my money. It was a hundred dollars I wanted then."

"Think of our position, Dick," Mr. Davidson urged. "As your guardians,
how would it be looked upon if we gave you, a lad of sixteen, a free
hand with money."

"What's the _Freda_ worth, right now?" Dick demanded irrelevantly.

"Can sell for twenty thousand any time," Mr. Crockett answered.

"Then sell her. She's too large for me, and she's worth less every
year. I want a thirty-footer that I can handle myself for knocking
around the Bay, and that won't cost a thousand. Sell the _Freda_
and put the money to my account. Now what you three are afraid of is
that I'll misspend my money--taking to drinking, horse-racing, and
running around with chorus girls. Here's my proposition to make you
easy on that: let it be a drawing account for the four of us. The
moment any of you decide I am misspending, that moment you can draw
out the total balance. I may as well tell you, that just as a side
line I'm going to get a business college expert to come here and cram
me with the mechanical side of the business game."

Dick did not wait for their acquiescence, but went on as from a matter
definitely settled.

"How about the horses down at Menlo?--never mind, I'll look them over
and decide what to keep. Mrs. Summerstone will stay on here in charge
of the house, because I've got too much work mapped out for myself
already. I promise you you won't regret giving me a free hand with my
directly personal affairs. And now, if you want to hear about the last