He was awaiting one of two events, either the appearance of a vertical well opening before his feet, down which our descent might be resumed, or that of some obstacle which should effectually turn us back on our own footsteps.

他正在等待两个事件之一， 要么是在他的脚前出现一个垂直的井口，我们可以继续下降，要么是出现一些障碍物， 这应该有效地让我们返回我们自己的脚步。