"I reckon I've got a pretty good idee of how you've been feelin'," he said when the whirlwind of their congratulations had subsided somewhat. "Goin' over to the Port I got all worked up over thinkin' that p'rhaps somebody might jump in an' offer more'n we could afford to pay, till I was jest as limp as a rag. We needn't be worried very much, though, 'cause nobody seemed to think she was worth a great deal after layin' in the sand so long. 'Siah Fernald allowed that he'd give four hundred, an' that's what he started her at. I said four-twenty-five, an' he jumped ten more; then I made it four-fifty, an' he sung out 'sixty, an' that's a good bit more'n she's worth as she lays.' I made it four-seventy, an' the auctioneer hung on for another bid till I begun to think he didn't want me to have her, when he shouted, 'Sold to Uncle Ben Johnson, an' I wish him good luck with her.'"
"But I thought Mr. Mansfield was goin' to buy her for you?" Sam cried.
"So he was, lad, so he was. Leastways, that's what he'd agreed to do; but I got so worked up over the business on the way across, that I clean forgot everythin' except how much we wanted to own her an' went to biddin' on my own account."
"Was Pirate Doak there?" Tommy asked.
"Ay, lad, an' glum enough he looked. One spell I thought he was goin' to break the sale up rather'n let me have her; but by hook or by crook he held his tongue, after growlin' out that whoever bought her would be called on to pay cash down. When the auctioneer said she was mine I got the money from William Mansfield, for I'd fixed things when I was in the Port before, so's he could get six hundred outer the bank for me. Eliakim signed the bill of sale, but he never looked my way once. For a wonder he was sober, an' so contrived to act pretty nigh decent. Now we'll go over an' have a squint at the family's property!"
CHAPTER XIII
WRECKING
When Uncle Ben and the two boys arrived at the stranded schooner Mr. Rowe was there, bustling around as if it was his intention to begin the task of launching her at once, and Uncle Ben said with a laugh, which at the same time was much like a chuckle of satisfaction:
"Wa'al, Reuben, are you countin' on havin' her in deep water before we turn in?"
"I ain't allowin' to let any grass grow under my feet, an' that's a fact," Mr. Rowe replied in a tone of decision. "This 'ere is a longish job, an' I want to get the whole thing figgered out in my head so's we won't have to do any of the work over ag'in."