Scarcely had I
raised my head above the surface, and inhaled the vital breath, when
twenty shots were aimed at me from the precipice above. A shower of
bullets fell upon the water. Some of them did not fall farther than two
inches from my head. I had not been aware of this new danger, and, now
that it assailed me, continued gasping the air and floundering at
random. The means of eluding it did not readily occur. My case seemed
desperate, and all caution was dismissed. This state of discomfiting surprise quickly disappeared. I made myself
acquainted, at a glance, with the position of surrounding objects. I
conceived that the opposite bank of the river would afford me most
security, and thither I tended with all the expedition in my power. Meanwhile, my safety depended on eluding the bullets that continued
incessantly to strike the water at an arm's-length from my body. For
this end I plunged beneath the surface, and only rose to inhale fresh
air. Presently the firing ceased, the flashes that lately illuminated
the bank disappeared, and a certain bustle and murmur of confused voices
gave place to solitude and silence. Chapter XXII. I reached without difficulty the opposite bank, but the steep was
inaccessible. I swam along the edge in hopes of meeting with some
projection or recess where I might, at least, rest my weary limbs, and,
if it were necessary to recross the river, to lay in a stock of
recruited spirits and strength for that purpose. I trusted that the
water would speedily become shoal, or that the steep would afford rest
to my feet. In both these hopes I was disappointed. There is no one to whom I would yield the superiority in swimming; but
my strength, like that of other human beings, had its limits. My
previous fatigues had been enormous, and my clothes, heavy with
moisture, greatly encumbered and retarded my movements. I had proposed
to free myself from this imprisonment; but I foresaw the inconveniences
of wandering over this scene in absolute nakedness, and was willing
therefore, at whatever hazard, to retain them. I continued to struggle
with the current and to search for the means of scaling the steeps. My
search was fruitless, and I began to meditate the recrossing of the
river. Surely my fate has never been paralleled! Where was this series of
hardships and perils to end? No sooner was one calamity eluded, than I
was beset by another. I had emerged from abhorred darkness in the heart
of the earth, only to endure the extremities of famine and encounter the
fangs of a wild beast. From these I was delivered only to be thrown into
the midst of savages, to wage an endless and hopeless war with adepts in
killing, with appetites that longed to feast upon my bowels and to quaff
my heart's blood. From these likewise was I rescued, but merely to
perish in the gulfs of the river, to welter on unvisited shores, or to
be washed far away from curiosity or pity. Formerly water was not only my field of sport but my sofa and my bed. I
could float for hours on its surface, enjoying its delicious cool,
almost without the expense of the slightest motion. It was an element as
fitted for repose as for exercise; but now the buoyant spirit seemed to
have flown. My muscles were shrunk, the air and water were equally
congealed, and my most vehement exertions were requisite to sustain me
on the surface. At first I had moved along with my wonted celerity and ease, but quickly
my forces were exhausted. My pantings and efforts were augmented, and I
saw that to cross the river again was impracticable. I must continue,
therefore, to search out some accessible spot in the bank along which I
was swimming. Each moment diminished my stock of strength, and it behooved me to make
good my footing before another minute should escape. I continued to
swim, to survey the bank, and to make ineffectual attempts to grasp the
rock. The shrubs which grew upon it would not uphold me, and the
fragments which, for a moment, inspired me with hope, crumbled away as
soon as they were touched. At length I noticed a pine which was rooted in a crevice near the water. The trunk, or any part of the root, was beyond my reach; but I trusted
that I could catch hold of the branch which hung lowest, and that, when
caught, it would assist me in gaining the trunk, and thus deliver me
from the death which could not be otherwise averted. The attempt was arduous. Had it been made when I first reached the bank,
no difficulty had attended it; but now to throw myself some feet above
the surface could scarcely be expected from one whose utmost efforts
seemed to be demanded to keep him from sinking. Yet this exploit,
arduous as it was, was attempted and accomplished. Happily the twigs
were strong enough to sustain my weight till I caught at other branches
and finally placed myself upon the trunk. This danger was now past; but I admitted the conviction that others, no
less formidable, remained to be encountered, and that my ultimate
destiny was death. I looked upward. New efforts might enable me to gain
the summit of this steep, but perhaps I should thus be placed merely in
the situation from which I had just been delivered. It was of little
moment whether the scene of my imprisonment was a dungeon not to be
broken, or a summit from which descent was impossible. The river, indeed, severed me from a road which was level and safe, but
my recent dangers were remembered only to make me shudder at the thought
of incurring them a second time by attempting to cross it. I blush at
the recollection of this cowardice. It was little akin to the spirit
which I had recently displayed. It was, indeed, an alien to my bosom,
and was quickly supplanted by intrepidity and perseverance. I proceeded to mount the hill. From root to root, and from branch to
branch, lay my journey. It was finished, and I sat down upon the highest
brow to meditate on future trials. No road lay along this side of the
river. It was rugged and sterile, and farms were sparingly dispersed
over it. To reach one of these was now the object of my wishes. I had
not lost the desire of reaching Solesbury before morning, but my wet
clothes and the coldness of the night seemed to have bereaved me of the
power. I traversed this summit, keeping the river on my right hand. Happily,
its declinations and ascents were by no means difficult, and I was
cheered, in the midst of my vexations, by observing that every mile
brought me nearer to my uncle's dwelling. Meanwhile I anxiously looked
for some tokens of a habitation. These at length presented themselves. A
wild heath, whistled over by October blasts, meagrely adorned with the
dry stalks of scented shrubs and the bald heads of the sapless mullein,
was succeeded by a fenced field and a corn-stack. The dwelling to which
these belonged was eagerly sought. I was not surprised that all voices were still and all lights
extinguished, for this was the hour of repose. Having reached a piazza
before the house, I paused.