"Nothing at all," replied the skipper pleasantly. "Stand by with the boat-hook, Sam."
"What do you want with a boat-hook?" asked Tom, who had been studying the situation with a view to sailing the boat himself again.
"Fend off, Sam," added the captain. "We don't want to strike the wharf too hard: it might injure the boat."
"We don't want to strike it at all!" blustered Tom, springing to his feet, and taking in the new order of things at a glance. "Is the sail broke, that made it come down?"
"Nothing is the matter with it, so far as I know," replied Ash.
"What made it come down, then?"
"Because I ordered Sam to let go the halyards, and he did as I told him."
"You told him to let down the sail?" demanded Tom.
"Of course I did: if I hadn't, the boat might have been smashed against the wharf," Ash explained.
"What did you come near the wharf for?" growled Tom.