he boat was bought. For two hours the young man had haggled with the
owner about the price; but one hundred and fifty dollars, cash down, was
a temptation which the builder could not resist in the end, when he
thought of his unpaid grocery and provision bills.

No name had yet been given to the new boat, which was now the property
of Leopold, for when the owner decided to sell her, he thought it was
better to let the purchaser christen her to suit himself. The new craft
was a sloop twenty-two feet long, with quite a spacious cuddy forward.
She was a fast sailer, and her late owner declared that she was the
stiffest sea-boat on the coast. Of course Leopold was as happy as a
lord, and he wanted to hug Herr Schlager for his considerate loan of
sixty-two dollars; but his uncle was quite as happy, and after the
custom of his own country, he did actually hug and kiss his nephew,
though the young man was rather confounded by the demonstration,
especially as the passers-by in the street halted to observe the
spectacle.

As soon as the business of the purchase was finished, Leopold hastened
to the cottage of Mrs. Wormbury, where he found Stumpy digging the early
potatoes in the garden. He informed his friend of the great event of the
day, and invited him to take a sail in the sloop. On their way to the
boat they stopped at the hotel, where Leopold told his father of the
purchase. He did so with some misgivings, and took care to explain the
uses to which he intended to put the boat, before his father had time to
express an opinion. Mr. Bennington, to the great satisfaction of his
son, offered no objection to the purchase; on the contrary, he seemed to
be pleased with the transaction.

"There are two gentlemen in the house that want to go over to the Isle
of Holt (Isle-au-Haut) this afternoon," added the landlord. "I was just
looking for you to go and see whether Ben Chipman could take them over."

"I can take them over myself, father," said Leopold.

"So I was thinking. They want to go right off after dinner."

"I shall be ready. We will bring the boat down now.--Will you go with
me, Stumpy?" continued Leopold, turning to his friend.

"I should like to go, first rate," answered Stumpy.

They hastened to the wharf where the new boat lay, and in a few minutes
more they were standing down the river in her.

"She works tip-top," said the skipper, as soon as he began to feel the
boat bearing on the tiller. "She minds her helm