304 A HORRIBLE SUSPENSE. 



of his captive. As for myself, I did not doubt that the 

 carnivorous beast only waited for the moment when 

 fatigue should seal my eyelids, or I should fall from utter 

 weariness, to precipitate himself upon me. 



" 1 1 shall live,' said I to myself, * as long as my eyes 

 will keep open j but if I go to sleep, I shall wake again 

 between the jaws of the Grisly." 



As Mr. Jeffrey pronounced these words I shuddered in 

 spite of myself, and could not refrain from an exclamation 

 of horror. 



" Do not be alarmed as to my fate," said he with a 

 smile ; " you see me alive, and in the best of health ! 



" I wished to make you comprehend the full extent of 

 the peril in which I found myself, before telling you how 

 I escaped from it. 



" I had passed the night, as you know, without food ; 

 I felt painfully hungry, and very prone to sleep. For- 

 tunately, I had brought with me a flask of water, and as 

 I had drank all its contents in the morning, I was not 

 thirsty. Otherwise I could not possibly have supported 

 the emotions and fatigues of the day. 



" The sun rose irradiant, as generally happens in these 

 deserts, and immediately spread abroad vast sheets of 

 flame which kindled the sand into a glow. Between this 

 twofold heat I felt my skin parched and burning. I wore 

 a broad-brimmed felt hat, which sheltered my head from 

 the sun's direct rays, and yet never before had I found 

 the sun so oppressive ; perhaps this was because I had 

 neither eaten nor slept ; nevertheless I preserved all my 

 presence of mind, and watched keenly for an opportunity 



