"What's that you say?" exclaimed Mr. Graves, who now thought that he began to understand the matter.
"I say that my father has nothing to do with this boat," repeated Tom, pulling his handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiping the tears from his eyes.
"I, myself, individually, and nobody else!"
"Whew!" whistled Mr. Graves, growing more and more astonished. "Where do you expect to get four hundred dollars, if your father doesn't give it to you?"
"That's my own business! I'll have it in a very short time, and I'll get it honestly, too."
"Then your father doesn't know any thing about this business?"
"And you had the assurance to order me to build you a boat worth four hundred dollars without first consulting him?" continued Mr. Graves.
"Yes, I did!" answered Tom; "and if you will let me have her, I will certainly pay for her in two or three weeks! I sent for the money several days ago, but it hasn't come yet."
Mr. Graves had never been more astonished in his life. He looked at his customer as if he could hardly believe that he had told him the truth, and finally inquired--
"O, I'm the most unlucky boy in the whole world! That's the kind of a boy I am!" drawled Tom. "I never can do any thing like other fellows, for something is always happening to bother me."
"I think you can do a good many things that other fellows can't do!" returned Mr. Graves. "There is not another boy in the village who would have the impudence to do as you have done."
As the boat-builder said this, he turned on his heel and left Tom to think the matter over at his leisure. He gave a few orders in a low tone to the man at the wheel, and then walked forward and descended into the galley. Presently he came out again, gave some instructions to his crew, and Tom saw the sloop slowly come about until her bow pointed toward the village. The sails which Captain Newcombe had ordered spread, were taken in again, and then Mr. Graves began to pace thoughtfully up and down the deck.
Tom watched all these movements as well as he could through eyes filled with tears of vexation and disappointment, and they told him, in language too plain to be misunderstood, that his new plan, which, at first, had promised to succeed even beyond his expectations, had failed like all the rest of his glorious ideas. He felt like yelling; and, perhaps he would thus have given vent to his troubled feelings if the presence of Mr. Graves and his crew had not restrained him. He wanted to hide his emotion from them, so he leaned over the rail and looked down into the water. He would have gone into the cabin, but the boat-builder evidently intended to keep him out of there, for he had locked the door and put the key into his pocket.