t got. He saw an Injun from up near the big lake--a Pottamottamie, or
somethin' like thet--what was nine fut high, an' he told him es how the
rivers in his kintry was all full o' man-eatin' critters like snakes,
an' some on 'em hed a hundred legs ter crawl with, an' cud travel a
dinged sight faster ner a hoss. By gosh! but you bet I don't want none
on it. Your father must 'a' been plum crazy fer ter sind ye way out
ther all 'lone,--jist a green boy like you. What ye a-goin' fer,
enyhow?"

I explained to him the occasion and necessity for my trip, but he shook
his head dubiously, his long face so exceedingly mournful that I could
not remain unaffected by it.

"Wal," he said at length, carefully weighing his words, "maybe it's all
right 'nough, but I 've got my doubts jist the same. I 'll bet thet
ther gal is jist one o' them will-o'-the-wisps we hear on, an' you
never will find her. You 'll jist wander 'round, huntin' an' huntin'
her, till ye git old, or them monsters git ye. An' I 'll be blamed if
ever I heerd tell o' no sich fort as thet, nohow."

Seth was certainly proving a Job's comforter; and I was already
sufficiently troubled about the final outcome of my adventure. Hence
my only hope of retaining any measure of courage was to discountenance
further conversation, and we continued to jog along in silence,
although I caught him looking at me several times in a manner that
expressed volumes.

We camped that night in the dense heart of some oak woods, beside a
pleasant stream of clear, cool water. Late the following evening, just
as the sun was disappearing behind the trees, our wearied horses
emerged suddenly upon the bank of a broad river, and we could discern
the dim outlines of Hawkins's buildings amid the deepening shadows of
the opposite shore.

Upon one thing I was now fully determined. Seth should start back with
the first streak of the next dawn. His long face and dismal croakings
kept me constantly upon nettles, and I felt that I should face the
uncertain future with far stouter heart if he were out of my sight.
Firm in this resolve, I urged my horse to splash his reluctant way
through the shallows of the ford; and as our animals rose on the steep
bank of the western shore, we found ourselves at once in the midst of a
group of scattered buildings. It seemed quite a settlement in that dim
light, although the structures were all low and built of logs. The
largest and most centrally located