“It’s a job for the ship’s carpenter,” said Bob. “Call the carpenter.”
“I guess I’m it,” said Dan. “Come on, Tommy, and we’ll get the old thing open.”
They disappeared together and for a minute or two the sound of merry laughter floated up from below, and the two on deck smiled in sympathy. Then there was a loud and triumphant chorus of “Ah-h-h!” and Dan emerged.
“I want to try steering,” he announced. “Get out of there, Bob.”
“All right, but don’t get gay,” was the response. Dan tried to wither Bob with a glance as he took his place at the wheel. Then——
“Gosh! Don’t she turn easy? Who-oa! Come back here, Mr. Vagabond! Say, Nel, how much does a tub like this cost?”
“Thirty-four hundred, this one. But there’s been a lot of extras since then.”
“Honest? Say, that’s a whole lot, isn’t it? I suppose you could get one cheaper if you didn’t have so much foolish mahogany and so many velvet cushions, eh?”
“Maybe. You thinking of buying a launch?”
“I’d like to. I’m dead stuck on this one, all right. A sailor’s life for me, fellows!” And Dan tried to do a few steps of the hornpipe without letting go of the wheel. Nelson, laughing, disappeared to look after the engine, and with him, when he reappeared, came an appetizing odor of cooking.