Page:Cornelia Meigs--The island of Appledore.djvu/116

98 that Billy sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes.

The sun-light had been showing in a sharp bar across the sill of the eastern window when  he fell asleep; it was slanting almost level  through the western one when he awoke. The shadows on the floor were long and black, the  whole place was beginning to be grey and dim. He could not believe that he had slept so long, but everything about him gave undoubted proof. He ran out and down the path to the edge of the creek, and saw, alas,  just what he had feared. While he had been sleeping, the precious moment had passed, the  tide had gone out and come in again, the  causeway was covered and would offer no  chance of safe passage until morning.

“Oh, how could I, how could I?” he kept saying over and over to himself, although it  was easy enough to see how he could. After his long sleep upon the hard floor every inch  of him seemed to have its separate pain; he  felt as though each move must make him cry  aloud. He could hardly make his way back up the path to the mill, but make it he must  for there was now much to be done, and in haste.