noon
This desire was about to be realized , for Mr. Watson , always a lover of the sea , had contracted for a yacht of eighty tons , at the establishment of a celebrated builder in the city . She was to be ready by the 1st of June , but she was not completely stored and furnished till the 10th . Mr. Watson had remained in the city over night , and was to sail in the yacht for his summer home the next morning -- on the day that Levi missed falling into the chasm . As the wind was fair , and tolerably fresh , the young skipper thought she would arrive by noon , and he was to take the ladies round as far as Eastern Point , to give her a welcome to the waters of the Cape . Levi was to be the commander of the yacht , and he was every way qualified for the position . He had studied navigation , could take an observation , and do all the problems required of a thorough sailing master . On the deck of a vessel he was in his element , and there was not a point in navigation or seamanship with which he was not familiar .