e could see a vista of smaller stems which appeared
absolutely endless. There was no grass on the ground, but a species of
soft moss, into which he sank ankle-deep, yet not so deep as to render
walking difficult. In one direction the distance looked intensely blue,
in another it was almost black, while, just before him, a long way off,
there was a bright sunny spot with what appeared to be the glittering
waters of a pond in the midst of it.

The whole scene was both beautiful and strange to Olaf, and would have
filled him with intense delight, if he could only have got rid of that
uncomfortable feeling about its being forbidden ground! However, having
fairly got into the scrape, he thought he might as well go through with
it.

Error number two. Having become impressed with the fact that he had
sinned, he ought to have turned back _at once_. "In for a penny, in for
a pound," is about the worst motto that ever was invented. Interpreted,
it means, "Having done a little mischief, I'll shut my eyes and go
crashing into all iniquity." As well might one say, "Having burnt my
finger, I'll shove my whole body into the fire!"

But Olaf did not take time to think. He pushed boldly forward in the
direction of the lake. As he drew near he found the moss becoming
softer and deeper, besides being rather wet. Going a few steps further,
he found that it changed into a swamp.

"Ho! Snorrie, this is dangerous ground," he said, turning back; "we'll
take a round-about and try to get to the lake by a drier way."

He did so, but the more he diverged towards dry ground the more did the
swamp force him to one side, until it compelled him to go out of sight
of the pond altogether.

"Now, isn't that vexin'?" he said, looking about him.

"Iss," replied Snorro, who was becoming sleepy, and had laid his head on
his friend's shoulder.

"Well, as we can't get to the lake, and as this is rather a wild place,
we'll just turn back now and get out of it as fast as we can."

"Iss," murmured Snorro, with a deep sigh.

Olaf turned back and made for the edge of the wood. He was so long of
coming to it that he began to be somewhat surprised, and looked about
him a little more carefully, but the tall straight stems were all so
much alike that they afforded him no clue to his way out of the wood.
Young though he was, Olaf knew enough of woodcraft to be able to steer
his course by the sun; but the sky had become clouded, and the direction