hauled into the canoe, though not without difficulty, and then the
search ended; for Jasper was persuaded that the Pathfinder would wade
to the shore, the water being shallow, in preference to abandoning
his beloved rifle.

The remainder of the passage was short, though made amid darkness
and doubt. After a short pause, a dull roaring sound was heard,
which at times resembled the mutterings of distant thunder, and then
again brought with it the washing of waters. Jasper announced to
his companions that they now heard the surf of the lake. Low curved
spits of land lay before them, into the bay formed by one of which
the canoe glided, and then it shot up noiselessly upon a gravelly
beach. The transition that followed was so hurried and great, that
Mabel scarcely knew what passed. In the course of a few minutes,
however, sentinels had been passed, a gate was opened, and the
agitated girl found herself in the arms of a parent who was almost
a stranger to her.



CHAPTER VIII.

A land of love, and a land of light,
Withouten sun, or moon, or night:
Where the river swa'd a living stream,
And the light a pure celestial beam:
The land of vision, it would seem
A still, an everlasting dream.
_Queen's Wake._