out after bedtime; she
was not thinking at all; she was moving in a sort of wide-awake
dream. It was one of those strange wild fancies that seize girls
in their teens and she was going out to play in the moonlight
like an elf. The lake exerted its magic influence over her and
drew her to itself when awake as it had done once before in her
sleep. Straight across the lake she paddled, following the path
of the moonbeams, to where the rocky shore reared its steep
cliffs on the other side. At the base of one of the highest
cliffs there was a tiny cave and into this Sahwah steered the
_Keewaydin_. Inside it was as black as ink and so low that she
had to bend her head.

"Chaos and ancient night--"

The words came aimlessly into her mind. From afar off in the
depths of the cave came the sound of water falling. She
shuddered at the awfulness of it and backed the canoe out.

During those minutes she had spent in the cave a change had come
over the moon. It was fast becoming veiled and a heavy mist was
settling on the lake, closing around her like a mantle. She had
not the slightest idea where she was, nor in which direction she
was going. The spell of the moonlight was gone and she was wide
awake. She felt chilly and very much afraid. She lost her sense
of direction and dared not steer out toward the middle of the
lake, but kept close to the shore, following the sound of the
waves as they dashed on the rocks. A strong breeze sprang up and
the light canoe tossed like a blossom in the wind. On and on
around that great curve of the shore line she paddled, until her
arms ached from the strain.

The waves flung themselves upon the rocks with a horrible moaning
sound that chilled the marrow of her bones. Then came the
weirdest sensation that something was swimming after the boat.
It was really only the swirls made by the rocks below, but in
that queer light every wave seemed topped by a head that twisted
its neck after her and then started in pursuit. Her teeth
chattered, and her hands trembled so she could hardly hold the
paddle. Thus passed the night--fearful, unreal, endless. When
morning came the mists began to lift and she could see where she
was. She was quite close to camp, still very near to shore. She
had paddled halfway around the circumference of the lake, a
distance of nearly twelve miles. In the hush of dawn she beached
the _Keewaydin_ and crept up to bed, falling asleep immediately
from e