incoherent words:

"I have seen--already seen--these forks--when little--I have seen!"

And no doubt the memories of his early infancy returned to him vaguely.
He tried to recall them. He was going to speak.

"Be silent, Tom!" repeated Dick Sand. "For Mrs. Weldon's sake, for all
our sakes, be silent!"

And the novice led the old black away.

Another halting place was chosen, at some distance, and all was
arranged for the night.

The repast was prepared, but they hardly touched it. Fatigue took away
their hunger. All were under an indefinable impression of anxiety which
bordered on terror.

Darkness came gradually: soon it was profound. The sky was covered with
great stormy clouds. Between the trees in the western horizon they saw
some flashes of heat lightning. The wind had fallen; not a leaf moved
on the trees. An absolute silence succeeded the noises of the day, and
it might be believed that the heavy atmosphere, saturated with
electricity, was becoming unfit for the transmission of sounds.

Dick Sand, Austin, and Bat watched together. They tried to see, to
hear, during this very dark night, if any light whatsoever, or any
suspicious noise should strike their eyes or their ears. Nothing
troubled either the calm or the obscurity of the forest.