20 Chapter 20

It was fairly slow going at first, but our pace improved once we had passed the rocky headland and headed north along the shoreline. The tide was out here, and there was lots of cool sand to walk on. There were only rocks to be avoided, sharp bits of shell sticking out of the sand, and an occasional horizontal tree trunk to be gotten over.

Before long, the shoreline began to curve westward.

“It’s not very big,” the Marine observed, then added with a grin at me, “The island, I mean.”

I smiled, but said nothing. I still didn’t feel comfortable with that kind of humor from him—at least not yet. Also, I was caught up in the excitement of our expedition. My lack of reaction seemed to quell further jokes of that sort, and we both became serious, conscientious explorers.

There was no solid reef along this section of shoreline, and the tidal pools showed enormous rocks, between which the sand spread out.