"No," was the reply, "it hasn't yet been decided positively, as Mr. Taylor said he must sleep on it. He would never decide anything of such importance without sleeping on it at least one night."
"I hardly know what to say on that point," replied my father; "but I think he will say yes when the time comes to decide. He is just as sorry to have David go away from home as we are to have you go; but he realizes that his farm is small, like ours, there are several mouths to feed, and times are very hard. I think you may take it for granted that David will go to sea with you, but don't be too certain about it."
With that my father bade me good-night, and I went away to my bed in the garret. We boys slept up under the roof, for the reason that there was no other convenient place for us to sleep in. The roof was so low that we had to stoop, except directly under the ridge-pole, in order to avoid hitting our heads. The place was hot in summer, but cool enough in winter, as there were plenty of cracks to let in the air and cold. In the place where I lay the roof was not more than two feet above me; and many a night, when rain was falling, I have been lulled to sleep by the pattering of the drops on the roof.
I did not see David the next day, as for some reason or other he did not come to school. The second morning afterwards he was there bright and early; and before he spoke I could see by the luster of his eye, and the pleased expression on his face, that the decision had been reached, and was in favor of what he wanted to do. As he rushed toward me he said,--
"What do you suppose father told me this morning?"
"I don't suppose anything about it," said I; "I know that he gave his permission for you to go to sea with me."
"Yes, that's it exactly," he replied; "but how did you find it out?"
"A little bird from the sky told me," I answered evasively; "never mind how I found it out; I'll tell you sometime."
In the five or ten minutes that passed before the teacher arrived and school was called to order, we talked as rapidly as our tongues would permit. We had a great deal to say, and we said it quickly. It was the same at the noon recess, when we strolled off together and indulged in that boyish occupation of building castles in the air. In imagination we went to sea together, as boys do in the story books; we did our duty faithfully and zealously, and were rewarded by rapid promotion. In less than three years we were both captains of ships, and regretted that the United States did not possess a powerful navy, so that we might both reach the grade of commodore or admiral before we had attained the age of twenty-five. At least, that was David's view of the matter; but I suggested to him that I never read of an admiral under fifty or sixty years at least. This cooled his ardor somewhat, but by no means discouraged him.