motes of tbe 



" Good-night," I said, in reply, and with but 

 the one purpose urging me, I hurried homeward. 



Bill Pullen may have thought he had seen the 

 last of me, and, in fact, he said as much, inquir- 

 ing of a neighbor if I was " roamin' round with 

 a fever " ; but I was not so far astray, mentally 

 or physically, as he supposed. I found him, but 

 two days later, as the sun went down, and bar- 

 gained for a boat ride. I wished to sit quietly in 

 the boat, and be rowed hither and yon as fancy 

 dictated. He considered awhile and assented, 

 but I had to pay a good round price. " Nat'ral 

 fools ain't to blame; but if you play fool, you Ve 

 got to pay," he put it, and I was engaged there- 

 fore, as he held it, to play fool by moonlight. 



Bill drew the boat upon the muddy beach, at the 

 end of the island, and there we waited for the moon 

 to rise. The most intense darkness filled every 

 thicket on the island-shore, and the tree-tops 

 blended so nearly with the blue-black sky that 

 their outlines could not be traced. A slight 

 breeze swayed them, and, hiding and revealing 

 the myriad stars, gave the sky a lively motion 

 that even moved my companion to remark that 

 the stars were peepin' at us round the corners. 

 The hum of insects that made the meadows fairly 

 tremble came softened to a muffled sound, like 

 the distant thunder of midsummer. After some 

 minutes spent in idle waiting, nearby sounds came 

 from every direction, and I would, if alone, have 

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