He could barely repress a shout of joy—only the thought that his mouth might become filled with salt water deterred him, for he knew what that ring meant to him.
“I can get that over my head and float,” he reasoned. He reached for it. The swell carried it away from him for a moment, and then he got hold of it. In a moment he had it under his armpits and he was riding easily on the surface of the sea, for the ring was a specially large one, and raised him well up.
He was floating on the surface of the sea, I have said, and yet it was not like the comparatively smooth surface of a river or lake. For, so large were the waves still, in spite of the fact that the storm was a little less severe, that Tom was down in a deep valley one moment, and on a wave-crest the next.
“Perhaps I can see the boat, now that there’s lightning,” he reasoned, and, each time he came up he looked about. But he could see no sign of the life-craft, nor were his shouts answered.
He swam on again, rather hampered as to speed because of the ring, but he did not mind this. His chief aim was to keep alive and afloat until morning so that he might look for help, or be located by those in the boats, if they were still on top of the sea. So Tom floated idly on, occasionally swimming when he felt a bit numbed by the cold, which he was conscious of, now that he had been in the water so long.
The lightning increased in frequency and intensity, and there were mutterings of thunder.
“In for another storm, and a different kind,” mused Tom. “I hope it clears up after that, so I have some chance.”
The flashes became more brilliant, as the storm came nearer. Tom took advantage of every one of them to look for a boat, or for a piece of wreckage to which he might cling. But he saw nothing. Then the rain, which had ceased for a time, burst with greater fury. It fairly seemed to beat down the crests of the waves, and Tom was glad of that.
“And I can get a drink, too,” he reflected, for he had swallowed some salt water, and his throat was parched. He held open his mouth and the grateful drops dashed in. The amount he was able to catch was rather disappointing, but it was better than nothing.
And then, as the fury of the storm grew, and the lightning became even more intense, Tom saw something that made his heart beat high with hope.