"I don't think so."
"I don't want to jaw any more about it."
"I'm sure I don't."
"All I've got to say is, that if I don't run this boat no one will."
"What do you mean by that, Ben?" demanded Lawry.
"No matter what I mean. I'm going to have what belongs to me. Once for all, am I to be captain, or not?"
"No," replied Lawry firmly.
Ben went out of the wheel-house, and the pilot did not see him again till after the Woodville reached her wharf. Lawry was sadly grieved at the attitude of his brother; and if Ben had been a reliable person, fit for the position he aspired to obtain, he would have yielded the point. But the would-be captain was an intemperate and dissolute fellow, as unsuitable for the command as he would have been for the presidency of a bank.
Early on the following morning the supplies for the Woodville were taken on board, and at eight o'clock everything was in readiness for the reception of Mr. Sherwood's party. The steam was merrily hissing from the escape-pipe; Ethan was busy, as he always was, in rubbing down the polished parts of the engine, and Lawry was walking up and down the forward deck. Quite a collection of people had assembled on the unfinished wharf and the shore to witness the departure of the steamer. As Captain Lawry paced the deck, there was a slight commotion in the crowd, and three persons passed through, making their way to the deck. One of them was the sheriff who had arrested the ferryman a few days before. He was followed by Mr. Taylor, his father's creditor, and Ben Wilford.
"I'm sorry to trouble you, Lawry," said the official; "but I suppose
I must do my duty."