"The bayou is just back of the tents," warned Lilly. "Be careful that none of you falls into the water in the darkness. I should not advise much roaming about in the night until after you have become accustomed to this forest. You will find it far different from any you have ever visited before."
"I have observed as much," nodded the Professor. "But what are those peculiar formations that I see all about us?"
"Yes, I was wondering about them," said Tad.
"You mean the cypress knees?"
"Those long, crab-like formations standing up from the ground three or four feet," said the Professor.
"They are the cypress knees. In reality they are a sort of root of the tree itself. They make great hiding places for all sorts of reptiles and small animals, and they are the finest obstacles in the world to fall over."
"I should think the horses would break their legs over them," said Tad.
"A horse unfamiliar with travel in the swamp would do so. But you will find your animals very wise. They know the game down here, though up in the Rockies they undoubtedly would break their own necks and those of their riders as well."
"Every man and beast to his trade," observed the Professor reflectively.
Billy Lilly agreed with a long nod.