When I came to Jim Bryan, who was stationed just at the edge of the lake, I said to him, 'Anything new, Jim ?' and he says, 'Yes; seems to me as I can hear a hammering in the woods.' I listens, and sure enough axes were going.
It may be some three miles down.

The night is still, and the ice brought the sound.
"'That's one for you, Jim,' says I.'Them's axes sure enough.' I stands and looks, and then a long way down the lake on the left I sees a faint glare.

They had had the sense to light the fires where we couldn't see them; but there were the lights, sure enough.

It's the French, captain, the redskins would never have made fires like that, and if it had been a party of our scouts, they would have come on here, and not halted an hour's tramp away.
"You had best get the troops under arms, captain.

Who would have thought they would have been such fools as to light their fires within sight of the fort!" James at once went to Major Eyre's quarters, and aroused him, and in a few minutes the garrison were all under arms.