In the mean time, others were busy in the long-boat, getting her fit for sailing with a spare top-gallant stun'-sail boom and top-gallant stun'-sail, looking to the oars and thole-pins and so forth. The morning passed rapidly, the crew as busy as bees, smoking to a man, and bandying coarse jokes with one another, and uttering loud laughs as they worked. The carpenter never once addressed me. He ran about the decks, squirting tobacco-juice everywhere, superintending the work that was going forward, and manifesting great excitement, with not a few displays of bad temper. A little before noon, when I made ready to take the sun's altitude, the men at work about the long-boat suspended their occupation to watch me, and Stevens drew aft, and came snuffling about my heels. When I sang out eight bells, and went below to work out my observations, he followed me into the cabin, and stood looking on. The ignorance of his distrust was almost ludicrous; I believe he thought I should work out a false reckoning if he were not by, but that his watching would prevent me from making two and two five. "Now, Mr. Royle," said he, seeing me put down my pencil; "where are we?" I unrolled the chart upon the table, and drew a line down a rule from the highly imaginary point to which I had brought the ship at noon on the preceding day, to latitude 29°, longitude 74° 30'. "Here is our position at the present moment," I said, pointing to the mark on the chart. "This here is Floridy, ain't it?" he demanded, outlining the coast with his dirty thumb. "That is Florida." "Well, I calls it Floridy for short." "Floridy then. I know what you mean." "And you give us till the day arter tomorrow to do this bit o' distance in?" "It doesn't look much on the chart. There's not much room for miles to show in on a square of paper like this." "Well, we shall be all ready to lower away the boats when you give us the word," said he. "Perhaps you'll sit down for five minutes, Mr. Stevens, and inform me exactly of your arrangements," I exclaimed; "for it is difficult for me to do my share in this job unless I accurately know what yours is to be." He looked at me askant, his villainous eyes right in the corners of their sockets; but sat down nevertheless, and tilted his cap over his forehead in order to scratch the back of his head. "I thought you knew what our plans was?" he remarked. "Why, I've got a kind of general notion of them, but I should like to understand them more clearly." "Well, I thought they was clear--clear as mud in a wineglass. Leastways, they're clear to all hands." "For instance, why did you knock a hole in the quarter-boat this morning?" "I didn't think you'd want that explained," he answered promptly. "But you see I do, Mr. Stevens." "Well, we only want two boats, and it 'ud be a silly look-out to leave the third one sound and tight to drift about with the _Grosvenor's_ name writ inside o' her." "Why?" "Because I says it would."