the sea.

It was evident that it would not be easy to recover it. There was a
spirit of mischief and malice in a wind which had sought out his basket
in that position.

It was the commencement of hostilities. Gilliatt understood the token.

To those who live in a state of rude familiarity with the sea, it
becomes natural to regard the wind as an individuality, and the rocks as
sentient beings.

Nothing remained but the biscuit and the rye-meal, except the
shell-fish, on which the shipwrecked sailor had supported a lingering
existence upon "The Man Rock."

It was useless to think of subsisting by net or line fishing. Fish are
naturally averse to the neighbourhood of rocks. The drag and bow net
fishers would waste their labour among the breakers, the points of which
would be destructive only to their nets.

Gilliatt breakfasted on a few limpets which he plucked with difficulty
from the rocks. He narrowly escaped breaking his knife in the attempt.

While he was making his spare meal, he was sensible of a strange
disturbance on the sea. He looked around.

It was a swarm of gulls and seamews which had just alighted upon some
low rocks, and were beating their wings, tumbling over each other,
screaming, and shrieking. All were swarming noisily upon the same point.
This horde with beaks and talons were evidently pillaging something.

It was Gilliatt's basket.

Rolled down upon a sharp point by the wind, the basket had burst open.
The birds had gathered round immediately. They were carrying off in
their beaks all sorts of fragments of provisions. Gilliatt recognised
from the distance his smoked beef and his salted fish.

It was their turn now to be aggressive. The birds had taken to
reprisals. Gilliatt had robbed them of their lodging, they deprived him
of his supper.

IX

THE ROCK, AND HOW GILLIATT USED IT

A week passed.

Although it was in the rainy season no rain fell, a fact for which
Gilliatt felt thankful. But the work he had entered upon surpassed, in
appearance at least, the power of human hand or skill. Success appeared
so improbable that the attempt seemed like madness.

It is not until a task is fairly grappled with that its difficulties and
perils become fully manifest. There is nothing like making a
commencement for making evident how difficult it will be to come to the
end. Every beginning is a struggle against resistance. The first step is
an exorable undeceiver. A difficulty which we