by this time.
To make the best of circumstances; to stand face to face with
misfortune, and shrink not; to meet the worst with equanimity, and
grasp eagerly at the slightest favorable change,--such was the
character that Tom had shown during his experience of the past. Now,
once more, he grasped at this slight circumstance that appeared to
favor his hopes, and sought to find some way by which that
half-floating boat could be made to float wholly, and bear him away to
those shores that were so near by. Too long had he been submitting to
this imprisonment; too long had he been waiting for schooners to pass
and to bring him help; too long had he been shut in by a fog that
seemed destined never to lift so long as he was here. If he could only
form some kind of a boat that would float long enough to land him on
the nearest coast, all that he wished would be gratified.

As he thought over this subject, he saw plainly what he had felt very
strongly before--that the boat could not be sea-worthy unless he had
some tar with which to plaster over the broken bow, and fill in the
gaping seams; but there was no tar. Still, did it follow that there
was nothing else? Might not something be found upon the island which
would serve the purpose of tar? There must be some such substance and
perhaps it might be found here.

Tom now thought over all the substances that he could bring before his
mind. Would clay do? No; clay would not. Would putty? No, and
besides, he could not get any. What, then, would serve this important
purpose?

Tar was produced from trees. Were there no trees here that produced
some sticky and glutinous substance like tar? There was the resin of
pine trees, but there were no pines on the island. What then? These
fir trees had a sort of sticky, balsamic juice that exuded plentifully
from them wherever they were cut. Might he not make some use of that?
Suddenly, in the midst of reflections like these, he thought of the gum
that is found on spruce trees--spruce gum! It was an idea that
deserved to be followed up and carried out. Thus far he had never
thought of spruce gum, except as something which he, like most boys,
was fond of chewing; but now it appeared before his mind as affording a
possible solution of his difficulty. The more he thought of it, the
more did it seem that this would be adapted to his purpose. The only
question was, whether he could obtain enough of it. He thought that he
might e