though they could not withold my hand when urged by a necessity like this, they were sufficient to make me look back upon the deed with remorse and dismay.
I did not escape all compunction in the present instance; but the tumult of my feelings was quickly allayed. To quench my thirst was a consideration by which all others were supplanted: I approached the torrent, and not only drank copiously, but laved my head, neck, and arms, in this delicious element.
CHAPTER XVIII.
Never was any delight worthy of comparison with the raptures which I then experienced. Life, that was rapidly ebbing, appeared to return upon me with redoubled violence; my languors, my excruciating heat, vanished in a moment; and I felt prepared to undergo the labours of Hercules. Having fully supplied the demands of nature in this respect, I returned to reflection on the circumstances of my situation. The path winding round the hill was now free from all impediments. What remained but to precipitate my flight? I might speedily place myself beyond all danger; I might gain some hospitable shelter, where my fatigues might be repaired by repose, and my wounds be cured; I might likewise impart to my protectors seasonable information of the enemies who meditated their destruction.
I thought upon the condition of the hapless girl whom I had left in the power of the savages. Was it impossible to rescue her? Might I not relieve her from her bonds, and make her the companion of my flight? The exploit was perilous, but not impracticable: there was something dastardly and ignominious in withdrawing from the danger, and leaving a helpless being exposed to it: a single minute might suffice to snatch her from death or captivity: the parents might deserve that I should hazard, or even sacrifice, my life in the cause of their child.
After some fluctuation, I determined to return to the
