“The spars are all painted red, black, or striped. When going into a harbor, red buoys must be left on the starboard hand; that is, on your right. Black buoys must be left on the port, or left, hand. When you see a buoy painted with black and red stripes, it is a danger buoy; and you may go on either side of it. When you see one painted up and down with black and white stripes, you must go close to it. Sometimes the buoys are numbered: then the even numbers are on the red buoys, and the odd ones on the black buoys. But you must learn all these things by seeing them.”
“What are the colored lights on the sides of this steamer for?” asked Bob Swanton.
“The red light is on the port side, and the green on the starboard. They are to show any vessel approaching us which way we are going,” replied the captain. “But I can explain this better when we see the lights of another vessel.”
All hands were on the lookout for another vessel at once.
CHAPTER XIII.
HANDLING A STEAMER IN A FOG.
Half an hour later a steamer came out of Essex, on the west shore of the lake. Captain Gildrock was promptly notified by the boys that a red light was to be seen.
“I suppose you have all seen port wine, and know it is red; though it is not as red in Portugal as it is here,” added the captain. “This will help you to remember that the red light is on the port, or left-hand, side. When I see the red, I know at once that the port side of the vessel is towards me, and therefore, if I am to the northward of her, that she is going in an easterly direction. If I were south of her, she would be going the other way.”
“But now we can see the green light too,” said Dave Windsor.