"May Heaven grant it, my boy; but do you hear nothing?"
The young man listened attentively.
"No," he said, at the end of a moment.
The emigrant proceeded with a sigh: "I visited the river bank this morning, and I have rarely seen a spot better suited for a settlement. The virgin forest that extends behind us would supply excellent firewood, without reckoning the magnificent planks to be obtained from it: there are several hundred acres around, which, from their proximity to the water, would produce, I am certain, excellent crops."
"Would you feel inclined to settle here, then?"
"Have you any objection?"
"I—none at all! provided we can live and work together. I care little at what place we stop: this spot appears to me as good as another, and it is far enough from the settlements to prevent our being turned out, at least for a great number of years."
"That is exactly my view."
At this moment a gentle quivering ran along the tall grass.
"This time I am certain I am not mistaken," the emigrant exclaimed; "I heard something."