Conservancy; but it
needed only a glance now to show that there was something very much
amiss with him.

The darkness was increasing every moment, and, being anxious to get on
as soon as possible, I was just going to tell him again to hurry up with
the sluices, when he bent down close to me, and said,--

"Would you mind stepping out for a moment, sir, if you can spare the
time? I wish to speak to you, sir. I'd be most grateful if you would
wait a minute or two."

"Certainly, Jimmy," I answered, hauling myself to the side with the
boat-hook, and getting out. "Is there anything I can do for you? I am
afraid you are not well. I never saw you like this before."

"No, sir; and I never felt like it before, that I can remember.
Something happened here last night that has taken all the nerve out of
me, and I want to tell you what it was. I know you are so clever, Mr.
Bell, and I have heard about your doings up at Wallinghurst last autumn,
when you cleared up the Manor House ghost, and got old Monkford six
months."

"Well, fire away," I said, filling my pipe, and wondering what was
coming.

"It is this way, sir," he began. "Last night after I had had my supper I
thought I'd like a stroll and a quiet smoke along the towing path before
turning in. I did not expect any more boats, as it was getting on for
ten o'clock. I walked about three-quarters of a mile, and was just going
to turn round, when I saw a light down on the surface of the water in
mid-stream. It was pretty dark, for the moon was not up yet, and there
was a thick white mist rising from the water. I thought it must be some
one in a canoe at first, so I waited a bit and watched. Then it suddenly
disappeared, and the next instant I saw it again about a hundred yards
or so higher up the stream, but only for a second, and then it went out.
It fairly puzzled me to know what it could be, as I had never seen
anything like it before. I felt sure it wasn't any sort of craft, but I
had heard of strange lights being seen at times on the water--what they
call jack-o'-lanterns, I believe, sir. I reckoned it might be one of
them, but I thought I'd get back to the lock, so that, if it was a
canoe, I could let it through. However, nothing came of it, and I waited
and watched, and worried all the evening about it, but couldn't come to
any sort of idea, so I went to bed. Well, about one o'clock this morning
I suddenly woke up and thought I could hear some one a long way off
call