router And linux

[bmike101 at cox.net]

as you've learned the linux box will now see the router  after the linux box's ip was made static however it still would not see the internet. I  then noticed a button in which I could view the routing table and the word 'gateway'. The gears then started  creaking and I realized that the3 linux box needs a gateway to tell it what ip address to look at. ( I think that is hows to explain it if I am right at all).  The mnan page for ifconnfig  doesn't show anything special and neither does  apropos gateway.
Could someone help?
What really upsets me is that the linux box wasz automagically detected when i first set it up!!!!!!