noon
But reflecting that Hiram Look , back in Smyrna , might circulate good-natured derogation of his mariner 's courage , Cap'n Sproul set the _ Dobson 's _ blunt nose to the heave of the sea , and would not have quailed before a tidal wave . The Smyrna contingent hailed this adventuring into greater depths as a guarantee of bigger fish for the salt-barrel at home , and proceeded to cut bait with vigor and pleased anticipation . Only the Cap'n was saturnine , and even lost his interest in the animated figures on distant Cod Lead Nubble , though Hiram could not drag his eyes from them , seeing in their frantic gestures the denouement of his plot . Shortly after noon they were well out to sea , still on the port tack , the swells swinging underneath in a way that soothed the men of Smyrna rather than worried them . So steady was the lift and sweep of the long roll that they gave over fishing and snored wholesomely in the sun on deck . Hiram dozed over his cigar , having paid zestful attention to the dinner that Jackson Denslow had spread in the galley . Only Cap'n Sproul , at the wheel , was alert and awake .