it will sustain me. But
are you sure, Walter--quite sure?"

"Absolutely certain," I answered. "Julius has seen it, too, and is
steering the boat straight for it. Now, drink a little more water, and
then let me help you to get into the fresh air. You will feel ever so
much better out there on deck."

She drank again, this time avidly, almost savagely, her small teeth
clenching on the rim of the pannikin and her poor thin fingers grasping
it tightly when I attempted to remove it from her lips. When, knowing
that, in her condition, to drink freely would be hurtful to her, I
forcibly removed the pannikin, the poor girl cried pitifully, and
whispered that I was cruel; but I presently pacified her with the
promise of a little more as soon as she was outside. At last, with less
difficulty than I had anticipated, I got her out on deck, where, after
the administration of about a quarter of a pint of water, with just a
suspicion of brandy in it, she revived in the most marvellous manner.

Then I went below again, and, pursuing the same tactics with the others,
eventually had the happiness to restore them all to animation and get
them out on deck, where they sat feasting their eyes upon the glorious
prospect that was gradually unfolding itself before them. To achieve
this result I had to expend the very last drop of water that could be
coaxed from the breaker; and as I did so I realised to the full what the
torments of Tantalus must have been. Not a drop had passed my own lips
during the previous twelve hours, and to witness the ecstasy with which
the others absorbed the precious liquid was almost more than I could
endure in my then weak state.

As we crept slowly in toward the island we naturally obtained a more
distinct view of its characteristics. Let me try to describe them.
From north to south I judged the island to measure a little over eight
miles long. At about a third of its length from the north end there
occurred a sort of peak, to which the land sloped in every direction
from its extremities, which seemed to consist of rocky cliffs ranging
from about forty to perhaps two hundred feet in height, except towards
the north, where the soil sloped gently down to a white sandy beach
about half a mile in length. Within about a mile and a half of the
southern extremity there was another elevation, a sort of knoll, and
about a mile further south another knoll, about half the height of its
neighbour. The cliffs w