94 ADIRONDAC. 



isfaction, about ten o'clock we pushed out hi earnest, 

 For the twentieth time I felt in the pocket that con- 

 tained the matches, ran over the part I was to per- 

 form, and pressed my gun firmly, to be sure there 

 was no mistake. My position was that of kneeling 

 directly under the jack, which I was to light at the 

 word. The night was clear, moonless, and still. 

 Xearing the middle of the lake, a breeze from the 

 west was barely perceptible, and noiselessly we glided 

 before it. The guide handled his oar with great dex- 

 terity ; without lifting it from the water or breaking 

 the surface, he imparted the steady, uniform motion 

 desired. How silent it was ! The ear seemed the 

 only sense, and to hold dominion over lake and for- 

 est. Occasionally a lily-pad would brush along the 

 bottom, and stooping low I could hear a faint mur- 

 muring of the water under the bow : else all was 

 still. Then, almost as by magic, we were encom- 

 passed by a huge black ring. The surface of the 

 lake, when we had reached the centre, was slightly 

 luminous from the starlight, and the dark, even for- 

 est-line that surrounded us, doubled by reflection in 

 the water, presenting a broad, unbroken belt of utter 

 blackness. The effect was quite startling, like some 

 huge conjuror's trick. It seemed as if we had crossed 

 the boundary-line between the real and the imagin- 

 ary, and this was indeed the land of shadows and of 

 spectres. What magic oar was that the guide wielded 

 that it could transport me to such a realm ! Indeed, 

 bad I not committed some fatal mistake and left that 



