noon
`` Land , ho ! '' The cry is from a man stationed on the fore-topmast cross-trees of the _ Condor _ . Since sunrise he has been aloft -- on the lookout for land . It is now near noon , and he has sighted it . Captain Lantanas is not quite certain of what land it is . He knows it is the Veraguan coast , but does not recognise the particular place . Noon soon after coming on , with an unclouded sky , enables him to catch the sun in its meridian altitude , and so make him sure of a good sight .