50 CAROLINE.

Great rock. The snake! Disagreement. Slow and toilsome progress.

 

“and now it is all sand—and there is a fish,—he is run-
ning away,—now he is out of sight.”

“That ’s right,” said Phonny, “keep a good look-out
down in the water, and let us know what you see.”

Malleville expressed her willingness to comply with
this request, and was proceeding to describe to Phonny
what she saw upon the bottom of the pond, when she
suddenly exclaimed, in a tone of great astonishment :

“Oh Phonny! here is a great snake on the bottom, all
twisting and curling.”

“ Where ?” said Phonny, eagerly, “let me see.” So
Phonny stopped rowing, and looked over Malleville’s side
of the boat, to the place where Malleville pointed.

“See!” said Malleville, “see there.”

“ Nonsense,” said Phonny, “it is nothing but an old
root.” By this time the boat had got by the place, so Phonny
resumed his position, and went on with his rowing.

“No, Phonny,” said Malleville, “it could not be a root,
for I saw it twisting and squirming.”

The waving motion which Malleville had observed was
only an apparent motion, produced by the rippling of
the water.

Phonny insisted that it was a root, and spoke, moreover,
so contemptuously of the idea that it could be anything
else, that Malleville was offended, and would not tell him
of anything more that she saw.

The mill-pond on which our party were making their
slow and toilsome voyage, was quite large, being more
than a mile long, and in many places from half to threc
fourths of a mile wide. The cove where the children
had embarked was very nearly a mile from the mill.
After going along in the manner we have described for