"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.
