The thought instantly occurred to me that the paper was a note from
Augustus, and that some unaccountable accident having happened to
prevent his relieving me from my dungeon, he had devised this method of
acquainting me with the true state of affairs. Trembling with
eagerness, I now commenced another search for my phosphorus matches and
tapers. I had a confused recollection of having put them carefully away
just before falling asleep; and, indeed, previously to my last journey
to the trap, I had been able to remember the exact spot where I had
deposited them. But now I endeavoured in vain to call it to mind, and
busied myself for a full hour in a fruitless and vexatious search for
the missing articles; never, surely, was there a more tantalizing state
of anxiety and suspense. At length, while groping about, with my head
close to the ballast, near the opening of the box, and outside of it, I
perceived a faint glimmering of light in the direction of the steerage.
Greatly surprised, I endeavoured to make my way towards it, as it
appeared to be but a few feet from my position. Scarcely had I moved
with this intention, when I lost sight of the glimmer entirely, and,
before I could bring it into view again, was obliged to feel along by
the box until I had exactly resumed my original situation. Now, moving
my head with caution to and fro, I found that, by proceeding slowly,
with great care, in an opposite direction to that in which I had at
first started, I was enabled to draw near the light, still keeping it
in view. Presently I came directly upon it (having squeezed my way
through innumerable narrow windings), and found that it proceeded from
some fragments of my matches lying in an empty barrel turned upon its
side. I was wondering how they came in such a place, when my hand fell
upon two or three pieces of taper-wax, which had been evidently mumbled
by the dog. I concluded at once that he had devoured the whole of my
supply of candles, and I felt hopeless of being ever able to read the
note of Augustus. The small remnants of the wax were so mashed up among
other rubbish in the barrel, that I despaired of deriving any service
from them, and left them as they were. The phosphorus, of which there
was only a speck or two, I gathered up as well as I could, and returned
with it, after much difficulty, to my box, where Tiger had all the
while remained.
What to do next I could not tell. The hold was so intensely dark that I
could not see my hand, however close I would hold it to my face. The
white slip of paper could barely be discerned, and not even that when I
looked at it directly; by turning the exterior portions of the retina
towards it, that is to say, by surveying it slightly askance, I found
that it became in some measure perceptible. Thus the gloom of my prison
may be imagined, and the note of my friend, if indeed it were a note
from him, seemed only likely to throw me into further trouble, by
disquieting to no purpose my already enfeebled and agitated mind. In
vain I revolved in my brain a multitude of absurd expedients for
procuring light--such expedients precisely as a man in the perturbed
sleep occasioned by opium would be apt to fall upon for a similar
purpose--each and all of which appear by turns to the dreamer the most
reasonable and the most preposterous of conceptions, just as the
reasoning or imaginative faculties flicker, alternately, one above the
other. At last an idea occurred to me which seemed rational, and which
gave me cause to wonder, very justly, that I had not entertained it
before. I placed the slip of paper on the back of a book, and,
collecting the fragments of the phosphorus matches which I had brought
from the barrel, laid them together upon the paper. I then, with the
palm of my hand, rubbed the whole over quickly yet steadily. A clear
light diffused itself immediately throughout the whole surface; and had
there been any writing upon it, I should not have experienced the least
difficulty, I am sure, in reading it. Not a syllable was there,
however--nothing but a dreary and unsatisfactory blank; the
illumination died away in a few seconds, and my heart died away within
me as it went.
I have before stated more than once that my intellect, for some period
prior to this, had been in a condition nearly bordering on idiocy.
There were, to be sure, momentary intervals of perfect sanity, and, now
and then, even of energy; but these were few. It must be remembered
that I had been, for many days certainly, inhaling the almost
pestilential atmosphere of a close hold in a whaling vessel, and a long
portion of that time but scantily supplied with water. For the last
fourteen or fifteen hours I had none--nor had I slept during that time.
Salt provisions of the most exciting kind had been my chief, and,
indeed, since the loss of the mutton, my only supply of food, with the
exception of the sea-biscuit; and these latter were utterly useless to
me, as they were too dry and hard to be swallowed in the swollen and
parched condition of my throat. I was now in a high state of fever, and
in every respect exceedingly ill. This will account for the fact that
many miserable hours of despondency elapsed after my last adventure
with the phosphorus, before the thought suggested itself that I had
examined only one side of the paper. I shall not attempt to describe my
feelings of rage (for I believe I was more angry than anything else)
when the egregious oversight I had committed flashed suddenly upon my
perception. The blunder itself would have been unimportant, had not my
own folly and impetuosity rendered it otherwise--in my disappointment
at not finding some words upon the slip, I had childishly torn it in
pieces and thrown it away, it was impossible to say where.
From the worst part of this dilemma I was relieved by the sagacity of
Tiger. Having got, after a long search, a small piece of the note, I
put it to the dog's nose, and endeavoured to make him understand that
he must bring me the rest of it. To my astonishment (for I had taught
him none of the usual tricks for which his breed are famous), he seemed
to enter at once into my meaning, and, rummaging about for a few
moments, soon found another considerable portion. Bringing me this, he
paused a while, and, rubbing his nose against my hand, appeared to be
waiting for my approval of what he had done. I patted him on the head,
when he immediately made off again. It was now some minutes before he
came back--but when he did come, he brought with him a large slip,
which proved to be all the paper missing--it having been torn, it
seems, only into three pieces. Luckily, I had no trouble in finding
what few fragments of the phosphorus were left--being guided by the
indistinct glow one or two of the particles still emitted. My
difficulties had taught me the necessity of caution, and I now took
time to reflect upon what I was about to do. It was very probable, I
considered, that some words were written upon that side of the paper
which had not been examined--but which side was that? Fitting the
pieces together gave me no clew in this respect, although it assured me
that the words (if there were any) would be found all on one side, and
connected in a proper manner, as written. There was the greater
necessity of ascertaining the point in question beyond a doubt, as the
phosphorus remaining would be altogether insufficient for a third
attempt, should I fail in the one I was now about to make. I placed the
paper on a book as before, and sat for some minutes thoughtfully
revolving the matter over in my mind. At last I thought it barely
possible that the written side might have some unevenness on its
surface, which a delicate sense of feeling might enable me to detect. I
determined to make the experiment, and passed my finger very carefully
over the side which first presented itself--nothing, however, was
perceptible, and I turned the paper, adjusting it on the book. I now
again carried my forefinger cautiously along, when I was aware of an
exceedingly slight, but still discernible glow, which followed as it
proceeded. This, I knew, must arise from some very minute remaining
particles of the phosphorus with which I had covered the paper in my
previous attempt. The other, or under side, then, was that on which lay
the writing, if writing there should finally prove to be. Again I
turned the note, and went to work as I had previously done. Having
rubbed in the phosphorus, a brilliancy ensued as before--but this time
several lines of MS. in a large hand, and apparently in red ink, became
distinctly visible. The glimmer, although sufficiently bright, was but
momentary. Still, had I not been too greatly excited, there would have
been ample time enough for me to peruse the whole three sentences
before me--for I saw there were three. In my anxiety, however, to read
all at once, I succeeded only in reading the seven concluding words,
which thus appeared: _"blood--your life depends upon lying close."_
Had I been able to ascertain the entire contents of the note--the full
meaning of the admonition which my friend had thus attempted to convey,
that admonition, even although it should have revealed a story of
disaster the most unspeakable, could not, I am firmly convinced, have
imbued my mind with one tithe of the harrowing and yet indefinable
horror with which I was inspired by the fragmentary warning thus
received. And _"blood"_ too, that word of all words--so rife at all
times with mystery, and suffering, and terror--how trebly full of
import did it now appear--how chillily and heavily (disjointed, as it
thus was, from any foregoing words to qualify or render it distinct)
did its vague syllables fall, amid the deep gloom of my prison, into
the innermost recesses of my soul!
Augustus had, undoubtedly, good reasons for wishing me to remain
concealed, and I formed a thousand surmises as to what they could
be--but I could think of nothing affording a satisfactory solution of
the mystery. Just after returning from my last journey to the trap, and
before my attention had been otherwise directed by the singular conduct
of Tiger, I had come to the resolution of making myself heard at all
events by those on board, or, if I could not succeed in this directly,
of trying to cut my way through the orlop deck. The half certainty
which I felt of being able to accomplish one of these two purposes in
the last emergency, had given me courage (which I should not otherwise
have had) to endure the evils of my situation. The few words I had been
able to read, however, had cut me off from these final resources, and I
now, for the first time, felt all the misery of my fate. In a paroxysm
of despair I threw myself again upon the mattress, where, for about the
period of a day and night, I lay in a kind of stupor, relieved only by
momentary intervals of reason and recollection.
At length I once more arose, and busied myself in reflection upon the
horrors which encompassed me. For another twenty-four hours it was
barely possible that I might exist without water--for a longer time I
could not do so. During the first portion of my imprisonment I had made
free use of the cordials with which Augustus had supplied me, but they
only served to excite fever, without in the least degree assuaging my
thirst. I had now only about a gill left, and this was of a species of
strong peach liqueur at which my stomach revolted. The sausages were
entirely consumed; of the ham nothing remained but a small piece of the
skin; and all the biscuit, except a few fragments of one, had been
eaten by Tiger. To add to my troubles, I found that my headache was
increasing momentarily, and with it the species of delirium which had
distressed me more or less since my first falling asleep. For some
hours past it had been with the greatest difficulty I could breathe at
all, and now each attempt at so doing was attended with the most
distressing spasmodic action of the chest. But there was still another
and very different source of disquietude, and one, indeed, whose
harassing terrors had been the chief means of arousing me to exertion
from my stupor on the mattress. It arose from the demeanour of the dog.
I first observed an alteration in his conduct while rubbing in the
phosphorus on the paper in my last attempt. As I rubbed, he ran his
nose against my hand with a slight snarl; but I was too greatly excited
at the time to pay much attention to the circumstance. Soon afterward,
it will be remembered, I threw myself on the mattress, and fell into a
species of lethargy. Presently I became aware of a singular hissing
sound close at my ears, and discovered it to proceed from Tiger, who
was panting and wheezing in a state of the greatest apparent
excitement, his eyeballs flashing fiercely through the gloom. I spoke
to him, when he replied with a low growl, and then remained quiet.
Presently I relapsed into my stupor, from which I was again awakened in
a similar manner. This was repeated three or four times, until finally
his behaviour inspired me with so great a degree of fear that I became
fully aroused. He was now lying close by the door of the box, snarling
fearfully, although in a kind of under tone, and grinding his teeth as
if strongly convulsed. I had no doubt whatever that the want of water
or the confined atmosphere of the hold had driven him mad, and I was at
a loss what course to pursue. I could not endure the thought of killing
him, yet it seemed absolutely necessary for my own safety. I could
distinctly perceive his eyes fastened upon me with an expression of the
most deadly animosity, and I expected every instant that he would
attack me. At last I could endure my terrible situation no longer, and
determined to make my way from the box at all hazards, and despatch
him, if his opposition should render it necessary for me to do so. To
get out, I had to pass directly over his body, and he already seemed to
anticipate my design--raising himself upon his fore legs (as I
perceived by the altered position of his eyes), and displaying the
whole of his white fangs, which were easily discernible. I took the
remains of the ham-skin, and the bottle containing the liqueur, and
secured them about my person, together with a large carving-knife which
Augustus had left me--then, folding my cloak as closely around me as
possible, I made a movement towards the mouth of the box. No sooner did
I do this than the dog sprang with a loud growl towards my throat. The
whole weight of his body struck me on the right shoulder, and I fell
violently to the left, while the enraged animal passed entirely over
me. I had fallen upon my knees, with my head buried among the blankets,
and these protected me from a second furious assault, during which I
felt the sharp teeth pressing vigorously upon the woollen which
enveloped my neck--yet, luckily, without being able to penetrate all
the folds. I was now beneath the dog, and a few moments would place me
completely in his power. Despair gave me strength, and I rose bodily
up, shaking him from me by main force, and dragging with me the
blankets from the mattress. These I now threw over him, and before he
could extricate himself I had got through the door and closed it
effectually against his pursuit. In this struggle, however, I had been
forced to drop the morsel of ham-skin, and I now found my whole stock
of provisions reduced to a single gill of liqueur. As this reflection
crossed my mind, I felt myself actuated by one of those fits of
perverseness which might be supposed to influence a spoiled child in
similar circumstances, and, raising the bottle to my lips, I drained it
to the last drop, and dashed it furiously upon the floor.
Scarcely had the echo of the crash died away, when I heard my name
pronounced in an eager but subdued voice, issuing from the direction of
the steerage. So unexpected was anything of the kind, and so intense
was the emotion excited within me by the sound, that I endeavoured in
vain to reply. My powers of speech totally failed, and, in an agony of
terror lest my friend should conclude me dead, and return without
attempting to reach me, I stood up between the crates near the door of
the box, trembling convulsively, and gasping and struggling for
utterance. Had a thousand worlds depended upon a syllable, I could not
have spoken it. There was a slight movement now audible among the
lumber somewhere forward of my station. The sound presently grew less
distinct, then again less so, and still less. Shall I ever forget my
feelings at this moment? He was going--my friend--my companion, from
whom I had a right to expect so much--he was going--he would abandon
me--he was gone! He would leave me to perish miserably, to expire in
the most horrible and loathsome of dungeons--and one word--one little
syllable would save me--yet that single syllable I could not utter! I
felt, I am sure, more than ten thousand times the agonies of death
itself. My brain reeled, and I fell, deadly sick, against the end of
the box.
As I fell, the carving-knife was shaken out from the waistband of my
pantaloons, and dropped with a rattling sound to the floor. Never did
any strain of the richest melody come so sweetly to my ears! With the
intensest anxiety I listened to ascertain the effect of the noise upon
Augustus--for I knew that the person who called my name could be no one
but himself. All was silent for some moments. At length I again heard
the word _Arthur!_ repeated in a low tone, and one full of hesitation.
Reviving hope loosened at once my powers of speech, and I now screamed,
at the top of my voice, _"Augustus! oh Augustus!"_ "Hush--for God's
sake be silent!" he replied, in a voice trembling with agitation; "I
will be with you immediately--as soon as I can make my way through the
hold." For a long time I heard him moving among the lumber, and every
moment seemed to me an age. At length I felt his hand upon my shoulder,
and he placed at the same moment a bottle of water to my lips. Those
only who have been suddenly redeemed from the jaws of the tomb, or who
have known the insufferable torments of thirst under circumstances as
aggravated as those which encompassed me in my dreary prison, can form
any idea of the unutterable transports which that one long draught of
the richest of all physical luxuries afforded.
When I had in some degree satisfied my thirst, Augustus produced from
his pocket three or four cold boiled potatoes, which I devoured with
the greatest avidity. He had brought with him a light in a dark
lantern, and the grateful rays afforded me scarcely less comfort than
the food and drink. But I was impatient to learn the cause of his
protracted absence, and he proceeded to recount what had happened on
board during my incarceration.