The fact is he had sat down upon an intervening body of coushie-ants. Many
of those which escaped being crushed to death turned again, and in revenge
stung the unintentional intruder most severely. The watchman had fallen
asleep, and it was some time before a light could be procured, the fire
having gone out; in the meantime the poor gentleman was suffering an
indescribable martyrdom, and would have found himself more at home in the
Augean stable than in the planter's house.
I had often wished to have been once sucked by the vampire in order that I
might have it in my power to say it had really happened to me. There can be
no pain in the operation, for the patient is always asleep when the vampire
is sucking him; and as for the loss of a few ounces of blood, that would be
a trifle in the long run. Many a night have I slept with my foot out of the
hammock to tempt this winged surgeon, expecting that he would be there, but
it was all in vain; the vampire never sucked me, and I could never account
for his not doing so, for we were inhabitants of the same loft for months
together.
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