Come on." Nic followed the old man across a fenced-in enclosure, over the fence, and then down a steep slope into a gully, where their path soon resembled silvery lacework on velvet, for they were going beneath arching ferns of the most delicate nature.

Then they had to leap dark roaring water, that flashed and sparkled where the moonbeams touched a broad glassy curve before it plunged down into some dark mysterious depth.
"Pretty place this by daylight, sir," said the old man.

"Mind how you come across here.

Give me your hand to steady you, for it's pretty tidy dark." "What is it--water ?" asked Nic.
"Yes; it's a deep bit of a pool as the master dammed up, and this here's a tree felled to lie acrost it like a bridge.

You won't like it by daylight p'raps, but it's quite safe, and you can't see how deep it is in the dark." Nic hesitated for a moment, then lightly grasped the man's hand, but only for a moment.