Both Mr. Foss and Mr. Starrett owned a small part of several vessels, which afforded the boys an excellent opportunity to obtain accurate and reliable information, of which they did not hesitate to avail themselves.
As there were no mails east of Portland, the only way in which the boys obtained letters from home was by some coasting vessel. When they did get one, it was correspondingly valued, read and re-read, commented upon, and formed the subject of conversation for a month. John received a letter one afternoon, and on opening it, found enclosed one from Ben to Charlie.
The moment he was done work at night, he went to Stroudwater to see Charlie, spend the night with him, and walk in before work-hours in the morning. To the no small delight of the boys, they were informed that it was nearly two years since they had been at home, with the exception of the time when Ben was sick; that neither Captain Rhines’s family nor Ben and Sally could stand it any longer, and they must come home, and make a good visit.
“Ain’t I glad!” cried John.
“Ain’t I!” replied Charlie. “I wanted to go bad enough, but I didn’t like to lose my time, and was afraid Mr. Foss would think I was a baby.”
“That was just the way with me.”
Mr. Foss had a vessel that would be ready to launch in a fortnight, and wanted Charlie to stay till after launching. They wrote home by a coaster, that was to sail the next day, that they would start in a fortnight in the boat.
Meanwhile the Perseverance, Jr., was hauled up, repaired, re-painted, and put in first-rate order for the cruise. During that fortnight there was but one subject of conversation, and that never grew stale—home, and what they should do when they got there.
“There’ll be partridges and coons, lots of ’em, to shoot on Elm Island, Charlie.”
“There’ll be bears on my land, John.”