He did not wish them to say
what they would like, merely, but what they thought, on the whole,
was best. He told them that he should not be _governed_ by their
advice, but, after hearing all that they had to say, he should act
according to his own judgment.
"Then what's the use of asking us at all?" said Marco.
"Why, what you will say may modify my judgment. I did not say that I
shall decide according to my judgment as it is now, but as it will be
after I have heard what you will have to say. I shall be influenced
perhaps by your reasons, but I shall decide myself. That is the theory
of a council of war. The commander may be influenced by the arguments
of his subalterns, but he is not governed by their votes."
Forester then called upon each of the boys, in succession, to give his
opinion on the point. Marco was in favor of going down the river, but
all the rest, though they said that they should like to go very much,
thought it would not answer, as it would be almost impossible to get
the boat up again over the rips. After the consultation was concluded,
Forester said, "Well, boys, you have all given wise opinions except
Marco, and his is not wise. Now we'll go aboard the boat."
"_Crew aboard!_" said Forester. The other orders followed in
rapid succession: _Attention! Toss! Let fall! Backwater! Oars! Give
way!_ The boys considered it settled, on hearing what Forester had
said of the wisdom of their several opinions, that they were now going
back toward the mill; but how they were going to get the boat back
above the dam they did not know, though they did not doubt that
Forester had some good plan which he had not explained to them.
Instead, however, of turning the head of the boat up the stream,
Forester pointed it toward the river. They supposed that he was going
out to the edge of the river, and that then he would turn and come
back; but, to their utter amazement, he pushed boldly on directly into
the current, and then, putting his helm hard up and calling out to the
crew to give way strong, the boat swept round into the very center of
the stream and shot down the river over the rips like an arrow.
[Illustration: THE EXPEDITION.]
"Give way, boys, hearty," said Forester. "Give way strong."
The boys pulled with all their strength, and the boat went swifter
and swifter. Forester kept it in the middle of the current, where the
water was deepest, though even here it was very shallow. Marco, in
the mean time, who was stationed at the bows, kept a sharp lookout
forward, and gave Forester notice of any impending danger. They soon
got through the rips and came to the deep and still water below, where
the current was gentle and the surface smooth. Here Forester ordered
the oars apeak, and the crew at ease.
"We never shall get back in the world," said one of the boys; "forty
men couldn't row the boat up those rips."
"Let us try," said Forester. So he ordered the oars out again, and
put the boat under way. He brought her head round so as to point up
stream, and calling upon the crew to give way strong, he forced her
back into the rapid water. They went on a few rods, but long before
they reached the most rapid part, they found that with all their
exertions they could make no progress. The boat seemed stationary.
"_Oars_," said Forester. The boys stopped rowing, holding their
oars in the air, just above the water. Forester then, by means of his
paddle, turned the boat round again, saying, "Well, if we can't go up,
we can go down stream." He then ordered the crew to give way again,
and they began to glide along swiftly down the river.
The boys wondered how Forester was going to get back, but he told them
to give themselves no concern on that score. "That responsibility
rests on me," said he.
"But how came you to come down here," said Marco, "when you said my
advice wasn't good?"
"I said your opinion was not wise. The boys who advised me not to come
were wiser than you. They gave better advice, so far as they and you
understood the case. But I know something which you do not, as is
usual with commanders, - and therefore I came down. In view of all that
_you_ know, it would have been wisest to have gone back, but in
view of all that _I_ know, it is wisest to come down."
The curiosity of the boys was very much excited to know what it could
be that Forester knew which rendered coming down the river wise; but
Forester would make no explanations. He said that commanders were not
generally very communicative to their crews. In the mean time the boat
went on, sometimes shooting swiftly through the rapids, and sometimes
floating in a more calm and quiet manner on the surface of the stiller
water. In this way they went on more than a mile, enjoying the voyage
very highly, and admiring the varied scenery which was presented to
their view at every turn of the stream.
At one place the boys landed upon a small sandy beach under some
overhanging rocks. They amused themselves in climbing about the rocks
for a time, and then they were ordered aboard again, and sailed on.
Now it happened that the river, in the part of its course over which
this voyage had been performed, took a great circuit, and though they
had followed its course for more than a mile, they were now drawing
near to a place which was not very far from Forester's father's
house, - being about as much below it, as the place where the boat
belonged in the mill-pond was above it.
