“Put her on the starboard tack,” said John, as soon as she was sailing, “and keep her very full. We want to be sure that we are well clear of the rocks off the point.”
Even with the reef down there was enough wind to send Swallow fast through the water with a steady rippling noise under her bows.
“We’re sailing due east,” said John presently.
“How do you know?” asked Susan.
“Look,” said John.
A broad patch of clear sky showed overhead, and in it the larger stars.
“Look,” said John, “there’s the Saucepan. There’s its handle. There’s its pot. And those two stars that make the front wall of the pot point to the North Star. There’s the North Star. It’s broad on our port beam, so we must be sailing east. And Rio lights are broad on the starboard beam away in the south.”
“Why do the natives always call the Saucepan the Great Bear?” said Susan.
“I don’t know,” said John. “It isn’t like a bear at all. It’s more like a giraffe. But you couldn’t have a better saucepan.”
“She’d go a lot nearer the wind,” said Mate Susan.
“Keep her full,” said the captain, “Keep her sailing. But we must be well clear of the point now. I’m going to use the compass and chart.”
The spirits of the Swallow ’s crew had risen very much now that they were at sea once more and not fumbling in the dark with reed beds and water lilies. There is nothing like sea-room to cheer a sailor’s heart.
“Are you cold, Roger?” asked the mate.