At last, all at once, I
found that I was free of the close undergrowth and walking on
level ground; but it was darker here darker than the darkest
night; and at length, when the lightning came and flared down
through the dense roof of foliage overhead, I discovered that I
was in a spot that had a strange look, where the trees were very
large and grew wide apart, and with no undergrowth to impede
progress beneath them. Here, recovering breath, I began to run,
and after a while found that I had left the large trees behind
me, and was now in a more open place, with small trees and
bushes; and this made me hope for a while that I had at last
reached the border of the forest. But the hope proved vain; once
more I had to force my way through dense undergrowth, and finally
emerged on to a slope where it was open, and I could once more
see for some distance around me by such light as came through the
thick pall of clouds. Trudging on to the summit of the slope, I
saw that there was open savannah country beyond, and for a moment
rejoiced that I had got free from the forest. A few steps more,
and I was standing on the very edge of a bank, a precipice not
less than fifty feet deep.
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