Here Hurry's imagination did his temper some service, since, by
conjuring up the reception his semi-aquatic acquaintance would be
likely to bestow on one thus introduced, he burst into a hearty fit
of laughter. Deerslayer too well knew the uselessness of attempting
to convince such a being of anything against his prejudices, to
feel a desire to undertake the task; and he was not sorry that the
approach of the canoe to the southeastern curve of the lake gave
a new direction to his ideas. They were now, indeed, quite near
the place that March had pointed out for the position of the outlet,
and both began to look for it with, a curiosity that was increased
by the expectation of the ark.

It may strike the reader as a little singular, that the place where
a stream of any size passed through banks that had an elevation of
some twenty feet, should be a matter of doubt with men who could
not now have been more than two hundred yards distant from the
precise spot. It will be recollected, however, that the trees and
bushes here, as elsewhere, fairly overhung the water, making such
a fringe to the lake, as to conceal any little variations from its
general outline.

"I've not been down at this end of the lake these two summers,"
said Hurry, standing up in the canoe, the better to look about him.
"Ay, there's the rock, showing its chin above the water, and I
know that the river begins in its neighborhood."

The men now plied the paddles again, and they were presently within
a few yards of the rock, floating towards it, though their efforts
were suspended. This rock was not large, being merely some five
or six feet high, only half of which elevation rose above the lake.