"The boom," replied Archie desperately.
"The main-boom!" shouted Hop.
"Correct, Hop. The upper one, e e?"
"The main gaff!" roared Archie.
"Go to the head. Good boy!"
"To the head of the boat?"
"The head of the mainsail, when you know what it is. Now we will attend to the rigging."
"There is not much of it to attend to," said Archie.
"A short horse is soon curried, but the short horse needs currying quite as much as the long one," replied Thad. "Now, suppose the mainmast were simply run through the forward deck, and the foot of it inserted in the socket in the keelson: would it be strong enough to bear the pressure of the sail in a stiff breeze?"
"It would not: the first flaw would take the mast out of her," replied Ash Burton.