Any job, when you are not accustomed to it, seems awkward, and Chippie filled out his last space with a sense of relief. Then he ran forward to look at the ship’s clock in the companionway, and found, to his surprise, that it was already one minute to nine, and he should have gone below to wake the next watch four minutes before.
But luckily the new watch had been lying awake in his bunk with his clothes on, and saved Chippie the trouble of going below by appearing at the top of the ladder just as Chippie was about to go down. So then Chippie went straight to the ship’s bell and—“ding-ding”—“two bells”—rang out into the night.
“Gee, but I’m in luck,” whispered Chippie to himself.
Then he went aft with the new watch, showed him the Rough Log and the list of directions, and finally went forward again, slipped down the companionway, and crawled into his bunk.
“I wonder if some of the other fellows will be trying to study out which way the wind is blowing!” thought Chippie as he pulled off his clothes. Then his thoughts went back to his home in Northbridge for a while; and presently the Bright Wing began rocking gently in the roll of a passing steamer. He was just awake enough to notice the motion and then sailed off to the land of dreams.
At ten o’clock it was Dick’s turn on watch. The last members of the crew ashore—the carpenter and first mate—had come aboard at half-past nine, and there were no more hails to listen for. The boats were all on their davits, the boat booms and side-ladders were up, and the Bright Wing was tucked up and snug for the night.
After Dick had finished his observations of the weather, etc., and had filled out the Rough Log, he watched the sky for a long time. He did not know the stars very well, but they had a great attraction for him. He looked around until he found the Great Dipper, which was the constellation he was most familiar with, and then the Pole-star by following the direction of the pointers. He noticed that the Dipper was to the right of the Pole-star and below it. Then he noticed the constellation called Cassiopeia—in the shape of a “W” to the left of the Pole-star and above it.
“Here’s my chance,” thought Dick, with a sudden inspiration, “to see if the northern stars do really turn around the pole like a wheel as they are supposed to do.” He then looked at the buildings on shore to find some landmark by which to test the turning of the stars. But his watch on deck was already half over, and he had not time enough to make his experiment properly. If he had been on land it would have been easier, but the ship was swinging at her anchor with the tide as it ran in, and there were no very prominent buildings in sight.
When the next boy came up to stand his watch, Dick tried to interest him in his astronomical observations, but he got no response, and so promised himself to begin his experiment in plenty of time at the very next opportunity.