The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 3 Read online

  CHAPTER 3

  THE thought instantly occurred to me that the paper was a note fromAugustus, and that some unaccountable accident having happened toprevent his relieving me from my dungeon, he had devised this method ofacquainting me with the true state of affairs. Trembling with eagerness,I now commenced another search for my phosphorus matches and tapers.I had a confused recollection of having put them carefully away justbefore falling asleep; and, indeed, previously to my last journey to thetrap, I had been able to remember the exact spot where I had depositedthem. But now I endeavored in vain to call it to mind, and busied myselffor a full hour in a fruitless and vexatious search for the missingarticles; never, surely, was there a more tantalizing state of anxietyand suspense. At length, while groping about, with my head close to theballast, near the opening of the box, and outside of it, I perceiveda faint glimmering of light in the direction of the steerage. Greatlysurprised, I endeavored to make my way toward it, as it appeared tobe but a few feet from my position. Scarcely had I moved with thisintention, when I lost sight of the glimmer entirely, and, before Icould bring it into view again, was obliged to feel along by the boxuntil I had exactly resumed my original situation. Now, moving my headwith caution to and fro, I found that, by proceeding slowly, with greatcare, in an opposite direction to that in which I had at first started,I was enabled to draw near the light, still keeping it in view.Presently I came directly upon it (having squeezed my way throughinnumerable narrow windings), and found that it proceeded from somefragments of my matches lying in an empty barrel turned upon its side. Iwas wondering how they came in such a place, when my hand fell upon twoor three pieces of taper wax, which had been evidently mumbled by thedog. I concluded at once that he had devoured the whole of my supplyof candles, and I felt hopeless of being ever able to read the note ofAugustus. The small remnants of the wax were so mashed up among otherrubbish in the barrel, that I despaired of deriving any service fromthem, and left them as they were. The phosphorus, of which there wasonly a speck or two, I gathered up as well as I could, and returnedwith it, after much difficulty, to my box, where Tiger had all the whileremained.

  What to do next I could not tell. The hold was so intensely dark thatI could not see my hand, however close I would hold it to my face. Thewhite slip of paper could barely be discerned, and not even that whenI looked at it directly; by turning the exterior portions of the retinatoward it--that is to say, by surveying it slightly askance, I foundthat it became in some measure perceptible. Thus the gloom of my prisonmay be imagined, and the note of my friend, if indeed it were a notefrom him, seemed only likely to throw me into further trouble, bydisquieting to no purpose my already enfeebled and agitated mind.In vain I revolved in my brain a multitude of absurd expedients forprocuring light--such expedients precisely as a man in the perturbedsleep occasioned by opium would be apt to fall upon for a similarpurpose--each and all of which appear by turns to the dreamer themost reasonable and the most preposterous of conceptions, just as thereasoning or imaginative faculties flicker, alternately, one above theother. At last an idea occurred to me which seemed rational, and whichgave me cause to wonder, very justly, that I had not entertainedit before. I placed the slip of paper on the back of a book, and,collecting the fragments of the phosphorus matches which I had broughtfrom the barrel, laid them together upon the paper. I then, with thepalm of my hand, rubbed the whole over quickly, yet steadily. A clearlight diffused itself immediately throughout the whole surface; and hadthere been any writing upon it, I should not have experienced theleast difficulty, I am sure, in reading it. Not a syllable was there,however--nothing but a dreary and unsatisfactory blank; the illuminationdied away in a few seconds, and my heart died away within me as it went.

  I have before stated more than once that my intellect, for some periodprior to this, had been in a condition nearly bordering on idiocy. Therewere, to be sure, momentary intervals of perfect sanity, and, now andthen, even of energy; but these were few. It must be remembered thatI had been, for many days certainly, inhaling the almost pestilentialatmosphere of a close hold in a whaling vessel, and for a long portionof that time but scantily supplied with water. For the last fourteenor fifteen hours I had none--nor had I slept during that time. Saltprovisions of the most exciting kind had been my chief, and, indeed,since the loss of the mutton, my only supply of food, with the exceptionof the sea-biscuit; and these latter were utterly useless to me, asthey were too dry and hard to be swallowed in the swollen and parchedcondition of my throat. I was now in a high state of fever, and inevery respect exceedingly ill. This will account for the fact that manymiserable hours of despondency elapsed after my last adventure with thephosphorus, before the thought suggested itself that I had examined onlyone side of the paper. I shall not attempt to describe my feelingsof rage (for I believe I was more angry than any thing else) when theegregious oversight I had committed flashed suddenly upon my perception.The blunder itself would have been unimportant, had not my own folly andimpetuosity rendered it otherwise--in my disappointment at not findingsome words upon the slip, I had childishly torn it in pieces and thrownit away, it was impossible to say where.

  From the worst part of this dilemma I was relieved by the sagacity ofTiger. Having got, after a long search, a small piece of the note, I putit to the dog’s nose, and endeavored to make him understand that he mustbring me the rest of it. To my astonishment, (for I had taught him noneof the usual tricks for which his breed are famous,) he seemed to enterat once into my meaning, and, rummaging about for a few moments, soonfound another considerable portion. Bringing me this, he paused awhile,and, rubbing his nose against my hand, appeared to be waiting formy approval of what he had done. I patted him on the head, when heimmediately made off again. It was now some minutes before he cameback--but when he did come, he brought with him a large slip, whichproved to be all the paper missing--it having been torn, it seems,only into three pieces. Luckily, I had no trouble in finding what fewfragments of the phosphorus were left--being guided by the indistinctglow one or two of the particles still emitted. My difficulties hadtaught me the necessity of caution, and I now took time to reflect uponwhat I was about to do. It was very probable, I considered, that somewords were written upon that side of the paper which had not beenexamined--but which side was that? Fitting the pieces together gave meno clew in this respect, although it assured me that the words (if therewere any) would be found all on one side, and connected in a propermanner, as written. There was the greater necessity of ascertaining thepoint in question beyond a doubt, as the phosphorus remaining would bealtogether insufficient for a third attempt, should I fail in the one Iwas now about to make. I placed the paper on a book as before, and satfor some minutes thoughtfully revolving the matter over in my mind. Atlast I thought it barely possible that the written side might havesome unevenness on its surface, which a delicate sense of feeling mightenable me to detect. I determined to make the experiment and passedmy finger very carefully over the side which first presented itself.Nothing, however, was perceptible, and I turned the paper, adjusting iton the book. I now again carried my forefinger cautiously along, whenI was aware of an exceedingly slight, but still discernable glow, whichfollowed as it proceeded. This, I knew, must arise from some very minuteremaining particles of the phosphorus with which I had covered the paperin my previous attempt. The other, or under side, then, was that onwhich lay the writing, if writing there should finally prove to be.Again I turned the note, and went to work as I had previously done.Having rubbed in the phosphorus, a brilliancy ensued as before--but thistime several lines of MS. in a large hand, and apparently in red ink,became distinctly visible. The glimmer, although sufficiently bright,was but momentary. Still, had I not been too greatly excited, therewould have been ample time enough for me to peruse the whole threesentences before me--for I saw there were three. In my anxiety, however,to read all at once, I succeeded only in reading the seven concludingwords, which thus appeared--“blood--your life depends upon lying close.”


  Had I been able to ascertain the entire contents of the note--the fullmeaning of the admonition which my friend had thus attempted to convey,that admonition, even although it should have revealed a story ofdisaster the most unspeakable, could not, I am firmly convinced, haveimbued my mind with one tithe of the harrowing and yet indefinablehorror with which I was inspired by the fragmentary warning thusreceived. And “blood,” too, that word of all words--so rife at all timeswith mystery, and suffering, and terror--how trebly full of import didit now appear--how chilly and heavily (disjointed, as it thus was, fromany foregoing words to qualify or render it distinct) did its vaguesyllables fall, amid the deep gloom of my prison, into the innermostrecesses of my soul!

  Augustus had, undoubtedly, good reasons for wishing me to remainconcealed, and I formed a thousand surmises as to what they couldbe--but I could think of nothing affording a satisfactory solution ofthe mystery. Just after returning from my last journey to the trap, andbefore my attention had been otherwise directed by the singular conductof Tiger, I had come to the resolution of making myself heard at allevents by those on board, or, if I could not succeed in this directly,of trying to cut my way through the orlop deck. The half certainty whichI felt of being able to accomplish one of these two purposes in the lastemergency, had given me courage (which I should not otherwise have had)to endure the evils of my situation. The few words I had been able toread, however, had cut me off from these final resources, and I now, forthe first time, felt all the misery of my fate. In a paroxysm of despairI threw myself again upon the mattress, where, for about the period ofa day and night, I lay in a kind of stupor, relieved only by momentaryintervals of reason and recollection.

  At length I once more arose, and busied myself in reflection upon thehorrors which encompassed me. For another twenty-four hours it wasbarely possible that I might exist without water--for a longer time Icould not do so. During the first portion of my imprisonment I had madefree use of the cordials with which Augustus had supplied me, but theyonly served to excite fever, without in the least degree assuagingthirst. I had now only about a gill left, and this was of a species ofstrong peach liqueur at which my stomach revolted. The sausages wereentirely consumed; of the ham nothing remained but a small piece of theskin; and all the biscuit, except a few fragments of one, had been eatenby Tiger. To add to my troubles, I found that my headache was increasingmomentarily, and with it the species of delirium which had distressed memore or less since my first falling asleep. For some hours past it hadbeen with the greatest difficulty I could breathe at all, and now eachattempt at so doing was attended with the most depressing spasmodicaction of the chest. But there was still another and very differentsource of disquietude, and one, indeed, whose harassing terrors hadbeen the chief means of arousing me to exertion from my stupor on themattress. It arose from the demeanor of the dog.

  I first observed an alteration in his conduct while rubbing in thephosphorus on the paper in my last attempt. As I rubbed, he ran his noseagainst my hand with a slight snarl; but I was too greatly excited atthe time to pay much attention to the circumstance. Soon afterward,it will be remembered, I threw myself on the mattress, and fell intoa species of lethargy. Presently I became aware of a singular hissingsound close at my ears, and discovered it to proceed from Tiger, who waspanting and wheezing in a state of the greatest apparent excitement, hiseyeballs flashing fiercely through the gloom. I spoke to him, when hereplied with a low growl, and then remained quiet. Presently I relapsedinto my stupor, from which I was again awakened in a similar manner.This was repeated three or four times, until finally his behaviourinspired me with so great a degree of fear, that I became fully aroused.He was now lying close by the door of the box, snarling fearfully,although in a kind of undertone, and grinding his teeth as if stronglyconvulsed. I had no doubt whatever that the want of water or theconfined atmosphere of the hold had driven him mad, and I was at a losswhat course to pursue. I could not endure the thought of killing him,yet it seemed absolutely necessary for my own safety. I could distinctlyperceive his eyes fastened upon me with an expression of the most deadlyanimosity, and I expected every instant that he would attack me. At lastI could endure my terrible situation no longer, and determined to makemy way from the box at all hazards, and dispatch him, if his oppositionshould render it necessary for me to do so. To get out, I had topass directly over his body, and he already seemed to anticipate mydesign--missing himself upon his fore-legs (as I perceived by thealtered position of his eyes), and displayed the whole of his whitefangs, which were easily discernible. I took the remains of theham-skin, and the bottle containing the liqueur, and secured them aboutmy person, together with a large carving-knife which Augustus had leftme--then, folding my cloak around me as closely as possible, I made amovement toward the mouth of the box. No sooner did I do this, than thedog sprang with a loud growl toward my throat. The whole weight of hisbody struck me on the right shoulder, and I fell violently to the left,while the enraged animal passed entirely over me. I had fallen upon myknees, with my head buried among the blankets, and these protectedme from a second furious assault, during which I felt the sharp teethpressing vigorously upon the woollen which enveloped my neck--yet,luckily, without being able to penetrate all the folds. I was nowbeneath the dog, and a few moments would place me completely in hispower. Despair gave me strength, and I rose boldly up, shaking him fromme by main force, and dragging with me the blankets from the mattress.These I now threw over him, and before he could extricate himself, I hadgot through the door and closed it effectually against his pursuit.In this struggle, however, I had been forced to drop the morsel ofham-skin, and I now found my whole stock of provisions reduced to asingle gill of liqueur. As this reflection crossed my mind, I feltmyself actuated by one of those fits of perverseness which might besupposed to influence a spoiled child in similar circumstances, and,raising the bottle to my lips, I drained it to the last drop, and dashedit furiously upon the floor.

  Scarcely had the echo of the crash died away, when I heard my namepronounced in an eager but subdued voice, issuing from the direction ofthe steerage. So unexpected was anything of the kind, and so intense wasthe emotion excited within me by the sound, that I endeavoured in vainto reply. My powers of speech totally failed, and in an agony of terrorlest my friend should conclude me dead, and return without attemptingto reach me, I stood up between the crates near the door of the box,trembling convulsively, and gasping and struggling for utterance. Hada thousand words depended upon a syllable, I could not have spokenit. There was a slight movement now audible among the lumber somewhereforward of my station. The sound presently grew less distinct, thenagain less so, and still less. Shall I ever forget my feelings at thismoment? He was going--my friend, my companion, from whom I had a rightto expect so much--he was going--he would abandon me--he was gone! Hewould leave me to perish miserably, to expire in the most horrible andloathesome of dungeons--and one word, one little syllable, would saveme--yet that single syllable I could not utter! I felt, I am sure, morethan ten thousand times the agonies of death itself. My brain reeled,and I fell, deadly sick, against the end of the box.

  As I fell the carving-knife was shaken out from the waist-band of mypantaloons, and dropped with a rattling sound to the floor. Never didany strain of the richest melody come so sweetly to my ears! With theintensest anxiety I listened to ascertain the effect of the noise uponAugustus--for I knew that the person who called my name could be no onebut himself. All was silent for some moments. At length I again heardthe word “Arthur!” repeated in a low tone, and one full of hesitation.Reviving hope loosened at once my powers of speech, and I now screamedat the top of my voice, “Augustus! oh, Augustus!” “Hush! for God’s sakebe silent!” he replied, in a voice trembling with agitation; “I will bewith you immediately--as soon as I can make my way through the hold.” For a long time I heard him moving among the lumber, and every momentseemed to me an age. At length I felt his hand upon my shoulder, and heplaced, at the same moment, a bottle of water to my
lips. Those only whohave been suddenly redeemed from the jaws of the tomb, or who have knownthe insufferable torments of thirst under circumstances as aggravated asthose which encompassed me in my dreary prison, can form any idea of theunutterable transports which that one long draught of the richest of allphysical luxuries afforded.

  When I had in some degree satisfied my thirst, Augustus produced fromhis pocket three or four boiled potatoes, which I devoured with thegreatest avidity. He had brought with him a light in a dark lantern, andthe grateful rays afforded me scarcely less comfort than the food anddrink. But I was impatient to learn the cause of his protracted absence,and he proceeded to recount what had happened on board during myincarceration.