We now approached a precipice, which rose sheer out of the sea, and, as
we drew nearer, I observed a tunnel into which the water rushed with
the force of a mill-race. It then came to my mind that this was the
current I had read of which ran into the earth, and along which shipmen
had been carried, never to be heard of again.
I glanced at the woman who had kidnapped me in this strange fashion
seemingly with the object of enticing me to my doom. Her face was set
and stern; with both hands she grasped a steering paddle, with which
she guided the canoe into the rushing stream. The girls had ceased
rowing, and were crouched together in the frail craft, which now,
caught by the hand of Nature, was carried with incredible speed into
the darkness of the unknown.
How long we were in the tunnel I cannot say. It seemed an eternity, but
it could not actually have been very long. The speed at which we
travelled was so great as to make the drawing of the breath difficult,
and a strange humming sound--very loud-made it impossible to speak or
even to cry out. I had abandoned hope and resigned myself to death when
suddenly we emerged from the tunnel into a blinding sunshine, which
dazzled the eyes after the darkness.
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