The works of Edgar Allan Poe; newly collected and edited, with a memoir, critical introductions, and notes, by Edmund Clarence Stedman and George Edward Woodberry; the illustrations by Albert Edward Sterner.

ADVENTURE OF ONE HANS PFAALL
my head, shaking it repeatedly, and feeling it with
minute attention, until I succeeded in satisfying myself
that it was not, as I had more than half suspected,
larger than my balloon. Then, in a knowing manner,
I felt in both my breeches pockets, and, missing therefrom a set of tablets and a toothpick case, endeavored
to account for their disappearance, and, not being able
to do so, felt inexpressibly chagrined. It now occurred
to me that I suffered great uneasiness in the joint of
my left ankle, and a dim consciousness of my situation
began to glimmer through my mind. But, strange to
say! I was neither astonished nor horror-stricken. If
I felt any emotion at all, it was a kind of chuckling
satisfaction at the cleverness I was about to display
in extricating myself from this dilemma; and never,
for a moment, did I look upon my ultimate safety as a
question susceptible of doubt. For a few minutes I
remained wrapped in the profoundest meditation. I
have a distinct recollection of frequently compressing
my lips, putting my forefinger to the side of my nose,
and making use of other gesticulations and grimaces
common to men who, at ease in their armchairs,
meditate upon matters of intricacy or importance.
Having, as I thought, sufficiently collected my ideas,
I now, with great caution and deliberation, put my
hands behind my back, and unfastened the large iron
buckle which belonged to the waistband of my panta-1
loons. This buckle had three teeth, which, being
somewhat rusty, turned with great difficulty on their
axis. I brought them, however, after some trouble, at
right angles to the body of the buckle, and was glad
to find them remain firm in that position. Holding
within my teeth the instrument thus obtained, I now
proceeded to untie the knot of my cravat. I had to
149