by Mayne Reid
CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE.
THE LUXURY OF STANDING ERECT.
It will be remembered that in my former expedition into the two boxes ofcloth--while in hopes of finding more biscuits, or something else thatwas eatable--I had ascertained the sort of packages that surroundedthem, as well as those that were placed above. It will be remembered,also, that on that end of the first cloth-case which lay towards thehatchway I had found a bale of linen; but on the top of the same caserested another of cloth, apparently similar to itself. Into this one onthe top I had already effected an entrance; and therefore I could nowcount upon having made so much way _upward_. By emptying the upper caseof its contents, I should thus have gained one clear stage in the rightdirection; and considering the time and trouble it took to hew my waythrough the side of one box, and then through the adjacent side ofanother, this portion of my work already accomplished was a matter ofcongratulation. I say already accomplished, for it only remained todrag down the pieces of cloth contained in the upper box, and stow themaway to the rear.
To do this, then, was the first act of my new enterprise, and Iproceeded to its execution without further delay.
After all, it did not prove a very easy task. I experienced the samedifficulty as before, in detaching the pieces of cloth from one another,and drawing them forth from their tightly-fitting places. How-ever, Isucceeded in getting them clear; and then taking them, one at a time, Icarried, or rather pushed them before me, until I had got them to thevery farthest corner of my quarters, by the end of the old brandy-cask.There I arranged them, not in any loose or negligent manner, but withthe greatest precision and care; packing them into the smallest bulk,and leaving no empty corners, between them and the timbers, big enoughto have given room to a rat.
Not that I cared about rats sheltering themselves there. I no longertroubled my head about them; and although I had reason to know thatthere were still some of them in the neighbourhood, my late sanguinary_razzia_ among them had evidently rendered them afraid to come withinreach of me. The terrible screeching which their companions haduttered, while I was pounding the life out of them, had rung loudly allthrough the hold of the ship, and had acted upon those of the survivors,that had heard it, as a salutary warning. No doubt they were greatlyfrightened by what they had heard; and perceiving that I was a dangerousfellow-passenger, would be likely to give me a "wide berth" during theremainder of the voyage.
It was not any thought about the rats, then, that caused me to caulk upevery corner so closely, but simply with the view of economising space;for, as I have already said, this was the point about which I had thegreatest apprehensions.
Proceeding, then, in this vigorous but careful manner, I at lengthemptied the upper box, and finished by stowing away its contents behindme. I had managed the latter to my entire satisfaction, and I was underthe belief that I had repacked the pieces of cloth in such a manner asto lose scarcely the bulk of one of them of my valuable space.
The result had an encouraging effect upon me, and produced acheerfulness of spirits to which I had long been a stranger. In thispleasant mood I mounted into the upper box--the one which I had justcleared--and after placing one of the loose boards across the bottom,which had been partially removed, I sat down upon it, leaving my legs tohang over into the empty space below. In this attitude, which wasentirely new to me, and in which I had plenty of room to sit upright andat my ease, I found a new source of gratification. Confined so longwithin a chamber whose greatest height was little over three feet, whilemy own was four, I had been compelled to stoop in a crouching attitudewhenever I attempted to stand; and I was even obliged to sit with mylegs bent, and my knees on a level with my chin. These inconveniencesare but slight, when one has only to suffer them for a short while; butunder long endurance, they become irksome and even painful. It was,therefore, not only a release, but a great luxury to me, to find that Ihad room enough to sit upright, and with my legs at full stretch.Better still, I could also _stand_ erect, for the two boxes nowcommunicated with each other, and it was full six feet from the bottomof the one to the top of the other. Of course my own height being onlyfour, left two feet of space between the crown of my head and theceiling of my new apartment, which I could not even touch with the tipsof my fingers.
Perceiving my advantages, I did not remain long seated. I had gone intothe upper box, chiefly for the purpose of making a survey of itsdimensions, and also to ascertain whether I had quite cleared out itscontents; and then I had sat down as described. But I was not long inthis attitude, when it occurred to me that I could enjoy a "stand up"still better; and with this idea I slipped back again till my feetrested on the bottom of the lower case, while my head, neck, andshoulders remained within the compartment of the upper. This gave me anattitude perfectly erect, and I was not slow in perceiving that this wasfor me the true position of rest. Contrary to the usual habit of humanbipeds, standing was to me easier than sitting; but there was nothingodd about the thing, when it is remembered how many long days and nightsI had spent either seated or on my knees; and I now longed to assumethat proud attitude which distinguishes mankind from the rest ofcreation. In truth, I felt it to be a positive luxury to be permittedonce more to stand at full height; and for a long while I remained inthis attitude without moving a limb.
I was not idle, however. My mind was active as ever; and the subjectwith which it was occupied was the direction in which I should nextcarry my tunnel--whether still upward, through the lid of thenewly-emptied case, or whether through the end that lay toward thehatchway? The choice lay between a _horizontal_ and a _vertical_direction. There were reasons in favour of each--and reasons also thatinfluenced me against one and the other--and to weigh these reasons, andfinally determine upon which direction I should take, was a matter of somuch importance that it was a good while before I could bring my plansto a satisfactory conclusion.