ME. SHERWOOD AND PARTY
"Well, Lawry, I don't see the steamer at the ferry-landing," said
Ben Wilford. "You know, you promised to have her up here to-night;
but I knew you wouldn't."
"We thought we wouldn't bring her up to-night," replied Lawry coldly.
"I knew you wouldn't, my boy. You didn't keep your promise."
"And you didn't keep yours."
"I didn't make any. If I'd promised to fetch that steamer up, she'd
been here."
"You promised to run the ferry, and you left it."
"No, I didn't, Lawry. Don't you talk so to me. You know too much,"
added Ben angrily. "You never will raise that steamer in two thousand
years."
"There she is," replied Lawry quietly, as he pointed in the
direction of the Goblins.
Ben looked at her; he did not seem to be pleased to find her on the
top of the water. His oft-repeated prophesy had been a failure, and
Lawry was full as smart as people said he was.
"Humph!" said he. "She isn't much of a steamboat if those barrels
brought her up."
"There she is; and I have done all I promised to do."
"What are you going to do next, Lawry?"
"I'm going to pump her out next."
"You'd better do it pretty quick, or she'll go to the bottom again,"
added Ben, as he walked into the house.
"There comes Mr. Sherwood, with the ladies," said Lawry, as he
glanced up the road.
"I congratulate you, boys," said Mr. Sherwood, as he grasped Lawry's
hand. "We gave three cheers for you on the hill, when we saw that you
had raised the _Woodville_."
"Thank you, sir. We worked pretty hard, but we were successful."
"You have done bravely," said Mrs. Sherwood. "We thought, from what
your brother said last night, that you would fail."
"Ethan and I didn't think so."
"I suppose you wouldn't sell very cheap to-night, Lawry," added Mr.
Sherwood.
"No, sir; the _Woodville_ is a gift, and I should not be
willing to sell her at any price."
"Well, Lawry, I am as glad as you are at your success. Do you want
any help yet?"
"No, sir; we are just going on board of her to stay overnight, for
we are afraid the heavy wind will do mischief."
"I wouldn't do that. You must rest to-night."
"I'm afraid something will happen if we don't look out for her."
"Are you going to pump her out to-night?"
"We may begin pretty early in the morning," said Lawry, with a smile.
"Haste and waste, my boy. If you stay on board of her to-night, and
get sick, you will not make anything by your labor."
"If the wind goes down, we shall sleep ashore as usual. I don't
think it blows quite so hard as it did."
"I don't," added Ethan.
"Boys, you mustn't overdo this thing," added Mr. Sherwood seriously.
His wife whispered to him just then.
"Yes, Bertha," he continued. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do,
Lawry. I have four men at work for me. I can spare them one day, and
they shall pump out the _Woodville_ for you."
"You needn't object," interposed Mrs. Sherwood.
"Indeed you must not, Lawry," added Miss Fanny. "I am afraid you
will both be sick if you work so hard."
"We can easily pump her out ourselves," said Ethan.
"You needn't say a word, Ethan," added Fanny Jane.
"I suppose we shall have to submit," replied Lawry, laughing. "We
can't oppose the ladies."
"Just as you say, Lawry," said Ethan.
"You shall have the men to-morrow, boys. Now you must go to bed, and
not think of the steamer till morning," continued Mr. Sherwood.
As the wind seemed to be subsiding, the boys went into the house;
and though it was not quite dark, they "turned in," tired enough to
sleep without rocking. Ben was at his supper, in no pleasant frame of
mind. He was dissatisfied with himself, and with his brother, who had
succeeded in his undertaking contrary to his prophecy. He was envious
and jealous of Lawry. Now that his father was away, he thought he
ought to be the chief person about the house, being the oldest boy.
"I'm not going to stay at home, and be a nobody," said he angrily.
"We don't wish you to be a nobody," replied his mother.
"Yes, you do; Lawry is everybody, and I'm nobody."
"You've been drinking, Benjamin."
"What if I have! I'm not going to stay here, and play second fiddle
to a little boy."
"What are you talking about, Benjamin? Lawry has not interfered with
you. He will treat you kindly and respectfully, as he treats
everybody."
"He don't mind any more what I say than he does the grunting of the
pigs."
"What do you want him to do?"
"I want him to pay some attention to what I say," snarled Ben. "I
suppose he thinks that steamboat belongs to him."
"Certainly he does," replied Mrs. Wilford.
"I don't."
"Don't you? Whom does it belong to, then?"
"I'm not a fool, mother; I know a thing or two as well as some
others. Lawry is not of age."
"Neither are you."
"I know that, but I'm older than he is."
"You are old enough to behave better."
"How do you expect me to be anybody here, when I have to knock under
to my younger brother? I say the steamer don't belong to Lawry any
more than she does to me. I have just as much right in her as he has."
"What do you mean by talking so, Benjamin? You know that Mr.
Sherwood gave the steamer to Lawry, and the bill of sale is in
Lawry's name."
"I don't care for that! she's just as much mine as she is his, and
he'll find that out when she gets to running. Lawry's a minor, and
can't hold any property; you know that just as well as I do."
"What if he is? I think he will be permitted to hold the steamboat,
and run her."
"I don't think so. I was talking with Taylor, who holds the mortgage
on this place, and he don't think so," added Ben, in a tone of triumph.
"What did he say?"
"Well, he means to attach the steamboat on the note he holds against
father."
"He will not do that!" replied Mrs. Wilford.
"He says so, anyhow."
"He will foreclose the mortgage on the place if he wants to get his
money."
"The place will not sell for enough to pay his note, and he knows
it. No matter about him--the steamboat belongs to father, just as
much as the ferry-boat does; and I think I ought to have something to
say about her."
"If you want to do anything for the family, why can't you run the
ferry-boat, Benjamin?"
"And let Lawry run the steamboat? Not if I know myself!" replied
Ben, with savage emphasis. "He may run the ferry-boat, and I'll run
the steamer."
"That would be neither fair nor right. The steamer belongs to Lawry,
and I will never consent that he shall be turned out of her."
"I don't want to turn him out of her. I'll take charge of her, and
he may go pilot; that's all he's good for."
"You mean that you'll be captain?"
"That's what I mean."
"I don't think Lawry will want any one to be captain over him.
"If I don't run that steamer, nobody shall!" said Ben angrily, as he
rose and left the house.
"Good evening, Mrs. Wilford," said Mr. Sherwood. "Has Lawry gone to
bed?"
"Yes, an hour ago."
"Is he asleep?"
"I suppose he is."
"All right, then."
"What in the world are you going to do with such a crowd of men, Mr.
Sherwood?"
"I'm going to help the boys finish their job. Ethan told me they had
stopped the leak, and it only remained to pump out the steamer. I am
going to do this job; and I have men enough to finish it in a couple
of hours."
"I should think you had," added Mrs. Wilford.
"I have gathered together all the men I could find. Don't say a word
to the boys, if you please. I intend to surprise them. They will find
the steamer free of water in the morning."
"You are very kind, Mr. Sherwood, to take so much trouble."
"The boys have worked so well that they deserve encouragement. May I
take the ferry-boat to convey my men up to the steamer?"
"Certainly, sir."
Mr. Sherwood encouraged the men to work well by the promise of extra
pay; and the laborers seemed to regard the occasion as a grand
frolic. They exerted themselves to the utmost, and the buckets flew
along the lines, while the pumps rolled out the water in a continuous
flow. As the steamer, relieved of the weight that pressed her down,
rose on the surface of the lake, it was only necessary to lift the
water from below and pour it upon the deck, from which it would run
off itself.
The job did not last long before such a strong force; and in two
hours the work of the bailers was done. Ethan had fully described the
method by which the hole in the hull of the _Woodville_ had been
stopped; but Mr. Sherwood had some doubts in regard to the strength
of the material, and he went below to examine the place. Lawry and
his fellow laborer had had no opportunity to test the strength and
fitness of the work they had done, while the boat was full of water.
On examination, Mr. Sherwood found several small jets of water
streaming through the seams between the planks, outside of the canvas
carpet, which he stopped with packing from the engineer's storeroom.
The braces which the boys had put over the hole kept the oilcloth in
position, and when the packing had been driven into the open seams
with a chisel and mallet, hardly any water came in around the
aperture. The boys were warmly commended by their partial friend for
the skill they had displayed in stopping the leak; and some of the
men, who were familiar with vessels, that the steamer would not
leak ten strokes an hour.
It was therefore safe to leave her; and Mr. Sherwood was satisfied that
the boys would not find the water up to the bottom of the cabin floor
in the morning. He carefully examined every part of the steamer to
assure himself that everything was right before he left her. The
pumps were tried again, just before they embarked for home, but they
yielded only a few strokes of water.
The party returned to the landing, and Mr. Sherwood cautioned the
men not to make any noise as they passed the cottage, fearful that
the boys might be awakened and the delightful surprise in store for
them spoiled. But Lawry and Ethan, worn out by the fatigue and
excitement of the day, slept like logs, and the discharge of a
battery of artillery under their chamber window would hardly have
aroused them from their slumbers. The men went to their several
homes, and all was quiet at the ferry.