Still, there was no time now for any further hesitation.

The current was sweeping us toward the chasm between the cliffs, and we had to land without delay.

This we did, and as I had another barrel still loaded and a pistol, I felt that with these arms and those of Agnew we should be able to defend ourselves.

It was in this state of mind that we landed, and secured the boat by means of the grappling-iron.
The natives now all crowded around us, making many strange gestures, which we did not understand.

Some of them bowed low, others prostrated themselves; on the whole these seemed like marks of respect, and it occurred to me that they regarded us as superior beings of some sort.
It was evident that there was nothing like hostility in their minds.
At the same time, the closer survey which I now made of them filled me with renewed horror; their meagre frames, small, watery, lack-lustre eyes, hollow, cavernous sockets, sunken cheeks, protruding teeth, claw-like fingers, and withered skins, all made them look more than ever like animated mummies, and I shrank from them involuntarily, as one shrinks from contact with a corpse.
Agnew, however, was very different, and it was evident that he felt no repugnance whatever.