Martin flung himself with his face to the ground, and thought rather than uttered a heartfelt thanksgiving for his deliverance.  The savage carried the news of his death to his friends in the Indian village, and recounted with deep solemnity the particulars of his awful fate to crowds of wondering,—­in many cases sorrowing,—­listeners; and for many a day after that, the poor savages were wont to visit the terrible cliff and gaze with awe on the mysterious vortex that had swallowed up, as they believed, the fair-haired boy.

CHAPTER XXII

THE ESCAPE—­ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS—­FIGHT BETWEEN A JAGUAR AND AN ALLIGATOR—­MARTIN ENCOUNTERS STRANGE AND TERRIBLE CREATURES

Freedom can be fully appreciated only by those who have been for a long period deprived of liberty.  It is impossible to comprehend the feelings of joy that welled up in Martin’s bosom as he clambered up the rugged cliffs among which he had found shelter, and looked round upon the beautiful valley, now lying in the shadow of the mountain range behind which the sun had just set.  He sat down on a rock, regardless of the wet condition of his clothes, and pondered long and earnestly over his position, which was still one of some danger; but a sensation of light-hearted recklessness made the prospect before him seem very bright.  He soon made up his mind what to do.  The weather was extremely warm, so that after wringing the water out of his linen clothes he experienced little discomfort; but he felt that there would not only be discomfort but no little danger in travelling in such a country without arms, covering, or provisions.  He therefore determined on the bold expedient of revisiting the Indian village during the darkness of the night in order to procure what he required.  He ran great risk of being retaken, but his necessity was urgent, and he was aware that several families were absent on a hunting expedition at that time whose huts were pretty certain to be unoccupied.

Accordingly, when two or three hours of the night had passed, he clambered with much difficulty down the precipitous rock and reached the level plain, over which he quickly ran, and soon reached the outskirts of the village.  The Indians were all asleep, and no sound disturbed the solemn stillness of the night.  Going stealthily towards a hut he peeped in at the open window, but could see and hear nothing.  Just as he was about to enter, however, a long-drawn breath proved that it was occupied.  He shrank hastily back into the deep shade of the bushes.  In a few minutes he recovered from the agitation into which he had been thrown and advanced cautiously towards another hut.  This one seemed to be untenanted, so he opened the palm-leaf door gently and entered.  No time was to be lost now.  He found an empty sack or bag, into which he hastily threw as much farina as he could carry without inconvenience.  Besides this, he appropriated a long knife; a small hatchet;