Page:Dick Sands the Boy Captain.djvu/135

 THE NEW CREW. Ï09 future sign of insubordination. Hercules was ready to carry him off bodily to the hold, and old Nan was equally ready to take his place in the cooking department. Pro- bably Negoro was aware of ail this ; at any rate he did not seem disposed to gîve any further cause of ofTence at présent As the day advanccd the wind continued to freshen ; but no shifting of the sails seemed necessaiy. The " Pilgrim " was running well. There was no need to diminish her spread of canvas. Masts as solid and rigging as strong as hers could stand a far heavier breeze. As a gênerai rule, it is deemed prudent in case of a squall to shorten sail at night, and especially to take in gallants and royal ; but the weather prospects now were ail so promîsing and satisfactory that Dick persuaded himself he was under no necessity to take this précaution ; he rather felt himself bound to take the strongest measures he could to expedite his reaching less unfrequented waters. He made up his mind, however, not to leave the deck at ail that night. Theyoung captain made evcry effort to get an approxîmatc reckoning of the schooner s progress. He heaved the log every half-hour and duly registered the resuit of each successive examination. There were two compassés on board ; one in the binnacle, close under the eye of the helmsman, the other, an inverted compass, being attachée to the rafters of the captain's cabin, so that without leaving his berth he could see whether the man in charge of the wheel was holding a proper course. Every vessel that is duly furnished for a lengthened voyage has always not only two compassés but two chronometers, one to correct the other. The " Pilgrim '* was not déficient in this respect, and Dick Sands made a strong point of admonishing his crew that they should take especial care of the compassés, which under their présent circum- stances were of such suprême importance. A mîsfortune, however, was in store for them. On the night of the I2th, whîle Dick was on watch, the compass in the cabin became detached from its fastening aivdfcW otv.vt