How It All Goes Down
Section 311
- The Man explores the boat. He comes to the conclusion that no one except the ocean has ransacked it.
Section 312
- The Man puts on all sorts of rough-weather gear he finds on the boat: rubber boots, nylon jacket, "souwester gear." The Boy barely recognizes him from the shore.
Section 313
- In the second stateroom, The Man finds books and papers.
Section 314
- The Man finds a "rubberized canvas seabag" and fills it with "odds and ends of clothing" (314.1).
Section 315
- He goes into the engine compartment and finds some tools there.
Section 316
- The Man takes a bottle of gas and the toolbox from the engine compartment. He goes through lockers in the saloon and finds a tea set with the ship's name on it and a brass sextant. The sextant is beautifully crafted and "the first thing he'd seen in a long time that stirred him" (316.1).
Section 317
- When The Man goes back up on deck, he doesn't see The Boy on the shore. Then he sees him walking down the beach. He goes back down into the cabin.
Section 318
- The Man finds some 50-foot ropes and some water, which he drinks.
Section 319
- He looks through all the canned food in the galley and in the lockers. He stacks the usable ones above the galley refrigerator. He realizes he's taking his good luck on the ship "close to matter of fact," but then realizes that the dead are lucky, too.
Section 320
- The Man finds more food. He dismantles the stove in the galley and takes a burner and hose and gas bottle with him. He puts everything into a plastic tarp, undresses, and drops into the water.