noon
A `` prize crew '' consisting of Joe , Han and Perry , from the _ Adventurer _ , and Wink and Bert , from the _ Follow Me _ , was placed in charge and enough food for two meals supplied them . The galley stove was still in running order , although it reeked of grease , and there was a fair supply of wood handy . Bert Alley , who had volunteered to do the cooking , objected to an inch or so of water that swashed around the floor , but the others pulled a pair of old rubber boots from a chest in the forecastle and he became reconciled . At noon they all returned to their respective cruisers and ate dinner , which , under the conditions , was no easy matter . They had to hold the dishes to the table and swallow their tea between plunges . Joe was inordinately proud of himself that day , for , in spite of the nasty motion -- and there 's nothing much more likely to induce sickness than a long ground-swell -- he not only remained on duty but consumed his dinner with a fine appetite . It rained quite hard for a half-hour about noon and then ceased just in time for them to set off to the _ Catspaw _ again .