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!
There must have been a cleft in the rock face that I had overlooked due to the oncoming darkness and the thick green moss that covered its surface.
Now I slid down the boulder as quickly as I could and moved closer to the place where the flying squirrel had disappeared.
There, between the fleshy, green leaves, undergrowth and tangled roots, I indeed found a cleft and a small path that led around a corner. The path was so narrow that I couldn’t follow it with my rucksack on, so I took my equipment off my back and put it down. I heard a soft bubbling sound. I saw that water was flowing out near the cleft in the rock. I quickly grabbed the canteen that Professor Pickering had put in the diving sphere. I had already drunk all the emergency water in those few hours, and so I was very happy to have found a water source.
I filled my canteen and splashed my face with the cool wetness. Then I squeezed my way along the cleft sideways and carefully dragged my pack behind me.
The path soon widened and I reached a plateau of lava rock. From here I had a clear view of the ocean!
My heart beat faster. Would I be able to see the Mayflower II? Or were they on the other side of the island?
I hurried on.
I soon found myself at the edge of a cliff. In front of me the rough rock face plunged down into the sea. I could see a coral reef some way out that had formed along the island’s coast.
I anxiously scanned the sea in the twilight. And then I saw her! It had to be the Mayflower II that was floating out there on the ocean!
I guessed the distance between us to be about two kilometers.
I pulled a spyglass out of my bundle. To calm my shaking hands, I propped the spyglass on a large rock and now clearly saw the Mayflower II. The onboard lights were just being lit.
Confused thoughts coursed through my mind once again. How could the Mayflower crew overlook an island that rose out of the sea at a mere distance of
