"If you win the race in the Maud, I shall be satisfied with the glory, without any of the spoils."
"Well, we won't quarrel about it now, for she may not win the first prize."
"Well, the same gentlemen will give a second prize of fifty dollars," continued Rodman. "But don't you expect to get the first prize, Don John?"
"I do; but to expect is not always to win, you know."
"You have always talked as though you felt pretty sure of coming in first," said Rodman, who did not like to see any abatement of confidence on the part of the boat-builder.
"It is the easiest thing in the world to be mistaken, Sam. If the Maud loses the first prize, I may as well shut up shop, and take a situation in a grocery store, for my business would be ruined."
"Not quite so bad as that, I hope," added Rodman.
"Mr. Norwood is waiting to see how she sails, before he orders a yacht for Frank. Can't you invite Frank and his father to sail with us in the race?"
"Certainly, if you desire it, Don John," replied Rodman. "Mr. Norwood is a big man, and he will be a capital live weight for us, if it happens to blow fresh."
"I hope it will blow; if it don't, the Christabel is sure of the first prize. I want just such a day as we had when the Sea Foam cleaned out the Skylark."