The boys began to stop, shouting to one another, "Stop!" "Stop!" In a few minutes all was still again. The boys began to take their oars in and one of them rose and said, "Poh! this is all nonsense. You can't do any thing with oars. I'd rather have one good paddle than all the oars in New York." In fact, Marco himself began to despair. He uttered some impatient exclamations, and tried to paddle the boat toward the shore. But he found he was almost as awkward in managing a paddle, as the other boys were in working oars. He succeeded, however, at last, in getting the boat to the shore, and then he told the boys that they might as well get out, for they could not do any thing at all about rowing. "You don't seem to get along very well, Marco," said Forester: "what is the matter?" "Why, I havn't got any crew. They don't know any thing about it." "It seems to me the fault is in the commander," said Forester. "In me?" said Marco. "Why, I ordered them right, but they wouldn't obey." "Yes, your orders would have been right, if you had had a trained crew. But you don't manage in the right way to teach raw recruits." "I wish you would try, then, cousin Forester," said Marco. "Well," said Forester, "I have no objection to try. Boys, are you willing to have me for commander?" "Yes, sir," "Yes, sir," said all the boys. "I shall be a great deal more strict than Marco," said Forester. "So I don't expect that you will like me. But I will try. I don't want quite so many oarsmen to begin with; I should rather teach a few at a time. Are there any of you that would like to come ashore, and let the rest practice first?" None of the boys moved. They all wished to practice first. This was just as Forester expected. "Very well," said Forester; "I know how I can thin out my crew. As fast as I find that you don't obey my orders, I shall put you ashore." "But suppose we don't understand?" said one of the boys. "I shall explain fully beforehand what you are to do. And, Marco, you must observe how I manage, and then you will know another time. When you have got any thing to teach, the art consists in dividing the lesson into a great many very short steps, and letting your pupils take one at a time." Forester knew nothing about managing a boat's crew until that day, but he had observed very attentively all the orders which Marco had given, and noticed their meaning, and thus he was prepared to manoeuver the boat as far as Marco had gone in giving his orders. He accordingly stepped into the boat and took Marco's place; while Marco himself walked forward and took his place at the bow of the boat, saying that he was going to be bowman. "Marco," said Forester, "you say that when the order is _Attention_, the crew must be silent; what is the order when I want to give them liberty to talk again?" "_Crew at ease_" said Marco.