Shall we build a place ?" Dick's reply was in the affirmative, and for the next two hours they debated on the subject of what they should take over, and how soon, and so passed the time away till after dark, when, being still quite a mile from home, there came the sharp report of a gun, and then they fancied that they heard a cry.
"Why, who can be shooting now ?" said Dick in an awe-stricken whisper.
"Is anything wrong ?" "I don't know.

Look! look!" Tom whispered these words, and pointed in the opposite direction, to a lambent light which seemed to be moving slowly over the marshy edge of the mere.
The light was in a portion of the shore where the mere narrowed; and the two lads let the boat drift as they sat and watched, each thinking of the place in the light of experience.
"Why, Tom, that can't be a boat," whispered Dick.
"Boat! No, it's land there." "Land! It's soft bog that nobody could walk on!" "Then it couldn't be a boat.

Why, it's a will-o'-the-wisp." "Yes," said Dick, after a sceptical pause, during which he watched the lambent light as it played about in a slow fantastic way, just as if it were a softly-glowing lantern carried by a short-winged moth, which used it to inspect the flowering plants as it sought for a meal.

"Let's go over and look at it." "No, no! no, no!" whispered Tom excitedly.
"Why not?
Are you afraid ?" "No, not a bit; but I don't want to go.

I'm tired and hungry.