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Rh Soon the beds of fungi disappeared, and, but for the wonderful phosphorescent light emanating from the bodies of the creatures who were with me, and lighting up everything for some distance around us, we would have been in total darkness.

My companions seemed to be very much afraid of snakes, and after seeing their fellow's death I was not surprised.

Whenever they came across a snake (and that was very often), they uttered cries of fright and got out of its way as quickly as possible.

After some time we came to a deep fissure, and putting me on the ground they talked amongst themselves for a while, evidently trying to devise a means of getting me across.

It was plain they did not intend to kill me at once, or they would not have taken the trouble to carry me carefully all this distance.

They had brought me along so gently that I began to lose a little of my former horror of them.

I looked into the gap before me and shuddered. "How would they ever cross it with me?"

I was not left long in doubt.

The fissure was about five feet wide, and I should have thought nothing of jumping it had I been strong; but in my present condition I could not walk, much less make a jump.