out meeting with any accident. All this proved
clearly that the damage must have been done to the boat since his
landing on the island.

He found it very difficult to recall anything that had happened since
then. On his first arrival he was worn out and exhausted. He
remembered vaguely how he came in sight of the giant cliff, how he
dragged the boat along, how he secured it to a tree, and then how he
flung himself down on the grass and fell asleep. After that all was
obscure to his memory; but he could recall his waking at midnight and
listening to the roar of the wind and the dash of the surf. Evidently
there must have been a heavier sea on the beach at that time than when
he landed, and this was sufficient to account for the accident to the
boat. She had been beating on the rough rocks at high tide, exposed to
the full sweep of the surf, and her bows had been stove in.

The melancholy spectacle of the ruined boat made Tom see that his stay
on the island might be prolonged even beyond the following day. No
sooner had this thought occurred to him than he went over to the
articles which he had taken out of the boat, and passed them all in
review before him, as though he were anxious to know the full extent of
his resources. He spread out the wet sail in the sun. He spread out
his coat and waistcoat. In the pocket of the latter he found a card of
matches, which were a little damp. These he seized eagerly and laid on
the top of a stone, exposed to the rays of the sun, so as to dry them.
The clothes which he kept on were wet through, of course, but he
allowed them to dry on him.

He had been working now pretty industriously all the morning, first at
searching after a piece of wood, then in cutting down the pole, then in
searching among the drift-wood, and finally at the boat. He felt, at
length, hungry; and as he could not yet decide upon what was to be done
next, he determined to satisfy his desires, and kill the time by taking
his dinner. The repast was a frugal one, consisting as before, of
biscuit, which were washed down by cold water; but Tom did not
complain. The presence of food of any sort was a cause for
thankfulness to one in his position, and it was with a feeling of this
sort, in spite of his general depression of spirits, that he ate his
meal.

After this he felt much more refreshed, and began to consider what he
had better do next. Of course, the centre of interest to him was the
boat, and he