Perry suspected that Steve was working the whistle overtime, but realized that too many precautions were better than too few.

It was Perry's ambition to learn navigation so that he might ultimately be entrusted with the wheel, and to that end he stood at Steve's elbow until, when they gained the Main Channel, Ossie's dulcet voice was heard proclaiming, "Grub, fellows!" from below.

Steve was rather too preoccupied to be very informative, but Perry did manage to imbibe some information.

For instance, he learned that a sailing craft had the right of way over a power craft, something he had not known previously, and observed that a large proportion of them used that right to its limit.

He got quite incensed with a small, blunt-nosed schooner which insisted on crossing the _Adventurer's_ course just as they were passing Fort Hamilton.