en closed to exclude the rain, and,
poking my head out, saw that the sky was still overcast with enormous
masses of blackish, lurid-looking cloud which, as I watched, I saw were
working slowly in a strange writhing fashion, as though agitated by
several conflicting internal forces.

I went up on deck, and observed that the overcast condition of the sky,
of which I had obtained a partial view from my cabin port, extended in
every direction, right down to the horizon. A visit to the chart-house
revealed the fact that the barometer still stood alarmingly low; and it
was this fact, perhaps, in conjunction with the disquieting aspect of
the sky, that subconsciously awakened in me a sudden anxiety to hasten
my work upon the craft which, for want of a better name, I have spoken
of as a boat.

Be that as it may, I remember that I flung off the light jacket which,
for appearance' sake, I wore at meal times and when otherwise in the
company of the ladies, and set to work as though my very life depended
upon it. As I have already mentioned, the shell of the boat was
finished, caulked, and placed in position ready for launching; and in
addition to this the beams upon which the deck was to be laid were
fitted and fixed, and the planking planed up and roughly cut to shape.
My next task, therefore, was to complete the fitting of the planks and
the nailing of them in position, which I at once proceeded to do, with
the fixed determination to finish the job before dark. This
determination I carried out, although it necessitated my working for an
hour by lantern light; and when at length I knocked off, I had the
satisfaction of leaving the boat completely decked with the exception of
the cockpit, the coaming of which I also insisted on fixing before I
could persuade myself to lay down my tools.

The day had been one of lowering, breathless calm, with an insufferably
close atmosphere that rendered hard work exceedingly trying, and the
black, working canopy of cloud that overhung us continued to writhe and
twist itself into the most extraordinary shapes, while it showed no sign
of dispersing. This state of affairs continued until about four o'clock
in the afternoon, when a light, puffy, southerly breeze sprang up which
gradually freshened until, when at length I ceased work for the day, it
was blowing quite gustily, while a sea came rolling in over the reef
that soon caused the wreck occasionally to rock lightly upon her coral
bed.