CHAPTER SIXTY THREE.
LIGHT AND LIFE.
Yes, my eyes were once more cheered with heavenly light, producingwithin my heart a joy sudden and complete. I could not describe thehappiness I felt. Every fear at once forsook me. I had no longer theslightest apprehension. I was saved!
The light I saw was but a very slender beam--a mere ray--that appearedto penetrate through a crack between two planks. It was above me, notvertically above me, but rather in a diagonal line, and apparently abouteight or ten feet distant.
I knew it could not be through the deck that the light came. There areno open spaces between the planks of a ship's deck. It must be throughthe hatchway; and very likely the crack I saw was through the boardingof the hatch, at a place where the tarpaulin might be off or torn.
While gazing on this tiny beam, shining like a meteor above me, Ithought it the loveliest object I had ever looked upon. No star in theblue sky had ever appeared to me half so brilliant or beautiful; it waslike the eye of some good angel smiling upon me, and bidding me welcomeagain to the world of life.
I did not remain long in my position within the bonnet-box. I believedmyself near the end of my labour, and the accomplishment of my hopes,and had no inclination to pause upon the threshold of deliverance. Thenearer to the goal, the more earnest had I become to reach it; andtherefore, without further hesitation, I set about widening the aperturealready made in the lid of the box.
The fact of my seeing the light had convinced me of one important truth,and that was that I had reached the top of the cargo. Since it appearedin a diagonal direction, there could be no boxes or other packagesintervening between it and my eyes, and, therefore, the space was empty.This emptiness could only be above the cargo.
But the matter was soon set at rest. It did not take me twenty minutesto widen a hole big enough to pass my body; and, scarcely waiting tomake this of sufficient size, I squeezed myself through, and wriggledout on to the top of the box.
I lifted my arms over my head, and extended them all around me. Onlybehind could I perceive anything--and there I could feel boxes, andbales, and sacks piled up still higher--but in front there was nothingbut empty air.
I remained for some moments seated on the lid of the box, where I hadclimbed out, with my legs hanging down outside of it. I was cautiousnot to step off, lest I might fall into some great cavity. I remainedgazing upon the beautiful beacon that was now shining still nearer to myface.
Gradually my eyes became accustomed to the light; and, though the chinkadmitted only a few slender rays, I began to perceive the forms ofobjects that were near. I soon made out that the empty space did notextend far. It was a little pit, of an irregular, circular form--a sortof amphitheatre, shut in on all sides by the huge packages ofmerchandise that were piled around it. It was, in fact, a space thathad been left under the hatchway, after the cargo had been all stowed;and a number of loose barrels and bags that were strewed over itappeared to contain provisions--no doubt stores for the crew--thusplaced so that they could be readily reached when wanted.
It was on one side of this little amphitheatre I had emerged from mygallery; and no doubt I was just under the edge of the hatchway. Itonly needed to advance a pace or two, knock upon the boards over myhead, and summon the crew to my assistance.
But although a single blow, and a single cry, were all that were neededto procure my liberation, it was a long while before I could muster theresolution to strike that blow, or utter that cry!
I need not give you the reasons of my reluctance and hesitation. Thinkonly of what was behind me--of the damage and ruin I had caused to thecargo--a damage amounting perhaps to hundreds of pounds--think of theimpossibility of my being able to make the slightest restitution orpayment--think of this, and you will comprehend why I paused so long,seated upon the edge of the bonnet-box. An awful dread was upon me. Idreaded the _denouement_ of this _dark_ drama; and no wonder I hesitatedto bring it to its ending.
How could I ever face the stern wrath of the captain?--the brutal angerof that savage mate? How could I endure their looks--their words, theiroaths, and, likely enough, their blows? Perhaps they would _pitch meinto the sea_?
A thrill of terror ran through my veins, as I dwelt on the probabilityof such a fate. A sudden change had passed over my spirits. But themoment before that twinkling ray had filled my bosom with joy; and now,as I sat and gazed upon it, my heart was throbbing with fear and dismay!