"Very good, Flix; and I am glad you read so understandingly."
"Did you think I was a fool?" asked Felix with a little gentle indignation in his tone and looks.
"I knew you were not; and, like Captain Columbus, you are a cosmographer," replied Louis, rallying his companion with a laugh.
"Is it I? Not much!"
"But you are"—
"Neutral Ground!" called Scott from the pilot-house. "It's about a half-mile wide, and then comes San Felipe."
"Named after our engineer," added Felix.
"Precisely so: and that place is in Spain. You are studying the coast of that country, and therefore you are a cosmographer," continued Louis.
"Well, I haven't got it bad," protested Felix.
"You have it as badly as any of us; for we are all studying the cosmography of the countries we visit, and especially the shores we approach. We are all cosmographers."