The shrill whistle, pealing along the water, pierced the dark aisles of
the forest. It aroused the wild denizens of the lake, who, startled by
such an unusual sound, answered it with their various cries in a
screaming concert. The screech of the crane and the Louisiana heron,
the hoarse hooting of owls, and the hoarser croak of the pelican,
mingled together; and, louder than all, the scream of the osprey and the
voice of the bald eagle--the last falling upon the ear with sharp
metallic repetitions that exactly resembled the filing of saws.
For some moments this commotion was kept up; and it occurred to me that
if I had to repeat the signal then it would not have been heard. Shrill
as it was, it could scarce have been distinguished in such a din!
Crouching among the branches, we remained to await the result. We made
no attempts at idle converse. The moments were too perilous for aught
but feelings of extreme anxiety. Now and then a word of cheer--a
muttered hope--were all the communications that passed between us.
With earnest looks we watched the water--with glances of fear we
regarded the land. On one side we listened for the plashing of a
paddle; on the other we dreaded to hear the "howl" of a hound. Never
can I forget those moments--those deeply-anxious moments. Till death I
may not forget them.
Every thought at the time--every incident, however minute--now rushes
into my remembrance, as if it were a thing of yesterday.
I remember that once or twice, away under the trees, we perceived a
ripple along the surface of the water. Our hearts were full of hope--we
thought it was the canoe.
It was a fleeting joy. The waves were made by the great saurian, whose
hideous body--large almost as the pirogue itself--next moment passed
before our eyes, cleaving the water with fish-like velocity.
I remember entertaining the supposition that the runaway _might not be
in his lair_! He might be off in the forest--in search of food--or on
any other errand. Then the reflection followed--if such were the case,
I should have found the pirogue by the tree? Still he might have other
landing-places around the lake--on the other side perhaps. He had not
told me whether or no, and it was probable enough. These hypothetic
conjectures increased my anxiety.