I am reading "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle" story, I don't understand this sentence:
When they got round the bend in the river and the water was hidden from view, you could still see their huge brown sails towering over the roofs of the town, moving onward slowly—like some gentle giants that walked among the houses without noise.
Here what does "the water" mean? the river or the sea? How come to be hidden?
Thanks
In this context, "the water" refers to the river.
The chapter starts by talking about the town on this river:
At that time Puddleby was only quite a small town. A river ran through the middle of it; and over this river there was a very old stone bridge, called Kingsbridge, which led you from the market-place on one side to the churchyard on the other.
Sailing-ships came up this river from the sea and anchored near the bridge. I used to go down and watch the sailors unloading the ships upon the river-wall.
The water is hidden by the bend in the river. In other words, there are things - trees, buildings, low hills - that are now blocking the view of that part of the river. But the ships in that part of the river have tall sails, and even though you can't see the river, you can see the tops of the sails. And as the ships move, you can see the tops of the sails move (probably towards the sea).
