“We’ll do that,” replied the squire, assuringly. “And if we don’t, why, you’ve got it in black and white that I’ll make it good to you. A bargain’s a bargain. That’s my principle.”
The Viking, under a gentle breeze, was soon out of the harbour, clear of the bluff, and was running up alongshore. Jack Harvey and Henry Burns rowed ashore, to the tent, where Tom and Bob were awaiting them. Something that Henry Burns and Harvey confided to them, as they sat together on the point, sent the campers off into roars of laughter.
“Oh, but I’d give my shoes to see the squire when he finds that lobster-claw—if that’s what he’s after,” cried Tom, punching Henry Burns in an ecstasy of mirth. “Do you suppose that’s really what he’s hired her for, though?”
“Don’t know,” replied Henry Burns, solemnly. “No; Squire Brackett wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“Well, let’s go up to the store and see how we stand,” suggested Harvey. “Come on, fellows. You’re interested in this.”
“How much do you think we have earned, Jack?” asked Henry Burns, as they walked up the street toward Rob Dakin’s store.
“Oh, more than two hundred dollars—quite a little more, before taking out expenses,” replied Harvey.
“Yes; nearer three hundred, counting Tom’s and Bob’s share, I think,” said Henry Burns.
“Well, that’s reckoning in the fifty dollars we found in the cabin, isn’t it?” asked Harvey.
“Yes, I guess it is,” said his companion. “It remains to be seen, of course, whether we can keep that or not. We’ll ask Rob Dakin what he thinks about that.”