TRAPPED 169 
was the fact, for wlicn the wind got up he insisted 
on the men going back to the island at once, 
feeHng very nervous on my account, and they had 
a tremendous pull to get back in time as the sea 
was very rough and the tide was running strongly 
against them. 
The cause of the rocks being covered by the 
sea — a very rare occurrence — was an unusually 
high spring tide coupled with a strong gale from 
the opposite direction, which made the waves 
much higher than they would otherwise have 
been in a loch which has the reputation of being 
one of the most dangerous lochs on the west 
coast for squalls. 
22 
