And he did with a hearty good will too. The dogs, of course, partook of the banquet.
The boys felt happy and a bit drowsy after this, and turned in.
Storm still raging next morning. Uncomfortable motion. Wind still more to the north, and ship lying-to almost under bare poles.
And so it blew and blew on and off for well-nigh a week.
Then surcease of a storm and tempest, such as it is the experience of but few to face at this season of the year in these lower latitudes.
And where were they now? Why, still in the longitude or meridian of the Crozet Islands, but, despite their well-conducted war with the elements, several degrees further south. In very truth, they might just as well have sailed here to Enderby Land straight from Kerguelen.
Everybody was pleased one beautiful morning to find that wind and sea had both gone down. It was nice to sit down to a warm and comfortable breakfast, without fear of having the lower extremities parboiled with hot coffee.
The boys had had their sea-water bath this morning early at wash-decks time. This consisted simply in rushing forward, jumping, and skylarking like white savages, and having the hose played on them. But it made them hungry.
Forward, the men’s talk was chiefly about the recent heavy weather.
“Joy to you, Jack,” said Dumpty to a companion, “but this doesn’t seem much like getting round the globe, do it?”