Then you must take them and toss them right up in the air." "How ?" said one of the boys, named Joseph.

"How, Marco ?" This question was scarcely heard amid the confusion.
"Be silent, boys; don't talk, and don't stop to ask _how_, but do just as I tell you." Marco was so much accustomed to the idea which sailors attach to the word _toss_, and to the manner in which they perform the evolution, that he forgot how many different ways there might be of tossing up an oar.

The proper way is, when the command is given, for each oarsman to raise the blade of his oar quick, but gently, into the air, letting the end of the handle rest upon the thwart.

It is then in a position to be let down into the water conveniently when the next order, which is, _Let fall_, is given.
The raising of the oars, and then letting them fall, all exactly together, by the crew of a man-of-war's boat, makes a very pretty spectacle.
The boys, however, knew nothing about this, for Marco, as it was all very plain and familiar to him, did not realize the necessity of making very minute explanations to such new recruits as those that were under his command.

Accordingly, when the order came to _toss_, some of the boys sat still, looking at Marco, and not knowing what to do; others raised their oars into the air, some one way and some another; and Joseph, who was a little discomposed by the rebuff he had met with, concluded that he would obey as literally as possible, let what would come of it and he gave his oar a high toss into the air.