Upon the ledge where we stood there grew some filbert bushes; and to one of these we made fast an end of our rope of handkerchiefs. The other end being tied round Peters’ waist, I lowered him down over the edge of the precipice until the handkerchiefs were stretched tight. He now proceeded to dig a deep hole in the soapstone (as far in as eight or ten inches), sloping away the rock above to the height of a foot, or thereabout, so as to allow of his driving, with the butt13 of a pistol, a tolerably strong peg14 into the levelled surface. I then drew him up for about four feet when he made a hole similar to the one below, driving in a peg as before and having thus a resting place for both feet and hands. I now unfastened the handkerchiefs from the bush, throwing him the end, which he tied to the peg in the uppermost hole, letting himself down gently to a station about three feet lower than he had yet been — that is, to the full extent of the handkerchiefs. Here he dug another hole, and drove another peg. He then drew himself up, so as to rest his feet in the hole just cut, taking hold with his hands upon the peg in the one above. It was now necessary to untie15 the handkerchiefs from the topmost peg, with the view of fastening them to the second; and here he found that an error had been committed in cutting the holes at so great a distance apart. However, after one or two unsuccessful and dangerous attempts at reaching the knot (having to hold on with his left hand while he laboured to undo16 the fastening with his right), he at length cut the string, leaving six inches of it affixed17 to the peg. Tying the handkerchiefs now to the second peg, he descended18 to a station below the third, taking care not to go too far down. By these means (means which I should never have conceived of myself, and for which we were indebted altogether to Peters’ ingenuity19 and resolution) my companion finally succeeded, with the occasional aid of projections20 in the cliff, in reaching the bottom without accident.
It was some time before I could summon sufficient resolution to follow him; but I did at length attempt it. Peters had taken off his shirt before descending, and this, with my own, formed the rope necessary for the adventure. After throwing down the musket21 found in the chasm, I fastened this rope to the bushes, and let myself down rapidly, striving, by the vigour22 of my movements, to banish23 the trepidation24 which I could overcome in no other manner. This answered sufficiently25 well for the first four or five steps; but presently I found my imagination growing terribly excited by thoughts of the vast depths yet to be descended, and the precarious26 nature of the pegs27 and soapstone holes which were my only support. It was in vain I endeavoured to banish these reflections, and to keep my eyes steadily28 bent29 upon the flat surface of the cliff before me. The more earnestly I struggled not to think, the more intensely vivid became my conceptions, and the more horribly distinct. At length arrived that crisis of fancy, so fearful in all similar cases, the crisis in which we begin to anticipate the feelings with which we shall fall — to picture to ourselves the sickness, and dizziness, and the last struggle, and the half swoon, and the final bitterness of the rushing and headlong descent. And now I found these fancies creating their own realities, and all imagined horrors crowding upon me in fact. I felt my knees strike violently together, while my fingers were gradually but certainly relaxing their grasp. There was a ringing in my ears, and I said, “This is my knell30 of death!” And now I was consumed with the irrepressible desire of looking below. I could not, I would not, confine my glances to the cliff; and, with a wild, indefinable emotion, half of horror, half of a relieved oppression, I threw my vision far down into the abyss. For one moment my fingers clutched convulsively upon their hold, while, with the movement, the faintest possible idea of ultimate escape wandered, like a shadow, through my mind — in the next my whole soul was pervaded31 with a longing32 to fall; a desire, a yearning33, a passion utterly34 uncontrollable. I let go at once my grasp upon the and, turning half round from the precipice, remained tottering35 for an instant against its naked face. But now there came a spinning of the brain; a shrill-sounding and phantom37 voice screamed within my ears; a dusky, fiendish, and filmy figure stood immediately beneath me; and, sighing, I sunk down with a bursting heart, and plunged39 within its arms.
I had swooned, and Peters had caught me as I fell. He had observed my proceedings40 from his station at the bottom of the cliff; and perceiving my imminent41 danger, had endeavoured to inspire me with courage by every suggestion he could devise; although my confusion of mind had been so great as to prevent my hearing what he said, or being conscious that he had even spoken to me at all. At length, seeing me totter36, he hastened to ascend42 to my rescue, and arrived just in time for my preservation43. Had I fallen with my full weight, the rope of linen44 would inevitably45 have snapped, and I should have been precipitated46 into the abyss; as it was, he contrived to let me down gently, so as to remain suspended without danger until animation47 returned. This was in about fifteen minutes. On recovery, my trepidation had entirely48 vanished; I felt a new being, and, with some little further aid from my companion, reached the bottom also in safety.
We now found ourselves not far from the ravine which had proved the tomb of our friends, and to the southward of the spot where the hill had fallen. The place was one of singular wildness, and its aspect brought to my mind the descriptions given by travellers of those dreary49 regions marking the site of degraded Babylon. Not to speak of the ruins of the disrupted cliff, which formed a chaotic50 barrier in the vista51 to the northward52, the surface of the ground in every other direction was strewn with huge tumuli, apparently53 the wreck54 of some gigantic structures of art; although, in detail, no semblance55 of art could be detected. Scoria were abundant, and large shapeless blocks of the black granite56, intermingled with others of marl,6 and both granulated with metal. Of vegetation there were no traces whatsoever57 throughout the whole of the desolate58 area within sight. Several immense scorpions59 were seen, and various reptiles60 not elsewhere to be found in the high latitudes61.
6 The marl was also black; indeed, we noticed no light-coloured substances of any kind upon the island.
As food was our most immediate38 object, we resolved to make our way to the seacoast, distant not more than half a mile, with a view of catching62 turtle, several of which we had observed from our place of concealment63 on the hill. We had proceeded some hundred yards, threading our route cautiously between the huge rocks and tumuli, when, upon turning a corner, five savages64 sprung upon us from a small cavern65, felling Peters to the ground with a blow from a club. As he fell the whole party rushed upon him to secure their victim, leaving me time to recover from my astonishment66. I still had the musket, but the barrel had received so much injury in being thrown from the precipice that I cast it aside as useless, preferring to trust my pistols, which had been carefully preserved in order. With these I advanced upon the assailants, firing one after the other in quick succession. Two savages fell, and one, who was in the act of thrusting a spear into Peters, sprung to his feet without accomplishing his purpose. My companion being thus released, we had no further difficulty. He had his pistols also, but prudently67 declined using them, confiding68 in his great personal strength, which far exceeded that of any person I have ever known. Seizing a club from one of the savages who had fallen, he dashed out the brains of the three who remained, killing69 each instantaneously with a single blow of the weapon, and leaving us completely masters of the field.
So rapidly had these events passed, that we could scarcely believe in their reality, and were standing70 over the bodies of the dead in a species of stupid contemplation, when we were brought to recollection by the sound of shouts in the distance. It was clear that the savages had been alarmed by the firing, and that we had little chance of avoiding discovery. To regain71 the cliff, it would be necessary to proceed in the direction of the shouts; and even should we succeed in arriving at its base, we should never be able to ascend it without being seen. Our situation was one of the greatest peril72, and we were hesitating in which path to commence a flight, when one of the savages whom I had shot, and supposed dead, sprang briskly to his feet, and attempted to make his escape. We overtook him, however, before he had advanced many paces, and were about to put him to death, when Peters suggested that we might derive73 some benefit from forcing him to accompany us in our attempt to escape. We therefore dragged him with us, making him understand that we would shoot him if he offered resistance. In a few minutes he was perfectly74 submissive, and ran by our sides as we pushed in among the rocks, making for the seashore.
So far, the irregularities of the ground we had been traversing hid the sea, except at intervals75, from our sight, and, when we first had it fairly in view, it was perhaps, two hundred yards distant. As we emerged into the open beach we saw, to our great dismay, an immense crowd of the natives pouring from the village, and from all visible quarters of the island, making toward us with gesticulations of extreme fury, and howling like wild beasts. We were upon the point of turning upon our steps, and trying to secure a retreat among the fastnesses of the rougher ground, when I discovered the bows of two canoes projecting from behind a large rock which ran out into the water. Toward these we now ran with all speed, and, reaching them, found them unguarded, and without any other freight than three of the large Gallipago turtles and the usual supply of paddles for sixty rowers. We instantly took possession of one of them, and, forcing our captive on board, pushed out to sea with an the strength we could command.
We had not made, however, more than fifty yards from the shore before we became sufficiently calm to perceive the great oversight76 of which we had been guilty in leaving the other canoe in the power of the savages, who, by this time, were not more than twice as far from the beach as ourselves, and were rapidly advancing to the pursuit. No time was now to be lost. Our hope was, at best, a forlorn one, but we had none other. It was very doubtful whether, with the utmost exertion77, we could get back in time to anticipate them in taking possession of the canoe; but yet there was a chance that we could. We might save ourselves if we succeeded, while not to make the attempt was to resign ourselves to inevitable78 butchery.
The canoe was modelled with the bow and stern alike, and, in place of turning it round, we merely changed our position in paddling. As soon as the savages perceived this they redoubled their yells, as well as their speed, and approached with inconceivable rapidity. We pulled, however, with all the energy of desperation, and arrived at the contested point before more than one of the natives had attained79 it. This man paid dearly for his superior agility80, Peters shooting him through the head with a pistol as he approached the shore. The foremost among the rest of his party were probably some twenty or thirty paces distant as we seized upon the canoe. We at first endeavoured to pull her into the deep water, beyond the reach of the savages, but, finding her too firmly aground, and there being no time to spare, Peters, with one or two heavy strokes from the butt of the musket, succeeded in dashing out a large portion of the bow and of one side. We then pushed off. Two of the natives by this time had got hold of our boat, obstinately81 refusing to let go, until we were forced to despatch82 them with our knives. We were now clear off, and making great way out to sea. The main body of the savages, upon reaching the broken canoe, set up the most tremendous yell of rage and disappointment conceivable. In truth, from every thing I could see of these wretches83, they appeared to be the most wicked, hypocritical, vindictive84, bloodthirsty, and altogether fiendish race of men upon the face of the globe. It is clear we should have had no mercy had we fallen into their hands. They made a mad attempt at following us in the fractured canoe, but, finding it useless, again vented85 their rage in a series of hideous86 vociferations, and rushed up into the hills.
We were thus relieved from immediate danger, but our situation was still sufficiently gloomy. We knew that four canoes of the kind we had were at one time in the possession of the savages, and were not aware of the fact (afterward ascertained87 from our captive) that two of these had been blown to pieces in the explosion of the Jane Guy. We calculated, therefore, upon being yet pursued, as soon as our enemies could get round to the bay (distant about three miles) where the boats were usually laid up. Fearing this, we made every exertion to leave the island behind us, and went rapidly through the water, forcing the prisoner to take a paddle. In about half an hour, when we had gained, probably, five or six miles to the southward, a large fleet of the flat-bottomed canoes or rafts were seen to emerge from the bay evidently with the design of pursuit. Presently they put back, despairing to overtake us.
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1
subsist
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| vi.生存，存在，供养 | |
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torment
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| n.折磨；令人痛苦的东西(人)；vt.折磨；纠缠 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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6
perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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brink
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| n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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butt
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| n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶 | |
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peg
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| n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定 | |
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untie
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| vt.解开，松开；解放 | |
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undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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17
affixed
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| adj.[医]附着的，附着的v.附加( affix的过去式和过去分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章） | |
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descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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banish
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| vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除 | |
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trepidation
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| n.惊恐，惶恐 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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precarious
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| adj.不安定的，靠不住的；根据不足的 | |
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pegs
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| n.衣夹( peg的名词复数 )；挂钉；系帐篷的桩；弦钮v.用夹子或钉子固定( peg的第三人称单数 )；使固定在某水平 | |
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steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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30
knell
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| n.丧钟声；v.敲丧钟 | |
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pervaded
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| v.遍及，弥漫( pervade的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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longing
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| n.（for）渴望 | |
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yearning
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| a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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tottering
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| adj.蹒跚的，动摇的v.走得或动得不稳( totter的现在分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠 | |
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totter
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| v.蹒跚， 摇摇欲坠；n.蹒跚的步子 | |
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phantom
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| n.幻影，虚位，幽灵；adj.错觉的，幻影的，幽灵的 | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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proceedings
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| n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报 | |
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imminent
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| adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的 | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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43
preservation
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| n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持 | |
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44
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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inevitably
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| adv.不可避免地；必然发生地 | |
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46
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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47
animation
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| n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作 | |
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48
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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49
dreary
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| adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的 | |
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50
chaotic
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| adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的 | |
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51
vista
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| n.远景，深景，展望，回想 | |
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52
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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53
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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54
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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semblance
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| n.外貌，外表 | |
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56
granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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57
whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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desolate
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| adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂 | |
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59
scorpions
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| n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 ) | |
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60
reptiles
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| n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 ) | |
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61
latitudes
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| 纬度 | |
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62
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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concealment
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| n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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65
cavern
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| n.洞穴，大山洞 | |
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astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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confiding
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| adj.相信人的，易于相信的v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的现在分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等） | |
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killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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71
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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72
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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73
derive
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| v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自 | |
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74
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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75
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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76
oversight
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| n.勘漏，失察，疏忽 | |
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77
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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inevitable
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| adj.不可避免的，必然发生的 | |
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79
attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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80
agility
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| n.敏捷，活泼 | |
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81
obstinately
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| ad.固执地，顽固地 | |
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82
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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83
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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84
vindictive
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| adj.有报仇心的，怀恨的，惩罚的 | |
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85
vented
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| 表达，发泄（感情，尤指愤怒）( vent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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86
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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87
ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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