u,' said the Archbishop. 'Meon and I have spent a good many
evenings arguing as to where exactly we drifted. All I know is we found
ourselves in a little rocky cove that had sprung up round us out of the
fog, and a swell lifted the boat on to a ledge, and she broke up beneath
our feet. We had just time to shuffle through the weed before the next
wave. The sea was rising.

'"It's rather a pity we didn't let Padda go down to the beach last
night," said Meon. "He might have warned us this was coming."

'"Better fall into the hands of God than the hands of demons," said
Eddi, and his teeth chattered as he prayed. A nor'-west breeze had just
got up--distinctly cool.

'"Save what you can of the boat," said Meon; "we may need it," and we
had to drench ourselves again, fishing out stray planks.'

'What for?' said Dan.

'For firewood. We did not know when we should get off. Eddi had flint
and steel, and we found dry fuel in the old gulls' nests and lit a fire.
It smoked abominably, and we guarded it with boat-planks up-ended
between the rocks. One gets used to that sort of thing if one travels.
Unluckily I'm not so strong as I was. I fear I must have been a trouble
to my friends. It was blowing a full gale before midnight. Eddi wrung
out his cloak, and tried to wrap me in it, but I ordered him on his
obedience to keep it. However, he held me in his arms all the first
night, and Meon begged his pardon for what he'd said the night
before--about Eddi running away if he found me on a sandbank, you
remember.

'"You are right in half your prophecy," said Eddi. "I have tucked up my
gown, at any rate." (The wind had blown it over his head.) "Now let us
thank God for His mercies."

'"Hum!" said Meon. "If this gale lasts, we stand a very fair chance of
dying of starvation."

'"If it be God's will that we live, God will provide," said Eddi. "At
least help me to sing to Him." The wind almost whipped the words out of
his mouth, but he braced himself against a rock and sang psalms.

'I'm glad I never concealed my opinion--from myself--that Eddi was a
better man than I. Yet I have worked hard in my time--very hard!
Yes--yess! So the morning and the evening were our second day on that
islet. There was rainwater in the rock pools, and, as a Churchman, I
knew how to fast, but I admit we were hungry. Meon fed our fire chip by
chip to eke it out, and they made me sit over it, the dear fellows, when
I was too weak to object. Meon held me