The illusion was heightened by a giant spire that towered grandly from the center of the islet.

It looked a shrine built by nature in honor of its Creator, a true temple of the infinite, and the semblance was no illusion to these three castaways, since they regarded it as a sanctuary to which alone, under Heaven, they might owe their lives.

Hozier, of course, realized that there was a certain element of risk in returning there.

The island authorities would surely endeavor to find out where the party of desperadoes had lain _perdu_ between the sinking of the ship and the attack on the picket.

But the ill-starred Marcel had been confident that none could land on the rock who was not acquainted with the intricacies of the approach, and Philip was content to trust to the reef-guarded passage rather than seek shelter on the mainland.
Once embarked in the fairway, the management of the catamaran occupied his mind to the complete exclusion of all other problems.