The African now drove his horses into the water, and crossed without difficulty. As he came out, he halted a moment to take a last view of the little gem which rose from the lake. The first glance nearly frightened him out of his wits; for, on the nearest point, he saw a thin, waving, arrowy point of light rise to the height of five or six feet, and then vibrate back and forth, as though held by a hand which oscillated from right to left.
While he sat amazed, a second flame, precisely similar, arose from another point of the island, and then another, and another, until fully half a dozen were visible, every one issuing from that portion of the island which touched the edge of the water. It was indeed a small representation of what Magellan, the great circumnavigator, saw in 1520, when he sailed by Terra del Fuego.
“I tinks it’s ’bout time Mr. Tubbs left dese parts,” chattered Jim, as, with a shiver of horror, he started his horses homeward.
Jim had gone but a short distance, when, still fascinated by his great terror, he reined up his horses and looked back at the moonlit lake and the little island in its center. Could he believe his eyes? _Yes; it was moving._ He saw it slowly float toward the wood, until, unable to control his excessive fear, he once more gave the rein to his animal, and did not pause until he was far beyond sight of the lake and its Enchanted Island.
The negro rode a considerable distance, when, as objects around him began to wear a singular look, he drew his animals down to a walk, and, on the edge of a rocky grove of small trees, came to a dead halt.
“Dis yere looks strange! I disremember dese trees; Ise afeerd Mr. Tubbs is off de track, an’ how is he gwine to git on agin, am de question.”
The country through which he was journeying, was a broad valley, interspersed with streams and canons, trees and open spaces, and huge boulders piled promiscuously here and there, and in some places so thickly strewn as to become almost impassable. There were acres where one could gallop as free as upon the beaten road, and then, for the same distance, it was the utmost that a horseman could do to pick his way along.
In the hurried manner in which Jim had made headway across the desolate tract, it was not to be supposed that he entertained a very vivid recollection of the landmarks; but he had quite a memory of places, and after he had rested his animal for a few moments, he became certain that he was lost. Under these circumstances, his only resource was to fall back on general principles, and take the course which he believed would eventually lead him to the neighborhood of the cave.