As he spoke the lads straightened up for an instant to relieve the painful strain on their backs, and at the same time Sam chanced to look seaward, when he saw that which caused him to cry in dismay:
"There comes a dory from Southport way! It can't be anybody but Cap'en Doak, an' he wouldn't pull all the distance over here except it was to make mischief!"
There was an expression of anxiety on Reuben Rowe's face as he gazed intently in the direction indicated by Sam, and after what seemed like a very long time of silence he said slowly, and with somewhat of menace in his tones:
"I'm allowin' that's him for sure, an' there's likely to be the biggest kind of a row if he tries to be funny. If we lay still half an hour jest now, this day's work is spoiled, an' he shan't be the man to waste our time like that!"
"I wish Uncle Ben was here," Sam said half to himself, and Reuben added:
"I ain't certain but it's a good idee he's away. The old man is too soft-hearted to deal with the likes of Eliakim Doak, an' I ain't given that way a little bit, seein's I know him root an' branch."
"What will you do if he tries to kick up a row?" Tommy asked anxiously, and one might have believed that he would be pleased to see the former owner of the "Sally D." meet with a person who was not very careful to avoid hurting his feelings.
"I'll give him all he's lookin' for, an' a little more! Dig the best you know how, lads, an' p'rhaps we can get the timbers in place before he makes the cove. Then we'll have time to look after his case," and Mr. Rowe set the example by throwing out sand from the trench in a regular stream.
CHAPTER XIV
A WAR OF WORDS