He was not altogether confident, yet he was hopeful, and as determined as ever to make a trial.

XII.

Waiting for high Water.—­A Trial.—­A new Discovery.—­Total Failure.—­Down again.—­Overboard.—­A Struggle for Life.

Tom’s work was thus, at length, accomplished, and it remained now to get the boat in readiness and wait.  Slowly and carefully he raised the bow by means of the lever, and one by one he withdrew the boards which held it up.  At last the boat lay on the beach, ready to receive the uplifting arms of the returning tide whenever it should make its appearance again.  Tom saw with satisfaction that the boat was about three yards down below high-water mark, on the spot to which he had dragged it after the failure of his last experiment.  This, of course, would be so much in his favor, for it would thus be able to float before the water should reach its height.

He had worked hard all the afternoon, and it was already dark.  The tide, which had been falling, had some time ago reached its lowest point, and was now returning.  Between him and the lowest point was a great distance, for the tides here rise to a perpendicular height of over forty feet; but Tom knew that the time required to traverse the long space that here intervened between high and low-water mark was precisely the same as if it had only to rise a few feet.

He was very hungry, but some things had yet to be done.  He had to put on board the boat the articles that he had taken ashore.  His matches were now quite dry, and he put them in his pocket with a deep sense of their value to him in his present position.  His clothes also were dry, and these he put on.  The sail, the coil of rope, and the box of biscuit were put on board the boat.  Tom had still to make his frugal repast; but this was soon accomplished, and he felt again a sense of exceeding thankfulness at the possession of the box of biscuit.  At length his evening meal was over, and by the time that he had finished it, it had grown quite dark.  He now went to the boat, and tied up the sail around the mast.  There was nothing to which he could fasten the boat; but it was not necessary, as he was on the watch.  The water continued smooth, the wind was from the north, as before, and there was no sign of fog.  Overhead the sky was free from clouds, and the stars twinkled pleasantly to his upturned eyes, as if to encourage him.  There was no moon, however, and though it was not very dark, yet it was sufficiently so to veil the nearest shores in gloom, and finally to withdraw them altogether from his view.  Still it was not a matter of necessity that he should see the opposite shores, for he knew that his chief, and indeed his only reliance must be upon the tide; and this would bear him in its upward course on the morrow.  The night was only needed to float the boat down as far as low-water mark.  The process of floating her would serve to test the security of the fastenings, and show whether he could venture to make the attempt.