Following this with care, he had soon made considerable progress.
The sun rising higher as he advanced, only revealed more clearly the gloomy character of the scene.
The thick mist became dispelled; the verdure, dark but rich, glistened with drops of moisture, and the ghostly moss waved to and fro, stirred by a gentle breeze that had helped to dissipate the fog.
With the bright sky, however, there came a corresponding lightness over the young man’s spirit, and a doubt arose in his mind as to the guilt of his former friend.
“I cannot believe all that he has been accused of. Perhaps he is not guilty of carrying off Sansuta. I always trusted him. Why should he be so evil without a suspicion having crossed my mind that he was so? He has not been seen since she disappeared; but yet Crookleg might be the guilty one. If all I have been told be true, and Warren be the man, he shall bitterly pay for his crime. But I will not believe it until I am convinced ’tis so.”
It will be seen that Nelatu was still a firm friend, ready to doubt even villainy.
Suddenly the trail he was following came to an end.
A deep black lagoon was before his feet.
How to cross it?
Its unrippled bosom showed it to be deep.