nearly noon
Do you see those birds hovering over the waves ? '' `` I do . '' `` Well , sir , those birds never go far from land , that 's all : and now , sir , I 'll go down for my quadrant ; for , although I can not tell the longitude just now , at all events I can find out the latitude we are in , and then by looking at the chart shall be able to give some kind of guess whereabout we are , if we see land soon . `` It is nearly noon now , '' observed Ready , reading off his quadrant , `` the sun rises very slowly . What a happy thing a child is ! Look , sir , at those little creatures playing about , and as merry now , and as unaware of danger , as if they were at home in their parlour . I often think , sir , it is a great blessing for a child to be called away early ; and that it is selfish in parents to repine . ''