Daniel Pratt 231 



midnight, although it seemed but little more than 

 nine o'clock. I got up, closed the desk, and deter- 

 mined to retire ; but my mind was in too active a 

 condition for sleep. A stroll of a mile in the cool 

 night air would settle matters, I thought ; and so I 

 took my coat and hat and started out. Daniel's 

 kennel was in the back yard, and as soon as he heard 

 me open the door he came bounding forward. I 

 spoke to him, patted his head, and we walked up 

 the street together. My thoughts were dancing all 

 over the surface of my brain, and try as I might I 

 could not divert them. 



There were but few people on the streets, and 

 they seemed belated and to be hurrying homeward. 

 As I walked along, I heard the first stroke of the 

 fire-bell. Such sounds seldom affect me. I have 

 seen the Western plains swept by a fire as by a 

 whirlwind. I saw the great fire of Chicago, even 

 before the watchman on guard in his tower dis- 

 covered it ; and all through that terrible night I wit- 

 nessed the sights and heard the sounds which its 

 horror occasioned. All minor conflagrations have 

 never aroused me since then, except only where 



