1 THERE was no use in arguing with a person like this. I promptly put such a strain on my memory that by and by even the shoal w
ater and the countless crossing-marks began to stay with me. But the result was just the same. I never could more than get one knotty thing learned before another presented itself. Now I had often seen pilots gazing at the water and pretending to read it as if it were a book; but it was a book that told me nothing. A time came at last, however, when Mr. Bixby seemed to think me far enough advanced to bear a lesson on water-reading. So he began—
2 "Do you see that long slanting line on the face of the water? Now, that's a reef. Moreover, it's a bluff reef. There is a solid sand-bar under it that is nearly as straight up and down as the side of a house. There is plenty of water close up to it, but mighty little on top of it. If you were to hit it you would knock the boat's brains out. Do you see where the line fringes out at the upper end and begins to fade away?"
3 "Yes, sir."
4 "Well, that is a low place; that is the head of the reef. You can climb over there, and not hurt anything. Cross over, now, and follow along close under the reef--easy water there--not much current."
5 I followed the reef along till I approached the fringed end. Then Mr. Bixby said--
6 "Now get ready. Wait till I give the word. She won't want to mount the reef; a boat hates shoal water. Stand by--wait--WAIT--keep her well in hand. NOW cramp her down! Snatch her! snatch her!"
7 He seized the other side of the wheel and helped to spin it around until it was hard down, and then we held it so. The boat resisted, and refused to answer for a while, and next she came surging to starboard, mounted the reef, and sent a long, angry ridge of water foaming away from her bows.
Which BEST describes Mr. Bixby's influence on the narrator's learning how to "read" the water?
A) Mr. Bixby is a cruel taskmaster, forcing the narrator to do his bidding.
B) Mr. Bixby is an apathetic teacher, reluctantly instructing the narrator.
C) None of these represent an accurate description of Mr. Bixby and his teaching.
D) Mr. Bixby is a confident teacher, trusting that the narrator is ready to learn.
