“She looks familiar,” said Henry Burns. “Where have we seen her before? Why, it’s the Eagle, or the Sprite, or whatever her real name may be. I wonder what she’s doing here. She was seized by the county and her owners advertised for. I wonder if they can have been discovered.”
“Let’s go down and take a look at her,” said George Warren. “She is the prettiest thing that ever came into this harbour.”
As they walked down to the shore a boat put off from the yacht and a man pulled in to land.
“Can you tell me where I can find either Henry Burns or Jack Harvey?” he inquired, addressing the two boys.
“I don’t know about Harvey,” answered Henry Bums, “but I can inform you about the other person. What do you want of him?”
“Here’s a note for you, if you mean that you’re Henry Burns,” said the man.
“That’s funny,” said Henry Burns. “It’s the first note I’ve got since I’ve been here. I wonder who can have written it.”
Henry Burns deliberately tore open the envelope and unfolded a letter. He glanced hastily at the contents, stopped short, and gave a cry of surprise.
“George,” he said, solemnly, “will you hit me once, good and hard, so I can tell whether I am dreaming or not?”
“I hardly think there’s any need of that,” answered the other, laughing. “You seem to be about as wide-awake as usual.”