noon
The water was so very cold , that he deferred till noon the attempt to swim round the islet . He once more examined his boat , and though the injuries done seemed irreparable , he thought he had better try to mend his little craft than do nothing . After collecting from the wood in the cave all the nails that happened to be sticking in it , and all the pieces that were sound enough to patch a boat with , he made a stone serve him for a hammer , straightened his nails upon another stone , and tried to fasten on a piece of wood over a hole . It was discouraging work enough , but it helped to pass the hours till the restless waters should have reached their highest mark in the cave , when he would know that it was noon , and time for his little expedition . He sighed as he threw down his awkward new tools and pulled off his jacket , for his heart now began to grow very heavy . It was about the time when Erica would be beginning to look for his return , and when or how he was ever to return he became less able to imagine , the more he thought about it . As he fancied Erica gazing down the fiord from the gallery , or stealing out , hour after hour , to look forth from the beach , and only to be disappointed every time , till she would be obliged to give him quite up , and yield to despair , Rolf shed tears .