about nine o'clock in the morning
-LSB- Illustration : Dick and little Jack . -RSB- It was principally on Mrs. Weldon 's account that the Captain began to feel uneasiness , and he made up his mind that if he could hail a vessel proceeding to America he should advise his passengers to embark on her ; unfortunately , however , he felt that they were still in a latitude far too much to the south to make it likely that they should sight a steamer going to Panama ; and at that date , communication between Australia and the New World was much less frequent than it has since become . Still , nothing occurred to interrupt the general monotony of the voyage until the 2nd of February , the date at which our narrative commences . It was about nine o'clock in the morning of that day that Dick and little Jack had perched themselves together on the top-mast-yards . The weather was very clear , and they could see the horizon right round except the section behind them , hidden by the brigantine-sail on the main-mast . Below them , the bowsprit seemed to lie along the water with its stay-sails attached like three unequal wings ; from the lads ' feet to the deck was the smooth surface of the fore-mast ; and above their heads nothing but the small top-sail and the top-mast . The schooner was running on the larboard tack as close to the wind as possible .