Toilers of the Sea

Gilliatt, a Guernseyman and social pariah, falls in love with Deruchette, the niece of a local shipowner called Mess Lethierry. After Lethierry's ship is destroyed on a dangerous reef, Deruchette commits to marry whoever can return with the ship's engine. Gilliatt nominates himself, and the story follows his physical travails and the approbation of his neighbors during his quest to retrieve the engine.