That done, the Negro stumbled along to the rail, and grasped it with both hands, so as to make sure of his balance.

Evidently he wished to view the country over which the "Albatross" was flying at the height of seven hundred feet or more.
At first he kept himself well back behind the rail.

Then he shook it to make sure it was firm; then he drew himself up; then he bent forward; then he stretched out his head.

It need not be said that while he was executing these different maneuvers he kept his eyes shut.

At last he opened them.
What a shout! And how quickly he fled! And how deeply his head sank back into his shoulders! At the bottom of the abyss he had seen the immense ocean.