For a long while I did not sleep, but lay thinking over the mysterious
disappearance of the half biscuit. I say _mysterious_, for I was more
than half convinced that I had _not_ eaten it, but that it had gone in
some other way; though how, I could not even guess, since I was
perfectly alone, the only living thing, as I supposed, in that vessel's
hold which could have touched it. Ah! now I thought of my dream--of the
crab! Perhaps, after all, there might have been a crab?--and though it
was but a dream that I was drowned, yet the rest might be true enough,
and a crab might actually have crawled over me? It might have eaten the
biscuit?
It would not be its natural food, I knew; but shut up in a ship's hold,
where it could have no choice, it would be likely enough to eat such a
thing rather than suffer starvation. There might be a crab after all?
Partly by such a train of reflections, and partly by the hungry craving
of my stomach, I was kept awake for hours. At length I found myself
going off, not into a regular sleep, but a half sleep or doze, from
which every two or three minutes I awoke again.
In one of these intervals, during which I lay awake, I fancied that I
heard a noise, different from the sounds that habitually fell upon my
ear. The ship was running smoothly, and I could distinguish this
unusual sound above the soft sighing of the waves. This last was now so
slight, that the ticking of my watch appeared louder and more distinct
than I had ever observed it.
The sound which had attracted my attention, and which was something new
to me, appeared like a gentle scratching. It came from the corner where
my buskins lay empty and idle. _Something was scratching at my
buskins_!
"The crab, to a certainty!" I said to myself. The thought at once
drove away all ideas of sleep; and I placed myself in an attitude to
listen, and, if possible, lay my hands on the thievish intruder; for I
now felt certain that, crab or no crab, whatever creature was making the
scratching noise was the same that had stolen my supper.
Once more I heard the scraping and scratching noise. Certainly it
proceeded from my buskins?
Slowly and silently I raised myself into a half-upright position, so
that I could reach the buskins with a single effort, and in this
attitude I again listened for a repetition of the sound.
But though I remained patient for a considerable time, I did not hear it
again; and I then passed my hands over the buskins, and around the place
where they were lying, but felt nothing there. They appeared to be just
as they had been left, and nothing amiss. I also groped over all the
floor of my cell, but with like result. Nothing was there that ought
not to have been.
I was not a little perplexed, and lay for a good while awake and
listening, without hearing anything more of the mysterious noise. Sleep
once more began to steal upon me, and I dropped off into a series of
dozing fits as before.
Once again the scraping and scratching noise falling upon my ear
disturbed me, and caused me to lie listening. Most surely it came from
the buskins; but when I moved to get within reach of them, the noise
instantly ceased, as if I had frightened the creature that was making
it; and, just as before, I groped everywhere and found nothing!
"Ha!" muttered I to myself, "I now know what has been causing all this
disturbance: no crab at all--for a crab could not possibly crawl so
quickly out of the way. The intruder is a mouse. Nothing more nor
less. Strange I did not think of this before! I might have guessed
that it was a mouse, and not have made myself so uneasy about it. It
could only be a mouse; and, but for my dream, I should, perhaps, never
have thought of its being a crab."
With this reflection I lay down again, intending to go to sleep at once,
and not trouble myself any more about the mouse or its movements.
But I had scarcely settled my cheek upon the pillow, when the scratching
began afresh, and it now occurred to me that the mouse was gnawing at my
buskins, and probably doing them a serious damage. Although they were
of no service to me just then, I could not permit them to be eaten up in
this way; and, raising myself once more, I made a dash to catch the
mouse.
In this I was unsuccessful. I did not even touch the animal; but I
thought I heard it scampering through the crevice that led out between
the brandy-cask and the timbers of the ship.
On handling the buskins, I discovered to my chagrin that half of the
upper leather of one of them was eaten away! The mouse must have been
busy to have made so much ruin in so short a time, for it was but a few
hours before that I had had the buskins in my hands, and I had then
noticed nothing wrong with them. Perhaps several mice had been at work?
This was likely enough.
Partly to save the buskins from total destruction, and partly to hinder
myself from being disturbed again, I took them out of the corner, and
placing them near my head, covered them up with a fold of the
broadcloth. This done, I once more laid myself out for a sleep.
After awhile the dozing fit came on me, but I was again awakened by a
singular sensation, as of something crawling over me! It appeared as if
some creature had just crept over my legs with great rapidity.
The feeling startled me into complete wakefulness, I did not move,
however, but lay quietly waiting to see if the thing should come again.
Of course, I concluded that it was still my mouse, now running about in
search of the buskins. I was getting annoyed by its intrusion, and I
knew it would be no use to grope for it, as it would easily escape
through one of the crevices, as soon as it found me moving. I
determined, therefore, to lie quite still, and let it again crawl upon
me as before, and I could then easily seize upon it. It was not my
intention to kill the little creature; but I intended to give it a good
squeeze, or pinch its ear sharply, so that it would not come troubling
me any more.
I lay a long while without hearing or feeling it. At last, however, my
patience was likely to be rewarded. I could tell by a slight movement,
in the piece of cloth that covered my limbs, that something was running
upon it, and I even fancied that I heard the pattering of little feet.
Nearer still the cloth appeared to move, until I could distinctly feel a
creature crawling on my ankles, and then upward to my thighs. It
appeared heavy for a mouse; but I did not stay to reflect about this,
for now or never was the time to seize upon it.
Down came my hands, with fingers outstretched to cover it; but, oh,
horror! what a mistake I had made.
Instead of the little tiny mouse, which I intended to clutch, my hand
rested upon the body of an animal almost as large as a kitten! There
was no mistaking what it was. _Beyond doubt, it was a great, horrid
rat_!