at his father had
discovered him; and Richard decided to proceed alone with the
enterprise. Disgusted at the failure of his associate, he pushed off
from the point. As he did so, he discovered another boat a short
distance up the river, moving off from the shore. He watched it for a
moment, till it disappeared in the gloom. It was not a common thing to
see sail boats out at such an hour, and on such a night as this was;
but he concluded that it was some gardener taking his produce to an
early market, and he gave himself no uneasiness.

Just as he lost sight of the boat, he heard the familiar whistle of
Sandy. Putting the Greyhound about, he ran under the lee of the point,
and his friend leaped on board. Richard immediately put off again, and
shaped the course of the boat for the inlet near the garden of "Old
Batterbones."

"You are late, Sandy," said Richard, in reproachful tones.

"Can't help it. I got asleep, and didn't wake up," replied Sandy, with
a long gape.

"Asleep! What did you go to sleep for? I haven't been asleep."

"I didn't mean to, but I was so sleepy I couldn't help it."

"You came pretty near spoiling your share of the fun. I had just cast
off, and was going to put the thing through alone."

"I wish you had," answered Sandy, in a tone which did not please his
companion any better than the words themselves.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a bad scrape we are getting into, and I wish we were well out of
it. If I hadn't promised to go, I wouldn't have any thing to do with
it."

"Old Batterbones licked you as well as me."

"I know that, and I should like to pay him off for it; but I don't
believe it will do to go in quite so steep as we are going."

"You are chicken-hearted, Sandy. I thought you had more grit than
that."

"I think I have got as much as you have, but I don't believe it will
pay to rub your nose on a grindstone. Your nose will get the worst of
it."

"You can back out, if you want to," added Richard, in an indifferent
tone.

"I don't want to back out. I agreed to go, and I am going, if I have to
be hung for it. I only say, it is a bad scrape."

"No scrape at all, Sandy. I don't calculate to get found out."

"You didn't calculate to before, but you did; and Old Batterbones got
more fun out of the scrape than you did. Perhaps he will this time."

"If you are afraid, Sandy, back out, and we will go home again."

"I'm not afraid: don't use that word to me again, Dick. If I had