“But sometimes it is one side of the boat, and sometimes the other,” replied Dory very gently, for he saw that a storm was gathering in the breast of his companion. “Sometimes it is port, and sometimes it is starboard.”
“I don’t see how any one is to know which way is ‘down,’” muttered Oscar.
“I can tell which is ‘down’ every time, and without fail; and so can you, after you have sailed a boat a little longer. ‘Up’ is the way the wind comes from, and ‘down’ is the other way. Before you tacked, you had the wind on the port side of you, and ‘down’ was to starboard. Now you have the wind on the starboard, and ‘down’ is on the port side.”
“I don’t think I understand it very well, and you had better take the helm. I am afraid I shall upset her,” said Oscar, somewhat disgusted with his experience so far.
“I think the wind is rather too fresh for a first lesson to-day,” replied Dory, as he took the tiller. “It would be better for you to try it when there isn’t wind enough to upset her if you make a mistake. You must excuse me if I spoke too quick to you just now, for the Goldwing would
have gone over in another second if she had had her own way.”
“I was just beginning to get a little mad,” replied Oscar. “It don’t take much of a breeze to put me into a passion. But it is all right now, and I won’t get mad if I can help it. It comes upon me before I know it. Do you think I shall ever be able to sail a boat?”
“I know you will. I will tack the boat several times, so that you can see just how it is done. I suppose you know how to drive a horse, Oscar?”
“Of course I do.”
“If you let your horse run off a steep bank, you will upset the carriage. A boat won’t do it a bit better. If you let the wind blow square against the sails, she won’t go ahead; and there is nothing under the canopy to prevent her from going over, even with less wind than there is to-day. You should never let her get into such a pickle, any more than you would drive your horse off a precipice.”