of some indeterminate sort among the willows, and as the branches swayed in
the wind they seemed to group themselves about these shapes, forming a
series of monstrous outlines that shifted rapidly beneath the moon. Close, Creeping with silent feet over the shifting sands, drawing imperceptibly
nearer by soft, unhurried movements, the willows had come closer during the but that an alteration had apparently been effected in the relation of the
tent to the willows, and of the willows to the tent. Surely the bushes now With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional
brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a "It's the willows, of course. The willows mask the others, but the others
are feeling about for us. If we let our minds betray our fear, we're lost, in its own way, stirred in me this sensation of a strange distress. But the
willows especially; for ever they went on chattering and talking among with a huge sweep into the willows, which closed about it like a herd of
monstrous antediluvian creatures crowding down to drink. They made me think With this multitude of willows, however, it was something far different, I
felt. Some essence emanated from them that besieged the heart. A sense of night. But had the wind moved them, or had they moved of themselves? I
recalled the sound of infinite small patterings and the pressure upon the a willow-stem, and the washed-up dishes removed to a safe distance from the
fire, all ready for the morning meal. "But now the wind has dropped," I objected. "The willows can hardly make a
noise by themselves, can they?" We were grubbing away in the middle of a thickish clump of willows where
some driftwood from a former flood had caught high among the branches, when signs, the shifting willows, one and all had been robbed of its natural
character, and revealed in something of its other aspect--as it existed indeed that something in their appearance proclaimed them to be not human
at all. Certainly they were not merely the moving tracery of the branches
against the moonlight. They shifted independently. They rose upwards in a willows shivering about us, but apart from this not very welcome sound a
deep and depressing silence reigned, broken only by the gurgling of the
river and the humming in the air overhead. a suitable camping-ground for the night. But the bewildering character of
the islands made landing difficult; the swirling flood carried us in shore
and then swept us out again; the willow branches tore our hands as we But my emotion, so far as I could understand it, seemed to attach itself
more particularly to the willow bushes, to these acres and acres of through somehow. But, if you listen carefully, you'll find it's not above
so much as around us. It's in the willows. It's the willows themselves But the sky kept wholly clear of clouds, and soon after supper the full
moon rose up in the east and covered the river and the plain of shouting
willows with a light like the day.
that the tent was surrounded. That sound of multitudinous soft pattering
was again audible outside, filling the night with horror. Outside there was a sound of multitudinous little patterings. They had been
coming, I was aware, for a long time, and in my sleep they had first become "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." Nothing further came in to disturb me, and I fell asleep almost at once,
utterly exhausted, yet still in dread of hearing again that weird sound of
multitudinous pattering, or of feeling the pressure upon my heart that had
made it difficult to breathe. "I know. But the wind won't account for all the noises."

"Then you heard it too?" Then at length his breathing became regular and I heard unmistakable sounds
of snoring--the first and only time in my life when snoring has been a
welcome and calming influence. up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." We stood there, listening attentively together. At first I heard only the
deep note of the water and the hissings rising from its turbulent surface. The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a night. But had the wind moved them, or had they moved of themselves? I
recalled the sound of infinite small patterings and the pressure upon the And, another time, when the gong sounds had come nearer, ringing much
louder than before, and directly over our heads, he said as though talking
to himself: "Look! By my soul!" he whispered, and for the first time in my experience I
knew what it was to hear tears of terror in a human voice. He was pointing The melancholy shrill cry of a night-bird sounded overhead, and suddenly I
nearly lost my balance as the piece of bank I stood upon fell with a great Contrary to our expectations, the wind did not go down with the sun. It
seemed to increase with the darkness, howling overhead and shaking the distant gong. It seemed to come across to us in the darkness from the waste
of swamps and willows opposite. It was repeated at regular intervals, but "Come and listen," he said, "and see what you make of it." He held his hand
cupwise to his ear, as so often before.

"Now do you hear anything?" he asked, watching me curiously. night. They were focusing upon our island, and more particularly upon
ourselves. For thus, somehow, in the terms of the imagination, did my
really indescribable sensations in this extraordinary place present
I called again to him, louder than before. He did not answer, but I missed
the sound of his snoring, and also noticed that the flap of the tent was He woke naturally and easily, as I have said, when the sun was already high
in a windless hot sky, and he at once got up and set about the preparation "I slept badly a little after dawn," I replied evasively, trying to follow
his instructions, which I knew instinctively were true, "but the wind, of
course--" "It wasn't there last night," he said presently, straightening up from his
examination and looking anywhere but at me. He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. My companion had not stirred when I called him, and there was no need to
waken him now. I looked about me carefully, noting everything; the Neither of us said a word. We both knew that sleep was the safest thing we
could do, and to bed we went accordingly without further delay, having After all, we had to spend the night together, and to sleep in the same
tent side by side. I saw that I could not get along much longer without the It was earlier than usual when we camped, for the sun was a good hour or
two from the horizon, and leaving my friend still asleep on the hot sand, I however, and I crawled quietly out of the tent to see if our belongings
were safe. I moved carefully so as not to waken my companion. A curious
excitement was on me. saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was of the fire for breakfast. I followed him anxiously at bathing, but he did
not attempt to plunge in, merely dipping his head and making some remark
about the extra coldness of the water. The sun was high in the heavens when my companion woke me from a heavy
sleep and announced that the porridge was cooked and there was just time to
bathe. The grateful smell of frizzling bacon entered the tent door. Meanwhile, in the pitchy night the fire died down and the wood pile grew
small. Neither of us moved to replenish the stock, and the darkness I dropped the long spoon and ran up. Everything the sack had contained lay
upon the ground-sheet, but there was no loaf. howled magnificently, but the fire no longer gave out any glow, and I saw
the east reddening in streaks through the trees. Several hours must have
passed since I stood there before watching the ascending figures, and the And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great presence
had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The esoteric meaning We smothered the embers of the fire with sand, and then turned in. The flap
of the tent door was up, and I saw the branches and the stars and the white It was my firm intention to lie awake all night and watch, but the
exhaustion of nerves and body decreed otherwise, and sleep after a while thought was that my companion had rolled off his mattress on to my own in
his sleep. I called to him and sat up, and at the same moment it came to me
saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was The Swede started to save it, shouting again something I did not catch
about a "proper burial"--and then abruptly dropped upon his knees on the
sand and covered his eyes with his hands. I was beside him in an instant. The Swede's face turned very white beneath the deep tan of sun and wind. He
stared straight at me and answered quietly, but his voice betrayed his huge But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of I at once set the pitch melting, and presently the Swede joined me at the
work, though under the best conditions in the world the canoe could not be "It's the deliberate, calculating purpose that reduces one's courage to
zero," the Swede said suddenly, as if he had been actually following my I stopped in the middle, seized anew by the old horror. I tried to smother
the sound of my voice as something sacrilegious. The Swede, of course, backwards with a crash into the branches. These failed, of course, to
support my weight, so that with the Swede on top of me we fell in a An acute spasm of pain passed through me, and I was aware that the Swede
had hold of me in such a way that he hurt me abominably. It was the way he
caught at me in falling. later--hours of ceaseless vigil for me--it became so clear to me that he
remembered absolutely nothing of what he had attempted to do, that I deemed It was my firm intention to lie awake all night and watch, but the
exhaustion of nerves and body decreed otherwise, and sleep after a while Quite suddenly then the implied meaning of the Swede's words flashed across
me, showing that he no longer wished to leave post-haste, and had changed Neither of us said a word. We both knew that sleep was the safest thing we
could do, and to bed we went accordingly without further delay, having something else disquieting, and I wanted to keep myself well in hand for
what might happen later. There was another night to be faced before we
escaped from this distressing place, and there was no knowing yet what it The Swede glanced up sharply at me, an undecipherable expression on his
face, and began clambering down the bank. I followed him more leisurely. After all, we had to spend the night together, and to sleep in the same
tent side by side. I saw that I could not get along much longer without the "I believe you're right," the Swede said, shading his eyes with his hand
and watching the man out of sight. He seemed to be gone in a moment, Then, quite unexpectedly, I came out upon the island's point and saw a dark
figure outlined between the water and the sky. It was the Swede. And "The oatmeal, too, is much less than it was this morning," the Swede
interrupted.

Why in the world need he draw attention to it? I thought angrily. "I lost consciousness for a moment or two," I heard him say. "That's what
saved me. It made me stop thinking about them."
But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. That afternoon, while the canoe dried and hardened, we spent trying to
fish, testing the leak, collecting wood, and watching the enormous flood of "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." safe for traveling till the following day. I drew his attention casually to
the hollows in the sand. We smothered the embers of the fire with sand, and then turned in. The flap
of the tent door was up, and I saw the branches and the stars and the white blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see After all, we had to spend the night together, and to sleep in the same
tent side by side. I saw that I could not get along much longer without the We went back to the fire and made a final blaze, poking it up with our
feet. We took a last look round. But for the wind the heat would have been And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the This was many days back, of course, and since then we had come to know
other aspects of the great creature, and across the Bavarian wheat plain of I made a hurried examination of the tent and its surroundings, but the
measurements of the night remained the same. There were deep hollows formed night. But had the wind moved them, or had they moved of themselves? I
recalled the sound of infinite small patterings and the pressure upon the Meanwhile, in the pitchy night the fire died down and the wood pile grew
small. Neither of us moved to replenish the stock, and the darkness I crossed over to the farther shore and noted how the coast-line had
altered in the night, and what masses of sand the river had torn away. I "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." howled magnificently, but the fire no longer gave out any glow, and I saw
the east reddening in streaks through the trees. Several hours must have
passed since I stood there before watching the ascending figures, and the And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great presence
had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The esoteric meaning tremendous sense of relief in their train. We made our way back to the fire
and put the wood on so that it blazed at once. Then we saw that the tent
And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream though to sweep it bodily away, and then swirling by in two foaming streams
on either side. The ground seemed to shake with the shock and rush, while It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it "Good heavens, it's a man's body!" he cried excitedly. "Look!" And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the The current, I noticed, had torn away much of the clothing from the body,
so that the neck and part of the chest lay bare. completely over, the dead face uppermost, staring at the sky. It lay on the
edge of the main stream. In another moment it would be swept away. "I did rather wonder, if you want to know," he said slowly, "what that
thing in the boat was. I remember thinking at the time it was not a man.
The whole business seemed to rise quite suddenly out of the water." "I suppose so," I replied. I shuddered a little in spite of myself, for
there was something about the appearance of that poor drowned man that
turned me cold. At the moment we touched the body there rose from its surface the loud
sound of humming--the sound of several hummings--which passed with a vast sand so that our feet splashed into the water. And, before anything could
be done, we had collided a little heavily against the corpse. A black thing, turning over and over in the foaming waves, swept rapidly
past. It kept disappearing and coming up to the surface again. It was about For just as the body swung round to the current the face and the exposed
chest turned full towards us, and showed plainly how the skin and flesh The Swede started to save it, shouting again something I did not catch
about a "proper burial"--and then abruptly dropped upon his knees on the
sand and covered his eyes with his hands. I was beside him in an instant. "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." movement of the current was turning the corpse round so that it became
released from the grip of the willow roots. A moment later it had turned "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great presence
had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The esoteric meaning Then, too, just as we turned back, our arms full of driftwood, another
thing happened to recall us to the river bank. This time it really was a themselves, laughing a little, shrilly crying out, sometimes sighing--but
what it was they made so much to-do about belonged to the secret life of
creature. Sleepy at first, but later developing violent desires as it
became conscious of its deep soul, it rolled, like some huge fluid being,
through all the countries we had passed, holding our little craft on its a living column into the heavens. Their faces I never could see.
Unceasingly they poured upwards, swaying in great bending curves, with a
hue of dull bronze upon their skins. though to sweep it bodily away, and then swirling by in two foaming streams
on either side. The ground seemed to shake with the shock and rush, while mighty shoulders, playing roughly with us sometimes, yet always friendly
and well-meaning, till at length we had come inevitably to regard it as a
Great Personage. And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the shapes against the sky. I sat back on my haunches and stared. It was
incredible, surely, but there, opposite and slightly above me, were shapes it difficult to focus my sight properly upon the flying apparition. It
seemed, however, to be a man standing upright in a sort of flat-bottomed of the swaying of the branches. I saw them plainly and noted, now I came to
examine them more calmly, that they were very much larger than human, and "Look here now," I cried, "this place is quite queer enough without going
out of our way to imagine things! That boat was an ordinary boat, and the indeed that something in their appearance proclaimed them to be not human
at all. Certainly they were not merely the moving tracery of the branches
against the moonlight. They shifted independently. They rose upwards in a and fell. It seemed to shake the dream violently out of me. At least it
gave me another point of view somehow. The figures still remained, still examination I made of the shore did not assist this theory, but all the
same I clung to it with that diminishing portion of my intelligence which I
called my "reason." An explanation of some kind was an absolute necessity, My companion clutched me, and I think I clutched him, but before either of
us had time properly to recover from the unexpected shock, we saw that a twenty feet from the shore, and just as it was opposite to where we stood
it lurched round and looked straight at us. We saw its eyes reflecting the They first became properly visible, these huge figures, just within the
tops of the bushes--immense, bronze-colored, moving, and wholly independent "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over themselves, laughing a little, shrilly crying out, sometimes sighing--but
what it was they made so much to-do about belonged to the secret life of "Partly, yes. It seemed to me that the weight of the atmosphere had been
altered--had increased enormously, so that we should have been crushed." "I did rather wonder, if you want to know," he said slowly, "what that
thing in the boat was. I remember thinking at the time it was not a man.
The whole business seemed to rise quite suddenly out of the water."
And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the "It's those sand-funnels," exclaimed the Swede, when the tent was up again
and the firelight lit up the ground for several yards about us. "And look
at the size of them!" All round the tent and about the fireplace where we had seen the moving
shadows there were deep funnel-shaped hollows in the sand, exactly similar "Their mark!" I heard my companion mutter under his breath. "Their awful
mark!" were indented with small hollows, beautifully formed, and exactly similar
in shape and kind to the sand-funnels that we had found all over the
island. "He saw our smoke, and thought we were spirits probably," laughed my
companion. "These Hungarians believe in all sorts of rubbish; you remember At the moment we touched the body there rose from its surface the loud
sound of humming--the sound of several hummings--which passed with a vast "Look! By my soul!" he whispered, and for the first time in my experience I
knew what it was to hear tears of terror in a human voice. He was pointing For just as the body swung round to the current the face and the exposed
chest turned full towards us, and showed plainly how the skin and flesh This was many days back, of course, and since then we had come to know
other aspects of the great creature, and across the Bavarian wheat plain of first. Tell me what you make of those hollows in the ground all about us,
those sand-funnels?" "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." to the fire, some fifty feet away. I followed the direction of his finger,
and I swear my heart missed a beat. Small things testified to the amazing influence of the place, and now in
the silence round the fire they allowed themselves to be noted by the mind. consequently came up very close to our faces. A few feet beyond the circle
of firelight it was inky black. Occasionally a stray puff of wind set the "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. And, another time, when the gong sounds had come nearer, ringing much
louder than before, and directly over our heads, he said as though talking
to himself: themselves, laughing a little, shrilly crying out, sometimes sighing--but
what it was they made so much to-do about belonged to the secret life of "The elements are always the true immortals," I replied, laughing as
naturally as I could manage, yet knowing quite well that my face reflected
my true feelings when he looked up gravely at me and spoke across the
smoke: no doubt, was responsible for these miniature craters, just as it was for
lifting the paddle and tossing it towards the water. The rent in the canoe
It was extraordinary, too, how the withdrawal suddenly of bright sunlight
took everything out of the landscape that made for cheerfulness; and since
this particular landscape had already managed to convey the suggestion of The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a carry up a few acres of willows into the air and scatter them like so much
chaff over the landscape. The wind was simply enjoying itself, for nothing landing-place opposite the tent. The water was icy, and the banks flew by
like the country from an express train. Bathing under such conditions was The change came suddenly, as when a series of bioscope pictures snaps down
on the streets of a town and shifts without warning into the scenery of through somehow. But, if you listen carefully, you'll find it's not above
so much as around us. It's in the willows. It's the willows themselves "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" any single sign of human habitation and civilization within sight. The
sense of remoteness from the world of humankind, the utter isolation, the
fascination of this singular world of willows, winds, and waters, instantly shaking oddly from the roots upwards. When common objects in this way be
come charged with the suggestion of horror, they stimulate the imagination
far more than things of unusual appearance; and these bushes, crowding When I reached the point of sand jutting out among the waves, the spell of
the place descended upon me with a positive shock. No mere "scenery" could
have produced such an effect. There was something more here, something to
alarm. How, indeed, could it be otherwise, since it told us so much of its secret
life? At night we heard it singing to the moon as we lay in our tent, At any rate, here was a place unpolluted by men, kept clean by the winds
from coarsening human influences, a place where spiritual agencies were And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the "Look here now," I cried, "this place is quite queer enough without going
out of our way to imagine things! That boat was an ordinary boat, and the But my emotion, so far as I could understand it, seemed to attach itself
more particularly to the willow bushes, to these acres and acres of Altogether it was an impressive scene, with its utter loneliness, its
bizarre suggestion; and as I gazed, long and curiously, a singular emotion "It's the willows, of course. The willows mask the others, but the others
are feeling about for us. If we let our minds betray our fear, we're lost, For a change, I thought, had somehow come about in the arrangement of the
landscape. It was not that my point of vantage gave me a different view,
blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see That afternoon, while the canoe dried and hardened, we spent trying to
fish, testing the leak, collecting wood, and watching the enormous flood of "Won't stand much nonsense now, will it?" he said, pulling the canoe a
little farther into safety up the sand, and then composing himself for a
nap. canoe. He was a grand fellow for an adventurous trip, a tower of strength
when untoward things happened. I looked at his strong face and light curly Properly speaking, this fascinating part of the river's life begins soon
after leaving Pressburg, and we, in our Canadian canoe, with gipsy tent and the tent a few yards on the other side of the fireplace. The canoe still
lay there as I had last seen her in the night, ribs uppermost, the paddles, river's in flood, and we've only got a single paddle. Besides, we only go
deeper into their country! There's nothing ahead for fifty miles but
willows, willows, willows!" "And there's a tear in the bottom of the canoe," he added, with a genuine
little tremor in his voice. seized them to stop the canoe, and we pulled many a yard of sandy bank into
the water before at length we shot with a great sideways blow from the wind questions. And meanwhile, as he mended that torn canoe with the skill and
address of a red Indian, I was glad to notice his absorption in the work, The canoe we had carefully covered with a waterproof sheet during the day,
and the one remaining paddle had been securely tied by the Swede to the dashing to and fro in order to get through in time. And during the fight
our canoe slipped down from its shoulder to its breast, and had the time of man, and what was more, a man in a boat. Now a small boat on the Danube was
an unusual sight at any time, but here in this deserted region, and at "The island's much smaller than when we landed," said the accurate Swede.
"It won't last long at this rate. We'd better drag the canoe close to the There was a long, finely made tear in the bottom of the canoe where a
little slither of wood had been neatly taken clean out; it looked as if the Everything was snug for the night; the canoe lying turned over beside the
tent, with both yellow paddles beneath her; the provision sack hanging from boat, steering with a long oar, and being carried down the opposite shore
at a tremendous pace. He apparently was looking across in our direction,
but the distance was too great and the light too uncertain for us to make "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." the canoe; and often we saw fawns peering at us from the underbrush, or
looked straight into the brown eyes of a stag as we charged full tilt round man in it was an ordinary man, and they were both going down-stream as fast
as they could lick. And that otter was an otter, so don't let's play the
fool about it!"
man, and what was more, a man in a boat. Now a small boat on the Danube was
an unusual sight at any time, but here in this deserted region, and at boat, steering with a long oar, and being carried down the opposite shore
at a tremendous pace. He apparently was looking across in our direction,
but the distance was too great and the light too uncertain for us to make The very atmosphere had proved itself a magnifying medium to distort every
indication: the otter rolling in the current, the hurrying boatman making shouting something furiously, but the wind drowned it so that no single
word was audible. There was something curious about the whole
appearance--man, boat, signs, voice--that made an impression on me out of "I did rather wonder, if you want to know," he said slowly, "what that
thing in the boat was. I remember thinking at the time it was not a man.
The whole business seemed to rise quite suddenly out of the water." "Look here now," I cried, "this place is quite queer enough without going
out of our way to imagine things! That boat was an ordinary boat, and the "And there's a tear in the bottom of the canoe," he added, with a genuine
little tremor in his voice. it difficult to focus my sight properly upon the flying apparition. It
seemed, however, to be a man standing upright in a sort of flat-bottomed man in it was an ordinary man, and they were both going down-stream as fast
as they could lick. And that otter was an otter, so don't let's play the
fool about it!" "That was the sun too," I laughed, a trifle boisterously. "I suppose you'll
wonder next if that fellow in the boat--" "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it He started off on a run, and I followed him. He kept to the banks, poking
with a stick among the sandy bays and caves and little back-waters, myself
always close on his heels. "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. "The same wind that caught the steering paddle and flung it so near the
bank that it fell in with the next lump that crumbled," I called out after
him, absolutely determined to find an explanation for everything he showed
me. up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over The Swede glanced up sharply at me, an undecipherable expression on his
face, and began clambering down the bank. I followed him more leisurely. And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the out very plainly what he was about. It seemed to me that he was
gesticulating and making signs at us. His voice came across the water to us
Then he dropped back upon his blankets and went to sleep literally under my
eyes. He simply collapsed, and began to snore again as healthily as though I called again to him, louder than before. He did not answer, but I missed
the sound of his snoring, and also noticed that the flap of the tent was up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over end of the tent that our feet touched it, and the least motion would
disturb and wake us. After all, we had to spend the night together, and to sleep in the same
tent side by side. I saw that I could not get along much longer without the Suddenly I found myself lying awake, peering from my sandy mattress through
the door of the tent. I looked at my watch pinned against the canvas, and however, and I crawled quietly out of the tent to see if our belongings
were safe. I moved carefully so as not to waken my companion. A curious
excitement was on me. We smothered the embers of the fire with sand, and then turned in. The flap
of the tent door was up, and I saw the branches and the stars and the white tent, and be ready to start at a moment's notice. I shall sleep in my
clothes." tent and upon my own heart that caused me to wake in terror. I swayed for a
moment in the wind like a tree, finding it hard to keep my upright position Neither of us said a word. We both knew that sleep was the safest thing we
could do, and to bed we went accordingly without further delay, having Everything was snug for the night; the canoe lying turned over beside the
tent, with both yellow paddles beneath her; the provision sack hanging from It was earlier than usual when we camped, for the sun was a good hour or
two from the horizon, and leaving my friend still asleep on the hot sand, I But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of How, indeed, could it be otherwise, since it told us so much of its secret
life? At night we heard it singing to the moon as we lay in our tent, I sat up quickly and looked out. The trees were swaying violently to and
fro as the gusts smote them, but our little bit of green canvas lay snugly Then at length his breathing became regular and I heard unmistakable sounds
of snoring--the first and only time in my life when snoring has been a
welcome and calming influence. "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." tremendous sense of relief in their train. We made our way back to the fire
and put the wood on so that it blazed at once. Then we saw that the tent "Lucky," I cried back, "our tent's in the hollow. I think it'll hold all
right." I added something about the difficulty of finding wood, in order to
The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a Creeping with silent feet over the shifting sands, drawing imperceptibly
nearer by soft, unhurried movements, the willows had come closer during the "It's the willows, of course. The willows mask the others, but the others
are feeling about for us. If we let our minds betray our fear, we're lost, With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional
brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand through somehow. But, if you listen carefully, you'll find it's not above
so much as around us. It's in the willows. It's the willows themselves of some indeterminate sort among the willows, and as the branches swayed in
the wind they seemed to group themselves about these shapes, forming a
series of monstrous outlines that shifted rapidly beneath the moon. Close, willows shivering about us, but apart from this not very welcome sound a
deep and depressing silence reigned, broken only by the gurgling of the
river and the humming in the air overhead. "But now the wind has dropped," I objected. "The willows can hardly make a
noise by themselves, can they?" in its own way, stirred in me this sensation of a strange distress. But the
willows especially; for ever they went on chattering and talking among humming, because here the willows have been made symbols of the forces that
are against us." a willow-stem, and the washed-up dishes removed to a safe distance from the
fire, all ready for the morning meal. bend and rustle in the free winds, showing their silver leaves to the
sunshine in an ever-moving plain of bewildering beauty. These willows never silently into the tent and lay down again upon my sandy mattress, first
lowering the door-curtain to shut out the sight of the willows in the We were grubbing away in the middle of a thickish clump of willows where
some driftwood from a former flood had caught high among the branches, when but that an alteration had apparently been effected in the relation of the
tent to the willows, and of the willows to the tent. Surely the bushes now Then he dropped back upon his blankets and went to sleep literally under my
eyes. He simply collapsed, and began to snore again as healthily as though With this multitude of willows, however, it was something far different, I
felt. Some essence emanated from them that besieged the heart. A sense of with a huge sweep into the willows, which closed about it like a herd of
monstrous antediluvian creatures crowding down to drink. They made me think there, tending the fire, talking in desultory fashion, peering about us
into the dense willow bushes, and listening to the thunder of wind and moonlight. The shaking willows and the heavy buffetings of the wind against
our taut little house were the last things I remembered as sleep came down
and covered all with its soft and delicious forgetfulness.
But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of I dropped the long spoon and ran up. Everything the sack had contained lay
upon the ground-sheet, but there was no loaf. however, and I crawled quietly out of the tent to see if our belongings
were safe. I moved carefully so as not to waken my companion. A curious
excitement was on me. Suddenly I found myself lying awake, peering from my sandy mattress through
the door of the tent. I looked at my watch pinned against the canvas, and I called again to him, louder than before. He did not answer, but I missed
the sound of his snoring, and also noticed that the flap of the tent was Then he dropped back upon his blankets and went to sleep literally under my
eyes. He simply collapsed, and began to snore again as healthily as though My companion had not stirred when I called him, and there was no need to
waken him now. I looked about me carefully, noting everything; the And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great presence
had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The esoteric meaning blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. Neither of us said a word. We both knew that sleep was the safest thing we
could do, and to bed we went accordingly without further delay, having thought was that my companion had rolled off his mattress on to my own in
his sleep. I called to him and sat up, and at the same moment it came to me "There's nothing here!" he shouted, holding his sides.

"Bread, I mean."

"It's gone. There is no bread. They've taken it!" And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the He woke naturally and easily, as I have said, when the sun was already high
in a windless hot sky, and he at once got up and set about the preparation "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. It was earlier than usual when we camped, for the sun was a good hour or
two from the horizon, and leaving my friend still asleep on the hot sand, I "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." He came over slowly and took the provision sack from the tree, fumbling in
its mysterious depths, and then emptying the entire contents upon the
ground-sheet at his feet.
blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see "We'll make one more blaze," I said firmly, "and then turn in for the
night. At sunrise we'll be off full speed for Komorn. Now, pull yourself
together a bit, and remember your own advice about not thinking fear!" II


"You've been gone so long," he shouted above the wind, "I thought something
must have happened to you." "After that," he said in a sort of helpless, frantic way, "we must go! We
can't stay now; we must strike camp this very instant and go on--down the
river." questions. And meanwhile, as he mended that torn canoe with the skill and
address of a red Indian, I was glad to notice his absorption in the work, "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." That afternoon, while the canoe dried and hardened, we spent trying to
fish, testing the leak, collecting wood, and watching the enormous flood of all the afternoon, engaged in re-caulking the canoe, strengthening the tent
ropes, and fishing for driftwood while I slept. No more talk about tremendous sense of relief in their train. We made our way back to the fire
and put the wood on so that it blazed at once. Then we saw that the tent "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I had clearly noticed two
paddles a few hours before, but a second impulse made me think better of
it, and I said nothing. I approached to see. made, and of our plans ahead. The map lay spread in the door of the tent,
but the high wind made it hard to study, and presently we lowered the After all, we had to spend the night together, and to sleep in the same
tent side by side. I saw that I could not get along much longer without the "Won't stand much nonsense now, will it?" he said, pulling the canoe a
little farther into safety up the sand, and then composing himself for a
nap. water--such wind and such water!--had tired us both, and an early bed was
the obvious program. Yet neither of us made the move for the tent. We lay tent, and be ready to start at a moment's notice. I shall sleep in my
clothes." "Lucky," I cried back, "our tent's in the hollow. I think it'll hold all
right." I added something about the difficulty of finding wood, in order to We lay on the sandy patch beside the fire, smoking, listening to the noises
of the night round us, and talking happily of the journey we had already He made no reply, and we worked on in silence for a bit. I watched him
surreptitiously all the time, and I had an idea he was watching me. He
saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was He looked up at me quietly with his normal expression. Evidently he
remembered everything except his own attempt at suicide.

"Everything has stopped," he said, "because--" The Swede started to save it, shouting again something I did not catch
about a "proper burial"--and then abruptly dropped upon his knees on the
sand and covered his eyes with his hands. I was beside him in an instant. An acute spasm of pain passed through me, and I was aware that the Swede
had hold of me in such a way that he hurt me abominably. It was the way he
caught at me in falling. The Swede's face turned very white beneath the deep tan of sun and wind. He
stared straight at me and answered quietly, but his voice betrayed his huge I stopped in the middle, seized anew by the old horror. I tried to smother
the sound of my voice as something sacrilegious. The Swede, of course, "It's the deliberate, calculating purpose that reduces one's courage to
zero," the Swede said suddenly, as if he had been actually following my "I lost consciousness for a moment or two," I heard him say. "That's what
saved me. It made me stop thinking about them." backwards with a crash into the branches. These failed, of course, to
support my weight, so that with the Swede on top of me we fell in a But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of It was my firm intention to lie awake all night and watch, but the
exhaustion of nerves and body decreed otherwise, and sleep after a while I at once set the pitch melting, and presently the Swede joined me at the
work, though under the best conditions in the world the canoe could not be The Swede uttered a sharp cry. And I sprang back as if I had been shot. Quite suddenly then the implied meaning of the Swede's words flashed across
me, showing that he no longer wished to leave post-haste, and had changed "The oatmeal, too, is much less than it was this morning," the Swede
interrupted.

Why in the world need he draw attention to it? I thought angrily. Then, quite unexpectedly, I came out upon the island's point and saw a dark
figure outlined between the water and the sky. It was the Swede. And later--hours of ceaseless vigil for me--it became so clear to me that he
remembered absolutely nothing of what he had attempted to do, that I deemed nothing had happened and he had never tried to offer his own life as a
sacrifice by drowning. And when the sunlight woke him three hours something else disquieting, and I wanted to keep myself well in hand for
what might happen later. There was another night to be faced before we
escaped from this distressing place, and there was no knowing yet what it "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit.
And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream "I believe you're right," the Swede said, shading his eyes with his hand
and watching the man out of sight. He seemed to be gone in a moment, "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." He hesitated. But I knew some reference to that remark he had made just
before he fainted was in his mind, and I was determined to know it.

"Because 'They've found another victim'?" I said, forcing a little laugh. "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over "River's falling at last," he said, "and I'm glad of it."

"The humming has stopped too," I said. The Swede started to save it, shouting again something I did not catch
about a "proper burial"--and then abruptly dropped upon his knees on the
sand and covered his eyes with his hands. I was beside him in an instant. "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. "A sacrifice, a victim, might save us by distracting them until we could
get away," he went on, "just as the wolves stop to devour the dogs and give
the sleigh another start. But--I see no chance of any other victim now." It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it "It's the deliberate, calculating purpose that reduces one's courage to
zero," the Swede said suddenly, as if he had been actually following my "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." "My life, old man--it's my life I owe you. But it's all over now anyhow.
They've found a victim in our place!" "What a river!" I said to my companion, thinking of all the way we had
traveled from the source in the Black Forest, and how he had often been
obliged to wade and push in the upper shallows at the beginning of June. I stopped in the middle, seized anew by the old horror. I tried to smother
the sound of my voice as something sacrilegious. The Swede, of course, The Swede's face turned very white beneath the deep tan of sun and wind. He
stared straight at me and answered quietly, but his voice betrayed his huge The Swede glanced up sharply at me, an undecipherable expression on his
face, and began clambering down the bank. I followed him more leisurely. completely over, the dead face uppermost, staring at the sky. It lay on the
edge of the main stream. In another moment it would be swept away. saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was
And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the "Good heavens, it's a man's body!" he cried excitedly. "Look!" And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream The current, I noticed, had torn away much of the clothing from the body,
so that the neck and part of the chest lay bare. Then he dropped back upon his blankets and went to sleep literally under my
eyes. He simply collapsed, and began to snore again as healthily as though "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. For just as the body swung round to the current the face and the exposed
chest turned full towards us, and showed plainly how the skin and flesh At the moment we touched the body there rose from its surface the loud
sound of humming--the sound of several hummings--which passed with a vast face was hidden in the sand. Clearly the man had been drowned, but a few
hours before, and his body must have been swept down upon our island "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." He came over slowly and took the provision sack from the tree, fumbling in
its mysterious depths, and then emptying the entire contents upon the
ground-sheet at his feet. He hesitated. But I knew some reference to that remark he had made just
before he fainted was in his mind, and I was determined to know it.

"Because 'They've found another victim'?" I said, forcing a little laugh. sand so that our feet splashed into the water. And, before anything could
be done, we had collided a little heavily against the corpse. It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it "He saw our smoke, and thought we were spirits probably," laughed my
companion. "These Hungarians believe in all sorts of rubbish; you remember "Look! By my soul!" he whispered, and for the first time in my experience I
knew what it was to hear tears of terror in a human voice. He was pointing to the fire, some fifty feet away. I followed the direction of his finger,
and I swear my heart missed a beat. I stared blankly at him. The gleam in his eye was dreadful. Presently he
continued.




IV "Their mark!" I heard my companion mutter under his breath. "Their awful
mark!"
"What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. river. The loneliness of the place had entered our very bones, and silence
seemed natural, for after a bit the sound of our voices became a trifle And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream "What a river!" I said to my companion, thinking of all the way we had
traveled from the source in the Black Forest, and how he had often been
obliged to wade and push in the upper shallows at the beginning of June. up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over fireworks. A few yards beyond, the river gurgled and hissed, and from time
to time a heavy splash announced the falling away of further portions of
the bank. Above, for a mile or two, I could see the great river descending upon me;
it was like looking up the slope of a sliding hill, white with foam, and
leaping up everywhere to show itself to the sun. Properly speaking, this fascinating part of the river's life begins soon
after leaving Pressburg, and we, in our Canadian canoe, with gipsy tent and of the porous limestone hills and start a new river with another name;
leaving, too, so little water in its own bed that we had to climb out and
wade and push the canoe through miles of shallows. "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a river's in flood, and we've only got a single paddle. Besides, we only go
deeper into their country! There's nothing ahead for fifty miles but
willows, willows, willows!" three feet above the level of the river. The far end, pointing into the
sunset, was covered with flying spray which the tremendous wind drove off of course, changed, and the river looked dark and angry. Only the backs of
the flying waves were visible, streaked with foam, and pushed forcibly by Then, too, just as we turned back, our arms full of driftwood, another
thing happened to recall us to the river bank. This time it really was a "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." "River still rising," he cried, pointing to the flood in the moonlight,
"and the wind's simply awful." "River still rising," he said, "and several islands out in mid-stream have
disappeared altogether. Our own island's much smaller."

"Any wood left?" I asked sleepily. I crossed over to the farther shore and noted how the coast-line had
altered in the night, and what masses of sand the river had torn away. I "River's falling at last," he said, "and I'm glad of it."

"The humming has stopped too," I said.
Above, for a mile or two, I could see the great river descending upon me;
it was like looking up the slope of a sliding hill, white with foam, and
leaping up everywhere to show itself to the sun. "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. "What a river!" I said to my companion, thinking of all the way we had
traveled from the source in the Black Forest, and how he had often been
obliged to wade and push in the upper shallows at the beginning of June. And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream of course, changed, and the river looked dark and angry. Only the backs of
the flying waves were visible, streaked with foam, and pushed forcibly by fireworks. A few yards beyond, the river gurgled and hissed, and from time
to time a heavy splash announced the falling away of further portions of
the bank. interested and impressed me far more than the state of the river or the
difficulties of the steamers. He had changed somehow since the evening I walked round the tent and then went out a little way into the bush, so
that I could see across the river to the farther landscape, and the same I crossed over to the farther shore and noted how the coast-line had
altered in the night, and what masses of sand the river had torn away. I up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." I stood there for several minutes, watching the impetuous crimson flood
bearing down with a shouting roar, dashing in waves against the bank as river. The loneliness of the place had entered our very bones, and silence
seemed natural, for after a bit the sound of our voices became a trifle He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. "River still rising," he cried, pointing to the flood in the moonlight,
"and the wind's simply awful." three feet above the level of the river. The far end, pointing into the
sunset, was covered with flying spray which the tremendous wind drove off A rising river, perhaps, always suggests something of the ominous; many of
the little islands I saw before me would probably have been swept away by With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional
brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand effects; and when I reached a high point in the middle of the island from
which I could see the wide stretch of river, crimson in the sunrise, the He started off on a run, and I followed him. He kept to the banks, poking
with a stick among the sandy bays and caves and little back-waters, myself
always close on his heels.
Above, for a mile or two, I could see the great river descending upon me;
it was like looking up the slope of a sliding hill, white with foam, and
leaping up everywhere to show itself to the sun. "What a river!" I said to my companion, thinking of all the way we had
traveled from the source in the Black Forest, and how he had often been
obliged to wade and push in the upper shallows at the beginning of June. "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream of course, changed, and the river looked dark and angry. Only the backs of
the flying waves were visible, streaked with foam, and pushed forcibly by and deal with it accordingly, though I was aware somehow that it had to do
with my realization of our utter insignificance before this unrestrained
power of the elements about me. The huge-grown river had something to do I crossed over to the farther shore and noted how the coast-line had
altered in the night, and what masses of sand the river had torn away. I "River's falling at last," he said, "and I'm glad of it."

"The humming has stopped too," I said. great river-game of losing itself among the deserted swamps, unobserved,
unrestrained, it had seemed to us like following the grown of some living river. The loneliness of the place had entered our very bones, and silence
seemed natural, for after a bit the sound of our voices became a trifle up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over fireworks. A few yards beyond, the river gurgled and hissed, and from time
to time a heavy splash announced the falling away of further portions of
the bank. It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it I stood there for several minutes, watching the impetuous crimson flood
bearing down with a shouting roar, dashing in waves against the bank as growing speed! We knew all its sounds and voices, its tumblings and
foamings, its unnecessary splashing against the bridges; that
self-conscious chatter when there were hills to look on; the affected interested and impressed me far more than the state of the river or the
difficulties of the steamers. He had changed somehow since the evening sound of the river burst upon my ears with a sudden roar. These things, I
knew, were real, and proved that my senses were acting normally. Yet the "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of
that the tent was surrounded. That sound of multitudinous soft pattering
was again audible outside, filling the night with horror. up, asking me if I "heard this" or "heard that." He tossed about on his
cork mattress, and said the tent was moving and the river had risen over I called again to him, louder than before. He did not answer, but I missed
the sound of his snoring, and also noticed that the flap of the tent was Outside there was a sound of multitudinous little patterings. They had been
coming, I was aware, for a long time, and in my sleep they had first become "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." How, indeed, could it be otherwise, since it told us so much of its secret
life? At night we heard it singing to the moon as we lay in our tent, "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." We smothered the embers of the fire with sand, and then turned in. The flap
of the tent door was up, and I saw the branches and the stars and the white end of the tent that our feet touched it, and the least motion would
disturb and wake us. tent, and be ready to start at a moment's notice. I shall sleep in my
clothes." There they stood in the moonlight, like a vast army surrounding our camp,
shaking their innumerable silver spears defiantly, formed all ready for an
attack. blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see tent and upon my own heart that caused me to wake in terror. I swayed for a
moment in the wind like a tree, finding it hard to keep my upright position I sat up quickly and looked out. The trees were swaying violently to and
fro as the gusts smote them, but our little bit of green canvas lay snugly against the sides of the tent and weighing down upon it from above. Was it
the body of the wind? Was this the pattering rain, the dripping of the "Come and listen," he said, "and see what you make of it." He held his hand
cupwise to his ear, as so often before.

"Now do you hear anything?" he asked, watching me curiously. And, another time, when the gong sounds had come nearer, ringing much
louder than before, and directly over our heads, he said as though talking
to himself: "Lucky," I cried back, "our tent's in the hollow. I think it'll hold all
right." I added something about the difficulty of finding wood, in order to "It's their sound," he whispered gravely. "It's the sound of their world,
the humming in their region. The division here is so thin that it leaks
He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. My companion had not stirred when I called him, and there was no need to
waken him now. I looked about me carefully, noting everything; the I dropped the long spoon and ran up. Everything the sack had contained lay
upon the ground-sheet, but there was no loaf. He ate very little breakfast, and for once omitted to smoke his pipe. He
had the map spread open beside him, and kept studying its markings. "It wasn't there last night," he said presently, straightening up from his
examination and looking anywhere but at me. I called again to him, louder than before. He did not answer, but I missed
the sound of his snoring, and also noticed that the flap of the tent was He woke naturally and easily, as I have said, when the sun was already high
in a windless hot sky, and he at once got up and set about the preparation But this second time I jumped up with a genuine start of terror. It was
neither the wind nor the river that woke me, but the slow approach of blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. however, and I crawled quietly out of the tent to see if our belongings
were safe. I moved carefully so as not to waken my companion. A curious
excitement was on me. saw by the bright moonlight that it was past twelve o'clock--the threshold
of a new day--and I had therefore slept a couple of hours. The Swede was And, once they were gone and the immediate wonder of their great presence
had passed, fear came down upon me with a cold rush. The esoteric meaning "There's nothing here!" he shouted, holding his sides.

"Bread, I mean."

"It's gone. There is no bread. They've taken it!" It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that I had clearly noticed two
paddles a few hours before, but a second impulse made me think better of
it, and I said nothing. I approached to see. "Further disaster! Why, what's happened?"

"For one thing--the steering paddle's gone," he said quietly. It was earlier than usual when we camped, for the sun was a good hour or
two from the horizon, and leaving my friend still asleep on the hot sand, I Neither of us said a word. We both knew that sleep was the safest thing we
could do, and to bed we went accordingly without further delay, having II


"You've been gone so long," he shouted above the wind, "I thought something
must have happened to you." And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the
This lessening of the wind came as a great relief, for the incessant
roaring, banging, and thundering had irritated our nerves. Yet the silence Contrary to our expectations, the wind did not go down with the sun. It
seemed to increase with the darkness, howling overhead and shaking the "It is because the wind has dropped we now hear it. It was drowned before.
It is the cry, I believe, of the--" howled magnificently, but the fire no longer gave out any glow, and I saw
the east reddening in streaks through the trees. Several hours must have
passed since I stood there before watching the ascending figures, and the "But now the wind has dropped," I objected. "The willows can hardly make a
noise by themselves, can they?" first time for three days the wind showed signs of abating. Clouds began to
gather in the south-west, spreading thence slowly over the sky. Though still early in the afternoon, the ceaseless buffetings of a most
tempestuous wind made us feel weary, and we at once began casting about for The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a "River's falling at last," he said, "and I'm glad of it."

"The humming has stopped too," I said. strangely. The winds were about and walking, I remember saying to myself,
for the winds often move like great presences under the trees. And
altogether the fear that hovered about me was such an unknown and immense With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional
brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand night. But had the wind moved them, or had they moved of themselves? I
recalled the sound of infinite small patterings and the pressure upon the "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. memory of it now came back to me horribly, like an evil dream. Oh, how
tired it made me feel, that ceaseless raging wind! Yet, though the deep I think the suddenness with which it all went and he grew calm, coinciding
as it did with the equally abrupt cessation of the humming and pattering "And, for Heaven's sake," I went on, "don't keep pretending you hear
things, because it only gives me the jumps, and there's nothing to hear but
the river and this cursed old thundering wind." made, and of our plans ahead. The map lay spread in the door of the tent,
but the high wind made it hard to study, and presently we lowered the A cold, grey light filtered down through the bushes and lay on the faintly
gleaming sand. Stars still crowded the sky directly overhead, and the wind II


"You've been gone so long," he shouted above the wind, "I thought something
must have happened to you."
Then, too, just as we turned back, our arms full of driftwood, another
thing happened to recall us to the river bank. This time it really was a pointing with his stick at a large black object that lay half in the water
and half on the sand. It appeared to be caught by some twisted willow roots twenty feet from the shore, and just as it was opposite to where we stood
it lurched round and looked straight at us. We saw its eyes reflecting the "What in the world's this?" I heard him cry again, and this time his voice
had become serious.

I ran up quickly and joined him on the bank. He was looking over the river,
pointing at something in the water. We were grubbing away in the middle of a thickish clump of willows where
some driftwood from a former flood had caught high among the branches, when And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the "I watched it settle downwards through the bushes," he sobbed at me. "Look,
by God! It's coming this way! Oh, oh!"--he gave a kind of whistling cry.
"They've found us." That afternoon, while the canoe dried and hardened, we spent trying to
fish, testing the leak, collecting wood, and watching the enormous flood of "The river's still rising, though," he added, as if following out some
thoughts of his own, and dropping his load with a gasp. "This island will
be under water in two days if it goes on." sand so that our feet splashed into the water. And, before anything could
be done, we had collided a little heavily against the corpse. blundering about like men hunting for a leak of gas. The paddle and canoe
and provisions prove that. I think they feel us, but cannot actually see so that the river could not sweep it away. A few hours before the spot must
have been under water. He began to look curiously about him. The sunlight lay in hot patches on
the sand. There was no wind. The willows were motionless. He slowly rose to
feet. "Good heavens, it's a man's body!" he cried excitedly. "Look!" It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it I crossed over to the farther shore and noted how the coast-line had
altered in the night, and what masses of sand the river had torn away. I of the swaying of the branches. I saw them plainly and noted, now I came to
examine them more calmly, that they were very much larger than human, and I threw myself upon him, flinging my arms about his waist and dragging him
shorewards with all my strength. Of course he struggled furiously, making a They first became properly visible, these huge figures, just within the
tops of the bushes--immense, bronze-colored, moving, and wholly independent He started off on a run, and I followed him. He kept to the banks, poking
with a stick among the sandy bays and caves and little back-waters, myself
always close on his heels.
And when I peered across his shoulder I saw that his stick rested on the
body of a man. He turned it over. It was the corpse of a peasant, and the For just as the body swung round to the current the face and the exposed
chest turned full towards us, and showed plainly how the skin and flesh At the moment we touched the body there rose from its surface the loud
sound of humming--the sound of several hummings--which passed with a vast And when I turned my eyes again from his ghastly face to the river, the
current had done its work, and the body had been swept away into mid-stream The current, I noticed, had torn away much of the clothing from the body,
so that the neck and part of the chest lay bare. "Good heavens, it's a man's body!" he cried excitedly. "Look!" "Their mark!" I heard my companion mutter under his breath. "Their awful
mark!" "I suppose so," I replied. I shuddered a little in spite of myself, for
there was something about the appearance of that poor drowned man that
turned me cold. sand so that our feet splashed into the water. And, before anything could
be done, we had collided a little heavily against the corpse. completely over, the dead face uppermost, staring at the sky. It lay on the
edge of the main stream. In another moment it would be swept away. He had turned ashen white under the tan. He stood bolt upright in front of
the fire, stiff as a rod, staring at me. "Look! By my soul!" he whispered, and for the first time in my experience I
knew what it was to hear tears of terror in a human voice. He was pointing It was an otter, alive, and out on the hunt; yet it had looked exactly like
the body of a drowned man turning helplessly in the current. Far below it "There, you see an attempt to prepare a victim for the sacrifice," I heard
him saying, more to himself than to me, "two victims rather," he added as
he bent over and ran his fingers along the slit. Then he dropped back upon his blankets and went to sleep literally under my
eyes. He simply collapsed, and began to snore again as healthily as though He hesitated. But I knew some reference to that remark he had made just
before he fainted was in his mind, and I was determined to know it.

"Because 'They've found another victim'?" I said, forcing a little laugh. to the fire, some fifty feet away. I followed the direction of his finger,
and I swear my heart missed a beat. face was hidden in the sand. Clearly the man had been drowned, but a few
hours before, and his body must have been swept down upon our island The Swede's face turned very white beneath the deep tan of sun and wind. He
stared straight at me and answered quietly, but his voice betrayed his huge I stared blankly at him. The gleam in his eye was dreadful. Presently he
continued.




IV
The willows, for once, were motionless and silent. Then a sound began to
reach my ears faintly, a peculiar sound--something like the humming of a With this general hush of the wind--though it still indulged in occasional
brief gusts--the river seemed to me to grow blacker, the willows to stand With this multitude of willows, however, it was something far different, I
felt. Some essence emanated from them that besieged the heart. A sense of ferry, turned the corner sharply to the left, and plunged on yellow foam
into the wilderness of islands, sandbanks, and swamp-land beyond--the land
of the willows. willow-bushes. On the big maps this deserted area is painted in a fluffy
blue, growing fainter in color as it leaves the banks, and across it may be willows shivering about us, but apart from this not very welcome sound a
deep and depressing silence reigned, broken only by the gurgling of the
river and the humming in the air overhead. bend and rustle in the free winds, showing their silver leaves to the
sunshine in an ever-moving plain of bewildering beauty. These willows never Creeping with silent feet over the shifting sands, drawing imperceptibly
nearer by soft, unhurried movements, the willows had come closer during the willows, crowding, so thickly growing there, swarming everywhere the eye
could reach, pressing upon the river as though to suffocate it, standing in But my emotion, so far as I could understand it, seemed to attach itself
more particularly to the willow bushes, to these acres and acres of of some indeterminate sort among the willows, and as the branches swayed in
the wind they seemed to group themselves about these shapes, forming a
series of monstrous outlines that shifted rapidly beneath the moon. Close, through somehow. But, if you listen carefully, you'll find it's not above
so much as around us. It's in the willows. It's the willows themselves melting away down there into the sea of willows where the sun caught them
in the bend of the river and turned them into a great crimson wall of with a huge sweep into the willows, which closed about it like a herd of
monstrous antediluvian creatures crowding down to drink. They made me think We were grubbing away in the middle of a thickish clump of willows where
some driftwood from a former flood had caught high among the branches, when The eeriness of this lonely island, set among a million willows, swept by a
hurricane, and surrounded by hurrying deep waters, touched us both, I in its own way, stirred in me this sensation of a strange distress. But the
willows especially; for ever they went on chattering and talking among "It's the willows, of course. The willows mask the others, but the others
are feeling about for us. If we let our minds betray our fear, we're lost, crowding everywhere about me, enveloping all, the willows, those endless,
shaking willows. A bird uttered its morning cry, and a string of duck humming, because here the willows have been made symbols of the forces that
are against us."
During the night what do the willow appear to have done? What two sounds do the men hear during the first night? What is missing in the morning after the first night? During the second night the Swede attempts to do what? What do they find the day after the second night? When the body is swept away what do the men think it resembles? What held their craft on it's shoulders? Where had they seen the funnel shaped pock marks from the peasant's body before?  The story suggests that the landscape is what? Where are the two men canoeing? What does the man on the flat bottomed boat do? What happens while the two men are sleeping in the tent? What do the willows do while the two men are sleeping? When the two men awake what do they find is missing? What do the two men need to repair before continuing on their trip? What does the Swede attempt to do to himself on the second night? Why does the Swede believe that the river has found another sacrifice? What do they find on the peasants body? What is the name of the river introduced in the beginning of the story? How does the main character initially see the river? How does the main character describe the river once it has revealed itself? What do the men hear outside of their tent? What do the two men notice missing in the morning?  On which day this the howling winds die down?  What did the two men find lodged in roots along the shore? What is the corpse body pockmarked with? What color are the willows described as being?
Changed locations. Changed location.
Tapping outside the tent, and shifting gong like sounds. tapping and gong-like sounds
One of the paddles, and some food. one of the canoe paddles
Hurl himself into the river as a sacrifice. hurl himself into the river as a "sacrifice"
A peasant's body lodged in roots near the shore. The Swede attempts to hurl himself into the river as a "sacrifice"
An otter. An otter.
The river. violent desires
The sands of the island. In the sand.
A point of contact for a different dimension. alive
On the Danube River. Danube River.
He tries to warn them of something and disappears down river. Warning the two men before hurtling out of sight. 
Dark shapes move around and make noise outside of their tent. The wind whips through the willows outside.
They seem to change positions. relocate
One of their canoe paddles and some food. a paddle and some of their food
Their canoe. Their canoe
Sacrifice himself to the river. Throw himself in the river
They find a body of a peasant near the shore. the corpse of a peasant is found
Marks that are funnel shaped. funnel shapes
Danube Danube River
As sleepy Great Personage
As having violent desires potency, human qualities
Tapping and Gong-like sounds tapping and gong sounds
Two paddles  One of their oars and some food.
The second day and night Second
A peasant's dead body corpse of a peasant
Funnel shapes funnel shapes 
Silver silvery