“`IknewnothingaboutittillIlookedup，“heexplained，hastily。
Andthat’spossible，too。Youhadtolistentohimasyouwouldtoasmallboyintrouble。Hedidn’tknow。Ithadhappenedsomehow。Itwouldneverhappenagain。Hehadlandedpartlyonsomebodyandfallenacrossathwart。
Hefeltasthoughallhisribsonhisleftsidemustbebroken；thenherolledover，andsawvaguelytheshiphehaddeserteduprisingabovehim，withtheredside-lightglowinglargeintherainlikeafireonthebrowofahillseenthroughamist。“Sheseemedhigherthanawall；sheloomedlikeacliffovertheboat……IwishedIcoulddie，“hecried。“Therewasnogoingback。ItwasasifIhadjumpedintoawell——intoaneverlastingdeephole……“
lockedhisfingerstogetherandtorethemapart。
Nothingcouldbemoretrue：hehadindeedjumpedintoanever-lastingdeephole。Hehadtumbledfromaheighthecouldneverscaleagain。Bythattimetheboathadgonedrivingforwardpastthebows。Itwastoodarkjustthenforthemtoseeeachother，and，moreover，theywereblindedandhalfdrownedwithrain。Hetoldmeitwaslikebeingsweptbyafloodthroughacavern。Theyturnedtheirbackstothesquall；theskipper，itseems，gotanoaroverthesterntokeeptheboatbeforeit，andfortwoorthreeminutestheendoftheworldhadcomethroughadelugeinapitchyblackness。