“Yes, mother; they are all first rate.”
“How did the girls enjoy their sail?”
“Enjoy their sail!”
“Yes, their sail; and Fred, and Henry, and Nancy Williams; you didn’t know we had a spyglass on Elm Island. I have found out what I never knew before.”
“What is that, mother?”
“That you can be as sly as other folks. I suppose you are all right now, and can finish the shop, and Uncle Isaac’s boat.”
“Yes, mother, all right now; some time I’ll tell you all about it.”
“No matter; I know why you wouldn’t sell the boat.”
Charlie now went to work with his father clearing more land, and working upon the shop in the intervals of other work, and on rainy days. They also rafted boat timber to the mill, and had it sawed to proper dimensions; dug out roots, procured crooked timber, and stuck up the boards in the shop chamber to season. Charlie also set up Uncle Isaac’s boat, in order that he might work on it in moments of broken time.
Boat-building was fast becoming something more than an amusement for Charlie: he had already received thirty-six dollars, and was disposed to devote to the business all the time he could spare from necessary farm work.