Dory put the helm down, and all the sails began to flap and bang. But in a moment the Goldwing took the wind on the starboard tack, the sails went over, and the schooner began to gather headway on her new course.
“That’s what we call tacking,” said the skipper. “We shall go about eleven miles on this tack.”
“I say, Dory, let me steer her a while now,” added Oscar Chester, rising from his seat, and moving aft.
“Keep your seat!” replied the skipper rather sharply. “You mustn’t move about in the boat.”
“But I want to steer her,” persisted Oscar, resuming his seat.
“Did you ever steer a boat?” asked Dory.
“I never steered a sailboat; but I can do it as well as you can,” added the new pupil. “I have seen just how it is done. When you want the boat to go to the right, you put the stick in your hand to the left.”
“I don’t believe in running any risks in a boat, and I must keep the helm myself,” answered Dory. “There is wind enough to upset the boat if you don’t know how to handle her.”
“But I do know how to handle her. I have kept my eyes open, and I know all about it. It don’t take me a month to learn any thing.”
“If we were alone I would let you try it, just to enable you to see how easy it is to be mistaken,” said Dory, laughing.