"We've been considerin'," said the captain, addressing me, "what's the
best thing to do with yer boat; there's no use tryin' to tinker her up,
for she has got a bad hole in her, and it is our fault, too. One of the
iron bands on our rudder got broke and sprung out a good while ago, and
it must have been the sharp end of that which punched into yer boat when
we drifted down on her. We ain't got no tackle suitable to h'ist her on
board, and as to towin' her--a big boat like that, full of water,--'t
ain't possible. We've lost a lot of time already, and now there's a good
wind and we are bound to make the best of it; so me and Abner thinks the
best thing ye can do is to sink yer boat right here on the bar where we
are now anchored, having struck it all right, as ye see, and mark the
spot with an oil-cag. Anybody that knows this bay can come and git her
if she is on Simpson's Bar, buoyed with an oil-cag."
I was sorry that we should not be able to repair our boat and continue
our trip in her, but I saw that this would be impossible, and I asked
Captain Jabe if he could take us to Brimley.
"I can do that," he answered, "but not straight. I have got fust to sail
over to Widder Kinley's, which is on that p'int which ye can just see
over there on the edge of the water, and where I was due yesterday
afternoon.
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