ile imprudently engaged in
rubbing the injured part, would fall sprawling amongst flinty fragments,
cutting and bruising ourselves, whilst the unpitying waters flowed over
our prostrate bodies. Belzoni, worming himself through the subterranean
passages of the Egyptian catacombs, could not have met with greater
impediments than those we here encountered. But we struggled against them
manfully, well knowing our only hope lay in advancing.

Towards sunset we halted at a spot where we made preparations for passing
the night. Here we constructed a hut, in much the same way as before, and
crawling into it, endeavoured to forget our sufferings. My companion, I
believe, slept pretty soundly; but at daybreak, when we rolled out of our
dwelling, I felt nearly disqualified for any further efforts. Toby
prescribed as a remedy for my illness the contents of one of our little
silk packages, to be taken at once in a single dose. To this species of
medical treatment, however, I would by no means accede, much as he
insisted upon it; and so we partook of our usual morsel, and silently
resumed our journey. It was the fourth day since we left Nukuheva, and the
gnawings of hunger became painfully acute. We were fain to pacify them by
chewing the tender bark of roots and twigs, which, if they did not afford
us nourishment, were at least sweet and pleasant to the taste.

Our progress along the steep watercourse was necessarily slow, and by noon
we had not advanced more than a mile. It was somewhere near this part of
the day that the noise of falling waters, which we had faintly caught in
the early morning, became more distinct; and it was not long before we
were arrested by a rocky precipice of nearly a hundred feet in depth, that
extended all across the channel, and over which the wild stream poured in
an unbroken leap. On either hand the walls of the ravine presented their
overhanging sides both above and below the fall, affording no means
whatever of avoiding the cataract by taking a circuit round it.

"What's to be done now, Toby?" said I.

"Why," rejoined he, "as we cannot retreat, I suppose we must keep shoving
along."

"Very true, my dear Toby; but how do you purpose accomplishing that
desirable object?"

"By jumping from the top of the fall, if there be no other way,"
unhesitatingly replied my companion; "it will be much the quickest way of
descent; but as you are not quite as active as I am, we will try some
other way."

And