nearly midnight
Well , he was pretty sure to reach some other inhabited place before night . This , he felt , was not his abiding-place . No , it was not here . It was nearly midnight when he stood by the shore of a broad mountain lake , beneath a snow-flecked hill-side . Here were a couple of saeters , and across the lake , on a wooded island , stood a small frame house that looked like some city people 's summer cottage . And see -- over the lake , that still mirrored the evening red , a boat appeared moving towards the island , and two white-sleeved girls sat at the oars , singing as they rowed . A strange feeling came over him .