e" upon the waves; until he had discovered the angle at which
they broke over the "bar," and could follow the "combing" of the spit,
as he called it, without much danger of departure from the true path.

It was not the _direction_ that troubled their thoughts any longer; but
the _time_ and the _tide_.

Up to their waists in water, their progress could not be otherwise than
slow. The time would not have signified could they have been sure of the
tide,--that is, sure of its not rising higher.

Alas! they could not be in doubt about this. On the contrary, they were
too well assured that it _was_ rising higher; and with a rapidity that
threatened soon to submerge them under its merciless swells. These came
slowly sweeping along, in the diagonal direction,--one succeeding the
other, and each new one striking higher up upon the bodies of the now
exhausted waders.

On they floundered despite their exhaustion; on along the subaqueous
ridge, which at every step appeared to sink deeper into the water,--as
if the nearer to the land the peninsula became all the more depressed.
This, however, was but a fancy. They had already passed the neck of the
sand-spit where it was lowest. It was not that, but the fast flowing
tide that was deepening the water around them.

Deeper and deeper,--deeper and deeper, till the salt sea clasped them
around the armpits, and the tidal waves began to break over their heads!

There seemed but one way open to their salvation,--but one course by
which they could escape from the engulfment that threatened. This was to
forego any further attempt at wading, to fling themselves boldly upon
the waves, and _swim_ ashore!

Now that they were submerged to their necks, you may wonder at their not
at once adopting this plan. It is true they were ignorant of the
distance they would have to swim before reaching the shore. Still they
knew it could not be more than a couple of miles; for they had already
traversed quite that distance on the diagonal spit. But two miles need
scarce have made them despair, with both wind and tide in their favor.

Why, then, did they hesitate to trust themselves to the quick, bold
stroke of the swimmer, instead of the slow, timid, tortoise-like tread
of the wader?

There are two answers to this question; for there were two reasons for
them not having recourse to the former alternative. The first was
selfish; or rather, should we call it _self-preservative_. There was a
doubt in t