fficers; very young; not older than some of us."

"Then why do you want to know about them?" said Dolly. "We have nothing
to do with young officers. We don't know any of them."

"But we might," suggested Christina. "We shall see them, if we go on
board the ship."

"I don't care about seeing them," said Dolly. "Young officers are young
men, I suppose. I understand _them;_ what I don't know about, is the
ship. Let us go on in this book, and see what we come to. '_Abaft_--the
hinder part of a ship'"----

"O Dolly!" cried Christina, "we have not time to go through everything
in this way. You have not turned over one leaf yet Do get on a little."

"It is good it's a holiday," said Dolly, turning the leaf. "We have
plenty of time. I like this book. '_Aboard_,--the inside of a ship.' So
when we go into the ship, we go aboard. That's it."

"Go on," urged Christina. "Here's '_Admiral_.'"

"'An officer of first rank and command in the fleet.' There is a great
deal here about the Admiral. I don't believe we shall see him. We'll
look a little further."

Dolly presently was caught by the word "_Anchor_," and lost herself in
the study of the paragraphs following, and the plate accompanying;
after which she declared that she understood how a ship could be held
by its anchor. Urged to go on again, she turned over more leaves, but
got lost in the study of "_boats;_" then of "_cannon;_" then of the
"_captain_'s" office and duties; finally paused at the plate and
description of a ship's deck.

"It's just the deck of a ship!" said Christina impatiently. "You will
see it when we go on board the 'Achilles.'"

"I want to understand it."

"You can't."

"Are those guns?" said Dolly, pointing to a row of pieces delineated
along the side of the deck.

"Must be guns."

"Well, I should like to go on board of a ship very much," said Dolly.
"There are twelve guns on that side. If there are the same on this
side, that would make twenty-four. What do they want so many for,
Christina, on one ship?"

"Why, to fight with, of course. To fire at other ships."

"But what do they want of _so many?_ They would not want to fire twelve
at once. I should think one would be enough."

"Perhaps it wouldn't. Go on, Dolly, do! let us get to something else."

It was difficult to get Dolly on. She was held fast again by the
description of a naval engagement; then fell to studying the directions
for the "_exercise_" of the guns; then was intereste