"And what d'ye do with this little handle?"
"Why, you set that for north or west or any other way, an' the hull machine keeps headed that way until ye change it."
"Oh, is that the rudder?"
"No, that is fer settin' jest one course fer a long ride—like's ef we was goin' north to the pole, ye know. The rudder's in here, 'long with the other machinery."
He walked to one of the two doors which faced the state-rooms.
Phœbe followed him and found herself in the presence of a bewildering array of controlling and guiding handles—gauges—test cocks—meters and indicators. She was quite overawed, and listened with a new respect for her distant relative as he explained the uses of the various instruments. It was evident that he had quite mastered the significance of each implement.
When Droop had completed his lecture, Phœbe found that she understood the uses of three of the levers. The rest was a mystery to her.
"This is the starting-lever," she said. "This steers, and this reverses. Is that it?"
"That's correct," said Droop, "an' if——"
She cut him short by whisking out of the room.