h he had cooked on the preceding day were but partially consumed.
Enough remained to supply many more meals.

The gum soon melted, and then a brush was needed to apply it to the
boat. This was procured by cutting off a little strip of canvas, about
a yard long and six inches wide. By picking out some of the threads,
and rolling it up, a very serviceable brush was formed.

Taking the gum now in its melted state, Tom dipped his brush into it,
and applied it all over the broken surface of the bow, pressing the hot
liquid in close, and allowing it to harden in the cracks. His first
coating of gum was very satisfactorily applied, and it seemed as though
a few more coatings ought to secure the boat from the entrance of the
water. The gum was tenacious, and its only bad quality was its
brittleness; but, as it would not be exposed to the blows of any hard
substances, it seemed quite able to serve Tom's wants.

Tom now went down to the drift-wood and brought up a fresh supply of
fuel, after which he melted a second panful of gum, and applied this to
the boat. He endeavored to secure an entrance for it into all the
cracks that did not seem to be sufficiently filled at the first
application, and now had the satisfaction of seeing all of those deep
marks filled up and effaced by the gum.

One place still remained which had not yet been made secure against the
entrance of the water, and that was where the planks gaped open from
the blow that had crushed in the bows. Here the canvas that was inside
protruded slightly. Torn ripped up some of the canvas that was on the
tent, and taking the threads, stuffed them in the opening, mixing them
with gum as he did so, until it was filled; and then over this he put a
coating of the gum. After this another pan, and yet another, were
melted, and the hot gum each time was applied. This gave the whole
surface a smooth appearance, that promised to be impenetrable to the
water.

The gum which he had collected was enough to fill two more pans. This
he melted as before, and applied to the bows. Each new application
clung to the one that had preceded it, in a thick and quickly hardening
layer, until at last, when the work was done, there appeared a coating
of this gum formed from six successive layers, that was smooth, and
hard, and without any crack whatever. It seemed absolutely water-tight;
and Tom, as he looked at it now, could not imagine where the water
could penetrate. Yet, in ord