“Don’t know but what it is the best plan,” replied the imperturbable Seth, going down on his knees in time to avoid another foul shot. “There are plenty of the imps about, ain’t there?”
The firing so alarmed Haverland that he desisted from his work, and sought the shelter of the wood. By this time, too, the afternoon was so far advanced that darkness had already commenced settling over the stream and wood. Crossing on the raft was now out of the question, for it would have been nothing less than suicide to have attempted it, when their enemies had given them such convincing evidence of their skill in the use of the rifle, even at a greater distance than to the middle of the stream. But the river had to be crossed for all that and the only course left, was to shift their position to some other place, build a new raft, and make another place.
There was no excuse for further delay, and the party immediately set forward. The sky again gave signs of a storm. Several rumbles of thunder were heard, but the lightning was so distant as to be of neither benefit or use to them. The sky was filled with heavy, tumultuous clouds, which rendered the darkness perfectly intense and impenetrable; and, as none of them understood a foot of the ground over which they were traveling, it may well be supposed that their progress was neither rapid nor particularly pleasant. The booming of the thunder continued, and shortly the rain commenced falling. The drops were of that big kind which are often formed in summer, and which rattle through the leaves like a shower of bullets.
“Can you look ahead, Seth?” asked Graham.
“In course I can. The darkness don’t make no difference not at all to me. I can see just as well on a dark night as I can in daylight, and, what is more, I do. I should like to see me make a misstep or stumble—”
Further utterance was checked by the speaker pitching, with a loud splash, head foremost over or into something.
“You hurt, Seth?” asked Graham in alarm, yet half tempted to give way to the mirth that was convulsing those behind him.
“Hurt!” exclaimed the unfortunate one, scrambling to his feet, “I believe every bone of my body is broken into, and by gracious! my head is cracked, and both legs put out of joint, the left arm broke above the elbow, and the right one severed completely!”
Notwithstanding these frightful injuries, the speaker was moving about with wonderful dexterity.
“My gracious! what do you suppose I’ve tumbled into?” he suddenly asked.