For hours Tom waited, sometimes seated in the boat, at other times walking along the beach down to the water.  He found it difficult to keep himself awake, and therefore did not venture to sit down long.  Wearied with his long work through the day, the necessity of constant exertion wearied him still more, until at length he could scarce draw his legs after him.  But all things have an end, and so it was with Tom’s dreary watch; for at length the waters came up, and touched the boat, and surrounded it, until at last, to his great joy, Tom found himself afloat.  He seized his stick, and pushed the boat into deeper water, a few yards off, with the intention of keeping her at about that distance from the shore.

The one thought that was now in his mind referred exclusively to his work in the boat.  Was it firm?  Would it hold?  Did it leak?  The boat was floating, certainly.  How long would if continue to do so?  For a few minutes he waited anxiously, as he floated there in deep water, with his eyes fixed on the work in the bow, and his ears listening intently to detect any sign of that warning, gurgling sound, which had struck terror to his heart on his last embarkation.  But no sign came of any sound of that sort, and he heard nothing but the gentle dash of the water against the sides of the boat.  Thus about five minutes passed.  At the end of that time, he raised the sail, which he had laid along the bottom of the boat, and examined underneath it.  The first touch of his fingers at the bottom lessened very largely the hope that was in him, and at once chased away the feeling of exultation that was rising.  For there, in the bottom of the boat, he felt as much as an inch of water.  After the first shock, he tried to believe that it was only the water that was in the boat before; and so, taking comfort in this thought, he waited for further developments, but at the same time took the dipper, so as to be ready to bale out the water, and have a struggle for it in case the worst should happen.

Another minute assured him that this was not the water which had been in the boat before.  A new supply was entering, and in the space of that short time of waiting it had risen to the height of another inch.  Tom felt a sudden pang of dismay, but his stout heart did not quail, nor did his obstinate resolution falter.  Since it was the sea water that was coming in, he determined to have a fight with it for the possession of the boat.  So he set to work bravely, and began to bale.  He pulled up the sail, so as to have plenty of elbow-room, and worked away, dipping out the water; but, as he dipped, he perceived that it was gradually getting deeper.  He dipped faster, but without any visible improvement, indeed, his efforts seemed to have but very little effect in retarding the entrance of the water.  It grew deeper and deeper.  One inch of water soon deepened to two inches, and thence to three.  Soon after four inches were felt.