the sun at
noon
`` Pray do n't mention it , '' said Mr Meldrum ; `` your friendly feelings do you both honour ! But , how are we getting on , captain , '' he added , to change the subject , `` the ship seems to be slipping along through the water ? '' `` Pretty well , but not so well as I could wish . We 've got an obstinate head-wind against us , and can not quite lay on our proper course ; so I do n't think we 'll be able to log much of a run when we take the sun at noon . The wind looks like shifting now , however , so the next twenty - four hours may tell a different tale . '' As the captain spoke , the sails flapped ominously against the masts ; and , in obedience to a motion of the mate 's hand , the steersman had to let the vessel 's head fall off a little more to the westward , in order to fill the canvas again and make it draw . `` I think , cap ` en , we 'd better thry her on the other tack , '' said the Irishman after a pause .