instinct. They can swim, too, where you and I would drown. At all events,
they are not fettered with harness, but have every chance it is in my power
to give them. Should they land, any farmer would put them in his stable,
and I should soon hear where they were to be found; if, indeed, I am living
in the morning to make the inquiry."

"What is next to be done, Guert?" I asked, understanding at once both his
feelings and his manner of reasoning.

"We must now run the sleigh on the island; after which it will be time to
look about us, and to examine if it be possible to get the ladies on the
main land."

Accordingly, Guert and I applied ourselves to the task, and had no great
difficulty in dragging the sleigh over the cakes, grinding and in motion as
they were. We pulled it as far as the tree beneath which Anneke and Mary
stood; when the ladies got into it and took their seats, enveloped in the
skins. The night was not cold for the season, and our companions were
thickly clad, having tippets and muffs, still, the wolves' skins of Guert
contributed to render them more comfortable. All apprehension of immediate
danger now ceased, for a short time; nor do I think either of the females
fancied they could run any more risk, beyond that of exposure to the night
air, so long as they remained on _terra firma_. Such was not the case,
however, as a very simple explanation will render apparent to the reader.

All the islands in this part of the Hudson are low, being rich, alluvial
meadows, bordered by trees and bushes; most of the first being willows,
sycamores, or nuts. The fertility of the soil had given to these trees
rapid growths, and they were generally of some stature; though not one
among them had that great size which ought to mark the body and branches of