"Say it, Lawry, say it," added Mr. Sherwood kindly.
"You said you would give the steamer to any one who wanted her,"
continued Lawry, hesitating.
"And you want her?" laughed the wealthy gentleman.
"Yes, sir; that is what I was going to say."
"Then she is yours, Lawry; but I might as well give you the fee simple of a farm in Ethiopia. I don"t feel as though I had given you anything, my boy."
"Indeed you have, sir! I feel as though you had made my fortune for me; and I am very much obliged to you, sir."
"I don"t believe you have anything to thank me for, Lawry. As I understand it, the _Woodville_ lies on the bottom of the lake, with her bow stove in, and her hull as useless as though the parts had never been put together. The engine and the iron and bra.s.s work are worth a good deal of money, I know; but it will cost all they will bring to raise them."
"I don"t think the steamer is ruined, sir. I hope you are not giving her away believing that she is not worth anything," said Lawry.
"I don"t think she is worth much."
"I think she stove a great hole in her bow, and that is all that ails her. If we can get her on the ways, she can be made as good as ever she was in a week."
"Whatever her condition, Lawry, she is yours. I will give you a bill of sale of her at once."
Mr. Sherwood executed the paper in due form, affixed the stamp, and gave the doc.u.ment to the young pilot.
"I can hardly help weeping when I think of the beautiful little steamer," said Mrs. Sherwood. "She was a perfect little fairy. How elated we were as we moved up the lake in her! What fine times we were promising ourselves on board of her! Now the dear little craft lies on the bottom of the lake, broken and spoiled!"
"I shouldn"t dare to put my foot in her again," added Miss f.a.n.n.y. "I shudder when I think of her."
"I shudder when I think of you, f.a.n.n.y. You were sinking when Lawry dived down after you," said Mr. Sherwood.
"We ought all to be grateful to G.o.d for His mercy in saving us,"
added f.a.n.n.y Jane.
"I trust we are grateful to Him; and I am sure we shall never forget what Lawry has done to-day," responded the gentleman.
"Never!" exclaimed f.a.n.n.y warmly.
"It was all my fault," continued Mr. Sherwood. "I am ashamed of myself, and disgusted with the boat."
"The boat is not to blame, sir," said Ethan French. "She behaved like a lady."
"I know she is not to blame. It was my silly impatience. I was in such a hurry to try the steamer that I could not wait for a pilot.
Bertha, do you know what your father used to say to me when I was in a hurry?"
"I don"t know; but I have heard him say that you were too impatient for your own good."
""Haste and Waste" was his maxim, when I was not disposed to wait the natural development of events. By neglecting this precept, I have nearly sacrificed the lives of my best friends. Lawry, if you are going to be a steamboat man, let me give you this maxim for your government--"Haste and Waste.""
CHAPTER VI
THE SHERIFF"S VISIT
Lawry put the bill of sale of the _Woodville_ in his pocket, and felt like a steamboat proprietor; for the fact that his steamer lay at the bottom of the lake did not seem to lessen her value. She was in a safe place, and there was no danger of her "blowing up" or drifting away from him. The haste of Mr. Sherwood had been "a windfall" to him, though Lawry would not willingly have purchased the steamer at the peril of so many precious lives. He was ready to accept the moral and prudential deductions from the catastrophe, and really believed that the rich man"s maxim was a safe and valuable one.
In his own limited experience, Lawry could recall many instances where haste had made waste; but the foolish conduct of Mr. Sherwood in attempting to navigate the _Woodville_ in water with which he was totally unacquainted was the most impressive example of the worth of the proverb, and he felt that the steamer, in his own possession, would always mean "haste and waste" to him.
"I have often heard my father speak of the folly of unconsidered action and blind haste," said Bertha. "He lost a valued friend in the steamship _Arctic_, which was sunk, and hundreds of lives sacrificed, by running at full speed in a dense fog. In her case, haste was not only a terrible waste of property, but of life."
"That will be worth remembering, Lawry, when you are in command of a steamer," added Mr. Sherwood.
"I don"t think I ever shall be in such a position," replied Lawry modestly.
"I am afraid you never will be on board of the _Woodville_."
"I"m pretty sure she can be raised, though I may not have the means to do it myself," continued Lawry.
"You shall have all the means you want, my boy," replied Mr.
Sherwood. "We owe you a debt of grat.i.tude which we shall never be able to pay, and if you want anything, don"t fail to call upon me."
"If you need any help, Lawry, I"m with you," said Ethan French.
"Thank you; I dare say I shall want all the help I can get,"
answered Lawry, as he took his leave of the family.
"I"m the owner of a steamboat!" thought he. "I"m a lucky fellow, and I shall make my fortune in the _Woodville_. I can take out parties, or I can run her on a day route from Burlington up the lake; and there is towing enough to keep me busy all summer."
Excited by the brightest visions of the future, he came in sight of his father"s cottage. It looked poorer and meaner than it had ever looked before; and perhaps he thought it was hardly a fit abode for a steamboat proprietor. When he saw the tall mast of the ferry-boat, with the sail flapping idly in the wind, he was reminded of the events which had occurred on board of her that afternoon. It was mortifying to think that his father had even been tempted to steal; but he was rejoiced to know that he had been induced to return the six thousand dollars to the owner.
Lawry had not seen his father since he left the landing-place to board the _Woodville_. He was not at the house when the party landed, after the catastrophe, and Lawry was glad he was not there, for his absence a.s.sured the anxious son that he had gone in search of Mr. Randall. Amid the exciting events which had followed the painful discovery that his father intended to steal the six thousand dollars, the young pilot had not thought of the matter, for his mind was entirely relieved by Mr. Wilford"s promise to give up the money.
Lawry went into the house; his father had not yet returned, and his mother asked him a hundred questions about the steamboat disaster, as she set the table for supper. When the meal was ready, Mrs. Wilford went to the door and blew a tin horn, which was intended to summon the ferryman to his tea.
"I think father has not got back yet," said Lawry.
"Where has he gone?"
"Up to the village, I believe," replied Lawry, who had determined not to tell his mother of the great temptation to which his father had almost yielded.
"What has he gone up there for?" inquired Mrs. Wilford, who perhaps saw in the anxious looks of her son that something had been concealed from her.
"He had a little business up there," answered the young pilot. "I think we had better not wait for him, for he may not be back for some time. I haven"t shown you this paper, mother," he continued, wishing to draw off her attention from his father, as he handed her the bill of sale of the _Woodville_, and seated himself at the table.
"What is it, Lawry?"
"It is a bill of sale of the little steamer."