes the cartridges continued to explode, in ragged volleys.
"It's a regular Fourth of July," Harry laughed, back in camp.

"Tom, who's going to take the first trick of watch tonight ?" "Neither one of us," Reade replied.

"We'll both get a sound sleep." But the enemy ?" "It would take four mules apiece to drag them over here tonight," laughed Reade, as he rolled himself up in his blanket.