TERCEIRA. 
19 
roar of the sea added to the confusion of sounds. 
Again and again we blew the horn, but without avail. 
We had not advanced many steps, when the fore- 
most of the party stopped suddenly, uttering a low 
and hurried exclamation. The night was star-lit, and 
looking before us, we beheld the loosened soil, some 
feet in extent evidently having been recently up- 
turned. The dew stood upon my brow ; all seemed 
to feel a horror at the sight, a dread that could not 
shape itself in words. A long and swelling howl 
from the dog was now repeated in a momentary lull 
of the wind. 
“ Mark the spot ! but let us on to the cliff now ! ” 
The first streak of dawn was glimmering in the 
east as we reached the summit of the rocks ; and as 
day broke, we were hailed by the fishermen whom we 
had sent round upon the shore. They were half way 
down the cliff, and with emphatic gesture they pointed 
down below them ; and one of them, resting his head 
upon his hand, seemed to intimate that our friend 
lay there asleep or helpless. Our guide was a power- 
ful and active man, and he at once prepared to 
descend; myself and another of the party followed, 
after many warnings from the guide, for the steep was 
one which even the practised islanders considered it a 
feat to descend ; at the best it was extremely hazard- 
ous, requiring a cool head and a sure foot, as well as 
activity and experience. Having disencumbered our- 
selves of our boots and the most inconvenient part of 
