“Honor bright?” asked the chap, taking the paper, drawing a long breath, and looking as though he had discovered a gold mine.
“Honor bright,” answered Gray. “You must jump off first of all, for there’s a boy aboard that will beat you if he can. No pay if you don’t win.”
“Which is the one that’ll run ag’in’ me?” asked the long-legged fellow.
Gray described Jack, and told the young man to go out forward and he would see him. Gray was not willing to be seen with the “wharf-rat,” lest suspicions should be awakened in Jack Dudley’s mind. But after the shabby young man had gone forward and looked at Jack, he came back with a doubtful air.
“That’s Hoosier Jack, as we used to call him,” said the shabby young man. “He an’ two more used to row a boat acrost the river every day to go to ole Niles’s school. He’s a hard one to beat,—they say he used to lay the whole school out on prisoners’ base, and that he could leave ’em all behind on fox.”
“You think you can’t do it, then?” asked Gray.
“Gimme a little start and I reckon I’ll fetch it. It’s up-hill part of the way and he may lose his wind, for it’s a good half-mile. You must make a row with him at the gang-plank, er do somethin’ to kinder hold him back. The wind’s down stream to-day and the boat’s shore to swing in a little aft. I’ll jump for it and you keep him back.”
To this Gray assented.
As the shabby young fellow had predicted, the boat did swing around in the wind, and have some trouble in bringing her bow to the wharf-boat. The captain stood on the hurricane-deck calling to the pilot to “back her,” “stop her,” “go ahead on her,” “go ahead on yer labberd,” and “back on yer stabberd.” Now, just as the captain was backing the starboard wheel and going ahead on his larboard, so as to bring the boat around right, Mr. Gray turned on Jack.
“What are you treading on my toes for, you impudent young rascal?” he broke out.