me the true position of rest. Contrary to the usual habit of human
bipeds, standing was to me easier than sitting; but there was nothing
odd about the thing, when it is remembered how many long days and nights
I had spent either seated or on my knees; and I now longed to assume
that proud attitude which distinguishes mankind from the rest of
creation. In truth, I felt it to be a positive luxury to be permitted
once more to stand at full height; and for a long while I remained in
this attitude without moving a limb.

I was not idle, however. My mind was active as ever; and the subject
with which it was occupied was the direction in which I should next
carry my tunnel--whether still upward, through the lid of the
newly-emptied case, or whether through the end that lay toward the
hatchway? The choice lay between a _horizontal_ and a _vertical_
direction. There were reasons in favour of each--and reasons also that
influenced me against one and the other--and to weigh these reasons, and
finally determine upon which direction I should take, was a matter of so
much importance that it was a good while before I could bring my plans
to a satisfactory conclusion.

CHAPTER FIFTY SIX.

SHIP-SHAPE.

There was one reason that would have influenced me to cut upward through
the lid. It was, that by taking that direction, I should arrive the
sooner at the top of all the packages; and once there, I might find a
vacant space between them and the timbers of the deck, through which I
could crawl at once to the hatchway. This would give me less tunnelling
to do, since the vertical line would be shorter than that passing
diagonally to the hatch. In fact, every foot gained in a horizontal
direction would appear to be no gain at all, since there would still be
the same height to be reached vertically.

It was highly probable there was a space between the cargo and the
under-side of the deck timbers; and in the hope that this might be so, I
made up my mind not to proceed in the horizontal direction unless when I
should be forced out of the other by some obstacle that I could not
remove. For all this, I resolved to make my first cut _horizontally_;
and three reasons guided me to this resolve. The first was, that the
end-boards of the case appeared somewhat loose, as if they could be
easily got out of the way. The second was, that in thrusting the blade
of my knife through the slits of the lid, it touched against a soft but
sti