fortunately, the ends of the webs were towards me, and
this rendered it more difficult to separate them; but I continued to tug
and pull until I had extracted a few; and then the work became easier.

Just as in the other case, I found large coarse pieces that would not
pass through the aperture I had made; and not liking to take the pains
to make a wider opening in the wood, I adopted the same plan I had tried
before; that is, to cut the cloth loose from its fastenings, unroll it,
and draw it out by the yard.

This was easier, I thought; but, alas! it proved the source of a new and
unexpected dilemma, as I had occasion soon after to perceive.

I was getting on well enough, and had succeeded in clearing out a space
almost large enough to work in, when I was suddenly brought to a stop,
by finding that I had no room for any more cloth _behind me_! The whole
of the open space--including my little apartment, the biscuit-box, and
the other case--was quite full, for I had filled each in succession as I
went along. There was not a foot of space left--not so much as would
hold another web!

This discovery did not create an immediate alarm; for I did not at first
perceive the full consequence of it. It was only after a little
reflection, that I recognised the difficulty; and then I saw that it was
indeed a difficulty--a very dangerous dilemma.

It was plain that I could proceed no farther in my work without clearing
off the "back-water" that I had so thoughtlessly accumulated; and how
was this to be done? I could not destroy the cloth by burning, nor in
any other way that I could think of. I could not lessen its bulk, for I
had already pressed it together as closely as I had strength. How,
then, was it to be disposed of?

I now perceived the imprudence I had committed in unrolling the webs.
This was the cause of its having increased so in bulk though not
altogether, for the very taking out of the pieces--on account of the
tight pressure they had originally undergone while being packed in the
cases--of itself greatly enlarged their mass. To restore them to the
state in which I had found them, was no longer possible. They were
littered through and through in the most complete confusion, and I had
no room to work in, even to refold them again, since I could scarce move
about in the constrained quarters and attitude I was compelled to
assume. Even had I had ample space to work in, I could not easily have
got the stuff