"It are not no sort o' kind o' use fur to try to git past without shiftin' yer helm."
Then he relapsed into silence, while the two boys stood wondering what was coming next. Presently the Old Sailor broke out again,
"Do ye see them two steamers?"
"Yes," answered both boys.
"Waal, they are agoin' fur to pass putty close."
At that instant a gush of white steam rose from one of them, and the hoarse cry of her whistle rumbled across the water. The other vessel answered with a single blast.
"An' wot do that mean?" asked the Old Sailor.
"That means," answered Henry, "that they are going to port their helms and keep off to starboard."
"Werry good, too," declared the Old Sailor. "An' ef they didn't, wot'd happen?"
"They would bump into each other," answered George, soberly.