mine
at home can only have been a baby. No, no -- they are devils
up there. But I don't think much of them, though,' he added,
taking a pinch of snuff. 'They can copy what one says, but they
don't seem to be able to talk on their own account, and they
dare not show their faces,' and he relapsed into silence, and
apparently paid no further attention to such contemptible fiends.

After this we found it necessary to keep our conversation down
to a whisper -- for it was really unbearable to have every word
one uttered tossed to and fro like a tennis-ball, as precipice
called to precipice.

But even our whispers ran up the rocks in mysterious murmurs
till at last they died away in long-drawn sighs of sound. Echoes
are delightful and romantic things, but we had more than enough
of them in that dreadful gulf.

As soon as we had settled ourselves a little on the round stones,
we went on to wash and dress our burns as well as we could.
As we had but a little oil for the lantern, we could not spare
any for this purpose, so we skinned one of the swans, and used
the fat off its breast, which proved an excellent substitute.
Then we repacked the canoe, and finally began to take some food,
of which I need scarcely say we were in need, for our insensibility
had endured for many hours, and it was, as our watches showed,
midday. Accordingly we seated ourselves in a circle, and were
soon engaged in discussing our cold meat with such appetite as
we could muster, which, in my case at any rate, was not much,
as I felt sick and faint after my sufferings of the previous
night, and had besides a racking headache. It was a curious
meal. The gloom was so intense that we could scarcely see the
way to cut our food and convey it to our mouths. Still we got
on pretty well, till I happened to look behind me -- my attention
being attracted by a noise of something crawling over the stones,
and perceived sitting upon a rock in my immediate rear a huge
species of black freshwater crab, only it was five times the
size of any crab I ever saw. This hideous and loathsome-looking
animal had projecting eyes that seemed to glare at one, very
long and flexible antennae or feelers, and gigantic claws.
Nor was I especially favoured with its company. From every quarter
dozens of these horrid brutes were creeping up, drawn, I suppose,
by the smell of the food, from between the round stones and out
of holes in the precipice. Some were already quite c