This moss, he remembered, was nearly all on the north side of the trees, whose southern roots were bare.

All the other mossy trees he could remember taught the same lesson, namely, that the green moss which grows around the bases of trees, grows chiefly on the north side.

He had no doubt that the law was a general, if not a universal one, and as the mossy trees were very numerous, he had a guide easily followed.

Striking out northwardly, therefore, he travelled several miles before stopping, coming then to a suitable resting-place he lay down to gather strength for the night's journey.

When night came, however, it had been raining for some hours, and in addition to the darkness of a rainy night in a swamp, Sam found the soft alluvial soil so saturated with water that he sank almost to his knees at every step.
Finding it impossible to go on he stopped again on the highest and dryest piece of ground he could find, and prepared to spend the night there.