it even if it were not from the quarter it is. You see there are
two or three other craft brought up there."

"Where have they come from, do you think, Master Lirriper?"

"Well, they may have come out from Burnham, or they may have come
down from London and be going up to Burnham or to Bricklesey when
the tide turns. There is a large ship anchored in the channel beyond
the Whittaker. Of course she is going up when tide begins to flow.
And there are the masts of two vessels right over there. They are
in another channel. Between us and them there is a line of sands
that you will see will show above the water when it gets a bit
lower. That is the main channel, that is; and vessels coming from
the south with a large draught of water generally use that, while
this is the one that is handiest for ships from the north. Small
vessels from the south come in by a channel a good bit beyond those
ships. That is the narrowest of the three; and even light draught
vessels don't use it much unless the wind is favourable, for there
is not much room for them to beat up if the wind is against them."

"What is to beat up, Master Lirriper?"

"Well, you will see about that presently. I don't think we shall
be able to lay our course beyond the Whittaker. To lay our course
means to steer the way we want to go; and if we can't do that we
shall have to beat, and that is tedious work with a light wind like
this."

They dropped anchor off the beacon, and the captain said that this
was the time to take breakfast. The lads already smelt an agreeable