Presently a dense fog came rolling in from the sea, and in a few minutes the air ship was lost to view, although not more than forty or fifty yards from where we were sitting. We continued eating our lunch like a couple of specters on each side of the fire, until, finding that we were getting wet, I got up to go after some oilskins. I thought I knew exactly where the machine was, believing that I had sat down with my back toward it, and at best did not suppose it possible to lose so large an object so close at band. I walked until quite sure that I had covered the distance separating me from it, and then continued to walk on farther. Suddenly I stopped, convinced that I had mistaken the direction. I started upon another course, and after another unsuccessful tramp stopped again. Then I called for Torrence, and told him that I was lost. His voice sounded much farther than I thought it should, and I tried to get back to him by following it. Presently he called out imperatively:
"Stop! don't try to find me. Stand perfectly still until it clears!"
"Why not? if you'll keep on talking I'm sure to find you."
Then he shouted vehemently.
"Stop! for God's sake, stop! You're risking your life with every step. Have you forgotten that we're on the edge of a precipice?"
I had not forgotten it, but his words startled me into realizing the danger of my position, and I stood perfectly still. Strangely enough I had not thought of the possibility of tumbling over the cliff, believing all the while that I was walking in the opposite direction; but now the murmur of the sea on the rocks below convinced me that I was nearer than I had supposed.
"If you move at all," shouted Torrence, "go only one step at a time. I mean, look carefully at each step before you take it."
I could not imagine how I had come so far, for his voice sounded strangely distant.
"Have you moved from where I left you?" I called.
"No," was the answer, "and don't intend to."