But there was one thing that he secretly craved after, the ability to steer. He felt quite a fierce envy of the men who stood nonchalantly at the wheel for two hours at a time, keeping the ship on her course by just twiddling at the spokes as he thought. At last this longing grew so great that one Sunday afternoon when there was nothing else doing, and the ship was gliding steadily along with all her sails just full over an almost smooth sea, he took his courage in both hands and going up to the mate said, blushing furiously as he did so, “Please, Mr. Jenkins, may I learn to steer?”
The mate looked at him steadily for a moment, and then grumpily replied, “Yes, I s’pose so. Hansen!” (to the man at the wheel), “show this boy how to steer.”
Now Hansen was a young Dane, a smart seaman and a kindly fellow, and the duty now fallen upon him was quite to his taste. Indeed most foremast hands are willing enough to teach a boy anything they know themselves in the way of work, if only the boy be smart.
So the lesson commenced, Frank standing on the lee side of the wheel, and Hansen pointing out to him the little black mark on the compass bowl in which swung the card, and explaining how his duty was to keep a certain point on the card in line with it, said, “Ven de lubber point moof avay from de point you steering by, you pushes de veel as if it vas fast to de lubber point, see,” suiting the word to the action. “But you ton’t push de veel too much, ’cause if you do, de lubber point sving too far de oder vay, unt den you got to pull it more to get it back, unt so de ship don’t steer steady, see.”
After a few minutes he allowed Frank to take the wheel, himself going to the other side and explaining, helping too, so that the old man dozing in his state-room below should not note, by the tell-tale compass hanging there, that the ship was too much off her course.
In half-an-hour Frank could keep her fairly straight, and had learned not only to watch the compass, but the ship’s head against the sky, which, he was bidden to notice, gave him warning of the movement of the vessel and of the way she wanted her helm before the compass did.
Frank was so interested that the time flew, and he felt quite sorry when eight bells sounded. Mr. Jenkins came aft and looked at him steering, and when he saw that the ship was going fairly steady on her course, said, “Well, quartermaster, how d’ye get on, hey?”
Frank answered diffidently, “I think I know how to do it now, sir.”
“Oh, ye do, eh! Very well, we’ll see you get yer trick reg’lar, then.”
And that was all from the mate, but Hansen whispered as he was relieved, “If you likes I shows you how to box de compass ven ve goes forrut.”