"North, south, east, west," replied the Crew, with all the smartness of a man-o'-war's man.
"Good!" shouted the Admiral. "Cast off!"
Not knowing what "Cast off" might mean, the two little girls turned their heads to see what the Crew was going to do. As far as they could perceive, however, "Cast off" did not mean anything at all, for the Crew never moved, but stood there smiling away over the top of the wheel as though he were waiting to be photographed.
"Why did you say, 'Cast off'?" inquired Margaret of the Admiral. "What does it mean?"
"It means, untie the ship," replied the Admiral.
"But the ship is untied," Margaret objected.
"I know. It's just a matter of form. Now, if you are quite ready, we'll start at once."
"Quite ready, thank you," replied both little girls, eagerly; for there seemed to be so many forms and ceremonies that they began to fear they might be late for the garden party.
"Starboard!" shouted the Admiral.
Whereupon the Crew gave the wheel a spang with his right hand which sent it spinning at a great rate, at the same time glancing out of the corners of his eyes at the two passengers to see what they thought of his cleverness.