"What a poetical sea-monster you are, Mr. Scott!" exclaimed Miss Blanche
with a silvery laugh.
"I won't do so any more," Scott protested, and then continued his
explanation. "Degrees of longitude vary from nothing at the poles, up to
69.07 statute, or 60 geographical or sea-miles, at the equator. We are
now in about 15 deg. north latitude; and a degree of longitude is 66.65
statute miles, or 57.9855 sea-miles, near enough to call it 58. By the
way, Louis, multiply the number of statute miles by .87, and it gives
you the sea-miles. Divide the knots by the same decimal, and it gives
the statute miles."
"I will try to remember that decimal as you have done," replied Louis.
"Now, Mr. Scott, don't open Bowditch's Navigator to us, or talk about
projection,' 'logarithms,' 'Gunter,' and 'inspection;' for I am not capable
of understanding them, for my trigonometry has gone to the weeping
willows."
"Talk to us in English, Mr. Scott," laughed Miss Blanche.
"Let us go up to Conference Hall, where there is a table," said the third
officer, as he produced a book he had brought up from his state-room. He
led the way to the promenade, where he spread out a chart in the "Orient
Guide," which had twenty-six diagrams of a clock, one at the foot of every
fifteen degrees of longitude. At this point the commander came upon the
promenade.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25