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 odour
arising from the cabin forward, where the boy had been for some time
busily engaged, and soon the whole party were seated on the lockers in
the cabin devouring fried fish.

"Master Chambers," Geoffrey said, "we have got two boiled pullets in
our basket. Had we not better have them for dinner? They were cooked
the evening before we came away, and I should think they had better be
eaten now."

"You had better keep them for yourselves, Master Geoffrey," the skipper
said. "We are accustomed to living on fish, but like enough you would
get tired of it before we got to London."

But this the boys would not hear of, and it was accordingly arranged