In short, the old man viewed the night as
critical, and he called on all to get ready as soon as possible, in
order to abandon the dwellings temporarily at least, if not forever.
These communications made, everything proceeded promptly and with
intelligence; the castle was secured in the manner already described,
the canoes were withdrawn from the dock and fastened to the ark by
the side of the other; the few necessaries that had been left in
the house were transferred to the cabin, the fire was extinguished
and all embarked.
The vicinity of the hills, with their drapery of pines, had the
effect to render nights that were obscure darker than common on the
lake. As usual, however, a belt of comparative light was etched
through the centre of the sheet, while it was within the shadows
of the mountains that the gloom rested most heavily on the water.
The island, or castle, stood in this belt of comparative light, but
still the night was so dark as to cover the aperture of the ark.
At the distance of an observer on the shore her movements could not
be seen at all, more particularly as a background of dark hillside
filled up the perspective of every view that was taken diagonally
or directly across the water.
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