he water. At first,
the boys thought that they merely dived to get out of his way, but it
was not exactly in the same manner as the others were diving for the
roots. Moreover, none of those that went down in the neighbourhood of
the swan were seen to come up again!

There was something very odd in all this, and the three boys, thinking
so at the same time, were about to communicate their thoughts to one
another, when the double crack of Francois' gun drove the thing, for a
moment, out of their heads; and they all looked over the bushes to see
how many canvass-backs had been killed. Several were seen dead or
fluttering along the surface; but no one counted them, for a strange,
and even terrible, object now presented itself to the astonished senses
of all. If the conduct of the swan had been odd before, it was now
doubly so. Instead of flying off after the shot, as all expected it
would do, it was now seen to dance and plunge about on the water,
uttering loud screams, that resembled the human voice far more than any
other sounds! Then it rose as if pitched into the air, and fell on its
back some distance off; while in its place was seen a dark, round object
moving through the water, as if making for the bank, and uttering, as it
went, the same hideous human-like screams!

This dark object was no other than the poll of a human being; and the
river shallowing towards the bank, it rose higher and higher above the
water, until the boys could distinguish the glistening neck and naked
shoulders of a red and brawny Indian! All was now explained. The
Indian had been duck-hunting, and had used the stuffed skin of the swan
as his disguise; and hence the puzzling motions of the bird. He had not
noticed the canoe--concealed as it was--until the loud crack of
Francois' gun had startled him from his work. This, and the heads and
white faces of the boys peeping over the bushes, had frightened him,
even more than he had them. Perhaps they were the first white faces he
had ever seen. But, whether or not, sadly frightened he was; for, on
reaching the bank, he did not stop, but ran off into the woods, howling
and yelling as if Old Nick had been after him: and no doubt he believed
that such was the case.

The travellers picked up the swan-skin out of curiosity; and, in
addition to the ducks which Francois had killed, they found nearly a
score of these birds, which the Indian had dropped in his fright, and
that had afterwards r