“I’m not going to prevent it,” replied Robert. “It is certainly tough luck the way it always happens like this, though.”
“We’ll camp soon, I think,” said Mason. “We must be almost at the lakes by this time, and it is nearly sunset.”
“What lakes?” inquired Joseph.
“The Four Lakes,” explained Mason. “You’ll see them yourself in a minute.”
“I hope they’re better looking than the rest of this country,” exclaimed Robert.
“Don’t worry about that,” Mason assured him. “You’ll never see anything prettier than these lakes as long as you live.”
As he finished speaking they emerged from the swamp, passed through a belt of heavy timber and came to the edge of a lake. The water was clear as crystal and the bottom was covered with shining white pebbles.
“This is Third Lake,” announced Mason. “What do you think of it?”
“Wonderful!” exclaimed Robert and Joseph in amazement as they looked out across the beautiful sheet of water. The sun was sinking low in the western sky and its rays cast a gleam of silver and gold over the quiet waters. As the rest of the army came up, every man stood in silence and looked out over the lake, almost too strongly impressed to speak.
“How big is this lake?” inquired Robert at last.