Page:Edgar Huntly, or The Sleep Walker.djvu/173

 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.

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