sketching the outline

"where? which way captain ? "


arm outstretched. holding steady bearing against both pitch and yaw, hand palm down, tips weighted, as if balls of mercury, he sights the far hillside, westerly over the low isthmus and replies over the wind.....


"right over to the far west .....  that's where the smoke the past day was coming from... you see ? the large sand patch... what maybe, one, two hundred acres burnt right through. "


"there was a good deal of rain in it sir, when it swung round last night, good inch, inch and a half. enough to put it well out. But twas nothing in it beforehand to put a strike down though, was there?"


" lit in our honour no doubt, lieutenant. "


" seeing the lie of the land, i would imagine we are well known all the way to that chain of rugged mountains by now, sir "


outstretched arm now drifting south. fingers spidering over the near horizon, a blind man reaching into a bird nest.


"there is a big grove of timber on the south side of the bay. good water as well, given the size of the oaks. hand me up my telescope lad. "


"shall I send the boat round with the barrels come sun up, sir ? " 


"well, as no amount of lime can cover the taste of rat in our water and as we both are finding of late, that a man can not live on rum alone lieutenant, it would seem a prudent idea. bring the carpenter along to eye the timber..... it looks to hold some promise, this sound. "