"Is there a house there, Jasper?"

"Yes sar," said he, promptly, "da am a big squar one right in de
middle ob it."

"We must go and see what it looks like, and try to learn where those
sounds came from."

"S'cuse me, massa, dis chile don't set he foot on dat lan', kase ef he
do, he neber leabe it agin."

"Then if you are afraid," said I, tauntingly, "I will go alone; you
wait until I return."

"Massa," implored the frightened negro, "don't go; you neber kum back;
you is lost."

"Take me as near the shore as you dare go, and leave me there."

"Good-bye, massa; you is lost foreber."

Jasper took up the oar and pushed as near the shore as the shallow
water would permit; the keel of the boat grated on the sandy shore. I
stepped over the side of the boat and waded close up under the
overhanging branches, and forced my way through the dense growth which
shut this mysterious place from human sight. My black friend was
right; in the centre of the island stood the remains of a large stone
mansion, surrounded by what had once been a well-kept lawn. The grass
was growing green and rank, mingled with weeds, and both were
struggling for the mastery. Broken statues of costly marble and