“We’ll do what we can.”
“That’s right. I’ll have to rely on you. I’ve only got two men in the schooner, and we can’t do all. If you know any men about the village, send them or bring them along. Send for Corbet, too.”
“O, we want to have it all done without Captain Corbet knowing anything about it till it’s all over.”
“Why not let him come, and take his share in the work?”
“O, it would be better fun to get him down here, and let him see his vessel afloat.”
“Fun, you call it! Wal, I won’t dispute about words. At any rate, it ought to teach him a lesson.”
“But when can we begin?—now?”
“Now?” replied Captain Pratt, with a smile. “Wal—hardly—not just now, I should say. You see the vessel’s partly in the mud, and a good deal in the water, and it would be rather difficult to get at her so as to go to work.”
“How long will it be before we can begin?”
“Not till the tide leaves her.”