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VIII
ROBINSON ON AN ISLAND
After his hunger and thirst were satisfied, Robinson thought he would
try to find another dwelling place. "My legs are stiff and sore from
sitting so uncomfortably last night, and there is so much danger of
falling," he said. "I will climb yonder hill and look around and see
on which side the houses are. I will find me a stick to help me on
my way."
He broke a stick from a dry bush and climbed up the steep sides of
the hill. After a half hour's climb he was on top. What a sight met
his eyes! There were no houses, no huts to be seen, no smoke arose
from the forest, no field could be seen. Nothing but trees and bush,
sand and rock.
"I am then upon an island alone, without food, without shelter,
without weapons! What will become of me?" he cried. "I am a prisoner.
The island is my prison, the waves are the guards which will not allow
me to get away. Will no ship ever come to set me free?"
He stretched his gaze out to the sea till his eyes ached, but he saw
no ship.
Robinson came down and seated himself on a stone and considered what
he should do. It was not yet noon, yet he feared greatly the next
night. "I must find me a better bed," was his first clear thought.
[Illustration]
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Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
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