216 WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIRDS. 



"In Heaven's name, man!" said Mr. H , turning up 



his eyes with a look in which the serio-comic horror seemed 

 struggling with pity; "do you know where you are taking 

 all this baggage ?" 



The new passenger, as revealed to us for a moment in the 

 torch-light, seemed a sturdy, thick-set, rosy cheeked, but 

 rather greenish-looking Yankee. He sprang down into the 

 boat, and took his place by our side, saying, with the great- 

 est nonchalance, " Ya-es, I guess I do 1" 



" Well," growled my friend for the boat was now in mo- 

 tion "I should rather guess you dorft we'll see !" 



The self-confident Yankee took no notice of this speech, 

 but settled himself as coolly as possible for his own comfort, 

 and with, of course, no regard to ours, upon the seat he had 

 thus unceremoniously occupied, and stretching out his legs, 

 seemed preparing for a snooze, while our boat shot out through 

 the almost impenetrable darkness towards the distant shore. 

 A light, which was now swinging to and fro at the wood- 

 yard, was our only guide and beacon, for the shore was en- 

 tirely invisible. It had been raining through the day, and 

 the night, which was now darkly clouded, promised to be 

 still boisterous and stormy. 



When we reached the shore, a rough-looking fellow met 

 us with his pine-knot torch, and proved very obsequious in 

 helping us land. When the hands had put our baggage 

 ashore and the boat had pushed off, this accommodating gen- 

 tleman with the torch proceeded complacently to assure us 

 that the baggage would be entirely safe where it lay that 

 there was nobody here to trouble it for the very good reason 

 that no person lived within ten miles, on this side of the 

 river, of his solitary cabin into which he pressed us to walk 

 and " make ourselves at home." But innocent as this pro- 

 position seemed, I was too much of a traveller to leave any- 

 thing at risk, even when only my own humble personalities 

 which, by the way, I believe were then contained in a pair 

 of saddle-bags were considered, so I resisted this philan- 



