"Come aft, then: of course it will be wet in the forward part of the boat. Four of you on the weather-side, and two on the lee," added the skipper. "That will trim her about right for this sea."
"I suppose the weather-side is the side from which the wind comes," said Archie, as he took his seat on that side of the boat.
"You are quite right, Archie; and a sailor who had been at sea fifty years could not have hit it any better. If you remember that, it is not necessary to recollect that the lee-side is that from which the wind does not come. Weather and lee are important terms in a boat; and in sailing, we use them instead of starboard and port."
"Let me see: starboard is the right-hand side, isn't it, Thad?" asked Archie.
"That depends. But, Archie, you are green enough on nautical matters; now don't pretend to be any more so than you really are," said Thad, rather sharply.
"But I do get mixed on these things; and now you say it depends," pleaded Archie.
"It depends upon which way you are looking. With your face to the bow, starboard is on the right."
"Then, port is"--
"Dry up, Archie! When you have learned the meaning of one of two opposite things, that is enough," interposed the skipper. "The principal gave us the two French terms for starboard and port,--tribord and babord. Tribord means the right-hand side, looking ahead. A fellow don't need a slate and pencil to figure up the meaning of babord. Now we are going along all right, and we will look over the wheel. Can you all see it?"
"I can," replied Archie.