"I think I can get along, sir."
"You will wear yourself out. You have run a portion of the last two nights, and this arrangement will make the third."
"I can sleep just as well at Port Rock as at Whitehall. To-morrow will be Saturday, and my engagements for Monday and Tuesday are at the upper end of the lake, so that I shall have no more night work at present. I can stand it well enough."
"I'm afraid it will be too much for you; but if you have to engage an extra pilot, you must raise your price to sixty dollars a day."
"I think we shall need another engineer at the same time. Ethan has just as hard a time of it as I do."
"You had better raise your price; people will not object."
"I was thinking, sir, that Ben would make a good pilot. He is a good wheelman, and it wouldn't take him long to learn the courses on the lake."
Mr. Sherwood shook his head.
"Would you be willing to trust him with the boat?—go to sleep yourself, while he is at the helm?" asked he.
"I think I would, after he had learned the navigation."
"He is your brother, Lawry, and I don't like to say anything to wound you; but I feel that your brother is not a reliable person. You must be very prudent. Even a trifling accident, resulting from mismanagement, might ruin your business; for people will not expose their lives needlessly. If Ben will run the ferry the rest of the year, keep sober, and behave well in every respect, you might make a pilot of him, or even captain, another season."
Doubtless this was good advice, and the little captain had so much confidence in his friend and benefactor that he could not help adopting it. Mr. Sherwood went into the cabin again, without any conversation with the subject of his severe but just comments. Lawry was on the point of leaving the hurricane-deck, where he had talked with his adviser, when he noticed that the boat was headed toward the shore, and in a moment more would be aground in the shoal water off Barber's Point. He rushed into the wheel-house, and found that Ben had abandoned the helm. Grasping the wheel, the pilot brought her up to her course, and then turned to his brother.
"What do you mean, Ben, by leaving the wheel?" demanded Lawry, filled with indignation at his brother's treachery.
"Don't talk to me," growled Ben.
"The boat would have been aground in a minute more."
"I wish she was."
"What's the matter, Ben?"
"I thought you were my brother; but you are not."
"I'm sorry to hear you talk so; and I didn't think you would do so mean a thing as to run the boat ashore."
"I'll do anything now. I heard what Sherwood said to you, and what you said to him. I didn't think you would let any man talk about your brother as he did. Do you suppose I would let any man talk like that about my brother? I'll bet I wouldn't! I'd knock him over before the words were out of his mouth."
"Why, what did he say, Ben?"
"What did he say! Didn't you hear what he said? Didn't he tell you I was a drunken fellow, and couldn't be trusted?"
"Well, he certainly did," replied Lawry moodily.
"And you heard him! And you didn't say a word!" said Ben furiously.
"What could I say when Mr. Sherwood spoke only what I know is true?"
"Then you think I'm a drunken fellow, and can't be trusted?" demanded Ben, with an injured look.
"Don't you drink too much sometimes?"
"No, I don't! I drink what I want; but no one ever saw me the worse for liquor. Who says I can't be trusted?"
"When I gave you the wheel, at your own request, you left it, and the boat would have been ashore in another minute. Does that look as though you could be trusted?" added Lawry.
"That was because you wouldn't trust me. I was mad."
"One who would expose the lives of twenty or thirty persons when he got mad ought not to be trusted."
"Lawry, you are no longer my brother. You and your mother, and Sherwood here, have been trying to put me down, and make a nobody of me. You can't do it. I'm your enemy now. You have made me mad, and you must take the consequences. I'll burn or smash this boat the first chance I get! As for Sherwood, I'll teach him to talk about me!"
The angry young man rushed out of the wheel-house. If Mr. Sherwood had heard his insane threats he would probably have insisted that he should be immediately put on shore; but Lawry did not think his brother capable of the madness of malice his speech indicated; he was in a passion, and when he cooled off he would be reasonable again.
Ben sat down on the forecastle where the pilot could see him, and nursed his wrath till the Woodville arrived at Burlington. He was in deep thought all the time, and did not heed the singing or other amusements of the party on board, who were enjoying themselves to the utmost. Apparently with no perception of his own faults and shortcomings, he regarded himself as a deeply injured young man. His mother and his brother had turned against him, and were persecuting him to the best of their ability. He had come on board to gain his purpose by conciliation; he had failed, and, in his own view, there was nothing left for him but revenge.
The boat touched at Burlington, and to the great relief of Lawry, his brother followed Mr. Sherwood on shore. At three o'clock the Woodville returned from Port Kent with the happy excursionists. While the steamer lay at the wharf, waiting for Mr. Sherwood, many persons, moved by curiosity to inspect the beautiful craft, came aboard; and whenever she stopped, she had plenty of visitors of this description. Among them Lawry saw his brother, accompanied by two men, who, from the remarks they made, were evidently familiar with the machinery and appointments of steamers.
Mr. Sherwood presently appeared attended by a bank messenger with the precious coin he had purchased at 2.44, the telegraphic quotation from New York for that day.
"Where shall I put this gold. Captain Lawry?" asked Mr. Sherwood.
"I don't know, sir; I'm really afraid of it," replied the captain nervously. "Can't you carry it in your pockets?"
"It weighs about thirty-seven pounds," laughed Mr. Sherwood. "I will lock it up in my stateroom. I shall sleep on board to-night, and it will be safe enough after we leave the wharf, for no one but you and me knows there is any specie on board."
The man of gold went aft with the coin, which was contained in two bags.
"I suppose I can go home with you—can't I, Lawry?" asked Ben, as the little captain started for the wheel-house.
Lawry could not refuse this request, though his brother was evidently a little excited by the liquor he had drank. He hoped Ben had not heard anything about the treasure on board; for he feared that revenge, if not dishonesty, might prompt him to commit a crime.
The visitors were warned ashore, and the Woodville departed for Port Rock, where she arrived at about six o'clock. The excursion-party went on shore, after the usual compliments to the steamer and her commander.
"Now, Lawry, I must go up to the house for my valise; but I will return in an hour," said Mr. Sherwood, whose carriage was waiting for him at the head of the wharf.
"But the gold, sir?" whispered Lawry anxiously.
"You or Ethan may watch the stateroom till I return, if you please; but there is no danger here. You must turn in at once, Lawry, so as not to lose your sleep."
"I shall be gone four or five days, this time, and I must go home after some clean clothes."
"Very well; I will get Ethan to keep his eye on the stateroom," replied Mr. Sherwood; and Lawry ran up to the cottage.
Ethan, who had ordered the fires to be banked in furnaces, and was letting off the superfluous steam, consented to watch the room containing the gold. Rounds, the deckhand, and the first fireman turned in, that they might be ready for duty at midnight, when the boat would start for Whitehall.
CHAPTER XIX
CAPTURED AND RECAPTURED
Unfortunately for Ben Wilford, he had heard Mr. Sherwood inform Lawry of his intentions in regard to the purchase and transportation of the gold. Before the Woodville reached Burlington, the dissolute young man had resolved to obtain the money if possible, prompted partly by revenge, and partly by the desire to possess so large a sum, with which he could revel in luxury in some distant party of the country. It must be confessed that this resolve to commit a crime was not simply an impulse, for the young man who leads a life of indolence and dissipation is never at any great distance from crime. Ben had been schooling himself for years for the very deed he now determined to do.
With more energy and decision, Ben was, in other respects, the counterpart of his father. His moral perceptions were weak, and the dissolute life he led had not contributed to strengthen them. He was the antipode of Lawry, who had been more willing to listen to the teachings of his mother.
Ben had resolved to commit a crime, but he had not the skill or the courage to do it alone. When he went on shore at Burlington, he met two of his former boon companions, with whom he had often tippled, gambled, and caroused. One of them had been a fireman, and the other a deck-hand, on board a steamer with Ben, and he knew them thoroughly. By gradual approaches he sounded them, to ascertain their willingness to join him in the robbery. The gold converted into currency would give them seven or eight thousand dollars apiece, and the temptation was sufficiently strong to remove all prudential obstacles.
While the Woodville was absent on her trip to Port Kent, the details of the robbery had been settled. The confederates sat on the corner of the wharf and arranged their plans, which were mainly suggested by the one who had been a fireman. The scheme was to be executed while the boat lay at Port Rock, and the two men whom Lawry had seen with his brother were his associates in the intended crime. Ben had concealed them in the forehold of the steamer. While the excursion-party were going on shore at the gangway abaft at the wheels, and all hands had gone aft to witness their departure, Ben had called them from their hiding-place, and sent them on the wharf, where he soon joined them. From a point near the head of the pier, where they were not observed, they waited till Mr. Sherwood and Lawry had gone, and all was quiet on board of the steamer.
"Now is our time," said Ben nervously; for he was not familiar enough with crime to be unmoved by the desperate situation in which he had placed himself.
"Is the coast clear?" asked the fireman.
"Yes," replied Ben, whose teeth actually chattered with apprehension.
"Who is there on board now?"
"No one but the engineer and the fireman, except two boys," answered
Ben. "They were all going to turn in as soon as they got to the wharf."
"The firemen are both men, but I reckon they won't fight; all the rest are boys."
"One fireman and two boys have turned in by this time," added Ben.
"Then there is no one up but the engineer and one fireman?"
"No."
"Where is the gold, Ben?"
"In the starboard saloon stateroom."
"All right; have your pistols ready, but don't use them, for it will be bad for us if we have to kill any one."
The party walked down to the Woodville. All was still on board of her, except the sound of escaping steam. Ethan stood sentry at the door of the stateroom containing the gold, and the man on watch in the fire-room was busy reading a newspaper. It was not sunset yet, but the crew of the Woodville had been worked so hard for three days that those off duty could sleep without an opiate.
"Put on that hatch," said the fireman, who became the leading spirit of the party, as he pointed to the companion-way of the forehold, where the hands slept.
Ben obeyed the order without making any noise, and then the party went aft, where Ethan was keeping guard over the treasure.
"Good evening, Ethan," said Ben, with more suavity than he was in the habit of using.
"Good evening," replied the engineer.
"Haven't turned in yet?" continued Ben.
"No."
"Going to start at midnight, I hear."
"Yes."
"Some friends of mine wanted to look over the boat; I suppose I can show them through."
"I don't know; Captain Lawry can tell you," answered Ethan, who did not like Ben, and was not favorably impressed by the appearance of the other men.
Ben walked aft into the saloon, followed by his companions. Ethan was sitting in a chair by the side of the stateroom door. The fireman passed round behind, and suddenly fell upon him, throwing him on the floor and pinioning his arms to his back.
"What are you about?" cried Ethan, struggling to release himself.
"Help! help!"
"Stop his mouth!" said Ben fearfully.
Vainly poor Ethan endeavored to shake off his assailants; his arms were tied together behind him, and a handkerchief stuffed into his mouth. In this condition he was lashed to a stanchion, so that he could move neither hand nor foot.
The commotion of this outrage attracted the attention of Mrs. Light and the two waiter-girls, who were employed in the lower cabin. The fireman exhibited a pistol to them, drove them below again, and threatened to shoot them if they made any noise. A similar demonstration quieted the fireman, and compelled him to return to the fire-room.
"The job is done," said Baker, the leader of the enterprise.
"But we haven't got the money," added Flint, the deckhand.
"We don't want that yet. It is safe where it is. Now both of you to your stations," continued Baker; and he went down into the fire-room.
Ben's station was in the wheel-house, Flint's at the fasts, and Baker's at the engine, as it appeared from their subsequent movements; and it was evident, from the operations in progress, that the villains intended to make their escape in the steamer. Baker stopped the hissing steam which was going to waste, and compelled the fireman to renew the fires.
"Be lively!" shouted Ben, from the wheel-house, as he discovered Lawry on the shore, hastening back to the steamer with his bundle of clothes.
"All ready!" replied Baker, finding there was steam enough to start the boat.
Flint had already cast off the fasts, without waiting for orders, and was standing on the forecastle, as impatient to be off as a man can be who is engaged in the commission of a crime.
Ben rang the bell to back her; the wheels turned, but as the stern-line had been cast off, her bow was not carried out from the wharf. By this time Lawry had discovered that the Woodville was in motion. He was astonished and alarmed, though he was far from surmising that his boat had been captured by robbers. Running with all his speed, he reached the head of the wharf just as the boat had backed far enough to permit Ben to see him, and for him to see that Ben was at the wheel. Then he realized that his brother was engaged in another conspiracy.
Notwithstanding his extensive knowledge of "steam-boating" in general, Ben Wilford was a very unskillful pilot. If he had understood the management of a boat half as well as Lawry, the nefarious scheme might have been successful. He saw his brother; he did not wish to have him come on board, for Lawry might be so obstinate as to induce one of his dissolute companions to fire at him. He rang the bell to stop her, and then to go ahead, at the same time putting the helm hard aport.
The Woodville went forward, and as she met the helm her bow came round, and she was headed out into the middle of the lake. As she went ahead, her stern swept in a circle within a few feet of the wharf, just as Lawry, breathless with haste and alarm, reached the end of the pier. The little captain knew nothing of the state of things on board, except that his brother Ben was at the wheel, which, however, was a sufficient explanation to him. The Woodville was going, and he could not let her depart without him. Dropping his bundle, he leaped to the plankshear, grasping the rail with both hands. Jumping over the bulwark, he stood on the guard from which opened the windows of the saloon.
Neither of the three conspirators were in a situation to see this movement on the part of Lawry. Ben was too much occupied in steering—for he was not a little fearful of getting aground in some shoal water between the ferry and the wharf—to notice anything; but as soon as he had obtained his course, he looked for his brother on the pier. He was not there; but Ben did not suspect that he was on board the Woodville. Baker, who knew just enough about an engine to stop and start it, was working the valves with the bar; and he could think of nothing else. Doubtless he was conscious by this time that he had "taken a big job," in assuming the control of the engine.
Lawry was bewildered by the situation. When his feet struck the deck, his first impulse was to rush up to the wheel-house, and confront the difficulty as the case might require. He started to carry out his purpose, when he happened to look through one of the saloon windows, and discovered Ethan, with the handkerchief in his mouth, tied to the stanchion. Deeply as he sympathized with his friend in his unpleasant position, he was still cheered by the sight, for it assured him that the engineer had been faithful to his duties, and was not a party to the conspiracy.
The little captain went round and entered the saloon by the door, without being seen by either of the conspirators. He removed the gag from Ethan's mouth, and proceeded to unfasten the cords with which he was bound.
"What does all this mean, Ethan?" demanded Lawry, in excited tones, and almost crying with vexation.
"Hush! Do they know you are here?" asked the engineer.
"I think not; I don't know."
"Keep still, then. They are after the gold."
"Who are they?"
"Ben and two other fellows. I don't know them."
"We'll stop this thing very quick," said Lawry.
"They are armed with pistols, and threatened to shoot all hands. Be careful, Lawry, or you will get a bullet through your head."
"What shall we do?" demanded the young pilot.
Ethan was an accomplished strategist. He led the way to the lower cabin, where the terrified women had been driven by the ruffians.
"If any of those men ask for me, tell them I got loose, jumped overboard, and swam ashore," said Ethan.
"Law sake!" exclaimed the cook.
"Don't tell them I am here, at any rate."
"I won't. Massy sake! What are we comin' to?"
"Don't be alarmed; we will take care of these villains before we have done with them," added Ethan.
"Hush! There's some one coming," said one of the girls; and the heavy tread of a man was heard on the deck above them.
Ethan and Lawry had only time to crawl into one of the berths, where Mrs. Light covered them with bedclothes, before Flint came down into the cabin.
"See here; we haven't been to supper, and we want some," said the ruffian, as he descended the steps.
"What are you goin' to do with us?" demanded Mrs. Light.
"Don't be scart; we won't hurt you," replied Flint.
"But where you goin'?"
"Up to Whitehall. When we get there, you can go where you please. Now, get us some supper; the best there is on board—beefsteak and coffee."
"Well, I suppose I can get you some supper; but I don't like such carryin's on," replied Mrs. Light.
Flint left the cabin, after he had given his order. On his way forward he looked into the saloon, and discovered that their prisoner was missing. Search was immediately instituted; but Mrs. Light, as instructed by Ethan, declared that he had got loose and swam ashore; she had seen him through the stern-lights. The rascals finally accepted this explanation, after searching on deck for him.
Mrs. Light went to the kitchen to get supper for the rogues, while the girls set the table. The cook presently returned to the cabin, and told Ethan where each of the robbers was stationed; but being unarmed, there seemed to be no way of making an attack upon them where the ruffians could not rally to the support of each other.
"We must settle this business down here, Lawry," said Ethan, when they had come out of their hiding-places.
"They will have to come to supper one at a time," added the little captain.
"Exactly so; and this will be the safest place to do the job. We want a rope," added the engineer, with a businesslike air.
"I'll fetch you a rope," said Mrs. Light.
"Do; bring me the small heave-line, on the guard by the saloon doors."
The cook went on deck, and after a visit to the kitchen, returned to the cabin with the line indicated under her apron. In about half an hour supper was ready for the villains, and one of the girls informed Baker, who was still on duty in the engine-room, that it was waiting for them. The engineer called Flint, and told him, as the boat was out in the middle of the lake, the engine would need nothing done to it, and directed him to stand at the door, so that the fireman below should not attempt to defeat their plans. He then went to the cabin for his supper.
Ethan and Lawry had concealed themselves behind the curtains of a tier of berths, directly in the rear of the chair where Baker was to sit at the table. In his hand Ethan held the heave-line, at one end of which Lawry had made a hangman's noose. Mrs. Light and the girls had been instructed to rattle the chairs, make as much noise as they could, and otherwise engage the attention of the robber, as soon as he sat down to the table.
Baker came down the stairs, and one of the girls began to rattle the chairs, Mrs. Light to move a pile of plates, and the other girl to arrange the dishes on the table. "Will you have some coffee?" demanded Mrs. Light, without giving him time to notice anything in the cabin.
"Of course I will," growled Baker.
"Shall I give you some beefsteak?" asked one of the girls.
"I'll help myself."
"If you want some fried eggs I'll get some for you," added the cook, rattling the dishes again.
Baker was not permitted to say whether he would have any fried eggs or not, for at that moment Ethan crept from his concealment, whatever noise he made being drowned by the clatter of the dishes and the rattling of the chairs. Stealing up behind Baker, who was intent only on beefsteak and coffee, he slipped the hangman's noose over his head, and hauled it tight. The robber attempted to spring to his feet, but Ethan hauled him over backward on the floor. At the same time Lawry threw the end of the line over a deck beam, extended across the skylight, and began to "haul in the slack."
The villain attempted to cry out; but the sound only gurgled in his throat. He grasped the rope with both hands; but the choking already received had taken away his strength, and he was unable to make any successful resistance. While Lawry kept the rope so taut that Baker could not move, Ethan tied his hands behind him, though the man's struggles were fierce, and the engineer was obliged to use a rolling-pin, supplied by Mrs. Light, before the conquest was complete. The ruffian was securely bound and gagged; but the cook and the girls had nearly fainted while the struggle was going on.
Baker, thus gagged and bound, was rolled into one of the lower berths. He had been nearly choked to death by the rope, and several hard knocks he had received on the head had rendered him partially insensible, so that he was not in condition to make any further resistance. Ethan had taken possession of his pistol, and, as a matter of precaution, threatened to blow out his brains if he made any noise.
"Massy sake!" groaned Mrs. Light. "I never did see! You've taken my breath all away!"
"Don't make a noise," said Ethan.
"I couldn't have struck that man as you did," added Lawry.
"If you had been through what I have, out West, it would come easier to you," replied the engineer. "We must go through the whole of it once more."
One of the girls was then sent to call Flint, and directed to assure him that such was the order of Baker, who had gone to the wheel-house for a moment, and would immediately return to the engine-room. The deck-hand was too much in a hurry for his supper to question the order, and went directly to the cabin. The noise made by Mrs. Light and the girls prevented him from hearing the heavy breathings of Baker, and he was an easier victim than his companion in crime had been. He was choked, gagged, bound, and his pistol taken from him. By this time these two ruffians, if they could think at all, could not help believing that the way of the transgressor is hard.
From regard to the feelings of Lawry, Ethan decided that Ben should not be subjected to this harsh treatment. He was still in the wheel-house, not suspecting that his nefarious scheme had been wholly defeated.
The work was accomplished, and the pilot and engineer went on deck. Ethan repaired to his post and stopped the engine. Ben half a dozen times demanded, through the speaking-tube, what the matter was; but receiving no answer, he came down himself to ascertain the cause of the sudden stoppage of the boat.
CHAPTER XX
THE LITTLE CAPTAIN AND HIS MOTTO
As Ben Wilford, fearful that some accident to the machinery would defeat his criminal enterprise, entered the engine-room on one side, Lawry left it at the other. As the little captain went forward, he heard a noise in the forecastle, and saw that the companionway was closed and fastened. Releasing the firemen and deck-hands confined there, he directed them to follow him to the wheel-house, where he explained to them what had happened.
"What are you stopping for?" demanded Ben Wilford, before he discovered that Baker was not present.
"I think it is about time to go back, now," replied Ethan, holding one of the pistols in his hand.
"How came you here, Ethan?" exclaimed Ben, starting back with astonishment when he saw who was in charge of the engine.
"I run this machine, and this is the right place for me," replied
Ethan coolly.
"Where's Baker?"
"He's safe; if you mean the man you left in charge of the engine."
Ben was bewildered by the present aspect of affairs. It was clear that there had been a miscarriage somewhere; but he was unable to tell how or where the scheme had failed. Before he could decide what step to take next, Captain Lawry rang the bell to go ahead.
"Who rang the bell?" asked Ben.
"Captain Lawry."
"Is he on board?"
"He is," replied Ethan, as he started the engine. "Ben Wilford, you have got about to the end of your rope."
"What do you mean?"
"You have done a job which will send you to Sing Sing for the next ten years."
"No, I haven't," said Ben, backing out of the engine-room.
"Stop where you are," interposed Ethan, peremptorily, as he raised his pistol.
"Two can play at that game," added Ben.
"Two can; but two won't. Drop your hands, or I'll fire!"
Ben obeyed; he had felt that the game was up the moment he saw Ethan at his post, and he had not the courage to draw his pistol upon one who had shot two Indians in one day.
"Sit down there," continued Ethan, pointing to the bench in the engine-room, and the culprit took his seat with fear and trembling.
"What shall I do?" groaned the wretched young man, as he thought of the consequence of his crime.
"Jump overboard and drown yourself. That would save your friends a great deal of trouble," replied Ethan. "Give up your pistol!"
Ben gave it up, and began to plead with Ethan to let him escape, declaring that it would kill his mother, and Lawry never would get over it, if he was sent to the penitentiary. Though the engineer dreaded the day when his friend would be compelled to testify in court against his own brother, he would not yield to the culprit's entreaties, and did not intend that he should escape the penalty of his crime.
When the Woodville reached her wharf, having been absent but little more than an hour, Mr. Sherwood and the ladies were on the wharf. While Ethan was working the engine with the bar, Ben slipped out of the room. The engineer saw him, and gave the alarm; but he could not leave his post at that moment. As soon as the boat was moored, search was made; but Ben could not be found. He certainly was not on board.
Mr. Sherwood was astonished when he was told what had occurred. He sent his coachman after the sheriff at once, and directed that the search for Ben Wilford should be renewed. The stateroom was found locked, as he had left it, and the gold undisturbed. Mrs. Light and the girls, the firemen and the deck-hands, had their own stories to tell, to all of which Mr. Sherwood listened very patiently.
"You have done well, Lawry," said he. "You have saved my gold."
"It was Ethan, sir, that did the business. I don't believe I could have done anything alone," replied the little captain.
"Lawry did his share," added Ethan, with due modesty.
"I'm sure they both fit like wildcats in the cabin," said Mrs.
Light. "I was e'en a'most scart to death."
When the sheriff came, he took Baker and Flint into custody, and sent the constable who had come with him to find Ben Wilford. The two robbers in the cabin were in bad condition. The choking they had received had been a terrible shock to their nerves, which, with the hard knocks given by Ethan with the cook's rolling-pin, had entirely used them up, and there was neither fight nor bravado in them. Flint said they had been induced to engage in the enterprise by Ben Wilford; that they intended to proceed to the vicinity of Whitehall in the Woodville, where the instigator of the affair had declared his purpose to burn the boat. From this point they were going to the West, disposing of the gold in small sums as they proceeded.
The two robbers were marched off by the sheriff; but nothing was heard of Ben for two hours, when the boy who ran the ferry-boat, returning from Pointville, informed Mrs. Wilford that he had gone over with him. The constable followed, as soon as he heard in what direction the fugitive had gone. He was not taken that night, and the search was renewed the next day, but with no better result. It was afterward ascertained that he had crossed the country to the railroad, and taken a night train. Having worked his way to New York, he shipped in a vessel bound to the East Indies.
It cannot be denied that Lawry and his mother, and even Mr. Sherwood, were glad of his escape, though he was more guilty than the two men who had been captured and were afterward tried and sent to Sing Sing. The little captain and the engineer of the Woodville were warmly congratulated upon the safety of the steamer, when it was known that Ben intended to burn her in revenge for having been made a "nobody"; but Mr. Sherwood declared that, if the boat had been destroyed, he would have built another, and presented her to Lawry and Ethan, for he was too much interested in the steamboat experiment to have it abandoned.
Mrs. Wilford trembled when she learned that the robbers had been armed with pistols. Many laughed as they, listened to the account of the choking operation in the cabin, and everybody was satisfied with the result.
Lawry and Ethan were too much excited to sleep that night, though they turned in at ten o'clock. At midnight the fireman on duty called them, and the steamer soon started for Whitehall with Mr. Sherwood and his gold, where she arrived in season for the morning train. As the party did not start till nine o'clock, the exhausted pilot and engineer obtained a couple of hours' sleep, while the steamer lay at the wharf, which enabled them to get through the day without sinking under its fatigues.
The following day was Sunday; and though Lawry and Ethan went to church in the forenoon, as both of them were in the habit of doing, the day was literally a day of rest to them, and there was a great deal of "tall sleeping" done. On Monday morning, at six o'clock, the boat went to Ticonderoga, arriving in good season to keep her engagement.
Our limits do not permit us to follow Captain Lawry and the beautiful little steamer any farther. The young pilot has redeemed the fairy craft from the bottom of the lake, and overcome all obstacles in his path to prosperity. He was not again disturbed by the envy and jealousy of his brother. He was sad when he thought of his father in prison, and Ben an exile, banished by his misdeeds; but their errors only made him the stronger in the faith he had chosen, that fidelity to principle is the safest and happiest course, under all circumstances.
Lawry had all the business he could do with the Woodville. On the following week, another pilot and another engineer were obtained, and the price raised to sixty dollars a day, in conformity with the suggestion of Mr. Sherwood. This was especially necessary, as, during the bright moonlight evenings, in the latter part of the month, the Woodville was employed every night in taking out parties. The boat lay hardly an hour at a time at the wharf. The money came in so fast that Mrs. Wilford was bewildered at the riches which were flowing in upon them. By the advice of Mr. Sherwood the money was invested in government stocks; but he resolutely refused to accept payment for what he had advanced on the place or for the boat.
Early one evening, after Lawry had landed Mr. Sherwood's party at Port Rock, he started for Burlington, where he had an engagement on the following day. Half a mile above the wharf, he came up with a schooner, which on examination proved to be the Missisque. It was a dead calm, and her new mainsail hung motionless from the gaff. The little captain had not seen her skipper since the day on which the old sail had been blown from the bolt-ropes by the squall; and he ran the Woodville alongside of her, in order "to pass the time of day" with him.
"How are you, Captain John?" shouted the young pilot.
"Why, Lawry! How are you?" replied the skipper of the sloop.
"What are you doing here?" continued Lawry.
"Waitin' for a breeze of wind. I had a good freight promised to me if I got to Burlington by to-morrow morn-in', but I guess I sha'n't quite fetch it."
"Rounds, heave a stern-line to the sloop, and make fast to her," added Lawry to his mate.
"Oh, thank ye, Lawry," replied the grateful skipper.
"You and your wife must take supper with me."
"Well, Lawry, I always knowed you was smart," said Captain John.
"If I didn't get that mainsail down," laughed Lawry.
"Oh, never mind the mainsail, Lawry," added the skipper, blushing.
"I was a leetle riled that time, and it wan't your fault."
"I think the green-apple pies made the mischief. Mrs. Light makes very nice ones, and we will have some for supper," continued Lawry, as he conducted his guests to the cabin, where they sat down at the table.
Captain John and his wife were bewildered at the splendors which surrounded them, and at the grandeur of Captain Lawry; but they passed a pleasant evening on board till ten o'clock, when the Woodville cast off her "tow" in Burlington Bay.
The upright piano, the gift of Miss Fanny, had been placed in the saloon, and its sweet strains added to the enjoyment of every party that employed the steamer. Ethan French, now relieved of part of his duties by the employment of a second engineer, was never in better humor than when Fanny Jane, seated at this instrument, sang the songs she had sung to Wahena and himself on the lake island in Minnesota.
In September, the business of the Woodville, as an excursion boat, began to fall off, and by the middle of the month it was at an end. The season had been very profitable, and Lawry's account-book showed that the boat had been employed forty-one days, besides nine evenings, the net profits of which were nearly fifteen hundred dollars, all of which was in the bank, or invested in government securities.
While Captain Lawry was considering the practicability of running the Woodville between certain places on the lake as a passenger-boat, he was startled by receiving a huge government envelope, containing a liberal offer for the use of his steamer as a despatch boat on southern rivers. An army officer, of high rank, who had been a member of one of the excursion parties in August, had been delighted with the performance of the little craft, and had spoken to Captain Lawry on this subject; but the matter had been quite forgotten when the offer came. Mr. Sherwood and Mrs. Wilford were consulted, and an affirmative answer returned. Ethan was delighted at the prospect of going South, for he desired to visit the scene of hostilities, and, if possible, to be employed in active operations.
The Woodville went in October, and returned in April, when the war was finished. Of Captain Lawry's voyage out and back, and his adventures far up in the enemy's country, we have no space to speak; but the steamer and her little commander gave perfect satisfaction.
In June, when the Woodville had been thoroughly repaired and painted, after her hard service at the South, there was a demand for her as an excursion boat; and it continued through the season. With one of Mr. Sherwood's parties, in July, there was an eminent member of the State Government, who was greatly pleased with Lawry's past history, as well as with his agreeable manners, and his close attention to his business. Through this gentleman, an effort, warmly seconded by Mr. Randall, the bank director, was made to obtain the pardon of John Wilford. It was successful, and the ferryman returned to his home a wiser and a better man.
He was astonished at the operations of his son, and surprised at the prosperity which had attended his family during his absence. The cottage had been enlarged, repaired, painted, and partly refurnished. It was a new home to him; and, profiting by the experience of the past, he resumed his labor as a ferryman, striving to be contented with his lot.
Ethan French does not tire of his pet, the engine of the Woodville, though it must be acknowledged that he has a divided heart when Fanny Jane is on board.
Mrs. Wilford, her confidence in her "smart boy" fully justified, and rejoicing in the prosperity which attends him, is still happy and contented in doing a mother's whole duty to her large family of little ones, hoping that all of them will "turn out" as well as her second son.
During the Woodville's second business season, she was employed by a party of wealthy gentlemen, for a week, in going round the lake. She had descended the Richelieu to St. Johns, from which the party ran up to Montreal for a day, returning to the boat in the evening. Though the time for which the boat was engaged was not up till the next evening, some of the gentlemen were very anxious to be in Burlington on the following morning, and insisted that the steamer should immediately proceed up the river on her return. It was a very dark and foggy night, and Lawry declined to start, declaring that he could not run with safety to the boat and passengers.
The party continued to insist upon their point, adding that if he was a competent pilot there could be no difficulty in complying with their wishes. They were gentlemen of wealth and influence, and the little captain did not like to disoblige them. He argued the question with them, and pointed to the motto in the wheel-house. They laughed at him and his motto. There was to be a "trot" between two celebrated horses, at Burlington, and they were too anxious to witness the race to be entirely reasonable.
Captain Lawry was firm, and the gentlemen were angry and indignant. While they were debating the question in excited tones, another steamer left the wharf, bound up the river. Her departure seemed to spoil the young pilot's argument. The party tried to hail the steamer in the fog, wishing Lawry to put them on board of her; but her people did not hear their demand, or would not stop for them, and the party were highly incensed at what they called the obstinacy of Lawry.
"Haste and waste, gentlemen," replied the little captain. "The river is narrow and crooked, and there is great danger of getting aground if I attempt to run in this fog."
"That other steamer has gone, and if she can run, you can, if you know your business," replied one of the gentlemen.
"I'm very sorry; but I don't think we should gain anything by starting now," added Lawry.
Finding it was useless to insist any longer, the party took supper, and turned in, when their anger had partially subsided. The little captain did not retire that night; he "planked the deck," and watched the weather. It was a seven hours' run to Burlington, and the "trot" was to come off at nine o'clock in the forenoon. He still hoped that he should be able to satisfy his unreasonable party.
At midnight the wind chopped round to the westward, and blew the fog over. At one o'clock the Woodville was going up the river at full speed. At three o'clock she came up with the steamer which had started from St. Johns four hours before, hard and fast aground. She hailed the little Woodville, and requested assistance. Lawry took a hawser on board, and gave her a few pulls; but she was too hard on the sand to be started, and he was compelled to abandon her. The commotion caused by these operations awoke some of the gentlemen in the cabin of the Woodville, and they came on deck to learn the occasion of it.
"What's the trouble, Captain Lawry?" asked one of them.
"Haste and waste," replied the young pilot sententiously.
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing, only the boat which left St. Johns four hours before us is aground, and can't get off."
"Well, haste and waste does mean something, after all," laughed the speaker.
The gentlemen went to bed again; the Woodville continued on her course, and when the party came on deck, at seven in the morning, she was in sight of Burlington. Of course, the excursionists were delighted to be able to attend the "trot." At four o'clock in the afternoon, the steamer which had grounded reached Burlington. Some of Lawry's party came on board in the evening to settle their accounts with the boat. They were gentlemen, and they acknowledged their error, and apologized for the strong language they had used.
"Well, gentlemen, I am very glad you are satisfied," said Lawry, as he put their money in his pocket. "I shall still believe in and follow my motto—HASTE AND WASTE."