Yet a moment later, even in that darkness, and obliged to rely entirely upon the sense of touch, the truth of my situation became clear.

The blindly floating boat had drifted upon a snag, seemingly the major portion of a tree, now held by some spit of sand.

I struggled vainly in an attempt to release the grip which, held us, but the force of the current had securely wedged the boat's bow beneath a limb, a bare, leafless tentacle, making all my efforts useless.

The ceaseless water rippled about me, the only sound in the silent night, and despairing of any escape, I found a submerged branch on which to stand, gripped the boat desperately to prevent being swept away, and waited for the dawn.
It seemed a long while coming, and never did man gaze on a more dismal, ghastly scene than was revealed to me by those first gray gleams dimly showing in the far east.

All about stretched utter desolation; wherever my eyes turned, the vista was the same--a wide stretch of restless, brown water surging and leaping past, bounded by low-lying shores, forlorn and deserted.