."

"The deuce take the pearls, say I!" said Joe.

"Perhaps," continued Glenn, "a god may have put on the semblance of a
stag to tempt us."

"And hang me, if I wouldn't pretty soon spoil his physiognomy, if you
would only say the word!" said Joe, shaking his head sullenly at the
buck.

"Come," said Glenn, sternly; and, leading the way, he passed within a
few feet of the terrified animal without turning his head aside, and
directed his steps down the valley towards the river. Joe said nothing
when opposite the buck, awed by the impressive tone and mysterious
bearing of his master; but he grinned defiance at him, and resolved to
embrace the first opportunity to steal out alone, and fully gratify
his revenge; for such was the feeling he now harboured against the
animal.

When they reached the margin of the river, they wandered along the
narrow path that turned to the left, and continued up the stream, with
the ice but a few feet distant on one hand, and the precipitous
acclivity of rocks on the other. They maintained a brisk pace for
about thirty minutes, when the range of cliffs terminating abruptly,
they entered a low flat forest.

"_Now_, what do you say to my firing?" exclaimed Joe, staring at an
enormous wolf, a short distance on the left, that seemed to be tearing
the flesh from the carcass of a deer.

"You must not fire," replied Glenn, viewing the scene with no
interest.

"Why not? If the deer's a sylvan god, the wolfs sure to be a black
devil, and it's a duty to take the god's part," said Joe.

"No!" replied Glenn, still striding on.

"Where are you going to, I should like to know? I hope you haven't any
idea of going closer to the haunted island!" said Joe, following
reluctantly.

"What haunted island?" asked Glenn.

"Why that one right ahead of us!" replied Joe, pointing to a small
island a few hundred paces distant.

"Who says it is haunted?" demanded Glenn.

"Why, everybody in the country _knows_ it's haunted. Didn't you hear
Miss Mary telling all about it?"

"What did she tell about it?"

"That several years ago a man flew up the river riding on a black
cloud of smoke, and after scaring all the Indians and everybody else
away, took up his abode in yonder island. Not a soul, from that day to
this, has ever been nearer to it than we are now. But strange sights
have been seen there. Once a great big swan, as large as our house,
was seen to come out of the willows and leap into the water. A