hether that was an Indian creeping cautiously
toward the house.

Somehow that seemed to me the darkest night I could remember, and the
various sounds, all of which were really familiar, seemed strange.

Now there was the plaintive cry of one of the goat-suckers which hawked
for moths and beetles round the great trees; then, after a silence so
profound that it was painful, came the deep croak of the bullfrog rising
and falling and coming from a hundred different directions at once.
Then all at once their deep croaking was dominated by a loud barking
bellow; and as I listened with my hands feeling cold and damp, I caught
hold of Morgan.

"What's that?" I whispered, excitedly.

"My arm," he replied, coolly. "Don't pinch, lad."

"No, no; I mean the sound. What noise was that?"

"Oh! Why, you know. That was a 'gator."

"Are you sure? It sounded like a man's voice."

"Not it. Who did you think could be there? Nobody likely to be out
there but Indians, and they wouldn't shout; they'd whisper so that we
shouldn't know they were near."

I was silent again, and sat watching and listening as sound after sound
struck my ear, making it seem that the wilds had never been so full
before of strange noises, though the fact was that nothing was unusual
except that I did not realise that I had never been in danger before,
and sat up to listen.

All at once I jumped and uttered a cry, for something had touched me.

"Hush! Don't make a noise," said a familiar voice. "I only wanted to
know whether you could make out anything."

"No, father. Only the frogs and alligators are barking and bellowing."

"Can't see any sign of Indians, nor any red light from over toward the
settlement?"

"No, father."

"No, sir. All's quiet," said Morgan.

"It isn't, father," I whispered. "I never heard so much noise from out
by the river before. There, hark!"

We all listened in silence as a loud bellowing sound came from a
distance.

"There!" I whispered, in awe-stricken tones.

"Only one of the reptiles by the stream," said my father, quietly.

"But don't you think it's because some one is there?"

"No; certainly not. Keep a sharp look-out on both sides, Morgan, and
warn me if you see the slightest movement, for it may be a crawling,
lurking Indian."

"We'll keep a good look-out, sir, never fear," said Morgan, and we
resumed our watch--if watch it could be called, where we were more
dependent upon our ears than upon