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 pervaded with a longing to fall; a
      desire, a yearning, a passion utterly uncontrollable. I let go at
      once my grasp upon the peg, and, turning half round from the
      precipice, remained tottering for an instant against its naked
      face. But now there came a spinning of the brain; a
      shrill-sounding and phantom 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 plunged
      within its arms. I had swooned, and Peters had caught me as I fell. He had
      observed my proceedings from his station at the bottom of the
      cliff; and perceiving my imminent danger, had endeavored 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 totter, he hastened to ascend
      to my rescue, and arrived just in time for my preservation. Had I
      fallen with my full weight, the rope of linen would inevitably
      have snapped, and I should have been precipitated into the abyss;
      as it was, he contrived to let me down gently, so as to remain
      suspended without danger until animation returned. This was in
      about fifteen minutes. On recovery, my trepidation had entirely
      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 dreary regions marking the site of degraded
      Babylon. Not to speak of the ruins of the disrupted cliff, which
      formed a chaotic barrier in the vista to the northward, the
      surface of the ground in every other direction was strewn with
      huge tumuli, apparently the wreck of some gigantic structures of
      art; although, in detail, no semblance of art could be detected. Scoria were abundant, and large shapeless blocks of the black
      granite, intermingled with others of marl, {*6} and both
      granulated with metal. Of vegetation there were no traces
      whatsoever throughout the whole of the desolate area within
      sight. Several immense scorpions were seen, and various reptiles
      not elsewhere to be found in the high latitudes. As food was our
      most immediate object, we resolved to make our way to the
      seacoast, distant not more than half a mile, with a view of
      catching turtle, several of which we had observed from our place
      of concealment 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 savages sprung upon us from a
      small cavern, 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 astonishment. 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 prudently declined using them,
      confiding 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, killing 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 standing 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 regain 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 peril, 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 derive 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
      perfectly 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 intervals, 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 all the strength we
      could command.