It was said that a boat came along there in the night and went around the enormous elbow the usual way, the pilots not knowing that the cut-off had been made.

It was a grisly, hideous night, and all shapes were vague and distorted.

The old bend had already begun to fill up, and the boat got to running away from mysterious reefs, and occasionally hitting one.

The perplexed pilots fell to swearing, and finally uttered the entirely unnecessary wish that they might never get out of that place.

As always happens in such cases, that particular prayer was answered, and the others neglected.