“A false alarm, George,” he said, gently.
“No, no,” I whispered; “look—look!” for I could see both figures crawling along slowly, flat on their breasts.
“Yes, I see them, my boy,” he said; “and I was deceived too, for the moment, but we must not waste shot on creatures like these.”
“Why, if it arn’t a pair o’ ’gators,” said Morgan, with a suppressed laugh. “Well, they did look just like Injins, and no mistake.”
I felt so vexed at making so absurd a mistake, that I remained silent till my father passed the gun to me.
“Take hold,” he said, gently. “It was a mistake that deceived us all. Better be too particular than not particular enough.”
He lowered himself down into the room below, and I passed him the gun before going back to where Morgan leaned against the window.
“There they go, Master George,” he said, laughing. “You and me must have a new pair o’ spectacles apiece from the old country if we have to do much of this sort of thing.”
“I did not think I could have been so stupid,” I said, angrily; and going away to the other window, so that I should not have to listen to my companion’s bantering, which I felt pretty sure would come, I stood gazing at the beautiful scene without, the moon making the dark green leaves glisten like silver, while the shades grew to be of a velvety black. Every here and there patches of light shone on the great trunks of the trees, while their tops ran up like great spires into the softly-illumined sky.
The excitement had driven away all desire for sleep, and we watched on listening to every sound and cry that came from the forest surrounding, wonderfully plain in the silence of the night, which magnified croak, bellow, or faint rustling among the leaves or bushes, as some nocturnal creature made its way through the trees.