"So they are," affirmed Bob, "Wonder what they want?"
"Guess we'll have to wait and see," advised Jack.
By this time the boat was within a few feet of the dock, and soon she was tied and the men were approaching the house.
"Good morning, boys," said the older man, pleasantly, as they reached the steps. "Good morning," replied both boys. "Won't you come up and sit down?"
"Thanks," and both accepted the invitation. "We've come up to have a little business talk," began the older man and without waiting for the boys to speak, he continued, "My name is Robert King, and this," indicating his companion, "is William Reed. We are from Boston and are spending a few days at the hotel down the lake. Now we want to buy a motorboat, and seeing yours Saturday, we thought we might be able to strike a bargain with you."
"Sorry, sir," broke in Bob, "but she is not for sale."
"That's too bad," said Mr. King, "for she is just what we want. Of course," he continued, "we could get one like her, but it would take several days and we don't want to wait, as our time is limited. Now I'll tell you what we'll do. We are both rich men and money is no object to us, so we get what we want, and we are willing to pay you one thousand dollars for the boat."
This, as the boys knew, was considerable more than the Sprite was worth, but Bob gave Jack a slight wink as he said:
"That's a very generous offer, and much more than the Sprite is worth, but we don't wish to sell."
"Suppose we make it two thousand dollars," spoke up Mr. Reed.