As the afternoon crept on, and the boat continued to keep up a merry
pace, the boys began to feel their confidence return. As Thad assured
them he did not expect to have any further trouble with the engine, they
no longer kept an anxious eye on the working part of the craft, while at
the least unusual sound every fellow's heart seemed ready to jump into
his throat with wild alarm.

It was not the purpose of the cruisers to try and cross the vast body of
water upon which their little craft was launched, and which is so
immense that for two whole days they might be out of sight of land.
Thad knew the danger that lay in such a thing, and had promised the
folks at home in Cranford that he would be very careful. Indeed, only
for the presence of Dr. Hobbs, some of the parents of the scouts might
have felt like revoking their promise to allow their boys to be of the
party.

Accordingly their course was now laid in such a quarter that they could
keep the land in sight upon their port quarter most of the time.

Of course, while the scouts had not been at sea, and really knew very
little of navigation, they were ambitious to learn. And as Bumpus had
before hand written down all sorts of phrases used long ago on board the
ships that sailed the seas in such white-winged flocks before the advent
of steam gave them such a backset, he read these all out to his mates;
and after that, whenever they could think of the nautical name for
anything they insisted on using it, because, as Giraffe declared, it
gave such a realistic effect to things.

"But let me tell you there's a rumpus in the navy these days," said Step