“Well, boys, what can I do for you?” inquired the lumber dealer, as Charley and Lew approached him.

“We want one hundred feet of the lightest and best boards you have,” replied Charley.  “We are going to build a boat and we want it to be strong but light, so that the two of us can handle it.”

“White pine would be just the thing for you,” replied the dealer, “but I haven’t a foot of it in the place and can’t get any.  I have some fine cedar boards that would make a good light boat.  Just come over to this pile of lumber.”  And he led the way across the yard.

“That will suit us all right if it’s wide enough,” said Charley.  “We want foot boards.”

“Well, that’s what these are.  And a good inch thick, too.  They’re mighty good boards.  Hardly a knot in ’em.  We don’t see much lumber like that nowadays.”

“They’ll do all right,” assented Charley, after examining the boards.  “What do they cost a hundred?”

“Ten dollars.”

“Ten dollars!” cried Charley in consternation.  Then a smile came on his face.  “Quit your kidding,” he said.  “What do they come at?”

“Ten dollars,” replied the lumber dealer soberly.

The two boys stared at him incredulously.

“Impossible!” cried Lew.  “What are they really worth?”

“Ten dollars,” replied the man.  His voice was sharp and a frown had gathered on his forehead.  “Ten dollars, and cheap at that.”

Charley turned to his companion with a look of dismay.  “We can never build our boat with wood at such a price,” he cried.  “With five dollars to pay for oars, and two dollars for paint, and some more for nails and rowlocks, and lock and chain, the boat would cost eighteen or twenty dollars just for the materials.  That’s three times as much as we have got.”

After an instant the look on Charley’s face changed to one of intense indignation.  He had a quick temper, and now he turned to the lumber dealer in anger.

“I guess the sugar profiteers are not the only ones who ought to be in the penitentiary,” he said hotly.  “You can keep your old boards.  And I hope they rot for you.”

Then he turned on his heel and started toward the gate, followed by Lew.

“Come back here!”

The words rang out sharp and sudden.  The voice was commanding and compelling.  Involuntarily the two boys turned back.  The lumber dealer stood before them, his face ablaze with indignation.  Under his fiery glances the boys were speechless.  For a moment the man said nothing.  Evidently he was struggling with his temper.  When he had gotten control of himself he spoke.  His voice was deep and low, but harsh and cutting.