The plan, in a word, was this: We could not beg our way, neither would
we sit idle among the natives. We found that it would require more
courage to remain in the far-off country than to return home in a boat,
which then we concluded to build and for that purpose.[4]
My son Victor, with much pride and sympathy, entered heartily into the
plan, which promised a speedy return home. He bent his energies in a
practical direction, working on the boat like an old builder.
Before entering on the project, however, all responsibilities were
considered. Swift ocean currents around capes and coral reefs were taken
into account; and above all else to be called dangerous we knew would
be the fierce tropical storms which surely we would encounter.
[Illustration: Diagram of the _Liberdade_
(Length 35 ft. beam 71/2 ft., draught 21/2 ft. weight 6 tons.)]
But a boat should be built stout and strong, we all said, one in which
we should not be afraid to trust our lives even in the storm.
And with the advantage of experience in ships and boats of various sizes
and in many seas, I turned to the work of constructing, according to my
judgment and means, a craft which would be best adapted to all weathers
and all circumstances.
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