So complete was the shelter in some places, that as he passed along his sail drew above, while the surface of the water, almost surrounded with bushes and willows, was smooth.

No matter to how many quarters of the compass the wind might veer, he should still be able to get under the lee of one or other of the banks.
The sky remained without clouds; there was nothing but a slight haze, which he sometimes fancied looked thicker in front or to the eastward.
There was nothing whatever to cause the least uneasiness; on the contrary, his curiosity was aroused, and he was desirous of discovering what it was that had startled the birds.

After a while the water became rather more open, with sandbanks instead of islands, so that he could see around him for a considerable distance.

By a large bank, behind which the ripple was stilled, he saw a low wave advancing towards him, and moving against the wind.

It was followed by two others at short intervals, and though he could not see them, he had no doubt shoals of fishes were passing and had raised the undulations.
The sedges on the sandbanks appeared brown and withered, as if it had been autumn instead of early summer.