320 Tue Aroostook Woops. 

expecting him, with his sardonic laugh, a sound more fitting 
for the panther or Indian devil, and has, in fact, often been 
taken for such by those unacquainted with either, startling 
them much, when they ask with wide-opened eyes, ‘‘ What’s 
that?” 
The ducks are feeding on the stream to-night, and are 
chasing each other about, with low quack and gabble, until 
we are very near them, when they all fly away in the darkness 
without as loud quacks as usual, for which we thank them. 
An old frog that has been half asleep, watching them out of 
one eye while at their play, now rejoicing at their departure, 
wakes up and breaks out in a loud ‘ker chung! ker chung!” 
when he is quickly answered by his little grandson, that was 
hidden beneath a lily pad across the stream, with a ‘ peet — 
peet, peet— peetaweet ! peet — peet, peet! | 
Coming to the small, sandy islands well up the stream, 
we remember that they were not here in our early days, but 
have formed of late years. Perhaps at the first a bush lodged 
upon the rocks; this forming the nucleus, catching and holding 
twigs, limbs, grass, leaves, earth, and sand, until now, and 
we see pretty, grassy islands, where once two or three rocks 
only showed above the water. As they loom up in the 
darkness, and as we are about landing, we hear strange 
sounds in the water beyond, which at first we do not account 
for. The sounds are like slaps upon the water, making loud 
reports, when all is still again for a moment, when it is 
repeated, Whack— whack— whack! sounding loud in the 
still night. . 
*¢ What is it, Commodore, a moose?” 
‘¢ Neither moose nor caribou; let’s run ashore on the island 
and light up.” 
