“Boats, sir! Stuff—fire-flies!”
“Do you mean to say that you saw boats?”
“That’s right, sir. Just a glimpse—tied up, not half-a-dozen yards out in the river. Come on, sir; I’ll lead; only keep hold of hands and be ready to step down into the water. These bushes hang quite over, you know how. Ready, sir?”
“Yes.”
“Then come on.”
Two or three cautious steps were taken, which disturbed the occupants of one of the clumps of low growth, which sparkled vividly as the nocturnal insects were disturbed, and then the two adventurers were standing breathing hard, hip-deep in the cool water which was flowing by them.
“Hear anything, Pete?”
“Only the ripple-pipple of the water, sir. You see the boats this time?”
“Yes, for a moment, quite plainly, away to your left.”