noon
I want to plan our voyage . '' It was not difficult finding plenty for the lads to do , making the neglected schooner shipshape , and adjusting the spread of canvas aloft to the new course I decided upon . Fortunately we had men enough to manipulate the sails , real seamen , able to work swiftly . Sam started a fire in the galley , and prepared a hot meal , singing as he worked , and before noon I had as cheerful a ship 's crew forward as any man could possibly ask for . The weather kept pleasant , but with a heavy wind blowing , compelling us to take a reef in the canvas , but the schooner was an excellent sea boat , and all alike felt the exhilaration of rapid progress . Dorothy and I glanced over the log , but gained little information . The vessel had been driven into the northwest by a succession of storms , and lack of provisions had weakened the crew , cholera broke out among them the third day at sea , the first victim being the cabin steward .