- end_line
- 2821
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:25.200Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 2760
- text
- exertions congealed in icy beads upon my forehead. My thirst was gone,
and I fairly loathed the water. Starting to my feet, the sight of those
dank rocks, oozing forth moisture at every crevice, and the dark
stream shooting along its dismal channel, sent fresh chills through
my shivering frame, and I felt as uncontrollable a desire to climb up
towards the genial sunlight as I before had to descend the ravine.
After two hours’ perilous exertions we stood upon the summit of another
ridge, and it was with difficulty I could bring myself to believe that
we had ever penetrated the black and yawning chasm which then gaped at
our feet. Again we gazed upon the prospect which the height commanded,
but it was just as depressing as the one which had before met our eyes.
I now felt that in our present situation it was in vain for us to think
of ever overcoming the obstacles in our way, and I gave up all thoughts
of reaching the vale which lay beyond this series of impediments; while
at the same time I could not devise any scheme to extricate ourselves
from the difficulties in which we were involved.
The remotest idea of returning to Nukuheva, unless assured of our
vessel’s departure, never once entered my mind, and indeed it was
questionable whether we could have succeeded in reaching it, divided as
we were from the bay by a distance we could not compute, and perplexed
too in our remembrance of localities by our recent wanderings. Besides,
it was unendurable the thought of retracing our steps and rendering all
our painful exertions of no avail.
There is scarcely anything when a man is in difficulties that he is
more disposed to look upon with abhorrence than a rightabout retrograde
movement--a systematic going over of the already trodden ground:
and especially if he has a love of adventure, such a course appears
indescribably repulsive, so long as there remains the least hope to be
derived from braving untried difficulties.
It was this feeling that prompted us to descend the opposite side of the
elevation we had just scaled, although with what definite object in view
it would have been impossible for either of us to tell.
Without exchanging a syllable upon the subject, Toby and myself
simultaneously renounced the design which had lured us thus
far--perceiving in each other’s countenances that desponding expression
which speaks more eloquently than words.
Together we stood towards the close of this weary day in the cavity of
the third gorge we had entered, wholly incapacitated for any further
exertion, until restored to some degree of strength by food and repose.
We seated ourselves upon the least uncomfortable spot we could select,
and Toby produced from the bosom of his frock the sacred package. In
silence we partook of the small morsel of refreshment that had been left
from the morning’s repast, and without once proposing to violate the
sanctity of our engagement with respect to the remainder, we rose to
our feet, and proceeded to construct some sort of shelter under which we
might obtain the sleep we so greatly needed.
Fortunately the spot was better adapted to our purpose than the one in
which we had passed the last wretched night. We cleared away the tall
reeds from the small but almost level bit of ground, and twisted them
into a low basket-like hut, which we covered with a profusion of long
thick leaves, gathered from a tree near at hand. We disposed them
thickly all around, reserving only a slight opening that barely
permitted us to crawl under the shelter we had thus obtained.
- title
- Chunk 4