"That is it in full, though I should not have objected if you had called it simply the topmast-stay in a sloop. Archie would. If there are no backstays, it will not do to haul this stay too taut, or it will bend the topmast forward, which is not pleasant to the eye. The jib-boom is held by the rope under it, which is called a stay. In large vessels, the bowsprit and jib-boom are also held in place by ropes at the sides, called guys. As a whole, what do you call the rigging we have talked about?" "Give it up," replied Hop, after a silence of a minute. "The standing-rigging; and the principal told you so when he described the ship. Now that we have the spars where they will stay, we will pass on to the sails and running-rigging. Begin at the main boom. What is the rope marked _a a_?" "The topping-lift," said Ash. "When the sail is not set, this rope holds up the boom. The lower end of it, you can see for yourselves,--as you have the real thing before you as well as the picture,--is provided with a purchase, so that the after-end of the boom can be raised or lowered." "What is this thing?" asked Archie, pointing to a pair of wooden joists, with a bolt through them, like the cross-legs of a table or cot-bedstead. "That is the crutch. Top up the boom with the purchase, and then place the crutch under it after you anchor." By this time the Goldwing had reached Lake Champlain. CHAPTER XVIII. THE RUNNING-RIGGING OF A SLOOP. The lake still had a decidedly stormy look, and the white-caps were as plentiful as snowflakes at Christmas. The wind had hauled from the south to south-west; and off the mouth of Beaver River, it had a sweep of six miles. Only the mainsail of the Goldwing had been set, but Thad was a prudent skipper; and before the sloop reached the point, on which the spray was dashing at a furious rate, he put the helm down, and ordered Archie to throw over the anchor. "What's that for?" demanded Hop impatiently. "It is blowing very hard, and I am going to reef," replied Thad. "What's the use of reefing? She? will carry the mainsail well enough." "Perhaps she will, but she won't while I am skipper," replied Thad decidedly. "Besides, we are in no hurry, for we have the whole forenoon before us; and I want to finish the explanations I have to make before you get scared by the slop of the waves, so that you can't take an interest in the subject." "But we want to see the fun when the robbers are hauled in," added Hop. "Dory is after them, and we want to see him do it." "Dory won't do any thing that can be seen. If he takes the schooner, he will bring her down to the school. The principal told me not to go near her. The Sylph has not gone out of the river yet; and the fun, if there is to be any, will not come off till she is ready to take a hand in it," said the skipper, as the boat came up to her cable. "If you are to learn to sail a boat, you must know all about one."