Saying that they should probably be gone all day they started at once, leaving the others absorbed in the task of housecleaning.
They reached solid ground not far from the creek's edge and walked along briskly, following the course of the stream back toward its source.

The soil was black and deep and the forest magnificent.

Great beeches and hickories were mingled with the willows and live oaks and cypresses, and the foliage was thick, green, and beautiful.

The birds seemed innumerable, and now and then flocks of wild fowl rose with a whir from the creek's edge.

Keen, penetrating odors of forest and wild flower came to their nostrils.
Both boys threw up their heads, inhaled the odors, and thrilled in every fiber.