At length, in a desperate effort to force the crate from its ground, I felt a strong vibration in the side next me.

I thrust my hand eagerly to the edge of the planks, and found that a very large one was loose.

With my pocket-knife, which, luckily, I had with me, I succeeded, after great labour, in prying it entirely off; and getting it through the aperture, discovered, to my exceeding joy, that there were no boards on the opposite side--in other words, that the top was wanting, it being the bottom through which I had forced my way.

I now met with no important difficulty in proceeding along the line until I finally reached the nail.

With a beating heart I stood erect, and with a gentle touch pressed against the cover of the trap.