By night the marsh was deserted.
Across some of the dykes a plank is thrown, the whereabouts of which is indicated by a post, waist-high, driven into the ground, easily enough seen by day, but hard to find after dark.

Not all the dykes have a plank, and for the most part the marsh is divided into squares, each only connected at one point with its neighbour.
Barebone knew the way as well as any in Farlingford, and he struck out across the thick grass which crunched briskly under the foot, for it was coated with rime, and the icy wind blew in from the sea a freezing mist.
Once or twice Barebone, having made a bee-line across from dyke to dyke, failed to strike the exact spot where the low post indicated a plank, and had to pause and stoop down so as to find its silhouette against the sky.

When they reached a plank he tried its strength with one foot and then led the way across it, turning and waiting at the far end for Colville to follow.

It was unnecessary to warn him against a slip, for the plank was no more than nine inches wide and shone white with rime.
Each foot must be secure before its fellow was lifted.
Colville, always ready to fall in with a companion's humour, ever quick to understand the thoughts of others, respected his silence.

Perhaps he was not far from guessing the cause of it.
Loo was surprised to find that Dormer Colville was less antipathetic than he had anticipated.