It was now three o'clock . I must wait another hour yet before I could get the best view of the `` Hole in the Wall '' -- a huge , arch-like opening through a jutting headland to the west of me . I went around to look at it , when I saw a sight that made me stop short in dismay . This was nothing less than the flat , drifting outward around the point . The swell and suction of the water around the rock must have pulled her loose -- and I was a prisoner ! At first my only feeling was one of annoyance . Then a thought flashed into my mind that made me dizzy with fear . The tide would be high that night . If I could not escape from Island Rock I would inevitably be drowned . I sat down limply on a ledge and tried to look matters fairly in the face . I could not swim ; calls for help could not reach anybody ; my only hope lay in the chance of somebody passing down the shore or of some boat appearing . I looked at my watch . It was a quarter past three . The tide would begin to turn about five , but it would be at least ten before the rock would be covered . I had , then , little more than six hours to live unless rescued . The flat was by this time out of sight around the point . I hoped that the sight of an empty flat drifting down shore might attract someone 's attention and lead to investigation . That seemed to be my only hope . No alarm would be felt at Uncle Richard 's because of my non-appearance . They would suppose I had gone to Uncle Adam 's .
I have heard of time seeming long to a person in my predicament , but to me it seemed fairly to fly , for every moment decreased my chance XXXXX rescue .
If around before by for into of on than to