noon
`` Rather a serious error , Mr Bass . '' `` I meant minutes , '' said Dickey , `` or perhaps seconds ; I always forget which is which . '' At that moment Captain Graybrook lifted his instrument to his eye , and the mate and Harry followed his example . `` The sun has dipped ; make it noon , '' said the captain ; and the ship 's bell was struck . Having written off their observations and quickly made their calculations , the ship was found to be about seventeen degrees south of the line , off the coast of Peru . Look-out men were sent aloft , for they were now approaching a part of the ocean where whales were in those days likely to be found . As they looked over the side , many polypi , medusae , and squid were observed floating on the surface ; and occasionally a covey of flying-fish , rising from the water , darted rapidly over it , quickly again , as their brilliant wings dried , to sink down and become the prey of their enemies , the dolphin or bonito .