" Had I supposed that there was the slightest
possibility of the appearance on the stream of the apparition of the day
before, I should have requested Walkirk to fish from the top of a
distant tree. But I had no fears on this score. If what I had seen had
been a phantasm, my under-study would have to doze to see it, and I knew
he would not do that; and if what I had seen was real, it would not
appear this morning, for the water was too low for swimming. The creek,
as I now perceived, was affected by the tide, and its depth was very
much less than on the preceding afternoon.
I turned to the right, and followed the stream for some distance; now
walking by its edge, and now obliged, by masses of undergrowth, to make
a detour into the woods. At last I came to a spot where the stream,
although wide, appeared shallow. In fact, even in the centre I could see
the stones at the bottom. I therefore put on my wading-boots and boldly
crossed. The woods here were mostly of pine, free from undergrowth, and
with the ground softened to the foot by a thick layer of pine needles.
Now that I was on the other side of the creek, I desired to make my way
out of the woods, which could not, I imagined, be very extensive. To
discover a real basis for yesterday's vision, I believed that it would
be necessary to reach open country.
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