"He will not do that!" replied Mrs. Wilford.
"He says so, anyhow."
"He will foreclose the mortgage on the place if he wants to get his money."
"The place will not sell for enough to pay his note, and he knows it. No matter about him—the steamboat belongs to father, just as much as the ferry-boat does; and I think I ought to have something to say about her."
"If you want to do anything for the family, why can't you run the ferry-boat, Benjamin?"
"And let Lawry run the steamboat? Not if I know myself!" replied Ben, with savage emphasis. "He may run the ferry-boat, and I'll run the steamer."
"That would be neither fair nor right. The steamer belongs to Lawry, and I will never consent that he shall be turned out of her."
"I don't want to turn him out of her. I'll take charge of her, and he may go pilot; that's all he's good for."
"You mean that you'll be captain?"
"That's what I mean."