"Well, Mr. Ordinary Seaman, or Mr. Green Hand, I always spell it w-a-y; and I confess I don't know any other w-a-y to spell it."
"I do; and I want to know which is the right way, Thad."
"What's the other way, Ash?"
"W-e-i-g-h."
"That's another word."
"The two words are pronounced just alike; and I wish to know which is the right word to use when you mean to start, go ahead, progress, get along, go forward, advance"--
"Hold on! You needn't go through the dictionary, for I know what you mean, Ash."
"It don't make any difference how you spell the word when you simply speak, for the pronunciation is the same; but I have read in books and newspapers about vessels being 'under weigh.'"
"That question came up once in the schoolroom, and the principal settled it for us. There is no dictionary-war on this word; for neither Worcester nor Webster gives any such definition as making progress to weigh, while both of them give this as the nautical meaning of way."
"That settles it; but we weigh anchor," suggested Ash.