North River, at this place, is several miles broad, and the opposite
shore is so low that the snow causes it to appear but a slight
undulation of the frozen bed of the river. Indeed, it would not be
distinguishable at all, were it not for the willow bushes and dwarf
pines, whose tops, rising above the white garb of winter, indicate
that _terra firma_ lies below.
"What a cold, desolate-looking place!" said Hamilton, as the party
stood still to recover breath before taking their way over the plain
to the spot where the accountant's traps were set. "It looks much
more like the frozen sea than a river."
"It can scarcely be called a river at this place," remarked the
accountant, "seeing that the water hereabouts is brackish, and the
tides ebb and flow a good way up. In fact, this is the extreme mouth
of North River, and if you turn your eyes a little to the right,
towards yonder ice-hummock in the plain, you behold the frozen sea
itself."
"Where are your traps set?" inquired Harry.
"Down in the hollow, behind yon point covered with brushwood."
"Oh, we shall soon get to them then; come along," cried Harry.
Harry was mistaken, however. He had not yet learned by experience the
extreme difficulty of judging of distance in the uncertain light of
night--a difficulty that was increased by the ignorance of the
locality, and by the gleams of moonshine that shot through the
driving clouds and threw confused fantastic shadows over the plain.
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