I 'll bet thet ther gal is jist one o' them will-o'-the-wisps we hear on, an' you never will find her.

You 'll jist wander 'round, huntin' an' huntin' her, till ye git old, or them monsters git ye.

An' I 'll be blamed if ever I heerd tell o' no sich fort as thet, nohow." Seth was certainly proving a Job's comforter; and I was already sufficiently troubled about the final outcome of my adventure.

Hence my only hope of retaining any measure of courage was to discountenance further conversation, and we continued to jog along in silence, although I caught him looking at me several times in a manner that expressed volumes.
We camped that night in the dense heart of some oak woods, beside a pleasant stream of clear, cool water.

Late the following evening, just as the sun was disappearing behind the trees, our wearied horses emerged suddenly upon the bank of a broad river, and we could discern the dim outlines of Hawkins's buildings amid the deepening shadows of the opposite shore.
Upon one thing I was now fully determined.