Sinking slowly down with a feeling of drowsiness stealing away my
senses, I was suddenly awakened by my body coming to an abrupt stop and
resting upon some hard substance. My first impression was that I had
collided with some huge sea-monster and was about to be devoured. So
placing my hands and feet firmly upon it I sprang upward with all the
force I could command in an effort to get out of its reach, but to my
great surprise my head and half of my body shot out of the water into
the air above and down I came again square upon my feet with a jolt that
caused my teeth to rattle. And there I stood with my head and shoulders
out of the water while my lungs inhaled long draughts of pure fresh air.
I was too astonished to think and too weak to move, so I just stood
there motionless until I had regained my equilibrium. I could never
forget how sweet life seemed to me at that time. For a long time I
remained standing there without giving a thought as to what I was
resting upon, and when I did direct my attention to the question I was
incapable of forming a satisfactory solution to the mystery. According
to the charts there was no land in that part of the ocean. Could it be a
whale, I wondered? The more I thought of it the more perplexed I became.
The night was very dark and I could see nothing about me in any
direction, so I concluded that the only thing to do was to remain
standing just where I was until daybreak. It was a long and tedious wait
and I suffered much from stiffness and cold, but at last dawn appeared
and I anxiously strained my eyes, looking about in every direction. Then
my head nearly burst with a feeling of joyousness, for within two
hundred yards of me I discerned the outline of what appeared to be a
hill of rocks protruding from the deep, and as the light grew brighter I
started to wade slowly towards it. This was an extremely tiresome
undertaking, as the bed upon which I had been resting was very rocky and
uneven and I received many bruises before finally reaching its base. My
limbs too were thoroughly numb and almost refused to work, but with each
step ahead the water became shallower and my progress less arduous. As I
went forward I thought it was by the miraculous hand of God that my life
had been saved, for the time being at least. Then, again, it occurred to
me, that if it was the hand of the Almighty that saved me, it must have
been by His hand also that I was thrown overboard, for if He directed
the one act He must have surely directed the other. So why blame the
sailors for attempting to take my life if it was God's will that it
should be done?
Reaching the base of the rocks in a feeble condition and staggering like
a man under the influence of liquor, I threw myself down and went to
sleep just as the sun peeped over the horizon.
Several hours later I awakened with a start to find the burning sun
directly overhead and my body dripping with perspiration, my throat
parched and an awful feeling of thirst within me. My tongue felt as
though it was several inches thick and it seemed as though I would choke
immediately for the want of something to drink. Aside from the thirst,
however, I felt considerably refreshed and sprang to my feet with my
usual agility.
The first thing that attracted my attention as I looked about in a
curious manner, was that this strange pile of stone which protruded from
the sea, bore evidence of having once been a part of some mammoth
building which had apparently been shaken down and now lay in a chaotic
heap. Some of the stones were of tremendous size and different in shape
and quality from any others I have ever seen. Their designs showed that
wonderful skill must have been employed by the workmen who originally
cut and fit them into position. The whole mass formed a sort of a ragged
hill about one hundred feet in diameter and the highest point about
forty feet above the sea level.
In looking about, I discovered to my great delight that among the
crevices of the rocks there were many little places which acted as
basins to store up water from the recent rains, and I immediately took
advantage of these conditions to quench my thirst and bathe my face and
head. This done I began climbing up toward the top of the pile. It took
considerable time and patience to make the ascent, as the stones were
massed together in a most irregular and precipitous manner. Reaching the
highest point, I eagerly scanned the surrounding horizons with the hope
of seeing some passing ship, but nothing except sky and water met my
gaze.
Seating myself upon the topmost rock, I became buried in the depths of
meditation, and as I sat perched up there alone without even a glimpse
of a sea-fowl for companionship I felt as if I was the only living thing
extant; in fact, I actually imagined myself as being the center and
objective point of the universe. God in His great wisdom had flung me
there for some purpose or other and was watching my movements to the
exclusion of everything else, so I thought. Aye, even the warmth from
the rays of the sun had been arranged for my special benefit. How big a
little faith will make one feel sometimes.
For several hours I remained in one position, musing over my strange
situation and wondering what the final outcome would be. At last, after
the sun had gone down and darkness began to encircle me, I decided to
look about and find a suitable place to lie down and sleep for the
night. So I began to climb from rock to rock until I had reached the
opposite side of the jagged plateau, when suddenly one of the great
stones wobbled, I lost my balance and slid down an incline into a sort
of a pit. Then my feet struck something which momentarily stopped my
unexpected descent, but it proved to be a mere shell, and crashing
through it I landed with a violent jolt about ten feet further below.
Although somewhat stunned and a trifle confused by the suddenness of the
fall, I quickly regained my equanimity and looking upward I saw a small
hole which my body had passed through, the shaggy rocks above, the dark
sky and a few stars, but the strangest thing of all was, that the grotto
into which I had fallen was as light as day.