see other lifeboats. In the morning I could not move. I was pinned by weakness to the tarpaulin . Even thinking was exhausting.
I applied myself to thinking straight. At length, as slowly as a caravan of camels crossing a desert, some thoughts came together. I thought of sustenance for the first time. I had not had a drop to drink or a bite to eat or a minute of sleep in three days.
Finding this obvious explanation for my weakness brought me a little strength. Richard Parker was still on board. In fact, he was directly beneath me. Incredible that such a thing should need consent to be true, but it was only after much deliberation, upon assessing various mental items and points of view, that I concluded that it was not a dream or a delusion or a misplaced memory or a fancy or any other such falsity, but a solid, true thing witnessed while in a weakened, highly agitated state.
The truth of it would be confirmed as soon as I felt well enough to investigate. How I had failed to notice for two–and–a half days a -pound Bengal tiger in a lifeboat twenty-six feet long was a conundrum I would have to try to solve later, when I had more energy. The feat surely made Richard Parker the largest stowaway, proportionally speaking, in the history of navigation. From tip of nose to tip of tail he took up over a third of the length of the ship he was on.
12th - - Page You might think I lost all hope at that point. I did. And as a result I perked up and felt much better. We see that in sports all the time, don’t we?
The tennis challenger starts strong but soon loses confidence in his playing. The champion racks up the games. But in the final set, when the challenger has nothing left to lose, he becomes relaxed again, insouciant and daring. Suddenly he’s playing like the devil and the champion must work hard to get those last points.