that Billy sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes.
The sun-light had been showing in a sharp bar across the sill of the eastern window when he fell asleep; it was slanting almost level through the western one when he awoke. The shadows on the floor were long and black, the whole place was beginning to be grey and dim. He could not believe that he had slept so long, but everything about him gave undoubted proof. He ran out and down the path to the edge of the creek, and saw, alas, just what he had feared. While he had been sleeping, the precious moment had passed, the tide had gone out and come in again, the causeway was covered and would offer no chance of safe passage until morning.
“Oh, how could I, how could I?” he kept saying over and over to himself, although it was easy enough to see how he could. After his long sleep upon the hard floor every inch of him seemed to have its separate pain; he felt as though each move must make him cry aloud. He could hardly make his way back up the path to the mill, but make it he must for there was now much to be done, and in haste.
