Four o'clock, the hour at which the evening mail arrived, found them at the post-office; and to their intense delight the postmaster handed out the long expected letter. Tom knew it was the one he wanted, for he could see that it had been mailed at Baltimore. He could not speak, for his heart was too full for utterance; but he gave Bob a knowing wink, and started for the wharf on a keen run. As he was passing by the ship-yard, he ran against Mr. Graves.
"Finished from main truck to kelson," was the reply. "I am two days ahead of time. You can go to sea in her to-morrow if you wish."
"All right!" answered Tom. "You may expect me at nine o'clock. I've got your money in my pocket." Tom being in a great hurry to read his letter, left Mr. Graves very unceremoniously, and kept on to the wharf, followed by the fisher-boy, who now looked more like the Bob Jennings of old than he had done for many a day.
Tom never once slackened his pace until he reached an unfrequented part of the wharf, where he sat down and pulled the letter out of his pocket.
"What did I tell you, Bob?" he asked, in a husky whisper, for he was so excited that he could scarcely speak plainly. "Here's our fortune at last. You are not sorry now that you risked your five dollars, are you?"
"Of course not," replied Bob, in the same excited whisper. "I'm glad of it."
"It takes me to get up schemes, don't it?" continued Tom. "Now, there isn't another boy in Newport who would have thought of this."
"Open the letter," interrupted Bob; "I am in a great hurry to see that money!"
"O, you open it," replied Tom, handing the letter to the fisher-boy, and throwing himself at full length on the wharf. "I can enjoy it so much better if you read it." Bob tore open the envelope, and took out the letter, expecting, of course, that the first thing that met his eye would be the check for five thousand dollars. But to his astonishment, no such document appeared. A few words were scrawled upon half a sheet of soiled note paper, and Bob read them aloud, as follows:
We have made every effort to ascertain the whereabouts of your letter containing the ten dollars, but without success. We are sorry to say that it has, no doubt, miscarried.