They avoided the main land, as they did not wish to attract notice till they were thoroughly used to handling her, and knew her trim; and, after sailing a while, hauled down the jib, kept away, and went back “wing and wing.”
“Some time,” said Charlie, “we’ll go down among the canoes on the fishing-ground, and when the fishermen are tugging away at their oars with a head wind, go spanking by them, the spray flying right in the wind’s eye.”
At length, feeling that they knew how to sail, they determined to go over to the mill and exhibit her.
Notwithstanding their efforts to keep it secret, the report of their proceedings had gone round among the young folks. Some boy saw John at work upon the rudder-irons in Peter’s shop, though he plunged his work into the forge trough the moment he saw that he was observed.
Little Bob Smullen also saw Charlie hauling down the spars with Isaac’s oxen, and when he asked Charlie what they were for, he told him, “To make little boys ask questions.”
The wind came fresh off the land, which suited their purpose, as they wished to sail along shore on a wind, and desired to display the perfections of their boat to the greatest advantage, and above all show her superiority to the canoes, which could only go before the wind, or a little quartering. The wind was not only fresh, but blew in flaws; and as they could not think, upon such an occasion, of carrying anything less than whole sail, they put in additional ballast, and took a barrel of sap sugar, which Fred was to sell for them, and five bushels of corn, to be ground at the mill.
They were to spend the night at Captain Rhines’s, intending in the morning to go down to Uncle Isaac’s point and invite him to take a sail with them. Charlie considered that the best part of the affair.
They beat over in fine style, fetching far to the windward of the mill, in order to have opportunity to keep away a little and run the shore down, intending to run by the wharf, and then tack and beat back in sight of whoever might be there. When about half a mile from the shore, they were espied by little Tom Pratt, who was fishing from the wharf. He had heard the talk among the big boys, and, rushing into the mill, he bawled out, “It’s coming! it’s coming! I seed it! that thing from Elm Island.”
Out ran Fred, Henry Griffin, Sam Hadlock, and Joe Merrithew. In a few moments another company came from the store and the blacksmith’s shop, among whom were Captain Rhines, Yelf, and Flour.