"A thousand dollars, eh?" Mr. Hyatt beamed broadly and nodded until all his chins in sight shook. "Yes, you might look for a thousand dollars, boys. It isn't sense to get your expectations too high, but I guess you can safely bank on a thousand. Oh, yes, a thousand isn't unreasonable. Well, you drop around tomorrow and maybe there'll be something to report. I'll get right to work, gentlemen. Good afternoon!" "Funny old whale, isn't he?" commented Joe when they were once more on the street. "Suppose he knows what he's talking about?" "Why not?" asked Wink. "He struck me as being rather a canny customer." "Well, he said a thousand dollars," replied Joe. "That's a lot of money, isn't it, for an old schooner like the _Catspaw_?" "It isn't much for the schooner and the cargo, too," said Steve. "I'm wondering if it oughtn't to be a lot more; say fifteen hundred. You see, a schooner like that costs quite a lot of money when it's new. And then, as Mr. Hyatt said, lumber is high right now, and there's a pile of it on board." "A thousand will suit me all right," said Joe. "A twelfth of a thousand is--is--" "A thirteenth you mean," corrected Steve. "Don't forget Neil." "And don't count your chickens until they're hatched," Wink advised. "It's unlucky, Joe." They found the other members of the expedition in various states of coma induced by a hearty dinner and lack of sleep, but they were all wide awake when Steve announced the result of the visit to the lawyer. "Gee!" exclaimed "Brownie." "A thousand dollars! He's fooling, isn't he? Why, I thought we'd get maybe three hundred!" "A thousand isn't a cent too much," said Perry. "Come to think of it, fellows, I earned that much myself!" "Just a minute, fellows," said Steve, interrupting the jeers that greeted Perry's statement. "What are we going to do with the money when we get it?" There was a moment of silence. Then Tom Corwin inquired: "Do with it? How do you mean, do with it, Steve? I thought it would be divided up pro rata." "Of course," agreed Cas and Ossie in unison. "Wait a minute," said Phil. "Steve's got something on his mind. Let's hear it." Steve swung himself to the porch rail and faced the half-circle of boys. "It's just an idea," he began, "and if you don't like it you've only got to say so. As I look at it, fellows, this club has been a good deal of a success. If we haven't had any whopping big adventures, we've had some mild ones--" "Great Jumping Jehoshaphat!" muttered Han. "What do you call adventures?" Steve smiled and went on, "At any rate, we've had a whole lot of fun. At least, I have." He looked about him inquiringly. "You bet we have!" answered Joe heartily, and the rest echoed him. "Of course, we got the club up just for this Summer, I suppose, but I don't see any reason why we shouldn't make it a--a permanent affair." "Bully!" exclaimed Perry. "Second the motion!" "Sit down!" growled Wink.