A strange place for such folk! No carriage was waiting.

The party moved off as if they had not expected any, and struck down a winding country road afoot.
But the mystery was explained when we got under way again; for these people were evidently bound for a large town which lay shut in behind a tow-head (i.e., new island) a couple of miles below this landing.
I couldn't remember that town; I couldn't place it, couldn't call its name.

So I lost part of my temper.

I suspected that it might be St.
Genevieve--and so it proved to be.

Observe what this eccentric river had been about: it had built up this huge useless tow-head directly in front of this town, cut off its river communications, fenced it away completely, and made a 'country' town of it.