"Will it be perfectly safe?" questioned the Chief Guardian.
"You can't sink her. The reason I didn't want a big crowd was that I thought you would be going out a long way. We're likely to meet heavy weather several miles outside. In that case a skipper wants plenty of room to move about. Sometimes quick work is necessary, and—"
"I don't suppose that being a commodore will prevent my assisting in sailing the boat, will it?" asked Harriet smilingly.
The skipper looked her over critically.
"I reckon we can make a sailor of you. Know anything about sailing?"
"No, sir."
"Yeth, she doeth," interjected Grace. "She wath the captain of the 'Red Rover' latht year."
"And sunk it," chuckled Crazy Jane.
"If you will tell me what to do, I shall be glad to start, Captain."
"All right. Get hold of that halyard and see if you can haul the sail up," he answered, grinning mischievously. Captain Billy had not the least idea that she possessed the strength to raise the sail. But Harriet surprised him. She grasped the rope, and, though so light that the weight of the sail nearly pulled her off her feet, she hauled it slowly but steadily to the peak, then, throwing all her weight into one hand and arm, made the halyard fast to a cleat on the deck.