That captain was Cigole, the very man who had flung him overboard. He
had unconsciously by so doing sent him to the scene of his early crime.
Was this visit to be all in vain? Thus far it seemed so. But might there
not yet be something beneath this sand which might satisfy him in his
search?

There still remained another room. Might there not be something there?

Brandon went back into the cabin and stood looking at the open doorway
of that other room.

He hesitated. Why? Perhaps it was the thought that here was his last
chance, that here his exploration must end, and if nothing came of it
then all this adventure would be in vain. Then the fantastic hopes and
fears which by turns had agitated him would prove to have been absurd,
and he, instead of being sent by Fate as the minister of vengeance,
would be only the commonplace victim of an everyday accident.

Perhaps it was some instinct within him that made known to his mind what
awaited him there. For now as he stood that old horror came upon him
full and strong. Weakness and excitement made his heart beat and his
ears ring. Now his fancy became wild, and he recalled with painful
vividness his father's words:

"In the crisis of your fate I will be near."

The horrors of the past night recurred. The air of the cabin was close
and suffocating. There seemed in that dark room before him some dread
Presence, he knew not what; some Being, who had uncovered this his abode
and enticed him here.