"Thank you; I dare say I shall want all the help I can get," answered Lawry, as he took his leave of the family. "I'm the owner of a steamboat!" thought he. "I'm a lucky fellow, and I shall make my fortune in the _Woodville_. I can take out parties, or I can run her on a day route from Burlington up the lake; and there is towing enough to keep me busy all summer." Excited by the brightest visions of the future, he came in sight of his father's cottage. It looked poorer and meaner than it had ever looked before; and perhaps he thought it was hardly a fit abode for a steamboat proprietor. When he saw the tall mast of the ferry-boat, with the sail flapping idly in the wind, he was reminded of the events which had occurred on board of her that afternoon. It was mortifying to think that his father had even been tempted to steal; but he was rejoiced to know that he had been induced to return the six thousand dollars to the owner. Lawry had not seen his father since he left the landing-place to board the _Woodville_. He was not at the house when the party landed, after the catastrophe, and Lawry was glad he was not there, for his absence assured the anxious son that he had gone in search of Mr. Randall. Amid the exciting events which had followed the painful discovery that his father intended to steal the six thousand dollars, the young pilot had not thought of the matter, for his mind was entirely relieved by Mr. Wilford's promise to give up the money. Lawry went into the house; his father had not yet returned, and his mother asked him a hundred questions about the steamboat disaster, as she set the table for supper. When the meal was ready, Mrs. Wilford went to the door and blew a tin horn, which was intended to summon the ferryman to his tea. "I think father has not got back yet," said Lawry. "Where has he gone?" "Up to the village, I believe," replied Lawry, who had determined not to tell his mother of the great temptation to which his father had almost yielded. "What has he gone up there for?" inquired Mrs. Wilford, who perhaps saw in the anxious looks of her son that something had been concealed from her. "He had a little business up there," answered the young pilot. "I think we had better not wait for him, for he may not be back for some time. I haven't shown you this paper, mother," he continued, wishing to draw off her attention from his father, as he handed her the bill of sale of the _Woodville_, and seated himself at the table. "What is it, Lawry?" "It is a bill of sale of the little steamer." "A what?" demanded Mrs. Wilford, as she paused with the teapot suspended over a cup. "A bill of sale of the new steamer." "What, the one that was sunk?" "Yes; Mr. Sherwood has given her to me, just as she lies." "Humph! He might as well have given you a five-acre lot at the bottom of the lake. What in the world can you do with a steamboat smashed to pieces and sunk?" "I can raise her."