known
ships to founder with rats on board, so that they cannot be said to be a
preventative to such a disaster.

I now set out on another expedition. As I got through the hole in the
bulkhead a brighter light than I had before enjoyed came down into the
open space, not directly, however, but through the various crevices
among the numerous casks and cases piled up in the hold, so that I was
able to distinguish the objects around me more clearly than I had
hitherto done. I could not have read a book, but I could see my hands
as I held them up before me, and they were as black as those of a negro.
Probably my face was much in the same condition. I knew that my feet
and my clothes also were begrimed with dirt. Strange as it may seem, I
was so busy in taking a survey of the locality, that I forgot to shout
out, for as the light came down my voice would certainly have been
heard, as without doubt one of the hatches had been opened. My impulse
was to take the opportunity of working my way upwards. I saw the crate
close against the bulkhead and the place where I had torn off the plank.
I eagerly scrambled in that direction, but could see no way over it. I
must get inside, as I first intended. I thought then, if I could force
off the top, I might make my way through it to an upper stratum of the
cargo. I did as I proposed. In vain I tried with my back and hands to
force up the top. I had forgotten to bring the handspike. It occurred
to me that with that as a lever I should succeed. I returned for it.

The atmosphere I fancied had already become fresher, or at all events
the foul air had escaped, and its place had been supplied by purer air
through unseen openings. The light, dim as it was, which my eyes had
enjoyed for a short period, made the darkness of the hold still darker.
My senses were for a few moments confused, and for some time I searched
in vain for the handspike. I was sure, however, that I remembered where
I had left it. At last my hand touched the instrument, and I dragged it
back to the scene of my intended operations. As I reached the spot,
what what was my dismay to find all in darkness. The hatch, had been
replaced, and I had lost the opportunity of making myself heard. Only
then did it occur to me that I ought, immediately on seeing the light,
to have shouted out. My wits, generally keen enough, were, I suspect,
becoming somewhat confused.

I had so long been accustomed to do things with