"I'm glad to see you out again, Bobby," continued Sam, who was so frightened that he was almost ready to cry. "An' I hope—hold on, there, Bobby, please don't run into me—"
The skiff was now close upon him, and the bully held his breath in suspense; but, just as he was expecting to feel the shock of the collision, and to see the sides of his fine yawl smashed in by the sharp bow of his rival's boat, Bob, with one sweep of his oar, turned aside, passing so close to the yawl that he could have jumped into her had he felt so disposed, and ran alongside the wharf to attend to the passengers, whom Sam, in his surprise and alarm, had forgotten.
"Why didn't you sink him?" asked one of the men, climbing down into the skiff. "He has kept us here for fully a quarter of an hour, and we told him that we were in a great hurry."
"I wouldn't like to sink him," replied the fisher-boy, as he pulled down the sail and got out the oars. "I had my boat sunk under me this morning, and I know how it feels."
Bob was now given an opportunity to test the speed of his new boat when propelled by the "white ash breeze," and the result was all he could have desired. The Go Ahead skimmed over the water as lightly as a duck, in spite of the additional weight of her half dozen passengers, and by the time the fisher-boy reached the opposite side of the harbor, he had ceased to regret the loss of his scow, and was almost willing to believe that the serious injury which Sam had tried to inflict upon him would prove to be a blessing in disguise.
Meanwhile the bully, who stood in his boat watching Bob as he rowed across the harbor and landed his passengers, had been allowed ample time to recover from the fright his rival had given him. The other ferry-boys were no less surprised than Sam had been, and now they began to gather around him, to hear what he had to say about it.
"Do you see that new craft Jennings has got?" asked one.
"Do I see it?" repeated the bully, sharply. "Haven't I got a pair of eyes, and didn't he sail by within two foot of me? He's a thief, as well as a mean feller, 'cause he's used one of them gold pieces to buy that boat. Never mind! It won't do him no good!"
Sam, assisted by some of his particular friends, at once set about arranging matters to render Bob's new boat perfectly useless to him. As before, they scattered their forces all over the harbor, some on one side, and some on the other, Sam pointing out the position he wished each boy to occupy. When he had got every thing fixed to his satisfaction, he sculled slowly toward the fisher-boy, who was standing up in his boat, watching all these movements, as if they did not interest him in the least.