Over the following days, David lives through what he calls the “most unhappy part of [his] adventures” (71). He can see no sign of either the ship or lifeboat. He realizes he is trapped on an islet, cut off from Mull by a deep inlet. Unable to cross, he gives into despair and weeps. He later finds an abandoned fisherman’s shack and some shellfish. He eats these raw, which leaves him sick with “giddiness and retching” (73). His illness and solitude are made worse because from the peak of the islet, he can see the rooftops of the village of Iona.

On his third day alone, he sees a pair of fishermen in a boat. He hails them, but to his horror, the men shout in Gaelic, laugh at him, and sail on, further crushing his spirit. The following morning, the fishermen return with a companion who speaks broken English. David can only make out a few words but realizes that the inlet trapping him shrinks with the receding tide, something that would have been obvious to anyone raised near the sea. He rushes to find it little more than a trickle and crosses to Mull.