"Oh, the beautiful fire!" cried Dolly. "I do love it, Bessie. See, how it runs along. Really, it's a splendid fire!"
Merrily it blazed up, bright and clear.
"Now we want some green wood that will make a smoke," said Dolly. "Here's some. I think it's burning well enough now, don't you?"
"Yes. Let's make the smoke now."
On went the green, damp wood, resinous and full of oil. And in a moment a thick smoke hid the bright, leaping flames.
"Here's the blanket!" cried Dolly. "Catch the other side—now!"
Standing on either side of the fire, the blanket held over it, they dipped it down now, so that the smoke was caught and held under the obstruction. Then they lifted it clear of the fire altogether, and the smoke, released, rose straight up in a long, tall column, that was visible for miles where the trees did not obscure the view. Once and again they repeated this, making three separate columns of smoke before they left the fire to itself.
And still there was no answering smoke from the other peak. The girls had won their race.
"Did the Indians really use those signals?" asked Dolly.
"They certainly did. Out on the plains, you see, smoke like that could be seen for miles and miles. And so, if there were Indians a few miles apart, signals could go very, very quickly for great distances, and they could send messages for hundreds of miles almost as quickly as we can send them now by telegraph."