ing in they continued up the
beach; so as to place themselves beyond the reach of the water, in the
event of its rising still higher.

They had to cross a wide stretch of wet sand before they could find a
spot sufficiently elevated to secure them against the further influx of
the tide. Having at length, discovered such a spot, they stopped to
deliberate on what was best to be done.

They would fain have had a fire to dry their dripping garments; for the
night had grown chilly under the influence of the fog.

The old sailor had his flint, steel, and tinder, the latter still safe
in its water-tight tin box; but there was no fuel to be found near. The
spar, even if they could have broken it up, was still floating, or
stranded, in the shoal water, more than a mile to seaward.

In the absence of a fire they adopted the only other mode they could
think of to get a little of the water out of their clothes. They
stripped themselves to the skin, wrung out each article separately; and
then, giving each a good shake, put them on again, leaving it to the
natural warmth of their bodies to complete the process of drying.

By the time they had finished this operation, the mist had become
sensibly thinner; and the moon, suddenly emerging from under a cloud,
enabled them to obtain a better view of the shore upon which they had
set foot.

Landward, as far as they could see, there appeared to be nothing but
white sand, shining like silver under the light of the moon. Up and
down the coast the same landscape could be dimly distinguished.

It was not a level surface that was thus covered with sand; but a
conglomeration of hillocks and ridges, blending into each other and
forming a labyrinth, that seemed to stretch interminably on all sides,
except towards the sea itself.

It occurred to them to climb to the highest of the hillocks. From its
summit they would have a better view of the country beyond; and perhaps
discover a place suitable for an encampment; perhaps some timber might
then come into view, from which they would be able to obtain a few
sticks.

On attempting to scale the "dune", they found that their wading was not
yet at an end. Though no longer in the water, they sank to their knees
at every step, in soft yielding sand.

The ascent of the hillock, though scarce a hundred feet high, proved
exceedingly toilsome, much more so than wading knee-deep in water, but
they floundered on, and at length reached the summit