noon
The speaker prepared to depart . `` Hold on , '' said the Navigator . `` I 'm coming with you . I 've just got to give the noon position to the Owner on the way . '' They descended the ladder together , and left Thorogood alone on the platform . The Battle-fleet was steaming in parallel lines about a mile apart , each Squadron in the wake of its Flagship . The Destroyers , strung out on either flank of the Battle-fleet , were rolling steadily in the long , smooth swell , leaving a smear of smoke in their trail .