Rowing away as they could from thisperilous neighborhood, they lay on their oars when the night came on, notknowing which way to go. Gradually the fog cleared away, the sun roseclearly at last, and wherever they looked on the deep they saw no tracesof any island, still less of the demon hand. But for the presence amongthem of the fishermen they had picked up, there was nothing to show thatany casualty had happened.That day they steered still farther to the west with some repining fromthe crew, and at night the same fog gathered, the same deadly chill cameon. Finding themselves in shoal water, and apparently near some island,they decided to anchor the boat; and as the man in the bow bent over toclear away the anchor, something came down upon him with the same awfulforce, and knocked him overboard. His body could not be recovered, and asthe wind came up, they drove before it until noon of the next day, seeingnothing of any land and the ocean deepening again. By noon the fogcleared, and they saw nothing, but cried with one voice that the boatshould be put about, and they should return to Spain. For two days theyrowed in peace over a summer sea; then came the fog again and they laid ontheir oars that night. All around them dim islands seemed to float,scarcely discernible in the fog; sometimes from the top of each a pointwould show itself, as of a mighty hand, and they could hear an occasionalplash and roar, as if this hand came downwards.
Pages:
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114