It was a summer sea in this latitude, with a very steady breeze from the
westward. The overcoats they wore were hardly necessary, and they had
put them on mainly to conceal their changed garments from the crew of
the ship, who could only conjecture what the expedition meant.
"You are a younger man than I am, Christophe, and you have slept only a
couple of hours to-night," said M. Rubempre, as soon as the Eleuthera
was well under way; and the remark was called forth by a long gape on
the part of the younger person. "You can turn in and sleep a couple of
hours more just as well as not, for there is nothing whatever for you to
do. We may have to make a long day of it to-morrow."
"I am accustomed to doing without my sleep at times," replied
Christophe, which was his first name, according to the French
orthography, and was pronounced in two syllables.
"Of course you have, when your duty required you to be on deck; but
there is not the least need of doing so now."
The lieutenant complied with the advice of the skipper, and in five
minutes more he was sound asleep. The Bahama boat, with a Bahama name,
rose and fell on the long rolling seas, which were very gentle in their
motion, and made very good progress through the water.
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