“I think we’d better come round again, Bart,” said Bruce.
“Very well,” said Bart, who had been looking forward to this.
“Port your helm, then,” said Bruce.
Bart turned the helm a-starboard, as he had done before, while Bruce and Arthur swung the booms to assist the vessel. She came round that time all right.
“Why, Bart! why didn’t you port the helm?”
“Because I had to put the helm starboard to bring her round. It’s all right.”
Bruce looked grave. He felt that he had committed a blunder. After all, which was port and which was starboard he hardly knew. He concluded after this to intrust the care of the vessel to one who knew, like Bart, and felt quite grateful to Bart for his delicacy in not exposing his ignorance.
Away went the schooner—faster this time, for the wind had sprung up fresher. This was what Bart dreaded. But there was no help for it; so he kept on, with a vague expectation of some disaster. He now headed, as before, for O’Rafferty’s Island, and watched very anxiously to see how they were progressing.
“You’d better head her a little to the north’ard, Bart,” said Arthur—“hadn’t you? so as to allow for that current.”
“Very well,” said Bart; and he put the vessel a little closer in the direction indicated.