Lives of Alcyone

When the sun rose he saw a faint blur of land, ahead of him but to
the south, and the sight revived him enough to induce him to make
an effort to paddle in that direction. Again he suffered much from the
fierce heat of the sun, and the violent exertion of incessant paddling
under such conditions; but he did manage to draw steadily nearer to
the goal, and at last, about three o’ clock in the afternoon, with a
final struggle, he ran his canoe on the beach of a tiny island, and
threw himself down on the sand.
After a short rest the remorseless glare of the sun forced him,
exhausted as he was, to struggle to his feet again, and wander
inland in search of water. This he did not at first find, but he saw a
grove of coconut trees, and contrived to break open of the fallen
fruit, and drank the contents. This refreshed him, and he made
further investigations, first securing the boat by drawing it high on
the shore, out of reach of the waves. He found a small spring and
some fruit-trees—a kind of wild banana and some wood-apples; and
he threw himself down in the shade b the spring, and slept the sleep
of utter weariness. When he awoke the night had passed, and it was
dawn once more. He felt much better, and started to make an
exploration of his island. It was small, but thickly covered with trees,
and it was dawn once more. He felt much better, and started to
make an exploration of his island. It was small but thickly covered
with trees, and there was a little spring of good water, so he thought
himself fortunate, especially as it seemed to be entirely uninhabited.
He soon saw, however, that there was only enough fruit to support
him for a few days, and he debated within himself what he should
do. His nautical knowledge told him that India lay to the west, and
that it was impossible to reach it, not only because of the great
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