I proceeded immediately
      to take possession of my little apartment, and this with feelings
      of higher satisfaction, I am sure, than any monarch ever
      experienced upon entering a new palace. Augustus now pointed out
      to me the method of fastening the open end of the box, and then,
      holding the taper close to the deck, showed me a piece of dark
      whipcord lying along it. This, he said, extended from my
      hiding-place throughout all the necessary windings among the
      lumber, to a nail which was driven into the deck of the hold,
      immediately beneath the trap-door leading into his stateroom. By
      means of this cord I should be enabled readily to trace my way
      out without his guidance, provided any unlooked-for accident
      should render such a step necessary. He now took his departure,
      leaving with me the lantern, together with a copious supply of
      tapers and phosphorous, and promising to pay me a visit as often
      as he could contrive to do so without observation. This was on
      the seventeenth of June. I remained three days and nights (as nearly as I could guess) in
      my hiding-place without getting out of it at all, except twice
      for the purpose of stretching my limbs by standing erect between
      two crates just opposite the opening. During the whole period I
      saw nothing of Augustus; but this occasioned me little
      uneasiness, as I knew the brig was expected to put to sea every
      hour, and in the bustle he would not easily find opportunities of
      coming down to me. At length I heard the trap open and shut, and
      presently he called in a low voice, asking if all was well, and
      if there was any thing I wanted. “Nothing,” I replied; “I am as
      comfortable as can be; when will the brig sail?” “She will be
      under weigh in less than half an hour,” he answered. “I came to
      let you know, and for fear you should be uneasy at my absence. I
      shall not have a chance of coming down again for some
      time—perhaps for three or four days more. All is going on right
      aboveboard. After I go up and close the trap, do you creep along
      by the whipcord to where the nail is driven in. You will find my
      watch there—it may be useful to you, as you have no daylight to
      keep time by. I suppose you can’t tell how long you have been
      buried—only three days—this is the twentieth. I would bring the
      watch to your box, but am afraid of being missed.” With this he
      went up. In about an hour after he had gone I distinctly felt the brig in
      motion, and congratulated myself upon having at length fairly
      commenced a voyage. Satisfied with this idea, I determined to
      make my mind as easy as possible, and await the course of events
      until I should be permitted to exchange the box for the more
      roomy, although hardly more comfortable, accommodations of the
      cabin. My first care was to get the watch. Leaving the taper
      burning, I groped along in the dark, following the cord through
      windings innumerable, in some of which I discovered that, after
      toiling a long distance, I was brought back within a foot or two
      of a former position. At length I reached the nail, and securing
      the object of my journey, returned with it in safety. I now
      looked over the books which had been so thoughtfully provided,
      and selected the expedition of Lewis and Clarke to the mouth of
      the Columbia. With this I amused myself for some time, when,
      growing sleepy, I extinguished the light with great care, and
      soon fell into a sound slumber. Upon awakening I felt strangely confused in mind, and some time
      elapsed before I could bring to recollection all the various
      circumstances of my situation. By degrees, however, I remembered
      all. Striking a light, I looked at the watch; but it was run
      down, and there were, consequently, no means of determining how
      long I slept. My limbs were greatly cramped, and I was forced to
      relieve them by standing between the crates. Presently feeling an
      almost ravenous appetite, I bethought myself of the cold mutton,
      some of which I had eaten just before going to sleep, and found
      excellent. What was my astonishment in discovering it to be in a
      state of absolute putrefaction! This circumstance occasioned me
      great disquietude; for, connecting it with the disorder of mind I
      experienced upon awakening, I began to suppose that I must have
      slept for an inordinately long period of time. The close
      atmosphere of the hold might have had something to do with this,
      and might, in the end, be productive of the most serious results. My head ached excessively; I fancied that I drew every breath
      with difficulty; and, in short, I was oppressed with a multitude
      of gloomy feelings. Still I could not venture to make any
      disturbance by opening the trap or otherwise, and, having wound
      up the watch, contented myself as well as possible. Throughout the whole of the next tedious twenty-four hours no
      person came to my relief, and I could not help accusing Augustus
      of the grossest inattention. What alarmed me chiefly was, that
      the water in my jug was reduced to about half a pint, and I was
      suffering much from thirst, having eaten freely of the Bologna
      sausages after the loss of my mutton. I became very uneasy, and
      could no longer take any interest in my books. I was overpowered,
      too, with a desire to sleep, yet trembled at the thought of
      indulging it, lest there might exist some pernicious influence,
      like that of burning charcoal, in the confined air of the hold. In the meantime the roll of the brig told me that we were far in
      the main ocean, and a dull humming sound, which reached my ears
      as if from an immense distance, convinced me no ordinary gale was
      blowing. I could not imagine a reason for the absence of
      Augustus. We were surely far enough advanced on our voyage to
      allow of my going up. Some accident might have happened to
      him—but I could think of none which would account for his
      suffering me to remain so long a prisoner, except, indeed, his
      having suddenly died or fallen overboard, and upon this idea I
      could not dwell with any degree of patience. It was possible that
      we had been baffled by head winds, and were still in the near
      vicinity of Nantucket. This notion, however, I was forced to
      abandon; for such being the case, the brig must have frequently
      gone about; and I was entirely satisfied, from her continual
      inclination to the larboard, that she had been sailing all along
      with a steady breeze on her starboard quarter.