But he decided the first and best thing to do would be to get off his wet clothes.

Not that he was afraid of taking cold, but he knew he would be more comfortable in dry garments.
So, taking everything out of his pockets, which was no small operation by the way, as Bob was a typical boy, he stripped himself of his heavier garments and hung them on tree limbs to dry.
"Now if I could find something to eat I'd be right in it--at least for a while," thought the castaway as he walked around on the warm grass.

"And I need a drink, for I swallowed a lot of salt water and I'm as dry as a powder horn." He looked out on the ocean, but not a trace of a boat was visible.
Bob walked some distance from where he had landed, keeping a sharp lookout for a spring of water.

All the while he was getting more and more thirsty, and he began to think he would have to dig a little well near shore with clam shells, as he had read of shipwrecked sailors doing.

But, fortunately, he was not forced to this.