That was a tremendous price in those days, when corn was four shillings a bushel, pork six cents a pound in the round hog; when the best of men, in haying-time, got only a dollar a day, and at other times could be hired for fifty or seventy-five cents. Besides, it must be remembered that Charlie had built this boat on rainy days, and at hours outside the regular day’s work.
“I’ll give you a dollar a foot,” continued Henry, “just for the boat. You may take everything out of her—sails, spars, anchor, and cable. The sails are larger than I want, for I don’t want to be bothered with reefing in cold weather. I can get Joe to cut and make sails for me. He’s a capital hand, I can tell you.”
“The truth is, Henry, I’ve built this boat by hard knocks. I’ve got up as soon as I could see to work on her, and have worked after I had done a hard day’s work, and was tired. I have puzzled over her till my brains fairly ached, and on that account think more of her. To-day is the first time I’ve ever been out of the harbor in her, and I don’t feel as if I could part with her.”
“I’ll give you nine shillings a foot for her.”
“Sell her, Charlie,” said Ben. “Let him have her.”
“I would, Charlie,” said Sally. “He needs her, and you can build another, as he says. He has offered you such a great price, too!”
But Charlie remained firm. Henry was about to give up the matter, when he said, “Henry, I don’t want you to think I am holding off to make you bid up. You offered me all the boat was worth when you offered a dollar a foot. I’ll do this with you: I’ll sell her to you, the bare hull, to deliver the first day of October, at a dollar a foot. I shan’t take any more, and I won’t part with her till then.”
“I’ll do it, Charlie; and when Joe comes in, I’ll go another trip with him.”
“I don’t see,” said Ben, after the boys had gone to bed, “what makes Charlie so loath to sell that boat. I should think he would be proud to have an offer for her so quick. He likes Henry, too, and I have always thought he was rather too willing to put himself out for other folks. Besides, he has spent some money for tools and paint, and that would make him all whole again.”