"I should take in all sail, and scud under bare poles," said Arthur.

"But what if you did not want to be blown ashore?"

"Then I should leave out the first reef, so as to catch as much wind as I could risk, and steer for the sea, the sea, the open sea."

"Well, that's pretty well said, though not just as a sailor would say it. Look here, Henry, where is the stern?"

"You have your left hand on it, sir."

"That's true. And where's the rudder?"

"Your little finger is resting on it."

"What sort of a craft do you call this?"

"I call it a sloop; for it has but one mast."

"If you were holding the tiller, and I were to say, 'Larboard' or 'port,' what should you do?"

"If I stood looking forward, I should move the tiller to the left side of the vessel."

"That's right; and, if I said 'Starboard,' you would move the tiller to the right side.—Now, boys, which of you can tell me the difference between a tiller and a helm?"

"I always thought," said Arthur, "that they meant pretty much the same thing."

"No: the difference is this," said Uncle Martin: "A tiller is this little bar or handle by which I move the rudder. The helm is the whole of the things for steering, consisting of a rudder, a tiller, and, in large vessels, a wheel by which the tiller is moved. So a tiller is only a part of the helm."

"Yes, now I understand," said Arthur. "How jolly it is to have an Uncle Martin to explain things!"

"You rogue, you expect me to be at the launch, eh?"

"Yes, uncle: I've got a bottle of hard cider to smash, on the occasion. It ought to be rum, by the old rule."

"The best thing to do with rum is to pour it into the sea," said Uncle Martin. "But what's the name of the new sloop?"

"Ah! that you will hear at the launch," said Arthur.

"It's the 'Artful Dodger,'" whispered brother Henry.