That doesnt hurt a boat any, said Henry Burns. The fishermen down around Wiltons Harbour take out sailing parties all summer, and their boats are always handsome and clean, and they dont smell fishy. And the men always use them for fishing in the fall and spring, when the fishing is at its best. It simply means that we have got to take out all the nice fittings from the cabin, stow them away somewhere on shore, fit out with some tackle, and go ahead. At the end of the summer we will overhaul the Viking from deck to keelson, take out every piece of ballast in her, clean it and dry it and put it back, and paint the yacht over after we wash everything inside and out. She will be just as fine as she was before.
Thats great! exclaimed Tom Harris. You can do it all right, too. I wish we had a boat. Wed go along with you, wouldnt we, Bob?
Id like nothing better, answered Bob.
Then come along with us, said Harvey. We really need two more to handle this boat properly. You can fit yourselves out with fishing-tackle, and well all share in the catch.
Hooray! well do it, cried Bob. But we dont want a share of the catch. We will be glad enough to go for the fun of it.
Yes, but this is part business, said Henry Burns. You must have some share in every trip you make with us. How will two-thirds for us and a third for you do, as we own the boat?
That is more than fair, replied Tom.
Then its a bargain, eh, Jack? said Henry; and, as the other gave hearty assent, he added, Well go about it right away to-morrow, if the weather is good.
When George Warren heard of the plan the next day, however, he was not equally elated. Its the thing to do, I guess, he said, but added, Its going to keep you away from Southport; that is the only drawback.
No, only part of the time, said Henry Burns. We are not going to try to get rich, only to support ourselves. We shall be back and forth all summer. Well have some fun here, too.
Then the boys went and hunted up Captain Sam Curtis.
Yes, you can do it all right, said Captain Sam, when he had heard of
the plan. But its rough work. You can count on that. You want to get right out to big Loon Island you know, with the little one, Duck Island, alongside. Theres where the cod are, out along them reefs; and you can set a couple of short trawls for hake. May get some runs of mackerel, too, later. Ill get you a couple of second-hand pieces of trawl cheap. Theyll do all right for one season. But it aint just like bay-sailing all the time, you know, though you may not get caught. When its rough, its rough, though.
And theres one thing youve got to look out for, added Captain Sam. Of course the men around this coast will be fair to you and wont bother. But theres a rough crowd that comes up from the eastward. They may not take kindly to a pack of boys coming in on the fishing-grounds. Just keep your weather eye out; thats all.
The boys went about their preparations eagerly. Already they had begun removing the fine fittings from the cabin of the Viking , carrying them up to the Warren cottage, and putting the yacht in condition for rougher usage. They worked hard all day. At night, however, an unexpected event occurred, which delayed their fishing-trip until the next week.
George Warren came down to the shore that evening with another letter for Jack Harvey, much to the latters amazement.
Hang it! he exclaimed, as George Warren handed the letter over. They say troubles never come singly. I wonder if heres more. I hope things are no worse at home Hello, it isnt from Boston. Its from Benton. Who can have written me from there?
He tore open the envelope hastily. The letter, badly written in an uncouth scrawl, read thus:
Dear Jack: You remember you told us fellows last year that we could come down to the island again this year and live in the tent, the same as we did before you got the boat, and you would see that we got along all right. Me and George Baker have got the money to pay our fares on the boat, and Tim and Allan will work part of their passage. Dan Davis, whos on the boat, told us you was down there. So well be along pretty soon if you dont write and stop us.So long,
Joe Hinman.
No, let them come, said Henry Burns. Theyll get along somehow. We will help them out, and theyll have your tent to live in.
All right, said Harvey. I hate to disappoint them. They dont get much fun at home. Ill send them word to come, as long as you are willing.
So it happened that a few days later there disembarked from the river steamer a grinning quartette of boys. The youngest, Tim Reardon by name, was barefoot; and the others, namely, Joe Hinman, George Baker, and Allan Harding, were not vastly the better off in the matter of dress. This was Harveys crew, who had sailed the bay with him for several years, in the yacht Surprise , and had camped with him on a point that formed one of the boundaries of a little cove, some three-quarters of a mile down the island from where Tom and Bob were encamped.
The united forces of the boys, including the Warrens, made things comfortable for the new arrivals in short order. Harveys old tent, which had been stored away in Captain Sams loft for the winter, was brought out and loaded aboard the Viking ; and the entire party sailed down alongshore, and unloaded at Harveys former camping-ground, where there was a grove of trees and a good spring close by. The tent was quickly set up, the bunks fashioned, a share of the Vikings store of provisions carried ashore, and everything made shipshape.