EARLYthenextmorningthestarboardwatchweremustereduponthequarter-deck，andourworthycaptain，standinginthecabingangway，haranguedusasfollows:-
“Now，men，aswearejustoffasixmonths’cruise，andhavegotthroughmostallourworkinporthere，Isupposeyouwanttogoashore。Well，Imeantogiveyourwatchlibertyto-day，soyoumaygetreadyassoonasyouplease，andgo；butunderstandthis，IamgoingtogiveyoulibertybecauseIsupposeyouwouldgrowllikesomanyoldquartergunnersIdidn’t；atthesametime，ifyou’lltakemyadvice，everymother’ssonofyouwillstayaboard，andkeepoutofthewayofthebloodycannibalsaltogether。Tentoone，men，ifyougoashore，youwillgetintosomeinfernalrow，andthatwillbetheendofyou；forifthesetattooedscoundrelsgetyoualittlewaysbackintotheirvalleys，they’llnabyou-thatyoumaybecertainof。Plentyofwhitemenhavegoneashorehereandneverbeenseenanymore。TherewastheoldDido，sheputinhereabouttwoyearsago，andsentonewatchoffonliberty；theyneverwereheardofagainforaweek-thenativessworetheydidn’tknowwheretheywere-andonlythreeofthemevergotbacktotheshipagain，andonewithhisfacedamagedforlife，forthecursedheathenstattooedabroadpatchcleanacrosshisfigure-head。Butitwillbenousetalkingtoyou，forgoyouwill，thatIseeplainly；soallIhavetosayis，thatyouneednotblamemeiftheislandersmakeamealofyou。Youmaystandsomechanceofescapingthemthough，ifyoukeepcloseabouttheFrenchencampment，andarebacktotheshipagainbeforesunset。
Keepthatmuchinyourmind，ifyouforgetalltherestI’vebeensayingtoyou。There，goforward:bearahandandrigyourselves，andstandbyforacall。Attwobellstheboatwillbemannedtotakeyouoff，andtheLordhavemercyonyou！“
Variousweretheemotionsdepicteduponthecountenancesofthestarboardwatchwhilstlisteningtothisaddress；butonitsconclusiontherewasageneralmovetowardstheforecastle，andwesoonwereallbusilyengagedingettingreadyfortheholidaysoauspiciouslyannouncedbytheskipper。Duringthesepreparations，hisharanguewascommenteduponinnoverymeasuredterms；andoneoftheparty，afterdenouncinghimasalyingoldsonofasea-cookwhobegrudgedafellowafewhours’liberty，exclaimedwithanoath，“Butyoudon’tbouncemeoutofmyliberty，oldchap，forallyouryarns；forIwouldgoashoreifeverypebbleonthebeachwasalivecoal，andeverystickagridiron，andthecannibalsstoodreadytobroilmeonlanding。“
Thespiritofthissentimentwasrespondedtobyallhands，andweresolvedthatinspiteofthecaptain’scroakingswewouldmakeagloriousdayofit。
ButTobyandIhadourowngametoplay，andweavailedourselvesoftheconfusionwhichalwaysreignsamongaship’scompanypreparatorytogoingashore，toconfertogetherandcompleteourarrangements。Asourobjectwastoeffectasrapidaflightaspossibletothemountains，wedeterminednottoencumberourselveswithanysuperfluousapparel；andaccordingly，whiletherestwereriggingthemselvesoutwithsomeideaofmakingadisplay，wewerecontenttoputonnewstoutducktrousers，serviceablepumps，andheavyHavrefrocks，which，withaPaytahat，completedourequipment。
Whenourshipmateswonderedatthis，Tobyexclaimed，inhisoddgraveway，thattherestmightdoastheyliked，butthatheforonepreservedhisgo-ashoretrapsfortheSpanishmain，wherethetieofasailor’sneckerchiefmightmakesomedifference；butasforaparcelofunbreechedheathen，hewouldn’tgotothebottomofhischestforanyofthem，andwashalfdisposedtoappearamongtheminbuffhimself。Themenlaughedatwhattheythoughtwasoneofhisstrangeconceits，andsoweescapedsuspicion。
Itmayappearsingularthatweshouldhavebeenthusonourguardwithourownshipmates；butthereweresomeamonguswho，hadtheypossessedtheleastinklingofourproject，would，forapaltryhopeofreward，haveimmediatelycommunicatedittothecaptain。
Assoonastwobellswerestruck，thewordwaspassedfortheliberty-mentogetintotheboat。Ilingeredbehindintheforecastleamoment，totakeapartingglanceatitsfamiliarfeatures，andjustasIwasabouttoascendtothedeck，myeyehappenedtolightonthebread-bargeandbeef-kid，whichcontainedtheremnantsofourlasthastymeal。AlthoughIhadneverbeforethoughtofprovidinganythinginthewayoffoodforourexpedition，asI
fullyrelieduponthefruitsoftheislandtosustainuswhereverwemightwander，yetIcouldnotresisttheinclinationIfelttoaluncheonfromtherelicsbeforeme。AccordinglyItookadoublehandfulofthosesmall，broken，flintybitsofbiscuitwhichgenerallygobythenameof“midshipmen’snuts，“andthrustthemintothebosomofmyfrock；inwhichsameamplereceptacleIhadpreviouslystowedawayseveralpoundsoftobaccoandafewyardsofcottoncloth，-articleswithwhichIintendedtopurchasethegoodwillofthenatives，assoonasweshouldappearamongthemafterthedepartureofourvessel。
Thislastadditiontomystockcausedaconsiderableprotuberanceinfront，whichIabatedinameasurebyshakingthebitsofbreadaroundmywaist，anddistributingtheplugsoftobaccoamongthefoldsofthegarment。
HardlyhadIcompletedthesearrangementswhenmynamewassungoutbyadozenvoices，andIsprunguponthedeck，whereIfoundallthepartyintheboat，andimpatienttoshoveoff。Idroppedovertheside，andseatedmyself，withtherestofthewatch，inthesternsheets，whilethepoorlarboardersshippedtheiroars，andcommencedpullingusashore。
Thishappenedtobetherainyseasonattheislands，andtheheavenshadnearlythewholemorningbetokenedoneofthoseheavyshowerswhich，duringthisperiod，sofrequentlyoccur。Thelargedropsfellbubblingintothewatershortlyafterourleavingtheship，andbythetimewehadeffectedalanding，itpoureddownintorrents。
Wefledforshelterundercoverofanimmensecanoe-house，whichstoodhardbythebeach，andwaitedforthefirstfuryofthestormtopass。
Itcontinued，however，withoutcessation；andthemonotonousbeatingoftherainoverheadbegantoexertadrowsyinfluenceuponthemen，who，throwingthemselveshereandthereuponthelargewar-canoes，afterchattingawhile，allfellasleep。
Thiswastheopportunitywedesired，andTobyandIavailedourselvesofitatonce，bystealingoutofthecanoehouse，andplungingintothedepthsofanextensivegrovethatwasinitsrear。
Aftertenminutes’rapidprogress，wegainedanopenspace，fromwhichwecouldjustdescrytheridgeweintendedtomountloomingdimlythroughthemistsofthetropicalshower，anddistantfromusasweestimated，somethingmorethanamile。Ourdirectcoursetowardsitlaythrougharatherpopulouspartofthebay；butdesirousaswewereofevadingthenatives，andsecuringanunmolestedretreattothemountains，wedetermined，bytakingacircuitthroughsomeextensivethickets，toavoidtheirvicinityaltogether。
Theheavyrainthatstillcontinuedtofallwithoutintermission，favouredourenterprise，asitdrovetheislandersintotheirhouses，andpreventedanycasualmeetingwiththem。Ourheavyfrockssoonbecamecompletelysaturatedwithwater，andbytheirweight，andthatofthearticleswehadconcealedbeneaththem，notalittleimpededourprogress。Butitwasnotimetopause，whenatanymomentwemightbesurprisedbyabodyofthesavages，andforcedattheveryoutsettorelinquishourundertaking。
Sinceleavingthecanoe-housewehadscarcelyexchangedasinglesyllablewithoneanother，butwhenweenteredasecondnarrowopeninginthewood，andagaincaughtsightoftheridgebeforeus，ItookTobybythearm，andpointingalongitsslopingoutlinetotheloftyheightsofitsextremity，said，inalowtone，“Now，Toby，notaword，noraglancebackward，tillwestandonthesummitofyondermountain；
sonomorelingering，butletusshoveaheadwhilewecan，andinafewhours’timewemaylaughaloud。Youarethelightestandthenimblest，soleadon，andIwillfollow。“
“Allright，brother，“saidToby，“quick’sourplay，onlylet’skeepclosetogether，that’sall“；andsosaying，withaboundlikeayoungroe，heclearedabrookwhichranacrossourpath，andrushedforwardwithaquickstep。
Whenwearrivedwithinashortdistanceoftheridge，wewerestoppedbyamassoftallyellowreeds，growingtogetherasthicklyastheycouldstand，andastoughandstubbornassomanyrodsofsteel；andweperceived，toourchagrin，thattheyextendedmidwayuptheelevationweproposedtoascend。
Foramomentwegazedaboutusinquestofamorepracticableroute；itwas，however，atonceapparentthattherewasnoresourcebuttopiercethisthicketofcanesatallhazards。Wenowreversedourorderofmarch，I，beingtheheaviest，takingthelead，withaviewofbreakingapaththroughtheobstruction，whileTobyfellintotherear。
TwoorthreetimesIendeavouredtoinsinuatemyselfbetweenthecanes，and，bydintofcoaxingandbendingthem，tomakesomeprogress；butabull-frogmightaswellhavetriedtoworkapassagethroughtheteethofacomb，andIgaveuptheattemptindespair。
Halfwildwithmeetinganobstaclewehadsolittleanticipated，I
threwmyselfdesperatelyagainstit，crushingtothegroundthecaneswithwhichIcameincontact，and，risingtomyfeetagain，repeatedtheactionwithlikeeffect。Twentyminutesofthisviolentexercisealmostexhaustedme，butitcarriedussomewayintothethicket；whenToby，whohadbeenreapingthebenefitofmylaboursbyfollowingcloseatmyheels，proposedtobecomepioneerinturn，andaccordinglypassedaheadwithaviewofaffordingmearespitefrommyexertions。As，however，withhisslightframehemadebutbadworkofit，Iwassoonobligedtoresumemyoldplaceagain。
Onwetoiled，theperspirationstartingfromourbodiesinfloods，ourlimbstornandlaceratedwiththesplinteredfragmentsofthebrokencanes，untilwehadproceededperhapsasfarasthemiddleofthebrake，whensuddenlyitceasedraining，andtheatmospherearoundusbecamecloseandsultrybeyondexpression。Theelasticityofthereedsquicklyrecoveringfromthetemporarypressureofourbodies，causedthemtospringbacktotheiroriginalposition，sothattheyclosedinuponusasweadvanced，andpreventedthecirculationofthelittleairwhichmightotherwisehavereachedus。
Besidesthis，theirgreatheightcompletelyshutusoutfromtheviewofsurroundingobjects，andwewerenotcertainbutthatwemighthavebeengoingallthetimeinawrongdirection。
Fatiguedwithmylong-continuedefforts，andpantingforbreath，I
feltmyselfcompletelyincapacitatedforanyfurtherexertion。I
rolledupthesleeveofmyfrock，andsqueezedthemoistureitcontainedintomyparchedmouth。ButthefewdropsImanagedtoobtaingavemelittlerelief，andIsankdownforamomentwithasortofdoggedapathy，fromwhichIwasarousedbyToby，whohaddevisedaplantofreeusfromthenetinwhichwehadbecomeentangled。
Hewaslayingabouthimlustilywithhissheath-knife，loppingthecanesrightandleft，likeareaper，andsoonmadequiteaclearingaroundus。Thissightreanimatedme；andseizingmyownknife，I
hackedandhewedawaywithoutmercy。But，alas！thefartherweadvancedthethickerandtaller，andapparentlythemoreinterminable，thereedsbecame。
Ibegantothinkwewerefairlysnared，andhadalmostmadeupmymindthatwithoutapairofwingsweshouldneverbeabletoescapefromthetoils，whenallatonceIdiscernedapeepofdaylightthroughthecanesonmyright，and，communicatingthejoyfultidingstoToby，webothfelltowithfreshspirit，andspeedilyopeningapassagetowardsit，wefoundourselvesclearofperplexities，andinthenearvicinityoftheridge。
