s'pose I must say no more about it," grumbled
the old man; "but I'm disappynted--that I am. I thought it were they
Carnachs, and I'd made up my mind to give it the young 'un and make him
sore. It's such a pity, too. I cut them two feet o' rope off a ring
a-purpose to lay it on to him. I owe him ever so much, and it seemed to
be such a chance."

"Save it for next time, Joe," said Vince, as Mike looked on rather
uneasily, for the old man kept on playing with the end of the rope.

"Eh? Save it for next time?" he said thoughtfully. "Well, I might do
that, for the young 'un's sure to give me a chance, and then it won't be
wasted. Yes, I'll hang it up over the fireplace at home, ready agen
it's wanted. But you two'll bring me that five shilling to-night?"

"Yes, of course."

"Ay, course you will," said the old man slowly.

"There's one thing I likes in a gen'leman. Some chaps says they'll do
something, or as they'll pay yer, and they swear it, and then most times
they don't; but if a gen'leman says he'll do anything, there yer are,
yer knows he'll do it--without a bit of swearing too. But, haw--haw--
haw--haw!"

The boys stared, for the old man burst out into a tremendous roar of
laughter, and kept on lifting one leg and stamping it down.

"Why, what are you laughing at?" said Mike, gaining courage now that the
trouble was so amicably settled.

"What am I laughin' at?" roared the old fellow, stamping again: "why, at
you two! Comes to me and wants to borrow my boat, and boasts and brags
and holloas about as to how you knows everything. We can sail her, says
you; we knows how to manage a boat as well as you do, and, haw, haw,
haw! you helps yourselves and goes out, and brings her back with a hole
in her bottom. Here! where did you go?"

"Oh, along where you took us," said Vince quickly.

"And which rock did you run on?"

"Oh, I don't know what rock it was, only that it was just under water."

"'Course not. Says to me, says you, that you knows all the rocks as
well 's me, and goes and runs her on one on 'em fust time."

"Well, it was an accident, Joe."

"Ay, my lads, it were an accident; but you've got to think yourselves
very lucky as she didn't founder. Did you have to bale?"

"Yes, all the way home, as hard as ever we could go."

"Ay, you would, with a hole in her like that. Well, I arn't got no time
to stand a-talking to you two here; but I just tells you both this: that
there boat, as soon