the mouth of the river
Gueron, before she could take her guns, powder, or stores on board. A
number of boats came out with them, so that she soon had her lading and
provisions on board, and was now ready for sea. She mounted twenty
guns, and had a crew of a hundred men, sturdy, active, dark-skinned
fellows, armed with sharp scimitars, with which they practised daily.
They had also fire-arms, spears, and boarding-pikes; indeed were in
every way well prepared for fighting. A strong westerly gale kept the
_Tiger_ in the roads for some days, but at length, the wind shifting to
the eastward, the anchor was hove up, and she stood out into the
Atlantic. Hamet now intimated to Stephen and Roger that his wish was to
get to the northward, so that he might attack vessels in latitudes where
Sallee rovers were seldom to be found, and thus take them by surprise,
and so be more likely to effect their capture without resistance. They
were by this time able to understand much that he said. He told them
that he wished each to keep a separate reckoning, so that he might
compare the two; that they must take good care that they agreed.

"That would be a puzzler for me," observed Stephen. "As you, Roger, are
a much better navigator, you would probably be correct, whereas I am
very likely to make mistakes. I think that I had better tell him at
once that I am not much of a navigator, and that he would be wise to
rely on you."

"That may be the safest plan, though I will try to pass my calculations
on to you without letting him discover that I do so," said Roger.

The very next day, when they were out of sight of land, Stephen, who was
ordered to stand at the forepart of the ship to take an observation,
made some mistake, and placed their position a degree or more out. Of
course, her Captain, who understood the use of the charts perfectly,
afterwards told Roger to put it down, which he, having carefully taken
his observation, did properly.

"How is this?" exclaimed the Captain. "Which of the two am I to
believe?"

"You may trust me," said Roger, firmly. "My friend, though older, has
less experience; but if you will allow me, I will teach him, and he in a
short time will be as useful to you as I am."

Thus the difficulty was got over, for happily the Captain did not
suspect that any trick was being played him. Fortunately at first the
weather was fine, and as the Moors were sober men, and not addicted to
quarrel among each oth