"Do you always live up to that?"
"Not always," replied the fisher-boy, looking down at the ground; "I went ahead once when I knew I was wrong, and got into trouble by it."
"How did you come to select this for a motto?
"I heard Mr. Newcombe talking to Tom just before he sailed in the Savannah. He said: 'Be sure you are right, and then go ahead, and I'll answer for your success in life.'"
"And if Tom had been sensible enough to pay some attention to it, he would have been of some use in the world now," said the gentleman. "He goes ahead when he knows he is wrong, and that's the reason he gets into so much trouble. What's the other motto?"
"Owe no man a penny," replied Bob.
"That's another good one. All the advice I can give you is, to keep them constantly in mind."
As the man said this, he abruptly left Bob, and walked rapidly toward the wharf.
"Well," said the fisher-boy to himself, "he is the queerest man I ever saw."