My nine weary months of arduous travail and half-frantic anticipation were cruelly wasted.

At no time could I get the boat out into the open sea in consequence of the rocks, and it was equally impossible for me unaided to drag her back up the steep slope again and across the island, where she could be launched opposite an opening in the encircling reefs.

So there my darling boat lay idly in the lagoon--a useless thing, whose sight filled me with heartache and despair.

And yet, in this very lagoon I soon found amusement and pleasure.

When I had in some measure got over the disappointment about the boat, I took to sailing her about in the lagoon.