As the wind was light, all the canvas was hoisted. The sails filled, and being sheeted home, the little craft stood away from the land.
“She behaves beautifully! You ought to have been a ship-builder, and you would soon have become famous. Indeed, I am sure that you would succeed in whatever you undertook,” exclaimed Lord Reginald.
“You flatter me too much,” answered Dick. “I picked up a knowledge of carpentering when I was a boy, and necessity is said to be the mother of invention, so, soon after we were wrecked, I began to consider how a craft could be built. I have had her planned out in my head for many a day. In what direction shall we sail?”
“We will beat up to the westward, as the island extends furthest in that direction,” answered Lord Reginald. “We will then run round it, and by making a long tack out to sea, we shall weather the eastern point and stand back again into this bay. Should the wind not drop, we shall do it in four or five hours, though of course it is impossible to say how long we shall be detained. However, we will trust to having a good breeze, and at all events getting back before night. If we are kept out, the worst that can happen will be to lose our sleep. We must keep a vigilant watch, and on no account lose sight of the island.”
To this Dick, of course, agreed; indeed, he would not have dreamed, now that he was once afloat, of disputing any suggestion of one whom he looked upon as his commanding officer.
“There is one thing you have forgotten, Hargrave.”
“What is it, my lord?” asked Dick.
“You forget our compact, Hargrave. It must last until I dissolve it, and that will not be while you and I are together,” answered Lord Reginald. “However, as I was going to observe, we have forgotten to give this craft a name. She deserves a pretty one. Have you thought about the matter?”
“No,” replied Dick.
“Well, then, I confess that I have; but I want you to name her,” said Lord Reginald.