216 
WILD SCENES AND SONG-BIEDS. 
" In Heaven's name, man !" said Mr. H , turning up 
his eyes witli a look in whicli the serio-comic horror seemed 
struggling with pity; '^do jou 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!" 
" Well," growled my friend — ^for the boat was now in mo- 
tion — " I should rather guess you dori't — we'll see !" 
The self-confidj^t 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 Sit 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- 
