Which way to the shore?
That was the question that arose to the lips of all.
You may fancy it could have been easily answered. The direction of the
wind and waves was landward. It was the sea-breeze, which at night, as
every navigator is aware, blows habitually towards the land--at least in
the region of the tropics, and more especially towards the hot Saara.
The tide itself might have told them the direction to take. It was the
in-coming tide, and therefore swelling towards the beach.
You may fancy they had nothing to do but follow the waves, keeping the
breeze upon their back.
So they fancied, at first starting for the shore; but they were not long
in discovering that this guide, apparently so trustworthy, was not to be
relied upon; and it was only then they became apprised of the real
danger of their situation. Both wind and waves were certainly
proceeding landward, and in a direct line; but it was just this direct
line the castaways dared not, in fact could not, follow; for they had
not gone a hundred fathoms from the point of the submerged peninsula
when they found the water rapidly deepening before them; and a few
fathoms farther on they stood up to their armpits!
It was evident that, in the direction in which they were proceeding, it
continued to grow deeper; and they turned to try another.
After floundering about for a while they found shoal water again,
reaching up only to their knees; but, wherever they attempted to follow
the course of the waves, they perceived that the shoal trended gradually
downward.
This at first caused them surprise, as well as alarm. The former
affected them only for an instant. The explanation was sought for, and
suggested to the satisfaction of all. The sandspit did not project
perpendicularly from the line of the coast, but in a diagonal direction.
It was, in fact, a sort of natural breakwater, forming one side of a
large cone, or embayment, lying between it and the true beach. This
feature had been observed on their first setting foot upon it, though at
the time they were so much engrossed with the joyous thought of having
escaped from the sea, that it had made no impression upon their memory.
They now remembered the circumstance, though not to their satisfaction,
for they saw at once that the guide in which they had been trusting
could no longer avail them.
The waves were rolling on over that bay, whose depth they had tried,
only to find it unfordable.
This was a new dilemma. To escape from it there appeared but one way.
They must keep their course along the combing of the peninsula, if they
could. But their ability to do so had now become a question, each
instant growing more difficult to answer.
They were no longer certain that they were on the spit; but, whether or
not, they could find no shallower water by trying on either side. Each
way they went it seemed to deepen; and even if they stood still but for
a few moments, as they were compelled to do while hesitating as to their
course, the water rose perceptibly upon their limbs.
They were now well aware that they had two enemies to contend with, time
and direction. The loss of either one or the other might end in their
destruction. A wrong direction would lead them into deep water; a waste
of time would bring deep water around them. The old adage about time
and tide, which none of them could help having heard, might have been
ringing in their ears at that moment. It was appropriate to the
occasion.
They thought of it; and the thought filled them with apprehension. From
the observations they had made before sunset, they knew that the shore
could not be near, not nearer than three miles, perhaps four.
Even with free footing, the true direction, and a clear view of the
path, it might have been a question about time. They all knew enough of
the sea to be aware how rapidly the tide sets in, especially on some
foreign shores, and there was nothing to assure them that the seaboard
of the Saara was not beset by the most treacherous of tides. On the
contrary, it was just this, a tidal current, that had forced their
vessel among the breakers, causing them to become what they now were,
castaways!
They had reason to dread the tides of the Saara's shore; and dread them
they did, their fears at each moment becoming stronger as they felt the
dark waters rising higher and higher around them!