“It was an oppressive evening, and I walked about a long time up and down, and finally sat down to smoke.  The place was curiously silent, except that every now and then it was broken by those strange woodland sounds, like smothered cries or groans, seeming to proceed out of the heart of the wood at a great distance.  We lay in a sandy creek with banks of pines on each side, rising up very black against the sky, which had that still green enamelled look that it gets on a very quiet evening.  At the far end of the creek was a large marsh covered with the white cotton rush then in bloom; it caused a strange glimmering which I could see till it got quite dark.  The only other sound was the wash of the short waves on the sands outside, and the gurgle and cluck of the water as it crept past the boat and out to sea.

“Toward midnight I saw a sight that I have never seen before nor expect to see again.  I was surprised to see a light, apparently on the shore, in the direction of the marsh.  It looked exactly like a lantern carried by a man.  It was very indistinct, but wavered about, always floating about a foot or two from the surface, sometimes standing still as though he was looking for something on the ground, and sometimes moving very quickly.  It was a will-o’-the-wisp—­a phosphorescent exhalation.

“It was a foul pestilential place, there is no doubt.  The mist was all about us by midnight, and smelt very heavy and cold.  I awoke shivering in the morning, and not feeling by any means as fresh or vigorous as usual; but nevertheless I determined to explore the island—­singly, if none of the men would accompany me.

“Straight up in front of me, apparently about a mile inland, was a very marked clump of trees projecting above the other foliage.  I had noticed it several times from the sea the day before.  You could see the red stems clearly above the other trees.  It evidently marked a knoll or rising ground of some kind, and I determined to make that the object of my journey, and scale, if possible, the trees to get a bird’s-eye view of the place.

“As I had expected, I could not get a single member of the crew to accompany me further than the shore, and they were frightened at that.  Two of them, who were very much attached to me, implored me most earnestly not to go, but seeing that I was bent upon it, shrugged their shoulders and were silent.  The instant I was deposited with my gun on shore, they turned back to the boat and immured themselves.  I arranged that at twelve o’clock, if I did not return, they should leave the creek and go round the island within hailing distance, so as to pick me up at any point.  I started along the shore, skirting the marsh which wound through the pines.

“The first thing that I came upon was a heronry.  I had noticed several of these magnificent birds the day before sailing over the island, and this creek was evidently their settlement; up they went, floating away in all directions with a marvellous, almost magical rapidity and silence of flight.  This persuaded me more than anything else that the island was unfrequented, as they are a very shy bird, and distrustful of human beings.  I then left the stream and struck straight up into the woods, as nearly as possible toward the clump.