As I had been unconscious I had no idea when the water would rise again and fill the dome.
My only hope was the opening through which the beam of light had come.
I wasted no time and climbed over stones and slipping seaweed to the rock face in front of me. I could there see that it was quite rough and naggy. I was relieved, climbing to the opening was possible! But who could say that the opening wouldn‘t be flooded as well? And what would await me up there?
“Pointless thoughts,” I said to myself and put them aside.
I wanted, in any case, to rescue the emergency supplies from the diving sphere, so I rushed back.
Professor Pickering had stored them in two sea chests. Using a rope that was stowed with the chests, I tied them together so that I could carry them like a backpack.
I stumbled over the stones to the rock face, climbed up a few meters, then pulled up both chests with the rope.
The opening came closer and closer. Three more meters. Two meters. Just a few more steps and I would be there. In that moment my right foot slipped on the slimy rocks! I had to drop the rope with the two chests in order to grab hold of the rock face. They fell a few meters and landed on a jutting rock with a crack.
Thank God they had survived the fall!
The rope had slipped away so that I had to try to climb down to the two chests or decide to give them up. Although I was right in front of the opening I chose to climb down again to rescue the sea chests.
I was carefully climbing down testing each hold with my feet when I realized that the dome was beginning to fill with water.
Cold sweat appeared on my forehead.
I tenaciously set one foot in front of the other.
The diving sphere was already halfway under water and gurgeling water flooded through the open door into the interior.
I had reached the chests. I carefully laid down on my stomach and tried to grasp the end of the rope which was hanging over the edge of the jut in the rock face.
The diving sphere below me began to sway and slid out of its position between the rocks.
The rope slipped twice out of my hand, but then I got a good grip and began to climb again.
The water rose faster and faster. The diving sphere was completely submerged and as I took a moment’s break to catch my breath I watched as the tide rolled it into one of the caves where it disappeared.
I again gathered all my strength and reached the edge of the opening with one hand. I used the other hand to pull up the chests.
I carefully lifted them through the opening and slid them to the side.
Now I had both hands free and could pull myself up using the edge of the opening.
I was surrounded by light and there I was, on a large island!
Chapter 3
A FANTASTIC WORLD
A sand beach, sprinkled with rock formations, spread out before me, surrounding an enormous lake. I stood in front of a cliff face, which was obviously of volcanic origin. Ancient lava caves that were now flooded by the ocean had saved my life! I squinted my tired eyes and exhaustedly brushed my disheveled hair from my forehead. Farther in the distance I could see the edge of the jungle, which extended from the beach to the foot of a gigantic mountain, whose snowy cap was partially covered in clouds and which had the characteristic form of an inactive volcano.
After getting a confusing impression of the surroundings into which an unbelievable fate had thrown me, I sat down on one of the sea chests, exhausted and powerless.
I only vaguely noticed that my head immediately sank forward and that my eyelids were becoming heavy. An overpowering dreamless sleep compelled me to lay down on the ground.
It was dusk when I awoke again. All sorts of sounds and calls were coming from the jungle. My head was clear again and my body hurt all over, but I was able to move.
Now fearful thoughts came over me: How could I be on an island considering that we were travelling with the Mayflower II in an area of the ocean that was far away from islands and coasts? Had I drifted so far in the diving sphere?
No, it just wasn’t possible. Images slowly came back to me of the moments before the catastrophe. Margaret and I had had ourselves swung into the seaweed forest, but on the other side of the bluish half-darkness there had been a large coral reef wall!
I pulled myself up on the sea chest. My confused thoughts were penetrated by the razor-sharp realization that the Mayflower had obviously been in the immediate vicinity of an unknown island without our noticing it!
For the moment I didn’t want to try to explain how it could have been possible to overlook a huge island. I somehow attributed it to the storm, but in reality I was now consumed with a single wish: to look for the Mayflower. And my heart beat with the burning hope that I might perhaps see Margaret again.
I jumped to my feet.
I now took a better look at my surroundings and realized that the gigantic lake was an enormous sunken volcano which now only peaked out of the ocean with its uppermost tips.
I turned around in a circle to find the lowest possible point in the cliffs that surrounded me. To my great relief, not far from the cave out of which I had crawled there was a break in the cliffs that looked like what I needed.
I dragged the chests away from the cave and placed them under the protective branches of a bush. Then I opened them and put together a bundle of what seemed like the most important equipment. In a blanket I took to keep me warm at night I wrapped a few pieces of rope to help me get through the rough terrain. I put the rest of the items I had chosen in a rucksack, put everything on my back and headed out.
The area made up of sand and rocks around the lake soon turned into savanna. Behind it began the forest, which, in the direction I was walking, ended at an elevated rocky spine, behind which I expected to find the ocean.
I hurried forward as fast as I could. I wanted to get through the forest while it was still light.
I was soon surrounded by the twilight of the jungle with its uncountable tree species, massive roots, vines, mushroom-carpeted leafy floor, and the confusion of sounds that accompanies the onset of evening as the animals of the night awaken and those of the day retire.
I was heading for a spot that I had already made out from the edge of the lake and was expecting to run into the rocky spine. As I determinedly pushed through the growth myriad insects swarmed around me.
After a short while the earth became more and more rocky until I stood directly in front of a steep cliff face. It was slippery with plants, and as there was no way to climb it I looked for a better place. But, as far as I could tell, the tropical rain had smoothed the rock face for so long that any edges or holds that would have been useful to me had worn away.
In front of me lay several large chunks of stone, which I climbed on in order to be able to see over the thick jungle growth..
However, my elevated perspective did not reveal any better possibilities. the cliff face remained smooth and dismissive.
Just as I was about to decide whether to follow the course of the rock face to the left or the right until I found a place to climb it, an animal leapt from the treetops onto my shoulder, giving me a terrible fright. The animal immediately leapt away again – and I saw it was a flying squirrel. It stopped a few meters in front of me on a large rock like the one I was standing on and seemed to regard me attentively.
I was still in shock and could only stare at it.
Then, just as my heartbeat had slowed down again, the squirrel jumped onto the rock face and disappeared!