"Keep aboard as far as Rawdon, or further."
"Goodness gracious!" groaned Sam. "Isn't it awful?"
"It might be a great deal more awful if you tried to land," said the captain, dryly. "However, don't lose heart, boys." He shot a glance at the sky. "This blow will probably soon simmer down."
But they didn't believe him; and, as Wild Oak became stronger and stronger in the landscape, stared gloomily toward it. Perhaps never before had a town appeared quite so attractive to them.
"Only to think," murmured Bob.
"Don't think," said Jack.
They gazed at the buildings and long wharf for some moments in silence. A sawmill and lumber-yard stood near the water's edge, beyond rose a structure with a tower, while straggling up over the hill were a number of frame houses, some partly hidden by clumps of trees.
"This field-glass makes me tired," grumbled Jack. "Hold me back, fellows, or I may forget an' try to jump it. That wharf seems just a few feet away. An' what do you think? A goat just winked at me; honest he did. Why, Jehoshaphat, I can almost touch the sawmill with my hand."
"I always wanted to see Portland, anyway," observed Dick.
A howl followed his words.