torch, with his thumb upon the knob, in his left. The lull in the
storm seemed to be at an end. Black, low-hanging clouds were
closing in upon him. Away to the right, where the line of marshes
was unbroken, the boom of the wind grew louder. A gust very
nearly blew him down the bank. He was compelled to shelter for a
moment on its lee side, whilst a scud of snow and sleet passed
like an icy whirlwind. The roar of the sea was full in his ears
now, and though he must still have been fully two hundred yards
away from it, little ghostly specks of white spray were dashed,
every now and then, into his face. From here he made his way with
great care, almost crawling, until he came to the stile. In the
marshes he was twice in salt water over his knees, but he
scrambled out until he reached the grass-grown sand bank which
Furley had indicated. Obeying orders, he lay down and listened
intently for any fainter sounds mingled with the tumult of nature.
After a few minutes, it was astonishing how his eyes found
themselves able to penetrate the darkness which at first had
seemed like a black wall. Some distance to the right he could
make out the outline of a deserted barn, once used as a
coast-guard station and now only a depository for the storing of
life belts. In front of him he could trace the bank of shingle
and the line of the sea, and presently the outline of some dark
object, lying just out of reach of the breaking waves, attracted
his attention. He watched it steadily. For some time it was as
motionless as the log he presumed it to be. Then, without any
warning, it hunched itself up and drew a little farther back.
There was no longer any doubt. It was a human being, lying on its
stomach with its head turned to the sea.

Julian, who had entered upon his adventure with the supercilious