In spite of all these gloomy thoughts, which thus rushed in one accumulated mass over his soul, his first impulse had nothing to do with these things, but was concerned with something very different from useless retrospect, and something far more essential.  He found himself ravenously hungry; and his one idea was to satisfy the cravings of his appetite.

He thought at once of the box of biscuit.

The sail which he had pulled forward had very fortunately covered it up, else the contents might have been somewhat damaged.  As it was, the upper edges of the biscuits, which had been exposed before being covered by the sail, were somewhat damp and soft, but otherwise they were not harmed; and Tom ate his frugal repast with extreme relish.  Satisfying his appetite had the natural effect of cheering his spirits, and led him to reflect with thankfulness on the very fortunate presence of that box of biscuit in the boat.  Had it not been for that, how terrible would his situation be!  But with that he could afford to entertain hope, and might reasonably expect to endure the hardships of his situation.  Strange to say, he was not at all thirsty; which probably arose from the fact that he was wet to the skin.

Immersing one’s self in water is often resorted to by shipwrecked mariners, when they cannot get a drink, and with successful results.  As for Tom, his whole night had been one long bath, in which he had been exposed to the penetrating effects of the sea air and the fog.

He had no idea whatever of the time.  The sun could not be seen, and so thick was the fog that he could not even make out in what part of the sky it might be.  He had a general impression, however, that it was midday; and this impression was not very much out of the way.  His breakfast refreshed him, and he learned now to attach so much value to his box of biscuit, that his chief desire was to save it from further injury.  So he hunted about for the cover, and finding it underneath the other end of the sail, he put it on the box, and then covered it all up.  In this position the precious contents of the box were safe.

The hour of the day was a subject of uncertainty, and so was the state of the tide.  Whether he was drifting up or down the bay he could not tell for certain.  His recollection of the state of the tide at Petitcodiac, was but vague.  He reckoned, however, from the ship launch of the preceding day, and then, allowing sufficient time for the difference in the tide, he approximated to a correct conclusion.  If it were midday, he thought that the tide would be about half way down on the ebb.