ast and North. All went
well until he came to a low reef or ledge of rocks running far out to
sea in a north-easterly direction.

[Illustration]

When Robinson observed this he went on shore and climbed to a high point
to see if it was safe to venture. He was afraid of hidden currents, or
streams of water. These might carry him away from the shore and prevent
him from getting around the point.

He did indeed observe that there was a current running out to sea past
the ledge, but he thought he could by careful paddling keep his boat
from striking the rock. If he could once get beyond the ledge, the wind
would help him double or get around the point. Indeed the danger was
that the wind would blow him on to the rocks.

He waited for two days for a gentle wind. At last without sail he pushed
his boat into the current and was born swiftly seaward. He found the
current much stronger than he thought it would be. It rushed his frail
boat on past the point of the rocks and out into the sea. Try as best he
might he could not change its course. He was steadily going out to sea.
He gave himself up for lost. He reproached himself for being so rash and
foolhardy as to trust his fortunes in so frail a craft. How dear at this
time seemed the island to him! The wind which he had depended on to help
him at this point had died down so that it was at the mercy of the
current. He kept urging his boat to the westward as much as possible,
with all his strength, hoping that a breeze would finally spring up.

He struggled on bravely until about noon. He had been carried out a
great distance into the sea, but not so far as to lose sight of the
land. All at once he felt the breeze freshening up. It caught his sail
and soon his boat was cutting across the current. He did not have to go
far before he was free from it and making headway for the island, which
he reached about four o'clock in the afternoon.

He found himself on the northern shore of the island, but before long
the shore ran away to the southward again. He ran briskly along the west
side until he found a little bay or cove. He determined to enter this,
draw up his boat on shore and make his way back home across the island
on foot. He was almost exhausted with his great labor and was worn out
with anxiety.

In the centre of the arms of the cove he found a little creek entering
the sea. He paddled into this and found a good place to hide his boat.

As soon as Robinson was again