ed Fanny, who, like her brother, used a very
exclamatory style of speech; "why, they have all vanished into thin
air!"

As I could not contradict this assertion, I proposed that we should
follow, and examine into the mystery; but Fanny cried out, "O, for
goodness' sake, don't! I'm afraid. If they have the power to make
themselves invisible, they may be hiding to do us harm."

"It is only visible harm that I'm afraid of," answered Charlie, with his
eyes still fixed wonderingly on the point of space where they had so
lately been; "pull fast, Pierre, let us find out what the rascals are up
to."

Thus urged, I threw what force I could into my oar-stroke (for I was but
a convalescent), and very soon we came to the long sloping point of
mossy rocks where we had expected to see the canoe's passengers land. I
own that I approached it with some caution, thinking it possible that a
whirlpool might have sucked the boat and its freight of fifteen lives
out of sight, in some point of time when our eyes were for an instant
averted. But the water was perfectly quiet, and the whole place, both on
water and on land, silent, sunny, and not in the least uncanny or
alarming. We dropped our oars and gazed at each other in amazement.

"Well, if that don't beat the Dutch!" was Charlie's comment; and I
fancied that his brown cheek grew a shade less ruddy than usual. As for
Fanny, she was in a fright, paling and shrinking as if from some
terrible real and visible danger; and when I proposed to land and
investigate the mystery, fairly mustered quite a copious shower of tears
with which to melt my resolve.

"O, Pierre--Mr. Blanchett, I mean--oh, please don't go ashore. I am sure
either that these dreadful savages are lurking here to destroy us, or
that we have been deceived by some wicked conjuror. Oh, I am so
frightened!"

"My dear Miss Lane," I answered, "I give you my word no harm shall come
to you. Shall we let a lot of blanketed savages perform a conjurer's
trick right before our faces that we do not attempt to have explained?
By no means. If you are too nervous to come ashore with us, Charlie may
stay with you in the boat, and I will go by myself to look into this
matter." Whereupon Fanny gave me so reproachful a look out of her great
brown eyes that I quailed beneath it.

"Do you think Charlie and I would leave you to go into danger alone? No,
indeed; if you _will_ be so rash, we will accompany you; and if _die_ we
must, we will a