Seated on the hatch-coamings, the Somersetshire lad gratefully filled his lungs with the cool night air, and professed himself revived thereby. Then with the seaman's instinct his eyes wandered to the darkling vault of heaven, spangled already with a myriad golden points of light. Awhile he scanned it idly, vacantly; then, his attention became sharply fixed. He looked round and up at Captain Blood, who stood beside him.
“D'ye know anything of astronomy, Peter?” quoth he.
“Astronomy, is it? Faith, now, I couldn't tell the Belt of Orion from the Girdle of Venus.”
“Ah! And I suppose all the others of this lubberly crew share your ignorance.”
“It would be more amiable of you to suppose that they exceed it.”
Jeremy pointed ahead to a spot of light in the heavens over the starboard bow. “Th
