of water in the well, which was about the
depth alongside; the inference therefore was that, upon striking the
reef, the ship had been bilged, or some of her planks had been started,
and that therefore, if it depended upon my efforts alone, she would
never float again.

I next turned my attention to externals. Helped by Billy, I tottered to
the skylight and seated myself upon the cover, from which I obtained a
clear view of the whole reef, from horizon to horizon. It appeared to
be a typical example of a coral barrier reef, running roughly parallel
to the shore of the island, from north to south; but it seemed to vary
greatly in width, for while in some places I judged it to be not more
than five or six yards wide, it was nearly or quite three hundred yards
wide where the brigantine lay. And most fortunate was it for us that it
was so; for if, after striking, the ship had been driven over the inner
edge of the reef to the comparatively deep water of the lagoon, she
would assuredly have gone down, taking us with her. As it was, there
was a space of only about a fathom between our forefoot and the inner
edge of the reef, as I ascertained later. The great wall of surf, fifty
feet high, breaking perpetually upon the outer face of the reef, and
stretching mile after mile to north and south of us, was a wonderful
sight, especially in the early morning, when the sun's rays struck the
great cloud of spray, creating a most beautiful and perfect rainbow.
That same wall of spray, by the way, effectually excluded all view of
the ocean outside, so that even if a whole navy happened to be passing,
we should never catch the smallest glimpse of it, so long as we remained
aboard the wreck. It was evident, therefore, that the first step toward
an escape from our present predicament must be the transfer of ourselves
and everything of value to the island.

By a natural transition of thought I next turned my attention to the
land which stretched north and south athwart the bows of the wreck. A
great belt of smooth water, averaging some two miles in width, lay
between the reef and the beach of dazzling white sand, both extending to
right and left as far as the eye could see. To the south the land
seemed to dip out of sight below the horizon, but northward it appeared
to terminate in a high headland which I estimated to be about eighteen
miles distant; I considered, therefore, that the island must measure,
from north to south, at le