"Do you see that small cloud, at some distance from the others—the one that is rather long and narrow, with a narrower one alongside?"
"Yes, I see that."
"Well, that," said the boy, "is a Brazilian catamaran, and those little knobs at the top are the heads of the men that are paddling it."
"Just so," said his father. "What else can you see?"
"The catamaran," said George, "is pulling out to that clipper ship which has just come to anchor off the port. The clipper is the large one, with her sails furled. Probably the Indians have some fruit on board, which they hope to sell to the sailors."
"Quite natural," said the father.
"And that smaller one, under full sail, fore-and-aft rigged, is a schooner in the coasting trade."
"That one appears to be changing shape rapidly," said the father.
"Yes," said the boy. "She is tacking, and you see her at a different angle."
"I might have suspected as much," said the father, "but I never was a good sailor."