Fergus, for the scenery was very
picturesque. Sometimes the hills narrowed in, and the stream,
straitened in its course, hastened its speed; at others the hills
receded, and were covered far up with forests; above which bleak
mountain tops, with their mantle of snow, rose high in the air. The
captain pointed out the spot where the Saxons had crossed; and
where, pent in and surrounded with batteries commanding every means
of exit, they were forced to surrender.

"It is smooth work now," he said, as they were going through one of
the narrows, "for the river is low and the current gentle; but in
floods there are waves, here, that would swamp the boat did she
keep out in the middle, as we are doing; and it would be impossible
to pole her against it, even close to the shore. You see, the ice
is forming already near the banks."

"How do you manage coming back?"

"In some places we can pole the boat. She will be light, and will
only draw a few inches of water. Then we hire a horse for a bit, at
one of these little villages; or, where the road leaves the river,
the other three will get out and tow from the edge, while I shall
steer. We shall manage it easily enough, if the ice does not form
too thickly.

"If the worst comes to the worst, we should stop at one of the
villages, get the people to help us to haul her well up, wait till
the snows are quite over, and then make our way back on foot, and
come and fetch the boat up when the spring floods are over."

"Then the pass is not so dangerous after all, captain," Fergus said
with a smile.

"Not when the snow has once hardened, and to men accustomed to it.
As soon as the weather gets settled there will be a little traffic,
and the snow will be beaten down. Besides, where the hills come
steep to the water's edge, a man on foot can always make his way
along when the water is low; though a horseman might not be able to
do so."

"In fact, I suppose," Fergus said, "you all combine, at Leitmeritz,
to represent the passes as being a great deal more dangerous than
they are; in order to force those obliged to make the journey to
take as many men as possible with him, or to pay two or three times
the proper fare, by boat."

"The passes over the hills would be terrible, now," the man said.
"Most of them would be absolutely impassable, until the snow
hardens.

"As for the rest," he added with a smile, "it may be that there is
something in what you say; but you see, times are h