men and women came after me, jabbering their uncouth language and
gesticulating. I warned them off, angrily. They persisted, and though
none of them were armed, yet I saw that they were unwilling to have me
leave the cave, and I supposed that they would try to prevent me by
force.

The absence of Agnew made my position a difficult one. Had it not been
for this I would have burst through them and fled to the boat; but as
long as he was away I felt bound to wait; and though I longed to fly,
I could not for his sake. The boat seemed to be a haven of rest. I
longed to be in her once more, and drift away, even if it should be to
my death. Nature was here less terrible than man; and it seemed better
to drown in the waters, to perish amid rocks and whirlpools, than to
linger here amid such horrors as these. These people were not like
human beings. The vilest and lowest savages that I had ever seen were
not so odious as these. A herd of monkeys would be far more congenial,
a flock of wolves less abhorrent. They had the caricature of the human
form; they were the lowest of humanity; their speech was a mockery of
language; their faces devilish, their kindness a cunning pretence; and
most hideous of all was the nightmare hag that prepared the cannibal
repast.

I could not begin hostilities, for I had to wait for Agnew; so I stood
and looked, and then walked away for a little distance. They followed
me closely, with eager words and gesticulations, though as yet no one
touched me or threatened me. Their tone seemed rather one of
persuasion. After a few paces I stood still, with all of them around
me. The horrible repast showed plainly all that was in store for us.
They received us kindly and fed us well only to devote us to the most
abhorrent of deaths. Agnew, in his mad confidence, was only insuring