"I can't," laughed Bobtail. "I brought two gentlemen up in the Skylark, and I must sail them back to-night."

"Plague take the two gentlemen!" said Grace, pettishly. "Let them go back in the stage or the steamer."

"I promised to take them back to-night; and I must keep my promise, you know, if the sky falls," pleaded the young skipper.

"Of course he must, Grace," added her father. "But he will come up some other time, and stay a month."

Little Bobtail spent an hour in the elegant mansion, whose luxuriously furnished apartments filled him with wonder and astonishment, for he had never seen anything half so fine. He promised faithfully to come some other time, and stay longer. Grace walked with him down to the wharf.

The Skylark's pa.s.sengers were on board, and ready to start, and in a few moments the yacht was under way. Grace waved her handkerchief to the gallant skipper, as the Skylark pulled away.

"Who is that young lady?" asked Mr. Jones, as Bobtail returned the salute.

"That's the one that fell off the rocks at Blank Island," replied the skipper.

"And the one you saved! Why didn't you say so before, so that we could have a good look at her?"

"I didn't think of it."

"She is a rich man's daughter."

"Yes, sir; her father is as rich as mud."

"And one of these days, Captain Bobtail, you will marry her, just as it is laid down in the novels," laughed Mr. Howe.

"I guess not;" and Bobtail blushed at the presumptuous idea. "She will not marry any poor fellow like me, you'd better believe. She will fish for bigger game than I am."

"She seems to like you very well."

"O, well, that's nothing; she's only a girl, and I'm only a boy," added the skipper.

Much to his relief, the topic was changed. The return trip was quite as pleasant as the other had been, and at nine o'clock the Skylark landed her pa.s.sengers at the steamboat wharf, in good order and condition, and very much delighted with the excursion. The skipper received the eight dollars for the trip, and paid off his crew. It was Sat.u.r.day night, and Monkey wanted to buy some provisions and groceries for his mother with the money he had earned; but he proposed to return before ten, and sleep on board, as usual. Bobtail told him he had better spend Sunday at home, for he could not pay him when the yacht did not go out. The Darwinian was willing to sleep on board without pay.

"Did you see Colonel Montague, Robert?" asked Mrs. Taylor, as he went into the house.

"Yes, I saw him; and he promised to be at the examination next Tuesday."

"What did he say?"

"He said he knew where you got the money, and that it would be all right; but I told him you didn't send me to him."

"What else did he say?" inquired Mrs. Taylor, anxiously.

"That's about all. He took me into the house, and treated me like a lord. That's the handsomest house I ever went into;" and Bobtail described the glories and the beauties of the mansion.

"Of course, after what you have done, they feel very grateful to you."

"I suppose so; but, mother, I can't keep that confounded bill out of my head," continued Bobtail. "I conclude, if Colonel Montague knows where you got it, he gave it to you himself."

"He must explain that himself."

"Of course he gave it to you. You saw him on board of the Pen.o.bscot, the day before I was taken up."

"You had better not say anything more about it, Robert."

"But why should he give you such a pile of money?" persisted the boy.

"I didn't say he gave it to me."

"I know he did."

"Well, the less you say about it, the better."

"If that is the bill which that Slipwing sent in the letter, I should like to know where Colonel Montague got it."

"I don't know anything at all about that," replied Mrs. Taylor.

The conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Ezekiel. He was sober, because he could obtain no liquor. He had spent the day in searching for the contraband cargo. He had been upon Negro Island, and explored North-east Point, and all the surrounding country, but he could find no vestige of the cases. He wanted to talk with Bobtail, and he was very gentle and conciliating in his tones and manner. After beating about the bush for a long time, he so far disregarded the instructions of Captain c.h.i.n.ks, as to ask him what he had done with the cargo of the Skylark.

"I see you have been talking with Captain c.h.i.n.ks," said Bobtail. "When any one claims the boat, I am willing to talk with him, but I can't say a word before that time;" and the young skipper abruptly left the house, and went on board of the yacht.

He had scarcely seated himself in the standing-room before a gentleman from the hotel came alongside in a boat, and wanted to engage the yacht for the next day.

"To-morrow will be Sunday," replied the skipper.

"I know it; but I must leave on Monday," said the applicant.

"I don't engage her for Sundays, sir."

"It is the only time we have."

"I can't help it, sir."

"But we want to go down to Rockland to church."

"I can't let her go out on Sunday. I want to go to meeting myself, and to Sunday school."

The gentleman begged hard, but Bobtail was as resolute as the case required; he would as soon have thought of setting the Bay View House on fire, or robbing the bank, as of going out in a boat for pleasure on Sunday. The applicant offered him ten dollars, then twelve, and at last fifteen, if he would take the party out; but he refused to go for any sum that could be named, and the gentleman departed, with some hard words about fanatics, and declared that he would not hire the boat on a week day if he could not have her on Sunday.

At an early hour Bobtail turned in, with the feeling that he had done his duty, though fifteen dollars was a large sum to sacrifice. He might lose some of his engagements on other days by his observance of the Sabbath, but he would as soon have thought of robbing the bank, or setting the Bay View House on fire, for fifteen dollars, as of running the Skylark on Sunday for that sum. He was satisfied with himself, after he had faithfully considered the subject, and confident that there were good people enough to make the yacht pay without wounding his own conscience.

He went to church and to Sunday school the next day; and the services never seemed to do him so much good as after the sacrifice he had made.

A party was ready for him on Monday, and though the weather was rainy and foggy,--as it sometimes is at Camden,--he made his eight dollars, and his pa.s.sengers were entirely satisfied. A party wanted the boat on Tuesday; but of course he could not go out until after the examination.

At nine o'clock in the morning the Pen.o.bscot dropped her anchor in Camden harbor, and Colonel Montague immediately went on sh.o.r.e in the barge. An hour later the defendants and the witnesses had a.s.sembled at the office of Squire Norwood.

"We have our witness here," said Mr. Simonton, with one of his pleasantest and blandest smiles--"Colonel Montague."

The justice bowed to the distinguished witness, and requested Squire Gilfilian to produce the five hundred dollar bill, which was promptly done. Squire Norwood then rehea.r.s.ed the evidence which had been given at the former hearing. The letter had been left on Mr. Gilfilian's desk; it had disappeared, and the bank bill it had contained was paid to Mr.

Gilfilian by Mrs. Taylor, to cancel a mortgage on her husband's house.