Realizing the uselessness of waiting longer, I turned my back upon his
vanity, and strode off alone. It is not my nature to swerve from a
purpose merely because others differ in desires; and I was now
determined to carry out my plan. I took one of the narrow depressions
between two mounds of sand and plunged resolutely forward, endeavoring
to shape my course as directly northward as the peculiarities of the
path would admit. To my mind, there was little to fear from the
hostile Indians, as every sign proved them to be hastening westward in
advance of us; while I was too long accustomed to adventure to be
easily confused, even in the midst of that lonely desolation.

I soon found the walking difficult; for I sank to the ankles with each
step, while the soft sliding sand rolled beneath me so as to yield no
solid foothold. The irregularity of the mounds continually blocked my
passage, and caused me to deviate in direction, so that I grew somewhat
bewildered, the entire surface bearing such uniformity of outline as to
afford little guide. Yet I held to my original course fairly well, for
I could pilot somewhat by the dim north star; and it was not long
before my alert ears caught the pounding of surf along the shore-line.
Much encouraged, I pressed forward with greater rapidity, ignoring the
lanes between the dunes, and clambering over the mounds themselves in
my eagerness to reach the lake before the complete closing down of
night.

At last I topped a particularly high ridge that felt solid to the feet;
and as I did so the wind came, hard and biting, against my face.
There, just below me, not fifty feet away, were rolling the great
waves, white-capped and roaring, pounding like vast sledges upon the
anvil of the sand. My entire being thrilled at the majestic sight, and