href="@public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@15540@[email protected]#page184" class="pginternal" tag="{http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml}a">"SNAKES! SCREAMED MRS. BELGRAVE"

ACROSS INDIA

CHAPTER I

ABOUT FINDING THE LONGITUDE

"Well, Captain Scott, what is the run to-day?" asked Louis Belgrave, the owner of the steam-yacht Guardian-Mother, which had at this date made her way by a somewhat devious course half way round the world, and was in the act of making the other half.

The young magnate was eighteen years old, and was walking on the promenade deck of the steamer with a beautiful young lady of sixteen when he asked for information in regard to the run, or the distance made by the ship during the last sea-day.

"Before I answer your question, my dear Louis, I must protest against being any longer addressed as captain, for I am not now entitled to that honorable appellation," replied the young man addressed by the owner.

"Once a captain always a captain," replied Louis. "One who has been a member of Congress is still an 'Honorable,' though his term of office expired twenty or forty years ago. The worthy commander of the Guardian-Mother was always called Captain Ringgold in Von Blonk Park and New York, though he had not been in command of a ship for ten years," argued Louis.

"That's right; but the circumstances are a little different in my case. In the first place, I am only eighteen years old, and my brief command was a very small one, as the world goes. It hardly entitles me to be called captain after I have ceased to be in command. In charge of the little Maud I was the happiest young fellow on the Eastern Continent; but I am just as happy now, for this morning I was formally appointed third officer of the Guardian-Mother, at the wages paid to Captain Sharp when he had the same position."

"I congratulate you, Mr. Scott," said Louis, grasping the hand of the new officer, though he had been duly consulted in regard to the appointment the day before.

"Permit me to congratulate you also, Mr. Scott," added Miss Blanche, as she extended to him her delicate little hand.

"Thank you, Miss Woolridge," replied the new third officer, raising the uniform cap he had already donned, and bowing as gracefully as a dancing-master. "Thank you with all my heart, Louis. I won't deny that I was considerably broken up when the Maud was sold; but now I am glad of it, for it has given me a position that I like better."

"Now, Mr. Scott, what is the run for to-day?" asked Louis, renewing his first question.

"I don't know," replied the third officer with a mischievous smile.

"You don't know!" exclaimed Louis.

"I do not, Louis."

"I thought all the officers, including the commander, took the observation, and worked up the reckoning for the . We got eight bells nearly an hour ago, and the bulletin must have been posted by this time."

"It was posted some time ago. All the officers work up the reckoning; and I did so with the others. The commander and I agreed to a second."

"What do you mean by saying you do not know the run?" demanded Louis.

"I do know the run; but that was not what you asked me," answered Scott with the same mischievous smile.

"What did I ask you?"

"The first time you asked me all right, and I should have answered you if I had not felt obliged to switch off and inform you and Miss Woolridge of my new appointment. The second time you put it you changed the question."

"I changed it?" queried Louis.

"You remember that when Mrs. Blossom asked Flix where under the sun he had been, he replied that he had not been anywhere, as it happened to be in the evening, when the sun was not overhead."

"A quibble!" exclaimed Louis, laughing.

"Granted; but one which was intended to test your information in regard to a nautical problem. You asked me the second time for the run of to-day for the last twenty-four hours."

"And that was what I asked you the first time," answered Louis.

"I beg your pardon, but you asked me simply for the run to-day."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Will you please to tell me how many hours there are in a sea-day?" asked Scott, becoming more serious.

"That depends," answered Louis, laughing. "You have me on the run."

"You will find that the bulletin signed by the first officer gives the run as 330 miles; but the answer to your second question is 337 miles, about," added the third officer. "Just here the day is only twenty-three hours and forty minutes long as we are running; and the faster we go the shorter the day," continued the speaker, who was ciphering all the time on a card.

"I don't see how that can be," interposed Miss Blanche, with one of her prettiest smiles.

"There is the lunch-bell; but I shall be very happy to explain the matter more fully later in the day, Miss Woolridge, unless you prefer that Louis should do it," suggested Scott.

"I doubt if I could do it, and I should be glad to listen to the explanation," replied Louis, as they descended to the main cabin; for the new third officer was permitted to retain his place at the table as well as his state-room.

The commander had suggested that there was likely to be some change of cabin arrangements; for it was not in accordance with his ideas of right that the third officer should be admitted to the table, while the first and second were excluded; and Louis was very desirous that his friend Scott should remain in the cabin. The repasts on board the steamer were social occasions, and the party often sat quite an hour at the table, as at the present luncheon. But as soon as the company left their places, Louis and Miss Blanche followed the third officer to the promenade deck, to hear the desired explanation of sea-time.

"Of course you know how the longitude of the ship is obtained, Miss Woolridge?" the young officer began.

"Papa explained it to me once, but I could not understand it," replied the fair maiden.

"Then we will explain that first. One of the great circles extending through the poles is called the prime meridian; and any one may be selected, though that of Greenwich has been almost universally adopted. This place is near London. From this prime meridian longitude is calculated, which means that any given locality is so many degrees east or west of it. Sandy Hook is in longitude 74°, or it is that number of degrees west of Greenwich. Aden is in 45° east longitude."

"Then you find how many miles it is by multiplying the number of degrees by 69," suggested Miss Blanche.

"You have forgotten about knots, or sea-miles," said Louis.