"But?"
"It was by daylight."
"And this marsh--"
"Is a bog where, even in the daytime, I have come near sinking."
"Then let us risk an encounter with these worthy people. I should not be sorry to warm myself at their fire."
"Stay here; and let me go and reconnoitre."
"But--"
"Don't be afraid."
So saying, Bonneville disappeared noiselessly in the darkness.