"I don't believe she has changed it a pint, Capt. Coffin."
"Well, go below and get your breakfast, and clear things up. We will look out for her. In an hour or two we shall be out in the sound all clear."
"See, uncle, how we have gained upon that fishing-schooner! Are we not going to pass too near him? He evidently is beating out as well as we."
"You are right, Tom. If we should keep on, there would be a collision; but as we are on the port tack, and the fishing-schooner on the starboard tack, and both of us close-hauled, he has the right of way; and it is therefore for that reason that I gracefully ease off the main-sheet, as you see, and keep her off, so as to pass under his stern, whilst he passes saucily on his course and to windward. But it is his right, and we must not hesitate. When we are on the starboard tack, we will demand our rights just as strongly."
"I am afraid after all, uncle Charley, that it is going to be rough; is it not? The day is not as pleasant as it was an hour ago, and it seems kind of overcast and cloudy to windward."
"Yes, Tom: the weather does look a little dirty to windward, but nothing to speak of; but, as you started to see some fun, I hope that you will see it."
"How far do you call us now from the land?"
"Well, I should say that we were a good ten miles from the southern light. I can tell you exactly by cross-bearings, if you really want to know very much."
"No, uncle, I do not care enough to give you that trouble; and, besides, I only wanted to know about how far off you estimated it. We must be going through the water pretty fast, as she is well heeled over."
"Yes, she is jumping along now, and the wind and sea are both getting up fast. I think that I shall take in a reef.