ledge are mingled in a very singular way with the
pleasure of maintaining an argument with their interlocutor, and of
conquering him in it. It was strikingly so with Rollo on this occasion.

"Yes," said he, after reflecting a moment on what his uncle had said,
"yes; I see how they can warp by means of anchors, where there is a
bottom which they can take hold of by them; but that is just the same as
a shore. It makes no difference whether the line is fastened to an
anchor on the bottom, or to a post or a tree on the land. One thing I am
sure of, at any rate; and that is, that it would not be possible for
them to warp a ship when it is out in the open sea."

"It would certainly seem at first view that they could not," replied Mr.
George, quietly; "and yet they can."

"How do they do it?" asked Rollo, much surprised.

"It is not very often that they wish to do it," said Mr. George; "but
they _can_ do it, in this way: They have a sort of float, which is made
in some respects on the principle of an umbrella. The sailors take one
or two of these floats in a boat, with lines from the ship attached to
them, and after rowing forward a considerable distance, they throw them
over into the water. The men at the capstan then, on board the ship,
heave away, and the lines, in pulling upon the floats, pull them open,
and cause them to take hold of the water in such a manner that the ship
can be drawn up towards them. Of course the floats do not take hold of
the water enough to make them entirely immovable. They are drawn in, in
some degree, towards the ship; but the ship is drawn forward much more
towards them."

"Yes," said Rollo; "I see that they might do it in that way. But I don't
understand why they should have any occasion to warp a ship out in the
open sea."

"They do not have occasion to do so often," replied Mr. George. "I have
been told, however, that they resort to this method sometimes, in time
of war, to get a ship away from an enemy in a calm. Perhaps, too, they
might sometimes have occasion to do it in order to get away from an
iceberg."

CHAPTER XV.

THE EMIGRANTS.

While this conversation was going on Mr. George and Rollo had been
sauntering slowly along the walk, with warehouses on one side of them,
and a roadway for carts and drays on the other, between the walk and the
dock; and now all at once Rollo's attention was attracted by the
spectacle of a large ship, on the decks of which there appeared a