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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #50678 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50678)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Snug Harbor, by Oliver Optic
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Snug Harbor
- or The Champlain Mechanics
-
-Author: Oliver Optic
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2015 [EBook #50678]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SNUG HARBOR ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Carol Brown, and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- _The Boat-Builder Series._
-
-
- I.
-
- ALL ADRIFT;
- OR,
- THE GOLD WING CLUB.
-
-
- II.
-
- SNUG HARBOR;
- OR,
- THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS.
-
-
- III.
-
- SQUARE AND COMPASS;
- OR,
- BUILDING THE HOUSE.
-
-
- IV.
-
- STEM TO STERN;
- OR,
- BUILDING THE BOAT.
-
-
- V.
-
- ALL TAUT;
- OR,
- RIGGING THE BOAT.
-
-
- VI.
-
- READY ABOUT;
- OR,
- SAILING THE BOAT.
-
-[Illustration: THE COLLISION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. Page 15.]
-
-
-
-
-
-[Illustration:
-
- OLIVER OPTIC’s
-
- BOAT-BUILDER
- SERIES
-
-
- SNUG HARBOR
-
-
- BOSTON,
- LEE AND SHEPARD
- PUBLISHERS.
-]
-
-
-
-
-_THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES_
-
-
- SNUG HARBOR
-
- OR
-
- THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS
-
- BY
-
- OLIVER OPTIC
-
- AUTHOR OF “YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,” “THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES,”
- “THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES,” “THE WOODVILLE SERIES,” “THE
- STARRY-FLAG SERIES,” “THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES,” “THE
- ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES,” “THE YACHT-CLUB
- SERIES,” “THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES,” “THE
- RIVERDALE STORIES,” “ALL ADRIFT,”
- ETC., ETC.
-
- _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
-
- BOSTON
- LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS
- NEW YORK
- CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM
- 1884
-
-
-
-
- COPYRIGHT, 1883,
- BY WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
-
- _All rights reserved._
-
-
-
-
- TO MY YOUNG FRIEND
- HARRY CLINTON WHITE
- This Book
- IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE.
-
-
-“Snug-Harbor” is the second volume of “THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES.”
-Though it contains its fair proportion of story and adventure, there
-is less of these elements than in its predecessor; though the writer
-believes there is enough to keep up the interest of his young readers.
-Dory Dornwood, the hero of the initial volume of the series, is again
-presented, and about a quarter of a hundred others; though all of them
-cannot be heroes. Like the former volume, the scene is laid on Lake
-Champlain and its shores.
-
-In accordance with the hint thrown out in the preface of the first
-volume, the Beech-Hill Industrial School makes a beginning in this
-book; and its pupils are gathered together in the schoolroom and the
-workshop. The boys are instructed only in those branches of learning
-which will be of the greatest practical utility to them as mechanics.
-They are taken into the shop, and set to work as carpenters and
-machinists; and some idea is given of their operations at the bench.
-But in a work of this kind the author finds it hardly practicable to
-describe in detail the work done by the Champlain mechanics; though he
-has done so to some extent, as a suggestion rather than as a system of
-instruction for boy-workmen. Without a vast number of drawings, the
-tools and machinery used by the carpenter and machinist cannot be
-described and explained so as to be of any great practical service.
-The book is rather to create an interest in these trades than to
-furnish a guide to young mechanics.
-
-The author regrets that there is no American work of the kind
-mentioned. Our English cousins have sent us over some excellent works
-on the subject, which are very useful, though not fully adapted to the
-needs of American boys. A new friend suggests that such a book be
-prepared, and with his aid it may yet be done.
-
-Captain Gildrock, the founder and patron of the Beech-Hill Industrial
-School, has some radical ideas on the subject of education; and
-probably many of the older readers of this book will disagree with
-him: but the question he argues is worthy of attention and discussion,
-however it may be finally settled.
-
-Though the author is not a mechanic by trade, he has worked in his own
-shop for many years. With the carpenter’s bench, the turning-lathe,
-and the various implements for working in wood and metals, he finds
-not only his needed exercise, but a degree of pleasure which makes it
-all the more healthy and exhilarating; and he commends the work to his
-young friends, both for their amusement and instruction.
-
-DORCHESTER, MASS., Aug. 20, 1883.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
-CHAPTER I. PAGE
-
-THE SLOOP THAT WENT TO THE BOTTOM 13
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-THE YOUNG MAN WITH A LONG NAME 23
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-MR. BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED TELLS HIS STORY 34
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-THE GOLDWING ANCHORS FOR THE NIGHT 44
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-A QUARREL ON BOARD OF THE JUNIPER 54
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-THE IMPULSIVE ASSAULT OF THE ENGINEER 65
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED OUT OF A PLACE 76
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-PUPILS FOR THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 87
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-THE VOLUNTEER HELMSMAN AND HIS MOVEMENTS 97
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-THE BATTLE NEAR GARDEN ISLAND 107
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-THE MASTER-CARPENTER DISPOSES OF HIS PRISONER 117
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-CAPTAIN GILDROCK’S FIRST LESSON IN NAVIGATION 128
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-HANDLING A STEAMER IN A FOG 138
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-THE STRONG-ROOM AT THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 148
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-SOMETHING ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY 159
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP’S COMPANY 170
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE SYLPH 180
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-ANOTHER BATTLE AT PLATTSBURG 190
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON SHORE 201
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-THE NEW HEAD OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY 212
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI.
-
-CAPTAIN GILDROCK ARGUES AGAINST HIGH-SCHOOLS 223
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII.
-
-THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS IN THE SHOP 234
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIII.
-
-SOMETHING ABOUT TOOLS AND WORK 244
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIV.
-
-WORK FOR THE HEAD AND THE HANDS 255
-
-
-CHAPTER XXV.
-
-THE SECOND CLASS AT THE CARPENTER’S BENCH 266
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVI.
-
-THE END OF THE FIRST SCHOOL-DAY AT BEECH HILL 277
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVII.
-
-OSCAR CHESTER TAKES A LESSON IN BOATING 288
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVIII.
-
-THE UPSETTING OF THE MONKEY AND ITS LESSON 299
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIX.
-
-AN AFTERNOON IN THE MACHINE-SHOP 310
-
-
-CHAPTER XXX.
-
-WHAT THE STUDENTS FOUND AT THOMPSON’S POINT 320
-
-
-
-
-SNUG-HARBOR;
-
-OR,
-
-THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-THE SLOOP THAT WENT TO THE BOTTOM.
-
-
-“Starboard your helm! hard a-starboard!” shouted Dory Dornwood, as he
-put the helm of the Goldwing to port in order to avoid a collision
-with a steam-launch which lay dead ahead of the schooner.
-
-“Keep off! you will sink me!” cried a young man in a sloop-boat, which
-lay exactly in the course of the steam-launch.
-
-“That’s just what I mean to do, if you don’t come about!” yelled the
-man at the wheel of the steamer. “Why didn’t you stop when I called to
-you?”
-
-“Keep off, or you will be into me!” screamed the skipper of the sloop,
-whose tones and manner indicated that he was very much terrified at
-the situation.
-
-And he had reason enough to be alarmed. It was plain, from his
-management of his boat, that he was but an indifferent boatman; and
-probably he did not know what to do in the emergency. Dory had noticed
-the sloop coming up the lake with the steam-launch astern of her. The
-latter had run ahead of the sloop, and had come about, it now
-appeared, for the purpose of intercepting her.
-
-When the skipper of the sloop realized the intention of the helmsman
-of the steamer, he put his helm to port; but he was too late. The
-sharp bow of the launch struck the frail craft amidships, and cut
-through her as though she had been made of card-board.
-
-The sloop filled instantly; and, a moment later, the young man in her
-was struggling on the surface of the water. The boat was heavily
-ballasted, and she went down like a lump of lead. It was soon clear to
-Dory that the skipper could not swim, for he screamed as though the
-end of all things had come.
-
-Very likely it would have been the end of all things to him, if Dory
-had not come about with the Goldwing, and stood over to the place
-where the young man was vainly beating the water with his feet and
-hands. With no great difficulty the skipper of the Goldwing, who was
-an aquatic bird of the first water, pulled in the victim of the
-catastrophe, in spite of the apparent efforts of the sufferer to
-prevent him from doing so.
-
-It was a very warm day towards the end of August, and a bath in the
-cool waters of Lake Champlain was not the worst thing in the world to
-take. The victim of the collision was more scared than hurt; and he
-lay in the bottom of the yacht, puffing and blowing like a black bass
-just stolen from his native element. He did not seem to be able to
-speak, and Dory thought he was making a great fuss about a very small
-affair.
-
-The Goldwing had been headed across the lake when her skipper picked
-up the victim; and, when he was safely on board, she continued on her
-course. Dory had come out to cool off and take a sail, and it made no
-difference to him where he went. The Beech-hill Industrial School had
-not yet commenced operations, and he had nothing on earth to do the
-greater part of the time.
-
-His father had died a few weeks before; but he had found a snug harbor
-at Beech Hill, where he resided with his mother and sister in the
-elegant mansion of his uncle, Captain Royal Gildrock. The captain had
-acquired an immense fortune by his operations in various parts of the
-world; but as his wife was dead, and he had no children, it had
-bothered him a good deal to determine what to do with all his money.
-
-For many years there had been a feud between the head of the Dornwood
-family and the owner of Beech Hill. Mr. Dornwood was an intemperate
-man, and never more than half supported his family; though he had good
-wages as a pilot on the lake. He had married the captain’s only sister
-in spite of the opposition of all her friends, and especially of her
-brother.
-
-When the captain attempted to assist his sister in taking care of her
-two children, her husband ordered him out of his house; for a great
-many sharp words had passed between them. The wife was afraid of her
-inebriate husband, and the attempts of the wealthy brother to help the
-family had ended in the complete estrangement of the brother and
-sister.
-
-But as soon as Mrs. Dornwood was a widow, the captain hastened to her
-assistance. Though Dory had made an earnest effort to support the
-family, he had finally consented to reside with his mother at Beech
-Hill. The pilot’s wife and children had always lived in the humblest
-tenements, worn the meanest garments, and lived upon the plainest and
-cheapest food.
-
-Their lot at the new home was in tremendous contrast with their former
-condition. Captain Gildrock was a plain man himself, and inclined to
-regard the elegancies and luxuries of life with contempt. Though his
-house was large, it was plainly furnished. If his table was not
-garnished by the skill of a French cook, it was loaded with the best
-that could be procured. To the Dornwoods every thing about the house
-was luxurious.
-
-Captain Gildrock was a thinking man, and he had ideas as well as
-money. The two go well together, for ideas are often barren things
-when one has not the means to carry them out. The worthy shipmaster
-had studied society and human nature in many lands and climes. After
-he retired from the sea and business generally, he had given his
-attention wholly to the affairs in his own country. After he had done
-so for a year or two, he was disposed to exclaim with the inspired
-writer, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”
-
-Perhaps the standard of the captain was too high for this world, but
-he felt that the American people were slipping away from first
-principles. The nation had prospered by toil,--by inducing and
-compelling the earth to yield her increase. Life had been something
-more than a pleasure-excursion.
-
-“When I was young,” he used to say, “the boys worked on the farm,
-learned a trade, or went to sea. Now all the young men go into stores,
-become counter-jumpers and man-milliners. Men get rich now by making
-corners, betting on futures, and in speculation of all sorts. A big
-thief is a gentleman: a little one is a criminal, after he is caught.
-The boys and girls have been educated too much: they get above their
-station in life, and then half starve themselves in order to be
-genteel.”
-
-The captain did not believe that the young people were educated too
-much; only that they were trained in useless accomplishments, as he
-regarded them. He did not think that the Genverres high-school, though
-a very successful institution in the opinion of the school-board and
-the citizens generally, was really a blessing to the town. He was
-confident that he had discovered the philosopher’s stone in education,
-though he found himself almost alone in his opinions.
-
-“That school only spoils good farmers and mechanics, good seamen and
-engineers. It gives them altogether too high notions of themselves. It
-turns its pupils out on the world fit only to be genteel. The
-education which the fathers of New England meant, when they planted
-the schoolhouse alongside the church, was simply a common-school
-education, without any high-school bosh on the tail-end of it. It’s
-all well enough for rich people: it is a luxury they can afford, and
-one they ought to pay for.”
-
-Very likely the captain was too ultra in his views, but the question
-he argued is one which must be settled before the lapse of many years.
-
-The shipmaster was a practical man, and he did not talk without
-acting. He believed in industrial education, not in the grammar-school,
-but in place of the high-school. He had talked his views in
-town-meeting, and printed them in the papers; but the people were not
-inclined to adopt them.
-
-A year before, he had taken a number of young men, and instructed them
-in seamanship and the construction and management of the marine
-engine. It was only a partial experiment, but he regarded it as an
-eminently successful one. Most of his pupils had obtained situations
-as engineers, and they were competent to fill them.
-
-Captain Gildrock hoped to convince the people that his views were
-correct, and he was ready to spend his money in demonstrating the
-truth of what he preached. His class of the preceding year had been
-rather too old when he took them in hand. He wanted boys from the
-grammar-school, twelve or fourteen years old, before they had “bowed
-down to the vanity of this world,” before they had learned to be
-genteel, before they oiled their hair, and spent half an hour a day in
-adjusting their neckties.
-
-After the death of his brother-in-law, the pilot, he had captured his
-nephew, after a hard struggle, and found he was the leading spirit of
-the Goldwing Club, which had taken its name from Dory’s boat. These
-boys were rather wild, but not bad. The captain succeeded in gathering
-them all into the Beech-hill Industrial School, as he decided to call
-the new institution. But the boys in Genverres were shy of the new
-school, or their parents were shy for them. Not a few of the latter
-regarded the retired shipmaster as a sort of harmless lunatic, liberal
-with his money, but, like all reformers, an unsafe leader to follow.
-
-Several boys from the high-school had made excellent records out in
-the world, and each fond parent expected his own son would join the
-galaxy of bright stars from its graduates. The captain could find only
-three boys in the whole town who would join the new school, while
-thirty went to the high-school. Possibly the requirement that the
-pupils should reside at Beech Hill had some influence with the
-parents.
-
-It looked as though the school was to begin with eight pupils,--hardly
-enough to man the Sylph, the captain’s elegant steam-yacht, the
-largest and finest craft of the kind on the lake. All the boys in the
-high-school would have liked to flirt about the lake in the
-magnificent steamer; but to do it as seamen, firemen, engineers,
-waiters, and cooks, was not wholly to the taste of the parents, if it
-suited that of the boys.
-
-Dory Dornwood was waiting for the school to begin. Great boxes of
-tools, machinery, and other material for the workshops, had arrived at
-Beech Hill; but the captain would not allow them to be opened until
-the boys came. Besides, he was very busy in looking up pupils for the
-new institution. He wanted twenty-four to begin with, and he was
-searching for them in some of the interior towns where he was
-acquainted.
-
-Dory was very impatient for the school to begin, though he was very
-happy in the midst of his new surroundings. He was a natural mechanic,
-and tools of any kind suited him better than books. He was fond of
-adventure, and wondered if he should ever have another time as lively
-as that on the lake before he was captured by his uncle.
-
-The young man he had picked up on the lake was about sixteen years
-old, and was a stranger to him. His wet garments, though poor enough,
-betrayed an effort at some style. After a while he recovered his
-breath, and seemed to be in condition to give an account of himself.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-THE YOUNG MAN WITH A LONG NAME.
-
-
-“You had a narrow squeak that time,” said Dory Dornwood, as soon as he
-thought the victim of the disaster was in condition to do a little
-talking. “It is lucky you didn’t get tangled up in the rigging of your
-boat. She went to the bottom like a pound of carpet-tacks; and she
-would have carried you down in a hurry if you hadn’t let go in short
-metre.”
-
-“I think I am remarkably fortunate in being among the living at this
-moment,” replied the stranger, looking out over the stern of the
-Goldwing. “That was the most atrocious thing a fellow ever did.”
-
-“What was?” inquired Dory, who was not quite sure what the victim
-meant by the remark, or whether he alluded to him or to the man in the
-steam-launch.
-
-“Why, running into me like that,” protested the passenger with no
-little indignation in his tones.
-
-“Let me see, ‘atrocious’ means something bad or wicked, don’t it?”
-continued Dory.
-
-“Something very bad and very wicked,” replied the stranger, with a
-sickly smile, as he bestowed a patronizing glance upon his deliverer.
-
-“I thought it was something of that sort. I suppose you don’t use such
-big words as that before breakfast, do you?”
-
-“Why not before breakfast as well as after? It is a common word, in
-use every day in the week.”
-
-“I didn’t know but it might put your jaws out of joint, and spoil your
-appetite,” added Dory, as he glanced behind him to see what had become
-of the steam-launch.
-
-“My appetite is not so easily spoiled.”
-
-“I suppose you came up from Burlington?” said Dory suggestively, as
-though he considered an explanation on the part of the stranger to be
-in order at the present time.
-
-“I have just come from Burlington,” answered the victim, who appeared
-to be disposed to say nothing more. “Do you suppose I can get that
-boat again?”
-
-“I should say that the chance of getting her again was not first-rate.
-She went down where the water is about two hundred and fifty feet
-deep; and it won’t be an easy thing to get hold of her,” replied Dory.
-“If you had let him run into you between Diamond Island and Porter’s
-Bay, where the water is not more than fifty or sixty feet deep, you
-could have raised her without much difficulty. I don’t believe you
-will ever see her again.”
-
-“That’s bad,” mused the stranger. “She did not belong to me.”
-
-“Then you are so much in. Perhaps, if she had belonged to you, you
-would not have let the steam-launch run into you,” added Dory, who did
-not quite like the way the victim was taking things; for he did not
-seem to remember that he had been pulled out of the water by the
-skipper of the Goldwing when he was in great danger of drowning.
-
-“I did not let the steam-launch run into me. The man in her did it on
-purpose. It was not an accident,” answered the stranger.
-
-“I heard the fellow say that he meant to sink you; and, after he said
-that, I thought you were a little out of your head to let him do it.”
-
-“I didn’t let him do it.”
-
-“I thought you did. If I had been at the tiller of that sloop, he
-wouldn’t have done it.”
-
-“Probably you are a better boatman than I am: I don’t pretend to know
-much about the management of a yacht,” replied the victim meekly, as
-he finished wiping the water from his face.
-
-“Then you ought not to be sailing a boat in a fresh breeze, such as we
-are having to-day. Why didn’t you put your helm down when you saw that
-he was going to run into you?”
-
-“Down where?” asked the victim with a vacant stare.
-
-“Down cellar!” exclaimed Dory, disgusted at the ignorance of the
-skipper of the sunken sloop. “No fellow ought to sail a boat if he
-don’t know how to put the helm down.”
-
-“A fellow can’t know every thing in the world.”
-
-“Then, I suppose you know every thing else: but how to put the helm
-down was the one thing you ought to have known, when that fellow was
-kind enough to tell you beforehand that he meant to sink you.”
-
-“Don’t be too rough on me, Mr.-- I don’t know your name. I am under
-very great obligations to you for the signal service you have rendered
-me, and I shall be glad to know you better.”
-
-“My name is Theodore Dornwood,--Dory for short. What is yours?”
-
-“Dory Dornwood!” exclaimed the victim, bestowing a look of
-astonishment upon the modest skipper. “I have heard of you before, and
-I am particularly glad to meet you.”
-
-“I should think you might be, since I picked you up in deep water. But
-you did not give me your name.”
-
-“My name is Bolingbroke Millweed.”
-
-“Is that all the name you have?” asked Dory, as he opened his eyes
-till they were as big as a pair of saucers--very small saucers. “I
-didn’t quite make it out, for it fairly snarled up my intellect.”
-
-“Bolingbroke Millweed,” repeated the stranger with a slight frown upon
-his brow. “It’s all the name I have.”
-
-“It’s name enough, I should say.”
-
-“It is hardly worth while to make fun of my name: I am not responsible
-for it, and it is the best I have.”
-
-“I beg your pardon, Mr.-- I don’t know what your name is now, for
-really I did not take it in,” pleaded Dory, who was sometimes very
-brusk in his manner, though he did not mean to hurt anybody’s
-feelings. “Honestly, I did not understand you.”
-
-“You cannot have read English history very much, or you would have
-recognized the first name.”
-
-“I never did read English history much: in fact, I never did much
-reading of any kind.”
-
-“My first name is Bolingbroke, and my surname is Millweed. The whole
-of it is Bolingbroke Millweed,” added the victim, mollified as he
-pitied the ignorance of his deliverer.
-
-“All right, Mr. Millweed: I won’t tackle the first name until I get a
-little better acquainted with it.”
-
-“Viscount Henry St. John Bolingbroke, after whom I was named, was a
-prime minister of England, and a fine scholar; though he was charged
-with treason. But I did not pick out the name myself: it was my
-mother’s choice, but I can’t say that I approve it. I suppose I shall
-be called ‘Bolly’ as long as I live.”
-
-“Of course your friends can’t handle such a jaw-breaker as Bolingbroke
-every time they want to ask you which way the wind is. But never mind
-the name, Mr. Millweed. I picked you up in deep water, and that’s how
-you happen to be on board of the Goldwing.”
-
-“The famous Goldwing! I am extremely happy to be on board of her;
-though I wish our meeting had been under more favorable
-circumstances,” added Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed, as he poured the water
-out of one of his shoes.
-
-“I only said that you were on board of the Goldwing; and the question
-now is, what shall I do with you, for I see the steam-launch is headed
-this way. I should judge from his actions that the man at the wheel of
-her wants to see you.”
-
-“He does want to see me! I am the victim of a conspiracy!” exclaimed
-Mr. Millweed in tragic tones, as he sprang to his feet.
-
-“The victim of a conspiracy? Is that what you call the sinking of a
-sloop?”
-
-“I feel that the brave and noble Dory Dornwood will be my friend,
-and"--
-
-“Clap a stopper on your jaw-tackle!” interposed the skipper of the
-Goldwing, borrowing an expression his uncle had quoted in his
-presence. “If you mean to blarney me, I shall be your enemy; and I
-will put you ashore on Diamond Island, without benefit of clergy.”
-
-“Excuse me: I did not mean to offend you, Mr. Dornwood,”--
-
-“Avast heaving! Don’t ‘mister’ me. Call me Dory; but don’t call me too
-late for dinner,” laughed the skipper.
-
-“Since I know who you are, I shall tell you my story, and explain how
-I happened to be sailing the sloop, and”--
-
-“I know how you were sailing her, and you sailed her to the bottom.
-Tell me the rest of it.”
-
-“I will tell you why that man ran into me, and why he was chasing me
-up the lake.”
-
-“That’s the point; but make the yarn a short one, or the steam-launch
-will be upon us before you get through with it. You have the floor,
-Mr. Millweed,” replied Dory, as he glanced at the approaching steamer.
-
-“But I don’t want to be caught by that man! It might be fatal to me.
-He is a conspirator; and he is seeking to destroy my good name,”
-pleaded Mr. Millweed earnestly.
-
-“I don’t understand the matter. Is the man an officer?”
-
-“Not at all: he is chief clerk in a store in Burlington, and the
-steam-launch belongs to his employer. But he is rapidly overtaking
-us,” said the passenger.
-
-“Why should he be after you? What have you been doing that is wrong?”
-asked Dory, who had no idea of enlisting on the wrong side in
-anybody’s cause.
-
-“I have done nothing wrong. I will tell you all about the matter, only
-don’t let that man get hold of me. Upon my sacred honor, I am guilty
-of no crime,” continued Bolingbroke Millweed.
-
-Dory was greatly tempted. He had a reputation on Lake Champlain, won
-but a short time before he made his snug harbor at Beech Hill. On two
-occasions he had successfully kept out of the way of a steamer. He had
-been pursued all one day by the swiftest steam-yacht on the lake, but
-by his “tactics” he had kept out of her reach.
-
-If the young man had been guilty of a crime, he would do nothing for
-him. His passenger spoke fairly; but, if he had been doing wrong, he
-would not scruple to lie about it. Dory decided to keep out of the way
-of the steam-launch long enough to hear Bolingbroke’s story. It was an
-exciting game to dodge a steamer, and he desired to play it. The water
-in the lake had been very low all summer, and no heavy rains had yet
-raised it. The low-water soundings on the chart needed no corrections.
-
-The Goldwing was a schooner, and Dory had been sailing under jib and
-mainsail only. This was about all the sail she could comfortably
-carry. The skipper looked over the situation very carefully. The yacht
-was on the wind, headed across the lake. After the sinking of the
-sloop, the two men in the steamer had a long talk before they started
-her screw again; and she was all of half a mile astern of the
-Goldwing.
-
-Coming up into the wind, Dory set the mainsail; and then it was a
-staggering wind for the Goldwing. By a little manœuvring the skipper
-brought Diamond Island between his own craft and the steam-launch.
-
-The pursuer had gained on him while he was setting the foresail.
-Starting his sheets, he stood off to the south-west until the steamer
-was abreast of the island. She could not head him off; and then he
-came about again, steering her due south.
-
-The skipper was ready for the explanation, and the passenger proceeded
-to relate it.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-MR. BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED TELLS HIS STORY.
-
-
-The wind was blowing very fresh; and the Goldwing staggered wildly, as
-she went ahead nearly before it. Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed appeared to
-be a little nervous, for the schooner carried twice as much sail in
-proportion to her size as the sloop in which he had come from
-Burlington.
-
-“She acts just as though she was going to tip over,” said he, clinging
-to the wash-board.
-
-“Tip over! She don’t do that sort of thing. She has got over all her
-bad habits,” replied the skipper. “But I should like to have you spin
-your yarn before we get up to Field’s Bay, so that I may know what to
-do with you.”
-
-“I have been looking for a place in a store for a year, for I was
-graduated at the high-school last summer,” Mr. Millweed began. “I know
-a young man by the name of Hackett Tungwood, who is in a store in
-Burlington. He wanted a vacation of a week, and he engaged me to take
-his place while he was absent.”
-
-“Did his boss agree to it?” asked Dory.
-
-“His employer did agree to it, and treated me very kindly when I went
-to the store at seven o’clock this morning. About nine o’clock Mr.
-Lingerwell, who is Hack’s brother-in-law, and the head man in the
-store, sent me to the safe for the cash-book.”
-
-“I got the book, and gave it to him. Just then Mr. Longbrook, the
-proprietor, came in, and asked Mr. Lingerwell for the four hundred and
-fifty dollars which had been put in the safe the night before. I saw
-the head man go to the safe, and then both he and his employer seemed
-to be in great consternation.”
-
-“Short words, or you never will finish,” interposed Dory.
-
-“I did not know what the matter was, but Mr. Lingerwell used a great
-many exclamations.”
-
-“What did he do with them?”
-
-“He uttered them, of course: what else could he do with them? If you
-continue to interrupt with irrelevant questions, it will take me a
-long time to tell the story,” replied Mr. Millweed impatiently. “I was
-putting up goods near the desk, or I should not have noticed what was
-going on. In a little while I heard enough to satisfy me that the four
-hundred and fifty dollars was missing.
-
-“Mr. Longbrook called me to the desk, and asked if I had been to the
-safe. I told him I had taken the cash-book from the safe, as I had
-been told to do. He looked me sharply in the eye. Mr. Lingerwell said
-no one else had been to the safe since he opened it in the morning.
-
-“I was sent back to my work, and the two men kept on talking about the
-money. It was clear enough to me that I was suspected of taking it,
-and I felt as though I was already in the State prison. I heard Mr.
-Lingerwell say he was sure I had taken the money, for it was all right
-when he opened the safe. I never was so terrified before in my life.
-Hack Tungwell had told me he did not expect to keep his place much
-longer: he might not return at all. If I pleased his employer, I might
-get the situation.
-
-“What I heard seemed to be the knell of all my hopes. I had done my
-best to get a place, for my father sadly needs what little I could
-earn. Then the two men talked in low tones for a while. Presently
-Mr. Longbrook went out of the store. I was sure he had gone for an
-officer to arrest me.
-
-“The idea of being arrested and marched through the streets by a
-constable was about as bad to me as being shot through the head. When
-Mr. Lingerwell went to the back part of the store, I rushed out at the
-front door.”
-
-“You left!” exclaimed Dory with something like indignation in his
-tones.
-
-“I did: I was wholly unwilling to be dragged through the streets by an
-officer.”
-
-“That was worse than sinking the sloop in two hundred and fifty feet
-of water. Do I understand you to say that you did not take the money
-from the safe?” demanded Dory.
-
-“Do I look like a thief?” asked Mr. Millweed, rising from his seat in
-the standing-room in deep disgust; though he was immediately thrown
-back again by the motion of the yacht.
-
-“Never mind how you look: you acted just like a thief,” retorted Dory
-warmly. “You don’t say yet that you didn’t take the money when you
-went to the safe for the book.”
-
-“I do say now, most emphatically, that I did not take the money when
-I went to the safe for the cash-book, or at any other time. I didn’t
-even know there was any money in the safe,” protested Mr. Millweed
-very earnestly.
-
-“That’s coming to the point; but you have done the best you could to
-convince your employer and his head man that you did take it. I advise
-you to go straight back to Burlington, and then straight to the store,
-and face the music. If anybody says I stole any money, I want to see
-the man that says so.”
-
-“That would all be very well under ordinary circumstances,” pleaded
-Mr. Millweed.
-
-“It’s all very well under any circumstances.”
-
-“I had a theory of my own.”
-
-“I don’t care any thing about your theory: I say the way is to face
-the music. If you had let them search you before you went out of the
-store, you would have been all right. They would not have found the
-money upon you, and you had had no chance to get rid of it. Now they
-will say you buried it somewhere on the shore of the lake.”
-
-“But I tell you I have a theory. I believe Tim Lingerwell took the
-money himself. How easy it would have been for him to slip the wallet,
-or the package, whatever it was, into my pocket when I was not
-looking.”
-
-“That thing has been done in a hundred and fifty novels and stories,
-but it isn’t done every day in Burlington. If Tim Lingerwell wanted
-the money bad enough to steal it, he wouldn’t put it into your
-pocket.”
-
-“He isn’t any too good to do such a thing. He and Hack belong in
-Genverres; and people here wouldn’t trust either of them with a pewter
-quarter,” argued Mr. Millweed.
-
-“Perhaps you are right: I don’t know. You have given yourself away,
-and made it look bad for you. If Tim Lingerwell took the money, what
-did he do with it?”
-
-“That’s more than I know. He has the care of the safe, and he and I
-were the only persons who had been near it when Mr. Longbrook came in
-for the money. I know I did not take it; and if I didn’t, he did.
-That’s the whole of it.”
-
-Dory believed his passenger had been a fool to run away; but, without
-knowing why, he could not help believing that he was telling the truth.
-
-“Where did you get the sloop in which you came up the lake?” he asked.
-“You said she did not belong to you.”
-
-“She belongs to Sim Green, a friend of mine, who lives next door to
-me. He was going down to Burlington to stay a few days with his uncle.
-Money is a scarce article in our family, and I had none to pay my fare
-by railroad. I was going to walk; but, at Sim’s invitation, I went
-down in his sloop. When I left the store, I went down to the boat, and
-got into it. Then I thought I would go home, and tell my father and
-mother what had happened.”
-
-“Then you took the boat without leave?”
-
-“I knew Sim would not care, and he won’t come home before Saturday. I
-meant to send it back before that time,” Mr. Millweed explained.
-
-“That may be all right; but Sim won’t thank you for taking it, when he
-learns that she has gone down in two hundred and fifty feet of water.
-Now, what is to be done?” asked Dory. “Will you go back to Burlington,
-and face the music?”
-
-“I don’t know what to do,” replied Mr. Millweed, evidently overwhelmed
-with perplexity.
-
-“I have told you what I would do if I were in your place,” added Dory.
-
-“Then I will go back; but I don’t want to be dragged into Burlington
-by Tim Lingerwell,” replied Mr. Millweed, as he glanced at the
-steam-launch.
-
-“All right, if you will only go back. What makes you think Tim
-Lingerwell took the money?” asked Dory.
-
-“The more I think of it, the more certain I feel that he took the
-money. Why should he call me from my work to get the cash-book out of
-the safe for him, when he was within six feet of it? Why should he
-send me to the safe at all, and leave it unlocked, when he knew there
-was so much money in it? Why didn’t he search me before Mr. Longbrook
-went out? He managed it all to suit himself,” replied the passenger
-with energy.
-
-Dory thought his passenger was right. If the head man in the store
-believed the substitute clerk had taken the money from the safe, he
-could not see why he had been permitted to leave the store.
-
-“Did they chase you in the street after you left the store?” asked
-Dory, who was rather inclined to do a little detective business on his
-own account, as he had had a taste of it during the summer.
-
-“No one chased me. I did not see any one from the store. I was off
-Split Rock when I first saw the launch, but I didn’t know Tim was in
-her till just before he ran into the sloop. The moment I heard his
-voice, I understood it all; but I did not know enough about a boat to
-get out of the way.”
-
-“I don’t believe you did, or you would not have sunk that sloop. The
-wonder is, that you got as far as you did without capsizing her.”
-
-“I hoisted the sail, and let her go. The wind was fair, and all I had
-to do was to keep her away from the shore. She frightened me out of my
-wits two or three times when the waves were high.”
-
-“With this breeze we can run away from that steam-launch. If you like,
-I will take you back to Burlington, after I have told my mother where
-I am going.”
-
-“I should like that very much,” replied Mr. Millweed.
-
-“But we can’t run away from the steamer beating down the lake, and we
-must dodge her in some way,” suggested Dory.
-
-“I will do just as you say, Dory; and I begin to see what an idiot I
-was to run away, though I still think Tim Lingerwell had some plan to
-trip me up,” added the passenger.
-
-Dory had already decided upon his plan of operations. The steamer was
-on the wrong side of him: he wished he was below instead of above her;
-for he wanted to run into Beaver River, which he could not do on the
-open lake without encountering his pursuer.
-
-His southerly course had by this time brought him near the east shore
-of the lake. The steam-launch was all of half a mile distant. From the
-mouth of the river a shoal extends a mile out into the lake, and over
-a mile to the southward. Dory struck this shallow water at its
-southern extremity.
-
-The deepest water is near the shore, and the skipper followed it. The
-launch continued on her former course for a while, and then stopped
-her screw. Tim Lingerwell at the wheel was perplexed; but Dory found
-his way across the shoal, and entered the river. Then the launch went
-around the shoal, and continued the chase.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-THE GOLDWING ANCHORS FOR THE NIGHT.
-
-
-As soon as the Goldwing was fairly in the river, Dory found the wind
-was light compared with what it had been on the open lake. But the
-skipper had made up his mind that his passenger should not be taken
-out of the boat: his plan for another movement was ready.
-
-“She is catching us, and I might as well make up my mind to go back to
-Burlington in the Juniper;” for that was the name of the steam-launch.
-“I believe Tim Lingerwell has that money in his pocket at this minute;
-for he probably has had no chance to get rid of it,” said Mr. Millweed
-in utter despondency.
-
-“You can make up your mind any way you please; but, if you don’t want
-to go with him, you needn’t. If you will do as I say, I will land you
-in Burlington to-night,” replied Dory, as the yacht passed the narrow
-neck of land between the river and Porter’s Bay.
-
-“I will do just as you tell me, Dory; for I know you are capable of
-doing big things.”
-
-“It won’t be a very big thing, but we can dodge the Juniper a great
-deal easier than you can go to bed without your supper. I shall make a
-landing at the cross-cut. You will go on shore, and follow the path
-until you get to the other side of the woods. Then take the other path
-to the river, and strike it half a mile above the landing.”
-
-“What is all that for?” asked Mr. Millweed, perplexed by the
-instructions.
-
-“You do just as I tell you, and ask no questions. I will be
-responsible for the result.”
-
-“All right: I will do so. But I might as well go home, for I shall be
-half-way there when I get to the other side of the woods.”
-
-“If you go home, Tim Lingerwell will find you there. He will think you
-have gone home; and that is just what I want him to think,” said Dory,
-as he made the landing at the cross-cut, which was a short way to
-reach the northern outskirts of the town.
-
-“I will do just what you say, Dory.”
-
-“Very well; but don’t be in a hurry. Wait till the Juniper gets a
-little nearer, so that Tim can see you. Then start off as though you
-meant business.”
-
-They had not long to wait, for the steam-launch had been gaining
-rapidly on the yacht since they entered the river. When she was near
-enough to enable those on board of her to see just what was done, Mr.
-Millweed leaped ashore, and ran with all his might.
-
-“Stop him! Don’t let him go!” shouted the helmsman of the Juniper. “He
-is a thief! He has been stealing a large sum of money!”
-
-“I am not a constable,” answered Dory quietly. “I pulled him out of
-deep water, and brought him ashore. If you want him, you can take
-him.”
-
-Tim Lingerwell rang his bell, and the engine stopped. He ran her up to
-the shore, carrying her bow line to a post, as he leaped upon the
-bank.
-
-“What did you let him go for?” demanded Tim, turning to Dory, who had
-also landed.
-
-“It’s none of my business where he goes,” replied Dory. “This is a
-free country.”
-
-“But I told you he had been stealing. Come, Greeze, we must catch him.
-He lives up this way; and we shall find him at home, if we don’t catch
-him before he gets there.”
-
-The engineer abandoned his machine, and the two men started off on a
-run in the direction taken by the fugitive. But Mr. Millweed had a
-good start, and the wood concealed him from his pursuers.
-
-As soon as they were out of sight, Dory took a survey of the Juniper.
-He had often seen her before, though he had never been on board of
-her; and he improved the present opportunity to do so. He made a more
-careful examination of her than a mere inspection seemed to require.
-Like Mr. Millweed, he had a theory. He looked into all the lockers,
-and even examined the space under the ceiling as far as he could get
-at it.
-
-Just as he was beginning to think his theory was entirely at fault, he
-drew out a large pocket-book, which seemed to be well filled with
-something. He opened it, and found that it contained a large pile of
-bank-bills. Mr. Millweed’s theory was correct: Tim Lingerwell had had
-no opportunity to dispose of the money, and he had put it where he
-supposed no mortal could possibly find it.
-
-Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed’s honesty was demonstrated. Dory had been
-right in trusting him. It was a great satisfaction to him to find that
-he had judged his passenger correctly. But Tim Lingerwell was quite
-as big a fool as Mr. Millweed; and the same might be truly said of any
-person who commits a robbery.
-
-Dory took the money from the pocket-book, and put it into his
-hip-pocket. He put a portion of a newspaper into the place from which
-he had taken the bills, so as to make the pocket-book look as it had
-before its valuable contents had been removed. Then he placed it under
-the ceiling precisely as he had found it. His business on board of the
-Juniper was finished, and he hastened to get the Goldwing under way
-again.
-
-Mr. Millweed had faithfully followed his instructions, and was on the
-bank of the river above the woods. The passenger leaped on board when
-the bow touched the shore.
-
-“Did you see them, Dory?” asked Mr. Millweed, greatly excited.
-
-“Of course I saw them. They landed where you did, and started off at a
-dead run after you. Lingerwell said you had gone home; and they expect
-to find you there,” replied Dory, as he headed the yacht on her course
-up the river again.
-
-“They won’t find me there,” added the passenger, chuckling at the
-success of Dory’s plan. “But won’t they find us at Beech Hill if you
-go there?”
-
-“It will be two hours before they get back to the Juniper again, and
-then they won’t know where to look for you. We are all right.”
-
-Dory did not go into Beech-Hill Creek, which led to the lake in the
-rear of the mansion of Captain Gildrock, but continued on his course
-till he came to the river-road, on which the estate was located. At
-this point he made a landing; and, leaving his charge in the boat, he
-hastened to the house.
-
-Dory found his mother and sister in the garden. As briefly as he
-could, he told the story of his passenger, and announced his intention
-of going to Burlington at once. As he did so, they walked to the
-house, where Mrs. Dornwood put up a heavy lunch for her son. The
-skipper showed the money he had taken from the Juniper, to prove his
-statement; but this was a secret she was not to reveal to any person
-at present.
-
-Mrs. Dornwood volunteered to call upon the Millweeds, and inform them
-of the true state of the case; for the visit of Tim Lingerwell was
-likely to give them much trouble and anxiety before the whole truth
-came out.
-
-With the large lunch-basket and his overcoat, Dory hastened back to
-the place where he had left the Goldwing. He found his passenger in a
-very nervous and troubled frame of mind, fearful that Tim Lingerwell
-might pounce upon him while he was waiting for the skipper. He
-re-assured him by his confident words, and they embarked without
-losing a moment.
-
-“It is a little more than an hour since we left the steamer; and
-Lingerwell may see us as we go down the river, though I don’t think he
-has got back yet,” said Dory, when the yacht was under way.
-
-“Why not wait here until after the Juniper has started?” suggested Mr.
-Millweed.
-
-“We should have to wait all night, I think; for I don’t believe
-Lingerwell will go back without you,” replied Dory.
-
-“But you have to sail back to Burlington with the wind against you:
-the Juniper will be sure to catch us,” added Mr. Millweed anxiously.
-
-“I am willing to take the chances; and, whatever happens to us, I will
-promise that you shall be all right when you have faced the music,”
-answered Dory, keeping a sharp lookout ahead for the steam-launch.
-
-“All right: you have carried me through so far, and I will trust you
-to the end. You saved my life; and I shall never cease to be grateful
-to you, even if you do nothing more for me,” said the passenger with
-more feeling than he had before exhibited.
-
-As the yacht approached the place where the fugitive had landed, Dory
-saw that the Juniper was still there. As the skipper was obliged to
-beat a portion of the distance down the river, he made a tack within
-twenty feet of her.
-
-“Hold on, there!” shouted a voice from her; but it was not that of
-Lingerwell.
-
-At the same moment a man rose from the bottom of the launch. He proved
-to be Greeze, the engineer. The pilot had evidently sent him back to
-attend to the boat.
-
-“We will see you in Burlington,” replied Dory, with abundant good
-nature, when he was satisfied that Lingerwell was not on board of her.
-
-“We want that thief!” yelled Greeze.
-
-“You will take him down to Burlington with you when you go.”
-
-Doubtless this answer perplexed the engineer; but the yacht passed out
-of hailing-distance, and no explanation was practicable. After going
-around the bend of the river, the Goldwing could lay her course for
-the lake, close-hauled.
-
-“The engineer has left the boat again,” said Mr. Millweed, just before
-the yacht reached the bend. “Where do you suppose he is going now?”
-
-“He is going to find Lingerwell, and tell him that you have gone down
-the river. But he may not find him for two hours. Of course he is
-moving about looking for you. Very likely he will go to my uncle’s
-house to inquire for me, though he will not be any the wiser for his
-visit. But I feel as though it was about supper-time,” continued Dory,
-as he consulted the watch his uncle had given him on his last
-birthday. “It is quarter-past six.”
-
-“I have the same sort of a feeling; for I had no dinner to-day, and
-took my breakfast at six this morning,” added Mr. Millweed.
-
-“Why didn’t you say so before? You might have been working your jaws
-from the time we left the shore-road,” said Dory, as he handed the
-lunch-basket to his passenger. “Help yourself, and I will feed as the
-helm gives me time.”
-
-Mr. Millweed showed that he had an appetite by the time the Goldwing
-reached the lake. As the sun went down, the wind died out, though not
-till the schooner had passed Split Rock.
-
-“I am afraid we shall not get to Burlington to-night; for we can’t go
-without wind,” said Dory, when the breeze had nearly deserted them.
-
-“Then I am sure to be caught,” added the passenger.
-
-“Not at all: don’t give it up.”
-
-Dory kept the boat moving a mile farther; and then came to anchor
-inside of Cedar Island, where the masts of the Goldwing could not be
-seen from the lake. At the skipper’s suggestion, the passenger turned
-in, and went to sleep.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-A QUARREL ON BOARD OF THE JUNIPER.
-
-
-Dory had put on his overcoat, and gone to sleep on the cushions of the
-standing-room. The jib had been lowered, but the fore and main sails
-were still set. The skipper had passed the main-sheet around his arm,
-so that any motion of the sail would wake him. This signal disturbed
-him about eleven by jerking him off the seat upon the floor of the
-standing-room.
-
-The wind had begun to come in fresh between Garden Island and
-Thompson’s Point, indicating that its direction was from the
-south-west. It was fair for Burlington; but, before he got up the
-anchor, he listened attentively for any sounds that might come from
-the open lake, for he had a suspicion that he heard something.
-
-A moment later he was confident that he heard the puff of steam from
-the escape-pipe of a steamer. It was cloudy, and the night was dark.
-He looked out between the islands and the mainland, but he could see
-nothing. The sounds came nearer for a time: then they ceased for a few
-minutes, and were followed by a splash in the water. He was satisfied
-that a steamer had anchored at no great distance from Cedar Island.
-
-The skipper’s nap had refreshed him, and he was not inclined to sleep
-while there was wind enough to move the schooner. Very likely the
-steamer which had anchored was the Juniper. Probably Tim Lingerwell
-realized that the Goldwing could not sail without wind; and he was
-afraid he might pass her if he continued on his course. Doubtless he
-suspected that she had put in behind some island.
-
-Dory got up the anchor, hoisted the jib, and, with the wind on the
-beam, stood off to the north-west. He had no doubt the steamer he had
-heard was the Juniper. The noise of her screw, and the puff of her
-escape-pipe, indicated that she was a very small craft. He concluded
-that Tim Lingerwell would keep a sharp lookout for him, and he
-expected to be chased as soon as he passed the island.
-
-When he could see between the two islands, he discovered a light,
-which marked the position of the Juniper. The Goldwing passed within a
-quarter of a mile of her; but the wind was coming quite fresh from the
-south-west, and Dory thought that he could take care of himself and
-his sleeping passenger.
-
-Though it was very dark, the skipper had not deemed it prudent to
-light one of his lanterns; for it would be sure to betray his
-presence. As the yacht continued silently on her course, Dory heard
-the sound of voices in the direction of Garden Island, behind which he
-could see the Juniper’s light.
-
-It was evident that the pursuers were not asleep. Dory listened with
-all his might, for he was deeply interested in what was taking place
-on board of the steam-launch. It seemed to him that the captain and
-engineer were talking a great deal louder than the occasion required.
-As they were in the same craft, it was hardly necessary for them to
-yell at each other. After he had listened a while, Dory thought the
-tones of the speakers were angry and even violent.
-
-The skipper brought the Goldwing up into the wind, for a short
-distance farther would carry the yacht out of sight of the Juniper. He
-listened again; and the tones of the crew of the steam-launch were
-more violent than before. What was the matter? There was clearly a
-quarrel in progress between the captain and the engineer. As the
-voices became louder and more forcible, the disputants were plainly
-approaching a crisis in the quarrel.
-
-“Help! Help! Murder!” yelled one of the angry men; and Dory was
-confident it was the voice of the engineer.
-
-The skipper of the Goldwing did not wait to hear any more, or to
-speculate upon the cause of the difficulty on board of the Juniper.
-Hauling in his sheets, he filled away on the starboard tack. The
-schooner could just lay her course for the steamer’s light. It looked
-a little like a stormy time ahead, and Dory decided to call his
-passenger.
-
-Leaving the helm for a moment, he went to the cabin forward; and a
-sharp word roused Mr. Millweed from his slumbers. Hastening back to
-the helm, he seized the tiller before the schooner had time to
-broach-to. At that moment the cry from the steamer was repeated,
-though it was fainter than before.
-
-“What’s the matter, Dory?” asked Mr. Millweed, as he rushed into the
-standing-room. “Didn’t I hear a yell just now?”
-
-“If you are not deaf, you did,” replied Dory, still gazing at the
-steamer’s light. “There is a row on board of the Juniper. The engineer
-is shouting for help.”
-
-“What does it all mean?” inquired the passenger anxiously.
-
-“I don’t know what it means, but I am going up there to find out.”
-
-“Do you think it is safe to go near them?” inquired Mr. Millweed.
-
-“I don’t know whether it is safe or not; but men don’t yell murder in
-the middle of the night without some good reason.”
-
-“What can be the meaning of it?” asked the fugitive, evidently
-believing that the skipper ought to be able to tell him all about it.
-
-“You can guess as well as I can, Bolly,” answered Dory. “Tim and the
-engineer are the only persons on board of the Juniper, and the quarrel
-must be between them. That’s all I know about it. But, if we are going
-to take a hand in this fight, we had better have some sort of weapons.”
-
-“You don’t mean to take a hand in any fight, do you, Dory?” asked
-Bolingbroke, not a little alarmed at the announcement.
-
-“Not if I can help it; but I don’t mean to let Lingerwell kill his
-companion, without putting a finger in the pie. Go to the cabin, and
-bring out the long tiller. You will find it under the berth you slept
-in.”
-
-“But I don’t like the idea of getting into a fight with such a fellow
-as Tim Lingerwell,” protested Bolingbroke, without heeding the
-request.
-
-“I don’t care whether you like it or not. It is plain enough that we
-ought to do something when a man is trying to kill another. Bring out
-the tiller!”
-
-Mr. Millweed obeyed the order this time. Dory took the tiller, and
-placed it at his side, where it would be ready for use if the occasion
-should require.
-
-“There is a round stick by the centre-board casing. You had better
-have that in your hand, for you may want to defend yourself before we
-get through with this business. I don’t know what the quarrel is
-about; but we are likely to find out very soon,” added Dory.
-
-“Help! Help! Murder!”
-
-“There it is again!” exclaimed the skipper, not a little excited by
-this time.
-
-“It’s awful, isn’t it, Dory?” added Bolingbroke, his teeth chattering
-with terror at the terrible sounds that were borne over the dark
-waters.
-
-“Juniper, ahoy!” screamed Dory, forming a speaking-trumpet with his
-two hands. “What’s the matter?”
-
-No reply came back in answer to the question. Just then Dory began to
-wonder whether or not these cries were not a trick to call the
-Goldwing out from her hiding-place. The wind had just breezed up; and
-Tim Lingerwell might fear that the fugitive would escape him, after
-all his labor and pains to capture him.
-
-He thought enough of the idea to mention it to his passenger.
-Bolingbroke was ready to adopt the opinion that it was a trick: he was
-ready to adopt any thing rather than go near the Juniper, whether
-there was a fight or not on board of her.
-
-“Of course it is a ruse to get you out of your hiding-place,” said he
-with energy. “I thought of that myself.”
-
-“If the wind hadn’t just breezed up, I should not have thought of
-such a thing,” added Dory, still musing upon the point; for he did not
-like the idea of having his passenger taken from the Goldwing by a
-trick.
-
-On the other hand, it was possible, perhaps probable, that the two men
-had fallen out, and come to blows. Dory knew that Lingerwell was a bad
-man, and it is always easy for such men to make trouble. Strange as it
-may seem, the skipper did not connect the large sum of money in his
-hip-pocket with the quarrel on board of the Juniper. He did not even
-think of the bills he had taken from the steam-launch in the absence
-of her crew.
-
-“I wouldn’t go near her, Dory,” argued Bolingbroke. “I hope you won’t
-step into the trap Tim has set for you to fall into.”
-
-“I am not afraid of Tim Lingerwell, and I am going over there to see
-if any thing is the matter. We will be a little cautious about
-approaching the steamer.”
-
-“But you can’t run away from her if you find it is only a trick,”
-reasoned Bolingbroke.
-
-“We must take our chances,” replied Dory.
-
-By this time the Goldwing was entering the passage between Cedar and
-Garden Islands. The Juniper was close to the shore, and the islands
-were about the eighth of a mile apart. The wind was freshening every
-minute; and Dory decided to run by the steamer, going as near as it
-was prudent to go.
-
-He could still hear the voices of the two men, though their tone had
-greatly changed. The skipper saw that the steamer was still at anchor,
-for she had swung around with her head to the wind. He was satisfied,
-by this fact, that the call for help was not a trick: if it had been,
-the Juniper would have been under way by this time.
-
-“Juniper, ahoy!” called Dory, as the Goldwing came up with the launch.
-“What is the matter on board?”
-
-“Nothing is the matter. Greeze has had the nightmare, and shouted
-murder in his sleep,” replied Lingerwell, trying to laugh it off,
-though the effort was a very sickly one.
-
-“Help! help!” shouted the engineer from the other end of the boat.
-
-“He don’t seem to have got over his nightmare yet,” added Dory.--“What
-is the matter there? What ails you?” demanded the skipper.
-
-“Lingerwell has nearly killed me: he says I stole his money while he
-was after the Millweed fellow,” replied Greeze.
-
-“Shut up, you stupid blockhead! Silence! Don’t say another word about
-it, and we will fix up the matter,” said Lingerwell in a wheedling
-tone, as though he would have given something handsome to have sealed
-the lips of the engineer.
-
-“I won’t shut up! I have been insulted and abused; and I will have
-satisfaction if it costs me my life. I didn’t take your money. I
-didn’t know you had any,” growled Greeze, moving aft.
-
-This explanation on the part of the engineer enabled Dory to
-understand the nature of the quarrel between the two men. When the
-Juniper had anchored, Lingerwell had evidently taken the pocket-book
-from its hiding-place, and found that worthless paper had been put in
-the place of the four hundred and fifty dollars. As he was not aware
-that Dory, or any other person, had been on board, he naturally
-concluded that the engineer must have robbed him of his ill-gotten
-money.
-
-Dory had come up into the wind under the lee of the Juniper. The
-lantern hung on a stanchion in the after part of the steamer, so that
-the skipper of the Goldwing and his passenger could see what took
-place on board of her. The engineer had no sooner reached the place
-where Lingerwell stood, than he leaped upon him with the fury of a
-tiger.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-THE IMPULSIVE ASSAULT OF THE ENGINEER.
-
-
-The engineer was evidently suffering under the humiliation of his
-former defeat; and now he was seeking to satisfy his revengeful
-feelings rather than gain any point, for Lingerwell had offered to
-“fix up the matter.” His onslaught was so sudden and unexpected that
-Lingerwell was borne down beneath him.
-
-Dory was wise enough to see, on the instant, that the impulsive attack
-of the engineer was a great mistake; but it was too late to correct
-it. In this case his sympathies were not “with the bottom dog;” for
-the engineer had the right on his side, in spite of his blunder.
-
-The skipper of the Goldwing felt called upon to take a hand in the
-conflict; and, when Lingerwell was about to shake off his opponent, he
-went to the assistance of the latter. The engineer had thrown his man
-upon his face, and he was in the act of turning over when Dory put his
-knees on the back of the fallen one.
-
-“Put your foot on his back, and grab one of his hands!” exclaimed
-Dory, as he grasped an arm.
-
-“I can hold him! He tried to kill me, and I will get even with him!”
-gasped Greeze.
-
-“Don’t hurt him,” added Dory.
-
-“I will pay him off for what he did to me!” cried the engineer.
-
-“If you strike him, or kick him, I will leave at once!” added Dory
-decidedly. “We can hold him, and keep him from harming you again.”
-
-“He abused me, and I will get even with him,” replied Greeze, a little
-mollified by the threat of Dory; for he saw that he could not manage
-the steamer alone.
-
-“Don’t harm him: the law will punish him,” continued Dory. “Bolly.”
-
-The passenger in the Goldwing had been looking on with no little
-surprise and terror, and had not ventured upon the deck of the
-Juniper. Possibly he was too much alarmed to realize that the tables
-had been turned.
-
-“What is it, Dory?” he responded to the call.
-
-“Bring me the rope that lies under the tiller.”
-
-Bolingbroke found the line, and carried it to the skipper; but he was
-careful not to go too near the fallen tiger, for such he had proved to
-be to him. Dory took the line, and succeeded in making it fast to the
-arm of Lingerwell.
-
-“What are you about, you young villain? Do you mean to tie my hands?”
-demanded the fallen man.
-
-“That’s the idea exactly,” replied Dory, as he attempted to pass the
-line around the arm held by the engineer.
-
-Lingerwell had been quiet for a minute after Dory took hold of him,
-but the idea of being captured and tied up like a felon was too much
-for him. With a series of heavy oaths, he made a desperate effort to
-shake off his assailants. The engineer meant business, though the
-direction of the assault had been taken out of his hands by the
-new-comer. He lay down upon his victim, and jammed his knees into the
-small of his back, so that escape was impossible. Dory passed the line
-around the other wrist of the conspirator, and the two were securely
-bound together behind him.
-
-“He is all right now, and cannot harm anybody,” said Dory. “Get
-another line, and we will secure his feet.” Bolingbroke brought the
-rope, for by this time he could see that his great enemy was
-powerless.
-
-Dory fastened the feet of Lingerwell together, and then turned him on
-his side, so that he could be more comfortable. Again the victim
-struggled to loose himself; but Dory had done his work well, and he
-could produce no impression upon the rope.
-
-“This is an outrage!” yelled he, furious with passion.
-
-“I suppose it isn’t an outrage to try to kill a man,” replied Dory, as
-he took the lantern and examined the fastenings he had put on the
-prisoner.
-
-“I didn’t try to kill him! That is all nonsense!” replied Lingerwell,
-suspending his struggles.
-
-“We won’t argue the matter now,” replied Dory, walking to the forward
-part of the boat.
-
-He was followed by the engineer, who seemed to be desirous to explain
-the affair. Doubtless he was grateful for the service the boy had
-rendered to him, and looked upon the skipper of the Goldwing as his
-friend.
-
-“You are a plucky boy, Dory,” said Greeze, when they reached the
-wheel, near the bow of the boat. “But I think I could have handled
-that fellow alone.”
-
-“It is very strange that you should get into a quarrel out here in the
-middle of the night,” added Dory.
-
-“It wasn’t a quarrel of my making; and, if he hadn’t taken me when I
-was not thinking of such a thing, the boot would have been on the
-other leg. He’s bigger than I am, but I can handle him if I have fair
-play.”
-
-“How did you happen to get into such a row?”
-
-“I stopped the boat when we reached this place, and then let go the
-anchor, at Lingerwell’s order. When I went forward, I found him on the
-floor, feeling about under the ceiling. I didn’t know what he was
-doing; and he didn’t care to have me know, for he told me to go aft
-and bank the fire in the furnace. I did so, and when I got through I
-went forward again. Lingerwell was at the lantern, looking over what
-was in a big pocket-book he had in his hands.”
-
-“Had he said any thing about a pocket-book before?” asked Dory.
-
-“Not a word. When I got to him, he looked as though he was very
-nervous and excited. He poked the pocket-book over, and then fished
-his pockets all through. I asked him what the matter was. He said he
-had dropped his pocket-book on the floor, some time during the day; he
-didn’t know when. He had just found it; but the money had all been
-taken out, and a piece of newspaper put in its place to swell it out.”
-
-“Did he say how much money was in it?” inquired Dory.
-
-“He said there was a good deal in it, but he didn’t tell me how much.”
-
-“Did he say there was a hundred dollars or more?”
-
-“He didn’t say a word about it. He kept getting more excited, and at
-last he said I must have taken the money from the pocket-book. I
-answered, that I didn’t do it: I hadn’t seen his pocket-book, and
-didn’t know he had any money with him. On that he got mad, and I was
-as mad as he was.
-
-“We had a long jaw about it, and then he pitched into me. He got me by
-the throat before I knew what he was about. He put me down, and then
-tried to fish my pockets. I yelled for help, for I thought he would
-kill me. I hardly knew what I did; but I shook him off, and we had
-another savage jaw about it. Then he pitched into me again. He had a
-club in his hand; and I think he would have used it on me, if he
-hadn’t heard you yell just at this time.”
-
-“I hoped my hail would let him know there was some one at hand, though
-it was only a boy,” added Dory.
-
-“That was what made him let up on me. Then he tried to smooth it over;
-but I never was treated like that before, and I meant to have it out
-with him.”
-
-“Well, here we are; and what is to be done next?” asked Dory.
-
-“We were waiting down here to catch that Millweed fellow that stole
-the money from the safe,” replied Greeze.
-
-“He says he didn’t take the money from the safe, and he is going back
-to Burlington to face the music.”
-
-“We might as well go along then: we haven’t any more business up here.
-You can steer the Juniper, and we will tow the Goldwing,” suggested
-the engineer. “I don’t know how this thing is coming out, but I am
-ready to go to Burlington. I suppose Lingerwell will have me
-discharged after this, but I don’t care for that. You have tied him
-hand and foot, and I don’t know what you mean by that. I meant to take
-what I owed him out of his hide.”
-
-“I tied him to keep him from pitching into you again. I want to see
-Mr. Longbrook as soon as we get to Burlington; and he can do what he
-likes with him,” replied Dory. “We will start for Burlington as soon
-as you are ready.”
-
-When the excitement was over, Bolingbroke Millweed had returned to the
-Goldwing, and to his berth in the cabin, where he was now fast asleep.
-The engineer replenished his fire, and in half an hour the Juniper was
-under way. At four o’clock in the morning she was at her wharf in
-Burlington. The Goldwing was made fast alongside of her. It was nearly
-daylight, and it would be quite by the time Dory could reach the
-residence of Mr. Longbrook.
-
-Bolingbroke was roused from his slumbers in the cabin, but he objected
-to calling upon the storekeeper at so early an hour in the morning.
-Dory did not care for his opinion, and insisted upon going without any
-delay. Greeze was to keep watch over Lingerwell until he heard from
-Dory, and Mr. Longbrook was to decide what was to be done with the
-prisoner.
-
-The house of the storekeeper was easily found. It was about five by
-this time, and the early visitors saw that the people were up. To
-Dory’s inquiry for the head of the family, the servant said he had
-gone to the store. He had staid there till midnight the night before,
-and had left the house as soon as it was light.
-
-Dory was not a little astonished at this severe devotion to business;
-but he hastened to the store, and found Mr. Longbrook was busy over
-his books. He had locked himself in, but he opened the door in answer
-to the skipper’s vigorous knocks.
-
-“I am too busy to see any one now,” said the storekeeper impatiently.
-“Come at nine o’clock, and I will see you.”
-
-“This young man wants to see you at once,” added Dory, pulling
-Bolingbroke into the doorway.
-
-“What, Millweed! So you have come back, young man,” added Mr. Longbrook,
-as he recognized his late assistant.
-
-“I have come back to tell you, sir, that I did not take the money from
-your safe,” stammered Bolingbroke.
-
-“What did you run away for, then?” demanded the merchant severely.
-
-“Because I was a fool and was frightened. I found that Mr. Lingerwell
-was determined to convict me, guilty or innocent; and I had not the
-courage to stay and see it out,” replied Bolingbroke honestly.
-
-“You lost four hundred and fifty dollars from your safe, Mr.
-Longbrook,” interposed Dory.
-
-“That was just the amount taken, and this young fellow took it. It
-looks as though he came to work here at this time for the purpose of
-getting it, and he left as soon as he had the money,” said the
-merchant angrily. “What have you done with the money, you young
-rascal?”
-
-“I have not had it, I have not seen it,” protested Bolingbroke.
-
-“Don’t tell me that! No one else could have taken it. You and
-Lingerwell were the only two persons who went to the safe.”
-
-“Possibly Mr. Lingerwell took it himself,” suggested Dory.
-
-Mr. Longbrook knit his brows into a frown, and turned away as though
-he was thinking of something. Doubtless he was considering whether or
-not it was possible that his trusted head man could have done such a
-deed.
-
-“At any rate here is the money,” added Dory, pulling the roll of bills
-from his pocket.
-
-The merchant opened his eyes very wide, and so did Mr. Bolingbroke
-Millweed.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED OUT OF A PLACE.
-
-
-Mr. Longbrook took the bills, and a smile of satisfaction overspread
-his troubled face. He looked at Dory with astonishment, and then
-glanced from him to Bolingbroke. The latter was quite as much
-surprised as the owner of the four hundred and fifty dollars.
-
-Dory had not given a hint to his companion or to the engineer that he
-had the money. He had concealed the fact from prudential motives. He
-had told his mother all about it, but he was not inclined to lead
-either of his associates in the boat into temptation.
-
-“I see,” said Mr. Longbrook, nodding his head at Dory. “Your friend
-has concluded to give up the money, and expects me to say nothing more
-about it.”
-
-“I never saw the money before; and I didn’t know till this minute that
-Dory had it,” protested Bolingbroke earnestly.
-
-“He tells the exact truth,” added Dory. “Neither he nor any one but my
-mother, who is at Genverres, knew that I had the money. I think you
-had better hear the whole story, and then you can judge for yourself.”
-
-Mr. Longbrook was quite willing to hear the story, for he was deeply
-interested by this time. He asked Dory and his companion into the
-store, and locked the door again. Bolingbroke gave his part of the
-narrative first, and Dory finished it out.
-
-“I believed Bolingbroke told me the truth; and I accepted Mr.
-Lingerwell’s statement that one of the two must have stolen the
-money,” said Dory. “When the skipper and engineer left the Juniper to
-catch my passenger, I looked the steamer over, and found the
-pocket-book. I put the piece of newspaper into the place where I took
-out the bills, hoping that Mr. Lingerwell would suppose he had the
-bills until he got to Burlington.”
-
-Then followed the skipper’s account of the quarrel on board of the
-Juniper, which confirmed Dory’s statement. It was as clear to the
-merchant as it was to Dory, that the head man had stolen the money.
-
-“Where is Lingerwell now?” asked Mr. Longbrook.
-
-“He is on board of the Juniper, tied hand and foot; and the engineer
-is keeping guard over him. He did not know I had been on board of the
-Juniper in his absence; and he was sure that Greeze must have taken
-the money from the pocket-book, and put the newspaper in its place.
-You can do what you like with him.”
-
-“I knew that man was a villain!” exclaimed Bolingbroke when Dory had
-finished his explanation. “I saw why I was sent to the safe for the
-cash-book, when it was almost within reach of his hands; and that was
-one of my reasons for running away. I was a fool, but I was
-frightened.”
-
-“I wish I had known that Lingerwell was a rascal a little sooner.
-Since he went after this young man yesterday, I have been examining my
-books. I am satisfied that he has robbed me of hundreds, if not
-thousands, of dollars. I can see just how he has done it. Now we will
-go down and see him, and we will have a warrant for his arrest.”
-
-By this time it was seven o’clock, and the merchant departed for the
-warrant and the officer to serve it. Dory and Bolingbroke went with
-him. As they passed the Van Ness House, Dory was not a little surprised
-to see his uncle standing at the entrance of the hotel with quite a
-little crowd of boys. The skipper counted ten of them, and he wondered
-if they were to be pupils in the Beech-Hill Industrial School.
-
-“You are here in good time, Theodore,” demanded Captain Gildrock, as
-he recognized his nephew.
-
-“I came up on a little business, uncle,” replied Dory.
-
-“Very important business it was to me, Captain Gildrock,” added Mr.
-Longbrook. “I am under very great obligations to him.”
-
-The breakfast-bell rang, and the boys were sent in to obtain the
-morning meal. The merchant gave an outline of the loss and recovery of
-his money. The captain asked a great many questions, which were all
-answered to his satisfaction. Then he insisted that the party should
-breakfast with him.
-
-Mr. Longbrook accepted the invitation, and they entered the hotel. In
-the vestibule the merchant met the justice to whom he intended to
-apply for the warrant. He stated his case to him, and the gentleman
-promised to have the warrant ready by the time he had finished his
-breakfast. The party seated themselves at the table.
-
-“A telegram for you, Captain Gildrock,” said one of the clerks,
-bringing the message to him.
-
-“‘Dory away; no pilot; cannot go up the lake.--JEPSON,’” read the
-captain from the despatch in his hand. “Then you did not come down in
-the Sylph, Theodore. Of course you did not. I have heard the story of
-your movements during the night. I telegraphed to you last night from
-here to come down in the steamer, and take the new scholars to Beech
-Hill.”
-
-“I have the Goldwing here, and I can take them home in her,” replied
-Dory.
-
-“But I have ten boys with me: there they are at the other table. They
-are about as wild and harum-scarum a set of youngsters as I ever saw
-in my life. But we will take all that out of them in a few days, when
-I get them to Beech Hill,” replied the captain confidently.
-
-“I can take the crowd up in the Goldwing.”
-
-“We will see about that when we have done breakfast, and you have
-disposed of your prisoner.”
-
-“The Juniper is at your service, Captain Gildrock.”
-
-“Thank you: perhaps we may want to use her.”
-
-Mr. Longbrook inquired in regard to the sloop that had been sunk. It
-was not likely that Lingerwell would be able to pay for the mischief
-he had done; and the merchant said he had a sloop, not a very fine
-one, which he was willing to give as a substitute for the one lost.
-Bolingbroke was delighted with this offer, and promptly accepted it.
-
-After breakfast the party proceeded to the wharf where the Juniper
-lay, the recruits for the Industrial School being required to report
-at the hotel at ten o’clock. Mr. Longbrook found things on board of
-his steam-launch precisely as represented to him by Dory. Lingerwell
-still lay on the floor in the after part of the steamer. Greeze sat
-near him, and apparently had not taken his eye off him since the
-departure of Dory early in the morning.
-
-The officer with the warrant had not yet put in an appearance. The
-merchant, before he showed himself to his delinquent head man, called
-the engineer up the wharf, and questioned him in regard to the events
-of the night. His statement did not vary from that of Dory and
-Bolingbroke, though Greeze as yet had no suspicion that the money he
-had been charged with stealing had been taken from the safe of his
-employer.
-
-“I think there are enough of us to handle this man,” said Mr.
-Longbrook, as he returned to the steam-launch. “You may untie his
-hands, Greeze.”
-
-“With fair play I can handle him alone,” replied the engineer, as he
-proceeded to release the wrists of the culprit on the floor. Greeze
-helped him to get upon his feet, and then gave him a seat opposite the
-merchant.
-
-“Well, Lingerwell, I find you did not capture the thief,” said the
-storekeeper.
-
-“I did not: he found an accomplice in Dory Dornwood, who helped him to
-escape,” replied the prisoner doggedly; and, as he had no knowledge of
-what had transpired at the store, he was not prepared to admit any
-thing.
-
-“But how does it happen that I find you a prisoner, bound hand and
-foot?” asked the merchant.
-
-“I am the victim of an outrage. I had some difficulty with the
-engineer in the night, and he joined forces with Dory against me. By
-taking me unawares, they succeeded in making me a prisoner. I had some
-money with me, and dropped my pocket-book on the floor near the wheel.
-When I found it, the money was taken out, and its place filled with a
-piece of newspaper.” This statement also confirmed that of Dory.
-
-“How much money did you happen to have with you?” inquired his
-employer.
-
-“About a hundred dollars. Of course I knew that the engineer had done
-this, for no one but Greeze and myself had been on board of the
-steamer.”
-
-“Are you sure of that?”
-
-“As sure as I can be of any thing in this world,” persisted
-Lingerwell.
-
-“Are you correct about the amount of money in your pocket-book?”
-
-“I would not say there was just a hundred dollars in it, but about
-that amount.”
-
-“Wasn’t there four hundred and fifty dollars in the pocket-book?”
-demanded the merchant sharply.
-
-“I am sure there was not,” the culprit persisted.
-
-“The pocket-book was not taken by the thief: do you happen to have it
-about you, Lingerwell?”
-
-“After I found it was empty, I laid it on the rail for a minute, and
-it fell overboard. It was so dark I could not recover it,” replied the
-prisoner.
-
-While Lingerwell was inventing and uttering this falsehood, Mr.
-Longbrook picked up a piece of newspaper, folded in the shape of a
-bank-bill, which he found lying on the floor of the steamer.
-
-“I suppose this is the piece of paper you found in the pocket-book in
-place of the money?”
-
-“That is the piece of paper.”
-
-“Here is the rest of the paper,” added Dory, taking a newspaper from
-his pocket.
-
-The merchant put the two pieces of paper together, and found they were
-part of the same sheet.
-
-“Then it was this Dory that robbed me of my money!” exclaimed the
-prisoner savagely.
-
-“Robbed you of my money, you mean, Lingerwell. Dory has returned to me
-the money he took from the pocket-book you hid under the ceiling of
-the launch. Lingerwell, to the crime of robbery you add the meanness
-and the baseness of charging it upon an innocent person,” said the
-merchant sternly. “Yesterday I would have trusted you with all I had
-in the world. To-day I find you are a thief and a villain. Here comes
-the officer with a warrant for you.”
-
-Lingerwell subsided at once; in fact, he broke down like a child, and
-cried like a baby. He had not supposed he could be discovered so
-readily, but rogues are very apt to make blunders. The officer marched
-him to the lockup; and we may as well add here, that he was sentenced,
-in due time, to the State prison for three years.
-
-“I suppose I shall be wanted in the store, Mr. Longbrook?” asked
-Bolingbroke, when the culprit had been marched off.
-
-“If you had not run away, you would have been all right, young man,”
-replied the merchant. “Yesterday I engaged two experienced men at very
-low wages, and they were to come this morning. I shall not need you.”
-
-“If it is a fair question, Mr. Longbrook, how much do you pay the two
-men?” asked Captain Gildrock.
-
-“One five, and the other six, dollars a week.”
-
-The captain nodded his head, but made no reply.
-
-“The fact is, there are three times as many clerks as there are
-places,” added the storekeeper.
-
-Bolingbroke was terribly disappointed to lose even a temporary place.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-PUPILS FOR THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
-
-
-Mr. Longbrook conducted Bolingbroke to another part of the wharf, and
-pointed out to him an old sloop, about the size of the one sunk in the
-deep water.
-
-“I am sorry you are out of a place, young man; but you are welcome to
-that boat in place of the one you lost, though I don’t feel under any
-obligations to replace it. It was your misfortune that you were
-accused of a crime. If you had not run away, I should have had a
-chance to investigate the matter. I went out for a moment, and when I
-returned you had gone. When I want another clerk, I will try to think
-of you,” said the merchant, as he walked away towards the store.
-
-Bolingbroke could hardly keep from crying at his disappointment in
-losing the place, which he had expected would be a permanent one. The
-salary was only four dollars a week; but he could board with a relative
-for two, and he could at least relieve his father of one mouth to
-feed.
-
-“What’s the matter, my lad?” asked Captain Gildrock, as he and Dory
-walked up the wharf. “You look as though you had not a friend in the
-world.”
-
-“I have lost the place I expected to have, and my father is very
-poor,” replied Bolingbroke with due humility.
-
-“What sort of a place was it?” asked the captain.
-
-“It was a situation in Mr. Longbrook’s store. I have been looking for
-a place for a year; but I am afraid I shall never find one,” replied
-Bolingbroke, hoping the rich man would interest himself in his favor.
-
-“There are ten clerks for every vacancy. Can’t you find any thing else
-to do?”
-
-“I don’t know: I never looked for any other kind of a place.”
-
-“I should think you might find a place to work on a farm,” added the
-captain in perfect good faith.
-
-“On a farm!” exclaimed Bolingbroke, actually stopping in his walk in
-his astonishment.
-
-“I hear that there is a scarcity of help on the farms in the State,”
-continued Captain Gildrock. “I should say you might earn four or five
-dollars a week, or at least fifteen dollars a month, on a farm,
-besides your board; and that is better pay than you can get in a
-store.”
-
-“I never worked on a farm,” added Bolingbroke, who possibly knew that
-the rich man of Beech Hill had some peculiar notions.
-
-“Where do you live?”
-
-“I live in Genverres, on the north side, where my father has a farm.”
-
-“Does your father carry on a farm?”
-
-“Yes, sir: he has always been a farmer.”
-
-“I should think you could find enough to do at home. Don’t your father
-need any help on his place?”
-
-“He hires all the help he wants. I never did any thing on the farm.”
-
-“You look like a stout fellow; and I should think you could do a man’s
-work for him,” added the captain, surprised in his turn.
-
-“Perhaps I could, if I had been brought up to it,” replied Bolingbroke
-rather sheepishly.
-
-“Have you any brothers and sisters?”
-
-“One brother and two sisters.”
-
-“I should not think your father ought to be very poor, if he has a
-farm, and two stout boys to help him. What does your brother do?”
-
-“He has been looking for a place in a store for the last three years.
-He has tried in Burlington, Rutland, and Brattleboro’; and he thinks
-of going to New York or Boston.”
-
-“Don’t your brother work on the farm when he is out of work?” asked
-Captain Gildrock, who was beginning to get an inkling of the
-situation.
-
-“Neither of us ever did any thing on the farm. Mother has never been
-willing that we should work on a farm,” replied Bolingbroke. “Father
-wants us to do something else.”
-
-“Do your two sisters do any thing? How old are they?”
-
-“Elinora is twenty, and Fatima is twenty-two. They have never done any
-thing.”
-
-“I dare say they are both engaged, and their future is marked out,”
-suggested the captain with a smile.
-
-“Neither of them is engaged, and there is nothing to indicate their
-future.”
-
-“I suppose you have all been to school?”
-
-“We are all graduates of the Genverres high-school.”
-
-“Indeed!” exclaimed Captain Gildrock significantly, as though the last
-item of information explained the situation fully to him. “Why don’t
-you learn a trade?”
-
-“Learn a trade!” ejaculated Bolingbroke. “I never thought of such a
-thing.”
-
-“It is a good time to think of it now then. You are not more than
-sixteen or seventeen,” suggested the captain. “If you like, I will
-receive you as a pupil in the Beech-Hill Industrial School, where you
-can become a carpenter or a machinist, or learn to run an engine. You
-can stay for a year or longer, and it will cost you nothing. I think
-you said your father was very poor, and no other member of the family
-seems to be earning any thing.”
-
-“My father has hard work to get along. His farm is mortgaged for about
-all it is worth, and it takes all the money he can raise to pay the
-interest; and he is afraid he will lose all his property.”
-
-“If you will come to my school, I will put you in the way of saving
-money enough from your wages another year to pay your father’s
-interest. If I don’t I will pay it myself.”
-
-“I think a word from you would get me a place in some store in
-Burlington. If you would recommend me”--
-
-“How can I recommend you when I never saw you before in my life? I
-don’t do things in that way,” interposed Captain Gildrock. “If you
-join the school, I will see that you are in a position to earn fair
-wages another year. One of our last year’s boys gets thirty dollars a
-month besides his board. All of them get twenty or more. After they
-have had experience they will command from fifty to a hundred dollars
-a month. You can think of it, and let me know your decision in a few
-days; for the school opens on the 1st of September.”
-
-The party reached the hotel by this time. Dory and Bolingbroke were
-summoned to appear as witnesses in the case of Lingerwell the next
-day. Captain Gildrock found the ten recruits for the school at the
-hotel. He had picked them up among his friends in Montpelier, St.
-Albans, and St. Johnsbury. If he did not know it before, he had
-ascertained on his trip to Burlington with them, that they were a set
-of wild boys.
-
-He was in a hurry to get them to Beech Hill before they tore any
-houses down, or did any other mischief. At least five out of the ten
-had been expelled from private schools or academies, because the
-instructors could not manage them; three of them were the sons of
-wealthy men; and all of them were supposed to have a liking for
-mechanical pursuits. The captain was confident that he could manage
-them after he got them to his estate.
-
-Dory was satisfied that he could seat them all in the Goldwing, for he
-had often taken out twenty in her on pleasure-excursions. But his
-uncle was afraid they would “cut up,” as he expressed himself, and
-make trouble on the passage. He spoke to them about going in the
-schooner, and they were delighted with the idea. Most of them had
-never been on the lake in any sort of a craft, and some had never even
-seen a steamboat or a sailboat.
-
-Captain Gildrock consented to the arrangement after he had charged the
-recruits to behave with propriety in the boat, and to obey the orders
-of the skipper. They promised to do these things, and they were
-marched down to the wharf. Bolingbroke followed the party, evidently
-because he did not know what else to do with himself.
-
-“Couldn’t you say a word to your uncle in my favor, Dory?” said he on
-the way to the lake. “He knows all the storekeepers, and a word from
-him would make a place for me.”
-
-“He won’t recommend you, because he knows nothing at all about you,”
-replied Dory. “Why don’t you join the school, as he asked you to do?”
-
-“I should make nothing for my father by doing that,” added
-Bolingbroke. “I want to help him pay his interest-money.”
-
-“How much can you do for him when you get only four dollars a week?”
-asked Dory. “You would have to pay three for your board, and that
-would leave you about fifty to pay for your clothes, washing, and all
-other expenses. You would be just as well off at the end of the year,
-and so would your father, if you went to the school.”
-
-“But the idea of becoming a carpenter or a greasy machinist!”
-exclaimed Bolingbroke with a curl upon his lip.
-
-“I thought you wanted to earn money to help your father. A little oil
-on your hands won’t hurt you,” replied Dory, rather disgusted with his
-companion.
-
-“I am sure my mother won’t let me become a mechanic, but I will speak
-to her about it tonight. I suppose I can go down with you in the
-Goldwing: I have no other way to get home.”
-
-“Certainly, I have room enough. But how will you get the sloop Mr.
-Longbrook gave you up to Genverres?”
-
-“I will write to Sim Green, and he can go up in her when he is ready
-to return.”
-
-When the party arrived at the wharf, and the Goldwing was pointed out
-to them, they were delighted with her. Some of them wondered if it
-were safe to go in her, though most of the ten were afraid of nothing.
-Captain Gildrock had business in Burlington which would detain him
-till the next day, and it was arranged that Dory should come down in
-the Sylph to attend court. His uncle would return in the steamer.
-
-“But what are we to do with all these fellows before you come, uncle
-Royal?” asked Dory. “They will tear the house down, and dry up the
-lake.”
-
-“Jepson and Brookbine are there; and, as they are to instruct the
-pupils, they ought to be able to manage them,” replied the captain;
-but his looks indicated that he had some anxiety about the matter.
-“Tell Mr. Brookbine to assign the rooms to the boys, one to each, in
-the dormitory. The rogues will not think of doing any mischief until
-they are better acquainted.”
-
-Captain Gildrock gave Dory a paper on which were written the names of
-the new pupils. He called them off, one at a time, and gave to each
-one his place in the boat. They behaved very well under the eye of the
-captain. They were seated five on each side of the standing-room,
-leaving room for the skipper to go forward and aft.
-
-“I suppose you know all about a boat, fellows,” said Dory, as he went
-forward to hoist the jib.
-
-“Never saw a sailboat before!” exclaimed Ben Ludlow.
-
-“Nor I!” shouted half a dozen others.
-
-“Where have you been all your lives?” laughed Dory, as he paused on
-his way.
-
-“In the woods,” replied Ben.
-
-The skipper shoved off, and the Goldwing stood across the lake.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-THE VOLUNTEER HELMSMAN AND HIS MOVEMENTS.
-
-
-The wind was strong from the south-west; and, after passing the
-breakwater, the Goldwing struck into a smart little sea for a
-fresh-water pond. The motion was so strange, not to say exciting, to
-the passengers from the interior, that they kept very still for a
-time. The water slopped over the bow, and occasionally a bucketful
-pounded pretty hard on the forward deck.
-
-Some of the boys were evidently a little startled, though they did not
-like to show that they were moved by this new experience. Others tried
-to look and act as though they had been on the waves all the days of
-their lives.
-
-“It’s all right, fellows,” said Dory, when about half a barrel of
-water slapped on the boards forward. “We intend to keep on the top of
-the water.”
-
-“Does a boat always do like that, and take the water in?” asked Ben
-Ludlow, who had never seen a sheet of water bigger than a pond a mile
-in diameter.
-
-“No: sometimes the boat don’t throw the water at all, but sometimes it
-does ten times as bad as now. I have been out in this boat when one
-hand had to keep baling all the time. We call this a quiet sail.”
-
-“Of course it’s a quiet sail,” added Oscar Chester, who had once been
-on a steamer. “There isn’t any thing to be afraid of.”
-
-“I can stand it as long as the rest of you,” replied Ben Ludlow, who
-thought the last speaker had cast an imputation upon his courage.
-“When Dory is frightened, it will be time enough for the rest of us to
-get scared.”
-
-“I had no idea that a boat made such a fuss in going along,” said Dave
-Windsor.
-
-“It don’t always; but we are sailing against the wind as near as we
-can go,” Dory explained. “I suppose all you fellows are going to learn
-how to sail a boat, and you might as well begin now.”
-
-The skipper of the Goldwing proceeded to show in what manner the mouth
-of Beaver River was to be reached. When he had gone far enough to
-weather Willsborough Point, he could lay his course to Thompson’s
-Point; and from there he must beat about dead to windward. Most of the
-new pupils were interested, and asked a great many questions. Dory
-explained every thing very minutely; and it was not his fault if they
-did not understand, at least the theory of sailing a boat against the
-wind.
-
-“But I can’t see what makes the boat go ahead when the wind is against
-her,” suggested John Brattle. “I can understand how the wind pushes
-the boat along when it is blowing from behind her, but not when it
-comes from the way it does now.”
-
-“It is the friction of the wind against the sails. Did you ever see a
-ferry-boat cross a river by the force of the current?”
-
-John Brattle happened to be the only one of the party who had seen a
-current-boat. He had crossed the Androscoggin River, in Maine, in a
-stage on such a craft.
-
-“If the ferry-boat were headed square across the river, the current
-would not move her any way but down the river,” added Dory.
-
-“There was a big wire rope stretched across the river, which did not
-let her go down the stream,” replied John Brattle. “Then the boat was
-turned to an angle half-way between the direction of the current and
-the wire rope.”
-
-“Precisely as our sails are set at an angle with the course of the
-boat. In this position the friction of the water against the boat
-forces it across the river.”
-
-“But you have no wire rope.”
-
-“We have a centre-board instead.” Dory pointed out the centre-board of
-the Goldwing, and showed how it worked. “This boat would slide off
-sideways if it were not for that.”
-
-“But we have to go a great deal farther when beating,” said Ned
-Bellows.
-
-“Of course we do,” replied Dory. “Sometimes we have to go two miles to
-make one when the wind is dead ahead.”
-
-“Captain Gildrock said it was twenty miles from Burlington to Beech
-Hill. Must we go forty miles to get there?” asked Ben Ludlow.
-
-“Not at all: the wind isn’t dead ahead. Here we are, just north of
-Willsborough Point. I am coming about now. Look out for your heads
-when the boom goes over.”
-
-Dory put the helm down, and all the sails began to flap and bang. But
-in a moment the Goldwing took the wind on the starboard tack, the
-sails went over, and the schooner began to gather headway on her new
-course.
-
-“That’s what we call tacking,” said the skipper. “We shall go about
-eleven miles on this tack.”
-
-“I say, Dory, let me steer her a while now,” added Oscar Chester,
-rising from his seat, and moving aft.
-
-“Keep your seat!” replied the skipper rather sharply. “You mustn’t
-move about in the boat.”
-
-“But I want to steer her,” persisted Oscar, resuming his seat.
-
-“Did you ever steer a boat?” asked Dory.
-
-“I never steered a sailboat; but I can do it as well as you can,”
-added the new pupil. “I have seen just how it is done. When you want
-the boat to go to the right, you put the stick in your hand to the
-left.”
-
-“I don’t believe in running any risks in a boat, and I must keep the
-helm myself,” answered Dory. “There is wind enough to upset the boat
-if you don’t know how to handle her.”
-
-“But I do know how to handle her. I have kept my eyes open, and I know
-all about it. It don’t take me a month to learn any thing.”
-
-“If we were alone I would let you try it, just to enable you to see
-how easy it is to be mistaken,” said Dory, laughing.
-
-“It’s nothing to steer a boat! You needn’t make such a big thing of
-it.”
-
-“Well, it is a big thing!” exclaimed Bolingbroke. “I thought I knew
-something about it yesterday, and I got overboard in two hundred and
-fifty feet of water; and that is deep enough to drown the whole of
-you. I should have finished my mortal career then if Dory had not
-picked me up.”
-
-None of the other boys said any thing, though it was plain to the
-skipper that they did not want Oscar to steer the boat. Dory began to
-understand what sort of a fellow Oscar was; and it was evident to him
-that he was the bully of the crowd, and that he had already set up,
-and perhaps established, his superiority. He was older and larger than
-Dory, though three or four of the new pupils were heavier than he.
-
-“You all seem to be afraid of a boat,” continued Oscar with a palpable
-sneer. “I am not afraid of her.”
-
-“Can you swim a mile?” asked Dory quietly.
-
-“I can’t swim a rod. I don’t intend to tip her over.”
-
-“Perhaps the rest of the fellows can swim.”
-
-They all protested that they could not.
-
-“If this boat should fill with water, she would go to the bottom like
-a pound of lead,” continued Dory. “The water is over two hundred feet
-deep out here. It is four hundred off Thompson’s Point. But, if you
-can’t swim, you would drown just as quick in six feet of water as in
-six hundred.”
-
-“I don’t care for your bugbears: I’m not afraid of them. I want to
-steer this boat, and I’m going to do it!” added Oscar stoutly.
-
-“I don’t believe you will steer her on this trip,” replied Dory in a
-quiet tone. “But I will give you a chance to steer all you want to
-when we are alone.”
-
-“Do you take me for a little chicken, Dory, that can be led around by
-you?” demanded Oscar, rising from his place.
-
-“Keep your seat!” added the skipper sharply.
-
-“No, I won’t keep my seat! I will let you know that you are not my
-boss.”
-
-“In a boat all hands must obey the skipper, as I shall obey you, Oscar
-Chester, when you are the skipper of any boat I am in; and that is
-just what Captain Gildrock told you all to do just before we sailed.”
-
-“I don’t obey a little snipper-snapper of a fellow like you, Dory. I
-never was bossed by any boy, and I don’t begin now,” blustered Oscar,
-moving towards the stern of the boat.
-
-Dory saw that there was likely to be trouble. He had correctly read
-the character of Chester; and he was not anxious, while responsible
-for the safety of the boat and her passengers, to have any difficulty
-with him. He was not afraid of him, bold and stout as Oscar appeared
-to be.
-
-Putting the helm up a little, he allowed the schooner to fall off
-until the strong wind heeled the boat over, so that the water was
-nearly even with the top of the wash-board. This was decidedly
-startling to some of the boys, who cried out in their alarm.
-
-The Goldwing went over so far that Oscar was not at all secure in his
-footing; and he came very near tumbling over the heads of the fellows
-on the lee side, for they had bent forward as the schooner heeled
-over.
-
-“Sit down! Keep your seat, Oscar Chester!” shouted Dory. But it was no
-part of the rebel’s nature to obey an order of any kind after what had
-happened. The inside of the boat was rather crowded, except on each
-side of the tiller, where the space had been reserved for the
-helmsman.
-
-Making a lively spring for the open space on the lee side of the
-rudder-head, he brought up on the seat, just as the skipper put the
-helm down to bring the boat back to her former course. The Goldwing
-was jumping on the waves; and the rebel did not fetch up just as he
-intended, for the motion of the boat interfered with his calculations.
-He grasped the main-sheet, and finally came down on the bit of deck
-astern of the standing-room.
-
-Oscar evidently wanted to prove that he “always came down-stairs that
-way;” for he let go the sheet, and tried to stand up straight. His
-pride was still in the ascendency. Dory had put the helm over so far
-that the sails were spilled, and this set the schooner to pitching.
-Oscar had hardly let go the sheet, when he lost his balance,
-and pitched into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface. Dory
-tried to catch him before he went over, but failed to do so.
-
-“He has fallen over into the water!” screamed some of the boys,
-terribly frightened by this time.
-
-“He will be drowned!” yelled others.
-
-The only one who had not entirely lost his head was the skipper. Dory
-was as cool as though he had been up to his neck in ice-water. He had
-been in all sorts of scrapes, though he had never encountered a bully
-under such unfavorable circumstances. He had put the helm down before,
-and the Goldwing had lost her headway. Of course she would not answer
-her helm when she had lost her steerage-way.
-
-Oscar Chester came to the top of the water, and all the boys shouted.
-Dory did not even look at him, for he was busy with the boat. He
-filled away, and came about as soon as he got steerage-way. Oscar was
-floundering about in the most unreasonable manner, with a better
-chance of being drowned than of being saved.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-THE BATTLE NEAR GARDEN ISLAND.
-
-
-Oscar Chester had disappeared a second time, and most of the boys in
-the boat were paralyzed with terror. Dory saw him as he rose, and knew
-just where he was. The Goldwing worked lively in that breeze. The
-skipper handled his sheets with extraordinary celerity. Going free,
-the schooner dashed down to the spot, and reached it just as the
-victim of his own folly rose again to the surface.
-
-Dory saw him just as the bow of the Goldwing was about to strike his
-head. Keeping her off a little, he leaned over the side, and grasped
-the drowning bully by the hair of the head, though not till he had put
-the helm hard down.
-
-It was but a meagre hold that he had upon the sufferer, but he clung
-to him till the boat came up into the wind. Oscar had not lost his
-senses, though his mouth was too full of water to permit any
-utterance, if he had any thing to say. Dory held on, though the
-aimless struggles of the victim rendered it very difficult for him to
-do so.
-
-“Grab him by the collar!” shouted Dory to the next fellow in the boat.
-Lew Shoreham, who was the largest boy in the crowd, obeyed the order;
-though it was a difficult matter for an inexperienced hand to do any
-thing while the boat was flopping about in the heavy sea. But Lew got
-hold with one hand, and Dory shifted his grasp from the hair to the
-collar.
-
-After a lively struggle, with the assistance of two other boys, they
-succeeded in hauling Oscar into the boat. He was exhausted by his
-struggles in the water, and he dropped upon the floor of the
-standing-room as limpsy as a wet rag. Dory gave no further attention
-to him, but grasped the helm, and soon got the Goldwing upon her
-course again, so that she was steady.
-
-“Turn him over on his stomach, and let the water run out of him,” said
-the skipper. “Here, Bolly! Come aft! You can stand up in a boat.”
-
-[Illustration: THE BATTLE OFF GARDEN ISLAND. Page 113.]
-
-Bolingbroke obeyed the order, and the victim poured out a considerable
-quantity of water from his mouth. Dory then directed his companions to
-convey the sufferer to the cabin, and put him in one of the berths,
-covering him with the blankets. But Oscar was not insensible, for he
-had only exhausted himself by his violent struggles. In half an hour
-he had recovered from the shock. The fresh wind made it cool on the
-lake, and it took all the blankets on board to warm him.
-
-“That was a narrow escape. He had been down twice; and if he had gone
-down again we should not have seen him again,” said Bolingbroke, as he
-came out of the cabin. “I think that fellow will obey orders next
-time.”
-
-“No, he won’t!” cried Oscar, sticking his head out at the door. “It
-isn’t the first time I have been under water, and I’m not killed yet.
-Dory did it on purpose to pitch me overboard, and I will get even with
-him!”
-
-Perhaps all but Dory and Bolingbroke knew Oscar well enough not to be
-greatly surprised at this demonstration. It looked as though the
-lesson, which Dory hoped would cure him of his desire to handle a boat
-before he had learned how to do it, had been wholly lost upon the
-pupil. None of the party said any thing in reply to the speech, and it
-was plain that they stood in fear of the rebel.
-
-In another hour, when the Goldwing was approaching Thompson’s Point,
-Oscar was sufficiently warmed up to leave the cabin. He went aft, and
-seated himself quite near the skipper. He looked decidedly ugly, and
-Dory thought that half-drowning was not enough for him. He wondered
-what his uncle expected to do with such a fellow. He would be equal to
-a whole nest of hornets from the time the school was opened.
-
-“I heard some one call you Dory Dornwood,” said Oscar, fixing his gaze
-upon the skipper.
-
-“My name is Theodore Dornwood; but they call me Dory for short,”
-replied Dory.
-
-“The name is all right, Dory. You have insulted me, and you have
-pitched me into the lake,” continued Oscar, frowning like an untamed
-savage. “You got ahead of me before all these boys; and I am not the
-fellow to swallow an insult, or to pass over an injury.”
-
-Dory looked at the bully once, and then took a leisure survey of the
-lake ahead, and of the sails of the schooner.
-
-“I spoke to you, Dory Dornwood: didn’t you hear me?” demanded Oscar in
-savage tones.
-
-“I heard all you said. I have nothing to say in reply,” answered the
-cool skipper.
-
-“I spoke to you, and you will answer me, or take the consequences,”
-added Oscar. “I am not a spring chicken, as you took me to be. I said
-that you had insulted me, and pitched me into the lake. Do you confess
-that you have done so?”
-
-“I don’t confess any thing. I am in charge of this boat, and
-responsible for the lives of those in her,” replied Dory quietly. “I
-don’t care to talk about the matter you have brought up, just now.
-When we get to Beech Hill I will answer your questions, and we will
-settle the matter if there is any thing to settle; though I would
-rather have you fix it up with Captain Gildrock.”
-
-“That won’t do! I settle for an insult on the spot!” stormed Oscar. He
-rose from his seat, and with clinched fists approached the skipper.
-
-“We are close to the land!” shouted one of the boys forward.
-
-“I don’t care where we are! We settle this matter here and now,” said
-Oscar, making a slight movement forward.
-
-“Come, come!” interposed Bolingbroke. “This thing has gone far enough,
-Oscar. Don’t you see that Dory is the skipper of the boat, and that we
-can’t do any thing without him? Let him alone, and he says he will
-make it right with you when we get ashore.”
-
-“Here and now!” repeated the bully.
-
-Dory had been running for Garden Island, where he brought up on his
-long tack. He understood the situation, and feared that some of the
-party might be drowned if Oscar Chester got the control of the boat.
-He heard the centre-board scraping on the sands at the bottom, though
-the water was nearly two hundred feet deep only a short distance from
-the shore of the island.
-
-The skipper realized that his rebel passenger was about to make an
-assault of some kind upon him, and he put the helm hard down. The boat
-came up into the wind with every thing shaking. Oscar sprang upon him
-as he did so, but Dory was on his feet at the same instant. The waves
-beat smartly upon the shore of the island, and the centre-board was
-still grating upon the bottom.
-
-“Do you confess that you insulted me?” demanded the bully, as he
-seized Dory by the collar.
-
-“I do not confess,” replied Dory. At the same instant he sprang like a
-tiger upon his assailant.
-
-The skipper was accustomed to the motion of the boat, while Oscar was
-not. The assailant had evidently not expected so vigorous a defence.
-Dory shook off the grasp of Oscar, a sharp struggle ensued, and it
-ended almost the instant it began in a heavy splash in the water.
-
-Dory had tumbled the bully over the stern of the boat into the lake.
-Those who looked on could hardly tell how it was done, for the defeat
-of Oscar had been accomplished almost like a flash. On the land it
-might have been different in the result, but in the uneasy boat the
-experienced hand won a quick victory.
-
-“He is in the water again!” shouted the boys.
-
-But he was in the water not more than half a minute, for there was not
-ten feet between the stern of the schooner and the island. Oscar
-scrambled to the shore, and made his way to the level of the island.
-The wind had filled the sails on the other tack, and the boat began to
-move ahead.
-
-Dory saw that Oscar had made a landing on the island. Attending to the
-sheets, he filled away on the port tack. The Goldwing dashed ahead as
-though she was glad to be rid of the bully who had made so much trouble
-on board of her.
-
-“Are you going to leave him there, Dory?” asked Lew Shoreham.
-
-“Of course I am going to leave him there. He can’t drown on the
-island; and, if I take him on board again, he may destroy the whole of
-us,” replied Dory rather warmly. “He is the most unreasonable fellow I
-ever met in my life.”
-
-“But what will he do on that island?” asked Ben Ludlow.
-
-“Repent of his folly the first thing he does, I hope,” answered Dory.
-
-“Does any one live on the island?” inquired Jim Alburgh.
-
-“No one lives there. If any one did, that fellow would get up a
-quarrel with him in fifteen minutes. Captain Gildrock may settle his
-case, though I fancy he will go for me the first chance he gets.”
-
-“He is sure to do that,” added Bob Swanton.
-
-“He may get a thrashing if he does,” replied Dory.
-
-“Don’t be too sure of that, Dory. He is a fighting character, and has
-been turned out of three academies, to say nothing of half a dozen
-other schools. He rules the roost wherever he goes,” continued Bob.
-
-“He won’t do it at Beech Hill,” said Dory confidently.
-
-“If he don’t he will run away.”
-
-“He won’t run a great ways before my uncle gets his paw upon him. I am
-going down to Burlington this afternoon, in the steamer, after my
-uncle. We shall pass the island, and he can do what he pleases with
-the fellow. I don’t think I am any more afraid of him than he is of
-me.”
-
-During the rest of the passage the events we have narrated were fully
-discussed, and Dory learned more about the antecedents of Oscar
-Chester. Doubtless he was the worst fellow in the party; but, if the
-truth had been known, Dory would have understood that some of the
-others were not much better. In three hours from Burlington the
-Goldwing arrived at the little lake on which Beech Hill was located.
-
-Mr. Brookbine, a very intelligent carpenter, who had been engaged as
-an instructor in this department, was on the wharf; and the new pupils
-were handed over to him. He marched them to the dormitory, where the
-boys deposited what little baggage they brought. The Sylph lay at the
-wharf, and the smoke was pouring out of her smoke-stack; for Jepson
-had received a telegraph-message from Captain Gildrock.
-
-The boys were more interested in the steam-yacht than in any thing
-else; and they immediately asked permission of Mr. Brookbine, as they
-had before of Dory, to go to Burlington in her. The master-carpenter
-was willing; but he decided to go with them, after the experience
-which Dory had had with them on the passage up.
-
-Dory was the pilot, and he took his place in the pilot-house. He was
-perfectly at home there; and the Sylph was really under his command,
-for the carpenter knew nothing about boats or navigation. In a
-discussion in regard to Oscar Chester, Mr. Brookbine thought he had
-better be taken on board, for it would be late before they returned
-from Burlington. A boat was sent for him, and he was brought on board.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-THE MASTER-CARPENTER DISPOSES OF HIS PRISONER.
-
-
-Oscar Chester had been on Garden Island over two hours, and had had
-time enough to cool off. It was plain that he did not like the looks
-of Mr. Brookbine, who was a stalwart Vermonter, over six feet in
-height. He had gone on shore with one of the men from the estate, who
-acted as a deck-hand, to bring off the rebel.
-
-Oscar said nothing when he went on board of the steamer, and the other
-boys were not inclined to make any talk with him. He walked from one
-end of the Sylph to the other, taking a hasty survey of the
-steam-yacht. He did not appear to be looking for any thing in
-particular.
-
-When he was on the forward deck he discovered Dory in the pilot-house.
-He did not even bestow a second glance upon him, and went aft in a few
-minutes. He looked sullen and obstinate, and it was clear that he was
-disgusted with his experience on the lake.
-
-“No use, Oscar,” said Williston Orwell, as the rebel approached him at
-the stern of the boat. “You haven’t made out any thing, and I don’t
-believe you will.”
-
-“The end of the world hasn’t come yet,” replied Oscar with a heavy
-sneer. “There is time enough yet, and you know I never back down.”
-
-“But you might as well. You began too soon,” added Will Orwell.
-
-“I didn’t begin at all: I was civil enough to Dory till he began to
-put on airs. He talked to me just as though I were a little child, and
-he were the Grand Mogul. I told him I wanted to steer the boat, and he
-told me to sit down. He insulted me.”
-
-“I don’t think he did, Oscar. None of us were ever in a sailboat
-before; and I think he did just right in not letting you steer, for it
-wouldn’t have taken much to upset that boat with so many in her.”
-
-“Then you think I am a spring chicken, do you, Will?” demanded Oscar
-with a curl of the lip.
-
-“You know I don’t think any such thing; but you don’t know how to
-steer a sailboat any more than I do. You were a little too fast to
-think of doing it so soon,” reasoned Orwell with proper deference,
-though he ventured to speak the truth as he understood it.
-
-“If the fellow hadn’t put on airs, and ordered me about as though I
-had been his servant, I wouldn’t say a word,” continued Oscar. “As it
-is, he insulted me, and pitched me into the lake.”
-
-“He didn’t pitch you into the lake, Oscar. You are not used to a boat
-tossed about by the waves, and you fell overboard.”
-
-“Didn’t he make the boat tip more when I stood up on purpose to pitch
-me into the lake?” demanded Oscar angrily.
-
-“I don’t know whether he did or not. I don’t understand a boat.”
-
-“I know he did! And then he tumbled me into the water at the island.”
-
-“But you pitched into him then; and, as he could stand up better than
-you could in the boat, he threw you overboard.”
-
-“I shall get even with him; and if I don’t throw him into the lake, it
-will be because I can’t do it,” blustered the rebel. “I see you are on
-his side.”
-
-“I am not on his side; but I don’t expect a fellow to stand still,
-and let you thrash him. I advise you to let him alone for a while, and
-your time will come before many days have gone by. Don’t touch him
-while he is handling the boat,” added the politic companion.
-
-“I shall go for him the first moment I can get at him, and I know
-where he is now,” said the intemperate rebel.
-
-“Don’t do it: Dory is the pilot of the steamer, and the engineer just
-told me that they can do nothing without him. Didn’t you hear Captain
-Gildrock read the telegraph-message, that Dory was away, and for that
-reason he could not go down to Burlington to convey us to Beech Hill?”
-reasoned Will very earnestly.
-
-“I don’t care what he is: I shall not feel easy for a moment until I
-get even with him. I will pull him out of that cubby-house where he
-is, and pitch him into the lake, before I am half an hour older,”
-persisted the rebel.
-
-“Don’t do it! You will only make trouble for yourself. Captain
-Gildrock will come on board as soon as we get to Burlington, and if I
-mistake not you will find a Tartar in him.”
-
-“I’m not afraid of him. But I don’t think I shall wait for him,”
-replied Oscar. “I have not been to Beech Hill yet, but I have had
-about enough already to satisfy me what it is going to be. If I am to
-be ordered about by a boy younger than I am, and insulted by him,
-because I happen to be in a boat with him, I don’t want any more of
-it. My uncle gave me money enough to pay my fare to New York, and you
-have more than I have, Will. What do you say: will you go with me?”
-
-“What shall we do when we get there? I don’t believe in jumping out of
-the frying-pan into the fire,” replied Will.
-
-“Both of us want to go to sea, and all we have to do is to find places
-in a ship going to some foreign country. We can take care of
-ourselves,” said Oscar confidently.
-
-“I am not ready to go anywhere yet: I want to see what this Industrial
-School is. We are to learn how to handle an engine, and how to manage
-ships and boats. I think we had better wait a while before we go to
-New York. We haven’t money enough to pay our way till we find a place
-in a ship.”
-
-“You can do as you like, Will, but I have had enough of this thing;
-and when you miss me you will know where I have gone. If you blow on
-me”--
-
-“You know very well I won’t do that,” protested Will.
-
-Oscar did not wait to hear any more. He went forward, and then
-ascended to the hurricane deck. He and Will Orwell had been cronies,
-so far as the character of Oscar would permit such a relation.
-
-The rebel reached the hurricane deck, and went forward to the
-pilot-house. He surveyed the situation carefully. Dory stood before an
-open window, with the spokes of the wheel in his hands. The doors of
-the apartment, one on each side, were open. The young helmsman had no
-more thought of being assaulted than he had of jumping overboard.
-
-Dory was delighted with his occupation, for he had not steered the
-Sylph enough to make it an old story to him. From Garden Island he had
-run out into the lake until the steamer was in range between Split
-Rock and Juniper Island lights, when he headed for the latter. This
-course would carry him clear of Quaker Smith Reef.
-
-Most of the boys, after looking over the Sylph with wonder and
-astonishment at the elegance of her appointments, had gathered on the
-main deck forward, where they could see the lake and the course of the
-steamer. But a few of them were on the hurricane-deck, and three of
-them were in the pilot-house with Dory. The pilot kept his eye on
-Juniper Island lighthouse, the top of which could be seen seventeen
-miles. The flag-pole in the bow was kept in range with the object for
-which he was steering. He had just explained to the boys in the room
-how he kept off the rocks and shoals, and found his way to any part of
-the lake.
-
-He had hardly finished this explanation before Oscar Chester rushed
-into the pilot-house. He rudely knocked aside a couple of the pilot’s
-auditors, and laid violent hands upon Dory. The helmsman was
-unconscious of the presence of an enemy until the rebel had seized him
-by the collar of his coat. He pulled him over on his back upon the
-floor.
-
-“Your time has come now, Dory Dornwood!” said Oscar fiercely, as he
-began to drag Dory out of the pilot-house.
-
-“So has yours!” added Mr. Brookbine, as he stepped forward from behind
-the pilot-house, where he had been reading the morning paper brought
-up by the Goldwing.
-
-The master-carpenter took the rebel by the nape of the neck, and
-snapped him off his feet before he could wink twice. He pitched him
-half-way across the hurricane deck. Oscar was nothing but a “spring
-chicken” in the hands of the burly mechanic.
-
-“It’s a pity I took you off that island!” exclaimed Mr. Brookbine, as
-he bestowed a glance of contempt upon the rebel. “Did he hurt you,
-Dory?”
-
-“Not at all. He came up behind me when I was not thinking of any thing
-of that kind, or I should have taken care of myself,” replied the
-young pilot, as he rushed back to the wheel.
-
-The pilot got his range again, and the Sylph went ahead as though
-nothing had happened. The master-carpenter walked up to the fallen
-rebel, who appeared to have been hurt when he struck the deck, though
-he was in the act of getting up. Mr. Brookbine did not wait for him to
-finish the act, but seized him by the nape of the neck again, and bore
-him to the pilot-house.
-
-“It is a pity we took this fellow from the island, Dory, for we can’t
-trust him loose about the steamer,” said the stout Vermonter. “Is
-there any place on board where I can lock him up?”
-
-“Put him in the ice-house,” replied Dory, who was entirely willing to
-have his assailant placed where he could do no more mischief.
-
-“Let me alone!” growled Oscar, attempting to break away from the grip
-of the master-carpenter.
-
-“I will let you alone when I have locked you in the ice-house,” added
-Mr. Brookbine, giving his patient several sharp twists and shakes,
-which certainly did not improve his temper.
-
-“He sneaked up behind me, or I should not have needed any help,” said
-Dory, who felt that he had suffered a partial defeat in being taken by
-surprise. “I am sorry I did not see him, for I think I should have
-made it hot for him.”
-
-“I shall make it hot for you before you have seen the end of this
-affair. I will teach you what it is to insult your betters,” replied
-Oscar. “If I don’t pitch you into the lake before I have done with
-you, it will be because I can’t.”
-
-“Any time when you are ready, let the fun begin,” added Dory, when he
-had better have held his tongue.
-
-“You will cool off in the ice-house; and we will see what you can do
-in there,” continued Mr. Brookbine, as he dragged the rebel out of the
-pilot-house.
-
-“Let me alone! I don’t let anybody put his hands upon me,” yelled
-Oscar, struggling to escape from the grasp of the carpenter.
-
-“But you will be a good boy, and let me put my hands upon you, won’t
-you?” added the big mechanic.
-
-“No, I won’t! I will be the death of you if you don’t let go!”
-
-“Steady, my boy: you are getting excited. You are wasting a great deal
-of bad breath on nothing.”
-
-The carpenter slapped his victim over a few times on the deck before
-he reached the stairs to the main deck. Oscar could not stand this: he
-said it hurt, and he became comparatively quiet. His tyrant walked him
-down the steps. The boys on both decks gathered to witness the
-exciting scene; but no one offered to interfere, and no one spoke a
-word of comfort for the rebel.
-
-“Will Orwell!” called the victim, when he saw his crony among the
-spectators to his humiliation. “Come here, and help me!”
-
-“No, I thank you! I don’t believe in butting your head against a
-stonewall, and I told you not to do it beforehand.”
-
-The carpenter opened the door of the ice-house, and thrust his
-prisoner into the dark hole, as it was when the door was closed.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-CAPTAIN GILDROCK’s FIRST LESSON IN NAVIGATION.
-
-
-Mr. Brookbine secured the door of the ice-house, and put the key into
-his pocket. The interior was ventilated for the benefit of the
-provisions that were kept on the ice when the steamer was on a long
-cruise, but there was no window or other opening which would admit a
-particle of light.
-
-“What’s the trouble, Mr. Brookbine?” asked Jepson the engineer, who
-was the master-machinist and an instructor of the school.
-
-“That is the most desperate young cub I ever happened to encounter,”
-replied the carpenter, as he proceeded to relate what had happened in
-the Goldwing and on board of the steamer.
-
-“Captain Gildrock will bring him to his senses,” added the engineer,
-laughing; for he believed the captain could do any thing that was
-within the scope of mortal man.
-
-“I am ready to have him begin where I leave off; but there won’t be
-much left of the young rascal when I get through with him if I have to
-deal with him,” replied the carpenter.
-
-“We are likely to have a sweet time with these young fellows if many
-of them are like that one,” added Mr. Jepson. “He wants to get even
-with Dory, does he? I reckon Dory will be willing to give him a
-chance, though I never knew of the skipper’s getting into a fight on
-his own account.”
-
-Dory had already become a great favorite at Beech Hill. He was a smart
-boy, but he was not perfect by any means. He had a great deal to
-learn, but he was willing to learn it. The instructors in the
-scholastic department had not yet arrived, but the mechanical
-directors were already his fast friends. Even the servants, of whom
-there was a small army on the estate, always smiled when he went among
-them; for he was invariably kind and obliging to them, and willing to
-assist them by all the means in his power. Besides, he was regarded as
-the heir of the magnate of Beech Hill; and it was prudent to “keep on
-the right side of him.”
-
-Of course the nine other boys who had arrived that day all talked
-about the exciting events which had transpired since they left
-Burlington in the forenoon. Still, no one belonging to the steamer
-heard them say any thing. They made no comments on the conduct of
-Oscar: possibly they were afraid they might be reported to him. But
-they had learned to feel a great admiration for Dory; first, because
-he was not afraid of the rebel, and, second, because he could handle a
-sailboat and manage a steamer.
-
-It was about dark when the Sylph arrived at the landing in Burlington.
-Captain Gildrock was on the wharf, waiting her coming. As soon as he
-went on board, Mr. Brookbine reported the case of discipline to him,
-and informed him that the prisoner was confined in the ice-house.
-
-“All right: let him stay there,” replied the captain, when he had
-listened to the account of the doings of the new scholar. “Then Dory
-has had a hard time of it. I was afraid he might have some
-difficulty.”
-
-“No fear for Dory,” replied the carpenter, laughing. “He can take care
-of himself. He fought his own battle in the Goldwing, and won the day
-every time.”
-
-“I knew that Chester was the worst fellow in the party, but I did not
-expect him to break out so soon. I am glad to hear that the others
-have behaved well,” said Captain Gildrock, as he walked forward where
-the boys were assembled. “How are you getting on, boys?”
-
-“First-rate, sir,” replied several of them in the same breath.
-
-“I am glad to hear it; and none of us will have any trouble as long as
-we mean well. What you mean is more than half the battle in morals. I
-did not expect you so soon, and I am afraid Dory has not looked out
-for your stomachs.”
-
-“Yes, he has, sir,” said Ben Ludlow. “He had a basket of provisions on
-the boat, and we fed out of that.”
-
-This was the lunch he had taken the night before, and it had served
-over a dozen instead of two. But the boys had been so much excited by
-the novel event of a sail in a fresh breeze that they were not in
-condition to do justice to the rations.
-
-When the captain learned that the scholars had eaten only the supply
-of food intended for two, he took the whole party to the hotel to
-supper. After Captain Gildrock and Dory returned, the engineer and
-carpenter went. The latter suggested that the prisoner in the
-ice-house had been forgotten.
-
-“I shall not forget him, but he may go without his supper to-night. A
-little fasting will do him good. His father and mother are both dead,
-and his uncle is one of the richest men in the State. He told me that
-nothing but the sharpest discipline would do him any good. He will run
-away as soon as he gets a chance; and this must be prevented,” replied
-the captain.
-
-Jepson and Brookbine returned in less than half an hour. The captain
-had quite a chat with the boys while they were waiting. He told them
-something about his plans, and was so kind and familiar with them that
-they began to like him.
-
-“I am told that some of you have been wild boys, and have been turned
-out of school,” said he. “Except in one instance, I don’t know who
-they are. I prevented your parents and others from telling me any
-thing about your misconduct. You are all alike to me so far, and every
-boy has his own reputation to make.
-
-“You will not be judged at all by the past, but by what you do in the
-future. I want you to remember this, boys. All of you will have to
-work in the shops, and wherever there is any thing to do. You will
-have to learn your book-lessons as well as how to work in wood and
-metal. But there will be lots of fun as well as hard work. In a few
-days we shall man this steamer, and every one of you will have a
-station on board of her.”
-
-“Hurrah!” shouted one of the new pupils in his enthusiasm; and the
-cheer was taken up by the entire party.
-
-“Before winter I hope some of you will be as competent to handle a
-sailboat or a steamer as Dory is. But bear in mind that it is not all
-play. I am going to make useful men of you, and I hope you will second
-all my endeavors.”
-
-The arrival of the carpenter and engineer interrupted the
-conversation, and in a few minutes more the Sylph was standing up the
-lake. It was dark now; and the boys gathered around Captain Gildrock
-again, for he could not talk without interesting them.
-
-“Who is steering this steamer now, Captain Gildrock?” asked Jim
-Alburgh.
-
-“Dory is steering her,” replied the captain.
-
-“But it is dark: how can he find his way back to Beech Hill?”
-
-“Did you suppose that ships that cross the ocean, being out of sight
-of land for weeks at a time, stopped in the night?” asked the captain.
-
-“I didn’t think any thing at all about it,” replied Jim. “I don’t know
-any thing about it. It is as dark as a pocket, and I should not think
-Dory could see the land on either side of the lake.”
-
-“He has no need to see it. Do you see that lighthouse on the island?”
-asked the captain, pointing at Juniper Island.
-
-“But that does not give light enough to enable the pilot to see the
-shore on either side,” replied Jim.
-
-“That is not what a lighthouse is for. The light it gives don’t amount
-to any thing half a mile from it. The light only marks certain
-localities. Now look up the lake all of you,” continued Captain
-Gildrock, pointing in the direction of Split-Rock light. “Do you see
-that light?”
-
-“Yes, sir!” shouted Lick Milton. His name was T. Licking Milton, but
-he had a nickname.
-
-The rest of the boys soon made out the light, and some of them shouted
-as loudly as the first speaker.
-
-“Juniper Island light is on our right now. Dory will run on till the
-steamer is in range with this light and Split Rock, which is twelve
-miles and a half from here. Then he will head for the Split-Rock
-light, keeping Juniper exactly astern of him,” continued the captain.
-
-“Why don’t he run for Split Rock now?” asked Ben Ludlow.
-
-“He would run upon Quaker-Smith’s Reef, about four miles from here, if
-he did. Now, my boy, can you walk straight from where you stand to the
-flag-pole at the stem of the steamer?”
-
-“No, sir, I cannot. That thing is in the way,” replied Ben, after he
-had looked the matter over.
-
-“Precisely so: the capstan is in your way. Now go over to the side of
-the steamer.” Ben obeyed, and the boys watched the demonstration with
-interest. “Can you walk straight to the stem of the boat now?”
-
-“Yes, sir, I can. There is nothing in my way.”
-
-“Then, if you keep in range with the port gangway and the stem, there
-will be nothing in your way, will there?”
-
-“Nothing, sir.”
-
-“That is exactly the principle on which we pilot a steamer or any other
-vessel. But sometimes the matter is much more complicated, and we have
-to take a dozen different ranges in going a dozen miles. Pilots learn
-all these ranges, and get their bearings from various objects on the
-shore. You can see the capstan; but we cannot see the obstructions in
-our way in sailing a vessel, for they are under water. They are all
-laid down on the chart, and we can learn our courses from that.”
-
-“But isn’t there any thing on that reef to let you know where it is?”
-asked Dave Windsor.
-
-“There is nothing on Quaker-Smith’s Reef, for it is out of the usual
-track of vessels. It is about a mile from the eastern shore of the
-lake. When the water is as low as it is now, this steamer would get
-aground on it. But at the entrance to harbors they put buoys, and also
-on rocks and shoal places in or near the usual track of vessels.”
-
-“What sort of things are buoys?” asked Bob Swanton.
-
-“Generally they are logs of wood, anchored to the bottom. These are
-called spar-buoys. Others are made of metal, hollow, and shaped like a
-couple of frustrums of cones joined at the big end. These are can-buoys.
-There are other kinds, but you won’t find them in this lake.”
-
-“Spar and can buoys. We can remember them,” added John Brattle.
-
-“The spars are all painted red, black, or striped. When going into a
-harbor, red buoys must be left on the starboard hand; that is, on your
-right. Black buoys must be left on the port, or left, hand. When you
-see a buoy painted with black and red stripes, it is a danger buoy;
-and you may go on either side of it. When you see one painted up and
-down with black and white stripes, you must go close to it. Sometimes
-the buoys are numbered: then the even numbers are on the red buoys,
-and the odd ones on the black buoys. But you must learn all these
-things by seeing them.”
-
-“What are the colored lights on the sides of this steamer for?” asked
-Bob Swanton.
-
-“The red light is on the port side, and the green on the starboard.
-They are to show any vessel approaching us which way we are going,”
-replied the captain. “But I can explain this better when we see the
-lights of another vessel.”
-
-All hands were on the lookout for another vessel at once.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-HANDLING A STEAMER IN A FOG.
-
-
-Half an hour later a steamer came out of Essex, on the west shore of
-the lake. Captain Gildrock was promptly notified by the boys that a
-red light was to be seen.
-
-“I suppose you have all seen port wine, and know it is red; though it
-is not as red in Portugal as it is here,” added the captain. “This
-will help you to remember that the red light is on the port, or
-left-hand, side. When I see the red, I know at once that the port side
-of the vessel is towards me, and therefore, if I am to the northward
-of her, that she is going in an easterly direction. If I were south of
-her, she would be going the other way.”
-
-“But now we can see the green light too,” said Dave Windsor.
-
-“That shows that she is coming towards us, and we must look out that
-she don’t run into us.”
-
-“How can you help it, if she keeps on, and you keep on?” asked Ned
-Bellows.
-
-“We will wait and see what Dory will do,” replied Captain Gildrock.
-
-After going a mile farther, the boys heard a single sharp whistle over
-their heads. It was immediately followed by the same signal from the
-approaching steamer.
-
-“That will make it all right. Dory has blown one whistle, which means
-that he will pass the other steamer to starboard. The other steamer,
-as she indicates by her one whistle, will pass at the starboard of
-us,” continued the captain. “If Dory had blown two whistles, he would
-have gone to port of the approaching vessel. You see that we are going
-by her all right.”
-
-“Suppose there had been a fog when we came out of Burlington, Captain
-Gildrock: what should we have done?” asked Ben Ludlow. “Could Dory
-have run the boat down to Beech Hill?”
-
-“He could do it, but I should rather he would not. It is not safe to
-run in a fog; and it is best not to do it, unless your business is
-very urgent,” replied Captain Gildrock.
-
-“But suppose you could not even see Juniper-Island light: what would
-you do if you had to run to Beech Hill?” persisted the inquirer.
-
-“Juniper light is west-south-west from the wharf, as I have ruled it
-off from the chart. The distance is three and a quarter miles. The
-speed of the Sylph is twelve miles an hour, and it will take her
-sixteen minutes and a quarter to reach the light. But we don’t start
-at full speed, and we must allow for that.
-
-“At the end of sixteen minutes, by the clock in the pilot-house, we
-begin to look out for the light. If we don’t find it, we don’t go
-ahead, if we stay there all day and all night. We whistle, and that
-lets the people at the light know that a steamer is trying to find her
-way up the lake; and they will blow a horn. When we hear it, we know
-by the direction where the light is. They will keep blowing the horn
-for a while.
-
-“Split-Rock light is south-south-west from Juniper, and we steer this
-course by compass for one hour and two minutes. At the end of that
-time, if we are all right, we hear the horn at Split Rock. When we
-have got the bearing of the light, we head her south by west, and run
-two and three-quarters miles to the mouth of Beaver River; which we do
-in thirteen and three-quarters minutes.
-
-“Then Dory will strike the bell for the deckhand to heave the lead,
-or, in other words, see how deep the water is. If we get ten feet at
-this stage of the water, we are in the channel. We steer
-east-south-east, and keep sounding all the time. If the leadsman
-should report a less depth, we stop the steamer, and find where the
-channel is. We may have to get out a boat to ascertain. When we get
-fairly into the river, we can see the shores through the fog. If we
-can’t, we have to feel our way up.”
-
-The evening was quite chilly on the lake; and Captain Gildrock had
-taken the boys into the forward cabin, as they were not provided with
-overcoats. He had hardly finished his explanation before a long
-whistle above them excited their interest.
-
-“Perhaps you will have a chance to see how we work the steamer in a
-fog,” said Captain Gildrock, looking at his watch. “It is about time
-we were up with Split Rock, and very likely Dory cannot find the
-light.”
-
-The captain left the cabin, followed by all the boys. As soon as they
-reached the forecastle, Dory rang the bell to stop her. The fog had
-blown up from the southward; and the Sylph was completely enveloped
-in it, so that nothing could be seen from her deck.
-
-“Here we are,” said Captain Gildrock, as he led the way to the
-hurricane-deck. “You can’t see half a ship’s-length ahead. I was
-afraid this southerly wind might blow up a fog.”
-
-The deck-hand was standing on the rail at the forward flag-pole,
-trying to penetrate the thick mist that shrouded the shore. Dory gave
-another long whistle. By this time the steamer had come to a
-standstill, and nothing more was to be done until the pilot found out
-where he was. The boys gathered on the hurricane-deck around Captain
-Gildrock, who did not say any thing to the young pilot, or even go
-near him.
-
-“Can you see any thing, Bates?” called Dory to the deck-hand.
-
-“Not a thing, sir,” replied Bates.
-
-“There! I hear the horn!” exclaimed Dave Windsor.
-
-“Horn on the starboard bow, sir!” shouted Bates.
-
-“I hear it,” added Dory. The gong-bell in the engine-room rang, and
-the Sylph began to move again.
-
-“Horn again, sir. We are not ten fathoms from the point, sir,” called
-Bates. “I see the light now, sir.”
-
-“All right: so do I. Keep a sharp lookout ahead, Bates,” replied Dory,
-as the sound of a jingling bell was heard from the engine-room; and
-the steamer increased her speed very rapidly.
-
-“Bates seems to be a very polite man,” said Ned Bellows, laughing. “He
-puts in a ‘sir’ every time he says any thing to Dory.”
-
-“It is second nature for a seaman to say ‘sir’ to an officer,” added
-the captain.
-
-“But to a boy not more than fourteen or fifteen years old!”
-
-“No matter how young or how old he is, if he is an officer. Discipline
-is very strict at sea, as it will be on board of the Sylph after we
-have organized the ship’s company. You must all say ‘sir’ to your
-officers, even if they are boys.”
-
-“The last bell that rung was different from the other,” suggested Ben
-Ludlow.
-
-“The jingling bell is the speed-bell,” replied the captain.
-
-“It means ‘Go faster,’ don’t it?”
-
-“Not at all. If Dory should ring it now, it would mean ‘Go slower.’”
-
-“It can’t mean both slower and faster,” reasoned Ben.
-
-“Why not? If the boat is going full speed it means ‘Slow down:’ if she
-is going at half speed it means ‘Full speed.’ The gong-bell, one
-stroke, means ‘Start her’ if she is not turning her screw, or ‘Stop
-her’ if she is going ahead. Two strokes of the gong means ‘Back her.’”
-
-At equal intervals the whistle of the Sylph sounded, and this fact
-soon excited the attention of the curious pupils. They wanted to know
-what it was for. The captain explained that it was to warn any vessel
-of the presence of the steamer, so that neither craft should run into
-the other. Steamers used their whistles, and sailing-vessels a horn.
-But no horn or whistle was heard during the rest of the trip.
-
-The next sound that attracted the attention of the pupils was the
-speed-bell, which was quickly followed by the gong; and the screw
-ceased to turn. At a single stroke of the large ship’s bell, Bates,
-standing upon the rail, at the forward gangway, heaved the lead.
-
-“No bottom!” shouted the leadsman. Dory rang the gong, and the steamer
-went ahead at half speed.
-
-“Does he mean to say there is no bottom to the lake in this place,
-Captain Gildrock?” asked Dave Windsor.
-
-“Not at all: we don’t usually sound below fifty feet; and any greater
-depth than that is called ‘no bottom,’” replied the captain.
-
-“By the deep, eight!” said Bates.
-
-“By the deep, eight,” repeated Dave Windsor. “That means eight feet
-deep, I suppose.”
-
-“No, it don’t: it means about forty-eight feet. The depth is measured
-in fathoms of six feet each. The lead-line is marked with two strips
-of leather at two fathoms, with three strips at three, with a white
-rag at five fathoms, and with a red rag at seven; at ten fathoms is a
-leather with a hole in it, and so on. There are no marks at four, six,
-eight, and nine fathoms. When the leadsman said ‘By the deep, eight,’
-the line was under water about six feet below the red rag, or seven
-fathoms.”
-
-“By the mark, five!” called Bates.
-
-“Just thirty feet,” the captain explained.
-
-“And a half two!”
-
-“Two fathoms and a half. We are shoaling rapidly.”
-
-“Mark under water, two!”
-
-“A little over two fathoms.”
-
-“Ten feet!” shouted Bates with more energy than before.
-
-The gong rang at this report, and two strokes followed instantly. The
-screw began to turn backwards; and, when her headway was checked, a
-single stroke stopped her.
-
-“Dory is doing it all right,” said Captain Gildrock. “When he backed
-her he put the helm to port, so as to get her head pointed
-east-south-east. If he had not stopped the boat when he did, she would
-have been aground in a couple of minutes; for there is a shoal south
-of the mouth of the river on which the water is only from one to six
-feet deep.”
-
-“What harm would it have done if we had got aground?” asked Bob
-Swanton.
-
-“It would have done no harm, as we were going slowly; though we might
-have had to stay here all night. If there had been a rock there, it
-would probably have stove a hole in the bottom of the boat.”
-
-“Ten feet!” reported Bates again.
-
-The gong rang to go ahead, but the steamer hardly moved through the
-water. The captain said the pilot had told the engineer, through the
-speaking-tube, to go very slowly. Bates continued to sound, reporting
-the same water as before.
-
-“I see the point, sir,” said Bates a little later.
-
-“All right! I have it,” replied Dory. The boat began to move a little
-faster, but she did not get above half speed.
-
-In the river the fog was not so dense as on the lake, and the pilot
-could make out the objects on the banks of the stream. She went into
-the creek leading from the river to the lake, and in a few minutes
-more she was at the temporary wharf which had been built for her.
-
-“Well, boys, you have had both the theory and the practice of handling
-a steamer in a fog. It is an easy matter on this lake compared with
-the bays and harbors on the seacoast, for there the pilot has to make
-allowances for the tide.”
-
-The boys landed, and were directed to go to the study-room in a
-building adjoining the dormitory. The captain called Mr. Brookbine,
-and they went together to the ice-house.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-THE STRONG-ROOM AT THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
-
-
-The trip was finished, and Dory was relieved from further duty in the
-pilot-house. He came down upon the main deck just as the carpenter was
-unlocking the door of Oscar Chester’s prison. Mr. Brookbine had a
-lantern in one hand, which threw its light into the room when the door
-was opened.
-
-The rebel was lying on the floor, which was quite dry, for the room
-had not been used for several weeks. He seemed to be making himself
-quite at home in his prison; and possibly he had been asleep, for he
-gaped and yawned when he was discovered. But this was affectation. He
-wanted to make his persecutors, as he regarded them, think that he was
-not at all disturbed by his confinement.
-
-“You may came out now, Chester,” said Captain Gildrock.
-
-“I don’t want to go out: I am very comfortable here, I want you to
-understand,” replied Oscar with plentiful display of bravado.
-
-“It is my order that you come out!” added the captain sternly.
-
-“I don’t know that I care for your orders. I have made up my mind to
-stay in this place only long enough to get even with that Dory
-Dornwood. When I have thrashed him within an inch of his life, I shall
-be ready to leave; and I shall leave, I want you to understand,”
-answered Oscar. “I don’t intend to be bossed by any little boy you may
-see fit to place over me.”
-
-“I shall not argue the question with you: I told you to come out,”
-continued Captain Gildrock in very decided, though gentle, tones.
-
-“And I told you I wouldn’t go out!” replied Oscar.
-
-“You may bring him out, Mr. Brookbine, and take him up to the brig,”
-said the captain, as he took the lantern from the hand of the
-carpenter.
-
-“You have brought that big bully, have you?” demanded the rebel,
-rising from his reclining position.
-
-No one replied to this demand, but the carpenter walked into the
-prison. Oscar was disposed to show fight. He retreated to a corner,
-and put himself in the attitude of defence. Suddenly, as if by
-impulse, the prisoner began to feel in his pockets; but the stout
-mechanic did not give him time enough to produce any thing. He took
-him by the collar of his coat, and lifted him off the floor. With his
-other hand, he jerked the hands of the prisoner out of his pockets. As
-he did so, a two-bladed knife dropped from one of them.
-
-Possibly the sight of this article kindled the anger of the carpenter,
-for he began to bang the captive about in a manner that threatened
-serious bodily injury to the victim.
-
-“Hold on to him, but don’t hurt him any more than may be necessary,”
-interposed Captain Gildrock. “We can cure him of his infirmity in a
-few days.”
-
-“The rascal wants to knife me, and I am inclined to shake the bad
-blood out of him,” replied the mechanic.
-
-“He is a lunatic: he is boiling over with bad passions. A few days in
-the brig will cool him off. We will treat him as a sick boy; and, when
-he gets better, we will talk with him. Possibly there may be some
-reason in him when he is himself, if he ever is himself. If we can’t
-manage him, we will send him to the lunatic-asylum,” said the captain,
-as the carpenter dragged his prisoner out upon the deck.
-
-Dory picked up the knife, and followed his uncle to the
-school-buildings in the rear of the mansion. Oscar could not stand the
-discipline of the burly Vermonter. He soon found, if he had not
-learned it before, that he was powerless in the hands of his
-persecutor; and he walked quietly in the direction he was led.
-
-Captain Gildrock had expected to have some just such boys as Oscar
-Chester. In fact, he knew of this very one; for his uncle had applied
-to him to take him, as soon as he knew that he intended to open a
-mechanical institution. Mr. Chester was an old friend of the captain,
-to whom the latter had described his educational plan. This was the
-reason he happened to know all about Oscar, while he had taken pains
-not to be informed in regard to the antecedents of all his other
-pupils.
-
-The founder of the new school understood men and boys thoroughly. Some
-of his scholars must inevitably be rebellious and troublesome, and he
-had fully provided for the treatment of such cases. He had erected two
-temporary buildings, one of which was the dormitory and the other the
-workshop and schoolroom, the latter occupying the story over the
-former. The students were to take their meals in the large dining-room
-of the mansion.
-
-The dormitory consisted of twenty-four sleeping-rooms, each of which
-had been furnished with an iron bedstead and such simple furniture as
-might be required. Nothing was extravagant, or even elegant; for the
-school was an experiment which might succeed or fail.
-
-In a small brick building close to the shop, a steam-engine had
-already been set up, from which a belt extending into the shop was to
-run the lathes, circular-saws, planers, boring-machines, and other
-machinery. One part of the shop was for woodwork, and the other for
-iron. But most of the tools and apparatus had not yet been put in
-their places.
-
-At one end of the dormitory was the “brig.” Captain Gildrock’s
-earliest experience at sea had been in the navy, where he had obtained
-his first ideas of discipline. The ship’s prison on board a man-of-war
-is called the “brig.” The captain had already given this name to his
-place of discipline.
-
-It was one of the rooms of the dormitory, fitted up for the purpose
-intended. The walls and ceiling, as well as the floor, had been
-constructed of thick spruce plank. All the wood had been covered with
-sheet-iron. The two windows were grated with iron bars. It contained a
-narrow iron bedstead, an iron stand for a table, and one chair of the
-same material. The locks on the door were strong enough for any
-prison. But not even the door could be seen from the hall of the
-dormitory, for it was concealed by a wooden partition in front of it.
-
-No boy was to be allowed to visit this strong-room unless he was
-condemned to become an occupant of it for his misconduct. He had not
-mentioned it to the boys, and the instructors were requested not to do
-so. The iron in the room was all painted black, so that it was an
-exceedingly gloomy-looking apartment. The captain hoped he should
-never have occasion to make any use of the brig; and certainly he had
-not expected to have an occupant for it on the day the first of the
-boys arrived.
-
-Mr. Brookbine took his prisoner to the brig, attended by the captain.
-He was hurried up the stairs, and thrust into the prison, without any
-ceremony. The lantern lighted up the gloomy den when the door was
-opened; and, if Oscar did not shrink from his fate, he had more nerve
-than ninety-nine in a hundred boys.
-
-He did give a start when he looked into the brig, and it required some
-effort on the part of the mechanic to force him into it. In the
-dungeon he looked about him with something like an expression of
-disgust on his face. Then he seemed to feel that he was yielding
-somewhat to the circumstances; and he straightened up, and made an
-effort to “stiffen his back.” His persecutors were retiring from the
-entrance, and the captain was about to close the door.
-
-“I have eaten nothing since I had my breakfast, early this morning,”
-said Oscar stiffly, when he saw that he was about to be locked into
-the cell for the night.
-
-“It is your own fault. All the rest of the boys had supper at the
-hotel in Burlington,” replied the captain.
-
-“Do you mean to starve me?” demanded the prisoner.
-
-“No, I don’t mean to starve you.--Dory,” called the captain at the
-open window in the hall: “go into the house and get a loaf of bread, a
-case-knife, and a pitcher of water.”
-
-In a few minutes the skipper of the Goldwing returned with the
-articles named, and Captain Gildrock placed them on the iron table.
-
-“Am I to be fed on dry bread?” asked Oscar, as he looked with contempt
-upon the provision on the table.
-
-“I don’t answer questions at the present time. There is food: you can
-eat it or let it alone. You can stay in this place a day, a week, a
-month, or a year: the time depends upon yourself,” said the captain,
-as he withdrew from the brig.
-
-He closed the door, and secured it with the great lock. He also
-fastened the door in the plank partition, so that no student could get
-within six feet of the strong-room.
-
-“That fellow will think better of it in a few days, perhaps by
-to-morrow,” said Captain Gildrock, as they left the dormitory.
-
-“For a boy, he is the hardest customer I ever had to deal with,”
-replied Brookbine. “There is no more reason in him than there is in a
-brickbat.”
-
-The captain led the way to the schoolroom, where the boys had
-assembled. They were behaving themselves very well, and they all
-applauded when the captain entered the room.
-
-“Boys, there is nothing more to be done to-night. To-morrow will be
-Saturday; and we shall organize the ship’s company for the Sylph, and
-take a little trip in her down the lake, perhaps as far as
-Plattsburgh. Your rooms are all ready for you, and you can retire as
-soon as possible. We have breakfast at seven in the morning.”
-
-The captain stood upon the platform, and made this little speech,
-which was applauded by the students. Mr. Brookbine was left to look
-after the pupils, and the captain and Dory went into the house. Though
-it was after nine o’clock in the evening, they found Mr. Bolingbroke
-Millweed and his mother in the sitting-room. Her son had related to
-her his adventures on the lake and in Burlington. She was very
-grateful to Dory for what he had done, and expressed herself to that
-effect in very high-flown speech.
-
-“My son Bolingbroke informs me that you have manifested some interest
-in his future welfare, for which I am extremely grateful to you,
-Captain Gildrock. I hope you will be able to do something for him; for
-a word from you would secure for him a good place in a store,” said
-Mrs. Millweed, after she had succeeded in introducing the subject.
-
-“I offered your son a place in my school for a year. If he is going to
-accept the offer I made him, I want him here at seven to-morrow
-morning,” replied the captain bruskly. “I don’t know any thing about
-him, and I can’t recommend him for a place in a store.”
-
-“I don’t wish to make a mechanic of him,” protested Mrs. Millweed. “I
-am looking for something higher than that for him.”
-
-“Do you think that being a counter-jumper is something higher?”
-demanded the captain, laughing heartily at the idea.
-
-“I wish him to be a merchant; and I am sure that is higher and more
-respectable than a greasy mechanic,” added the lady with a sneer.
-
-“Very well, madam: I cannot do any thing for your son,” added the
-captain decidedly. “There are ten times as many clerks as can find
-places now.”
-
-“I have never allowed my boys to work on the farm; and they haven’t
-acquired any low ideas,” continued Mrs. Millweed as she moved to the
-door, closely attended by Bolingbroke.
-
-The visitors departed, and it was not probable that they would again
-darken the captain’s door.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-SOMETHING ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY.
-
-
-Long before breakfast-time the new boys were roaming about the estate,
-with Dory as their guide. He showed them the place, and treated them
-as handsomely as he knew how. They were not in a boat, with a fresh
-wind blowing; and he had no occasion to use a single sharp word, and
-he had not on board of the Goldwing, except to Oscar Chester. By this
-time he had become quite popular with the students.
-
-“Dory,” called Captain Gildrock, as the skipper and his party came to
-the shop: “what was the name of the man that stole the money at the
-store?”
-
-“Tim Lingerwell: he was the head man of Mr. Longbrook,” replied Dory.
-“He came from this place.”
-
-“I know all about him,” said a stranger who had been talking with the
-captain. “He never was any too good to do such a thing; and my son
-was lucky to get out of the scrape as well as he did.”
-
-This man was the father of Bolingbroke Millweed. For the first time he
-had heard about the Beech-Hill Industrial School that morning. His
-wife had told him about the captain’s offer to take Bolingbroke into
-the school. He had been telling the shipmaster his troubles, and he
-wanted his son to accept the offer.
-
-“I am a peaceable man, Captain Gildrock, and my wife has always had
-her own way,” continued Farmer Millweed. “I don’t like to have any
-trouble in the family, but I have gone just about as far as I can go.”
-
-The early visitor looked very sad, and choked a little, as though a
-few tears would relieve him. He stood looking upon the ground, trying
-to check his emotions.
-
-“Things have gone hard with you, have they?” said Captain Gildrock in
-a sympathizing tone.
-
-“Very hard, captain; and I don’t know what is going to become of me
-and my family. I expect we shall fetch up in the poorhouse; as we
-certainly shall if things keep on as they have been,” replied the
-farmer with a suppressed groan.
-
-“I am sorry for you,” added the captain. “I will take your son, and he
-shall be of no expense to you for a year; and at the end of that time,
-I will guarantee that he will be able to do something for you, and
-take care of himself besides.”
-
-“Just as soon as I heard of your offer, I came right over here; for I
-want to have Bolly learn a trade,” said the farmer. “He will be
-provided for, whatever becomes of the rest of us. When my oldest girl
-was a dozen years old, I owned my farm free and clear; and I didn’t
-owe any man on earth a single cent. Now there is a mortgage of two
-thousand dollars on my place, and I owe over a thousand dollars
-besides.”
-
-“You have been making bad speculations then,” suggested Captain
-Gildrock.
-
-“I never went into a speculation of any kind, captain; and I never
-lost any money in any way. Ten years ago I used to get a good living
-off my farm. We had plenty to eat, drink, and to wear. Now we don’t
-have any thing.” And, in spite of his struggles to restrain them, a
-flood of tears poured down his wan cheek.
-
-“If you have had no misfortunes, I don’t understand why things have
-gone so badly with you. But it is best to look into the matter, and
-find out what the trouble is, so that you can correct the errors of
-the past. You are not a very old man, and you may get out of the
-trouble yet.”
-
-“I know what the difficulty is well enough; and I have known it for
-two or three years, if not for ten. I have to take care of my family,
-consisting of my wife, two sons, and two daughters. The oldest is
-twenty-two, and the youngest is sixteen. My wife has high notions for
-a farmer’s wife, and I have given in to her. She would not let the
-boys work on the farm; and, when I wanted any help, I had to hire. I
-suppose the girls helped their mother, but all of them had to dress
-like ladies. And that is where all the money I could get went to,”
-said Millweed bitterly.
-
-“The first thing is to stop the leak,” suggested the captain in
-nautical terms. “If you don’t stop it, the ship will go to the
-bottom.”
-
-“I know that very well, but I don’t see how I’m going to stop the
-leak. All the children had to go to the high-school, and dress as
-smartly as the sons and daughters of rich men; though it was more than
-I could do to get the money to pay for it.”
-
-“But couldn’t your wife see how things were going?” asked the captain.
-
-“I talked with her, and told her seven years ago that I was running
-behindhand. I have talked with her twenty times since, and told her we
-should all fetch up in the poorhouse if we kept on. She said the boys
-would soon find places in stores, and help me. The girls could have
-had plenty of work at good wages, but their notions were as high as
-their mother’s.”
-
-“I see how it is,” said Captain Gildrock, nodding his head, as much as
-to declare that it was the old story.
-
-“The girls are too proud to marry a farmer or a mechanic, and rich
-men’s sons don’t seem to want them. They are good girls enough, but
-they have got high notions. The boys never did do any thing, and I
-don’t know whether they can or not. I want Bolly to try. Pemberton is
-eighteen, and I suppose he is too old for your new school.”
-
-“Not at all: I will take them both, but they will have to work.”
-
-“That’s what they need. If I could get the boys into your school, I
-should like it first-rate, and I should have some hopes that I might
-get along; though I have got to lose my farm, and it won’t fetch any
-thing over the mortgage,” added the farmer very gloomily.
-
-“I will take the two boys into my school; and, if the girls will go to
-work, I will find places for them in a store or factory.”
-
-“You are very kind, Captain Gildrock; but I am afraid my wife won’t
-allow the boys to go to your school, or the girls to do any thing to
-help support themselves,” added Farmer Millweed.
-
-“I shall not meddle with the affairs of your family; but, if it was my
-case, I should set the boys and girls to work,” added Captain
-Gildrock. “You must take the helm in your own hands.”
-
-“It will make trouble,” said Farmer Millweed, shaking his head.
-
-“You are very sure to have trouble if you don’t do it.”
-
-“That’s so!” exclaimed the unhappy man. “I have always had to work
-hard, and I never drank a drop of liquor in my life. I’m not as smart
-as some, but I’ve done my best to get along. Next month the mortgage
-and interest are due, and I have not a dollar to pay either. I am
-behindhand on my interest now. Of course Stubbs will take possession,
-and my family will be turned out of the house. I have no place to go,
-and the best I can do will be to go to work on wages; for all I have
-got will not pay my debts. I shall have to take the helm, as you call
-it, captain.”
-
-“If I can do any thing for you, I shall be glad to do it,” added the
-captain.
-
-“I haven’t any claims on you, Captain Gildrock, and it is very kind of
-you to offer to take my boys. I will go home, and see what can be
-done,” replied Farmer Millweed, as he left the captain.
-
-There was an expression of resolution on his face as he passed out of
-the yard, and it was evident to the captain that he meant to do
-something in the emergency. The captain wondered if his pluck would
-hold out long enough to enable him to do it.
-
-“If the boys are going to join the school, I want them here by nine
-this forenoon; for we are about to organize a ship’s company for the
-steam-yacht,” he called to the discouraged farmer, as he was passing
-through the gate.
-
-“I intend to have them both here,” answered Mr. Millweed.
-
-“If they come, I shall do them more good than the high-school ever
-did,” said the captain to himself, as he went into the house.
-
-The captain insisted, at the breakfast-table, that the high-school had
-spoiled the Millweed boys and girls. Mr. Brookbine dissented, and was
-sure it was the mother who had made the mischief.
-
-“It was she who sent them to the high-school; and the matter is about
-as broad as it is long,” added the captain.
-
-“But the mother could have spoiled them just as fully if they had not
-gone to the high-school,” persisted the master-carpenter, who had
-opinions of his own. “I believe the high-school is a good thing; and,
-if these boys and girls had gone to work when they got through, it
-would have been all right with the family. It was the high notions,
-and not the high-school, that did the mischief; and the children got
-them from the mother. The father is a man of no great force.”
-
-“But he had force enough to take care of his family, and lay up
-something, until he was broken down by the demands of his family upon
-him. There was a screw loose somewhere, and the children ought never
-to have gone to the high-school.”
-
-“Perhaps not: I think myself that the high-school business is
-sometimes overdone,” replied the mechanic. “I never went to a
-high-school or an academy, but I don’t think I should have been any
-the worse off for a great deal more learning than I ever got.”
-
-“I am willing to admit that the high-school is a necessity in an
-American community, but I think it ought to be combined with something
-of an industrial character. The occupation of the mechanic should be
-redeemed from the odium which has attached to it.”
-
-“I agree with you there,” added Mr. Brookbine heartily. “The Millweed
-boys must have been good scholars to get through when they were only
-sixteen. Most of the scholars that graduate are eighteen and
-nineteen.”
-
-“And those who are not going into the learned professions have wasted
-three years which ought to have been spent in the shop, or in learning
-the business of life. The graduates come out, a year or two before
-they are of age, with too high notions to do any thing but measure
-tape; and that they call being merchants.”
-
-Captain Gildrock was very radical in his notions, and he continued the
-conversation until the meal was over. The boys were directed to take
-their overcoats, and go on board of the Sylph.
-
-“The prisoner in the brig wants to see you, Captain Gildrock,” said
-Mr. Brookbine, just as the captain was going on board of the steamer.
-
-“He must be attended to at once, for he needs more care than all the
-others,” replied the captain, as he went back to the dormitory with
-the carpenter.
-
-The mechanic unlocked the doors, and the captain presented himself
-before the rebel. Oscar looked very pale, and his chest heaved with
-emotion. It was evident, from the appearance of his eyes, that he had
-not slept well in his new quarters. A small portion of the bread on
-the table had been eaten, but not enough to indicate that he had been
-very hungry.
-
-“I am told that you wish to see me,” said the captain.
-
-“I don’t care to stay any longer in this place; and I should like to
-have you send me back to my uncle,” replied Oscar.
-
-“If that is all you want, nothing more need be said. You will not be
-sent back to your uncle under any circumstances.”
-
-“Then I will do the best I can if you will let me out,” added the
-rebel.
-
-Oscar was promptly released without a question.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP’s COMPANY.
-
-
-Oscar Chester was taken to the house, and provided with a good
-breakfast. His appetite was not spoiled, though dry bread had no
-attractions for him. He ate heartily, and then walked down to the
-landing on the lake where the steamer lay.
-
-Captain Gildrock had gone down before. He had called the boys together
-on the forward deck, where, as usual, they had greeted him with a
-cheer, which assured him so far that every thing was satisfactory to
-the pupils.
-
-“Hereafter, my lads, I think we had better dispense with the cheers,
-except on extraordinary occasions. By and by something will occur that
-will not meet your approbation; and then you will want to make a
-demonstration of another kind,” said the captain.
-
-“Can’t we make it?” asked Ben Ludlow.
-
-“If what I do, and what the instructors do, is not right, I should
-like to have you express your opinions in a proper manner,” replied
-the principal of the school. “But, if any thing don’t suit you, I
-don’t wish you to manifest your disapprobation by hissing. Don’t
-pretend to like what you don’t like. Don’t be hypocrites. But, if you
-are dissatisfied with any thing about the school, come to me, and
-express your minds in a proper manner; and we will calmly discuss the
-matter. If I am wrong, I shall make haste to set myself right; and I
-hope you will do the same.”
-
-This remark was greeted with a rousing cheer, for the boys were
-delighted with the discipline so far.
-
-“I thought we were to dispense with the cheering,” said the captain
-with a pleasant smile.
-
-“That was an extraordinary occasion, Captain Gildrock,” added Bob
-Swanton. “We never heard of a schoolmaster before who believed it
-possible for anybody to be right but himself.”
-
-The boys laughed and clapped their hands at this reply, and were ready
-to give Bob Swanton a medal for hitting the nail on the head at the
-right moment.
-
-“The instructors here will try to be in the right. If they don’t, they
-won’t be here long. But you and I may not always be able to agree, and
-I may have to insist on my own way. Then you must submit. But here
-comes Chester. I wish you all to refrain from saying any thing about
-what happened yesterday to him. We will all treat him handsomely, and
-it will be his own fault if he don’t get along without any trouble.”
-
-Oscar came on board with the carpenter. He seemed to be much agitated,
-and probably he expected some sort of a greeting from his
-fellow-pupils. As they were not to say any thing to him about the
-past, they avoided even glancing at him, lest he might put a wrong
-construction upon their looks. Captain Gildrock appeared not to see
-him, and he took his place in the rear of the other boys. Possibly he
-was astonished to find that he had become a person of so little
-consequence.
-
-“Now, my lads, we are to organize the ship’s company,” said the
-captain.
-
-“Is this a ship?” asked Dave Windsor.
-
-“This is simply a steamer; properly, a steam-yacht, being used mainly
-as a pleasure-craft. She is not a ship; but it is customary to speak
-of the ship’s company, whatever the size or rig of the vessel. You read
-in the New Testament, speaking of Jesus, that he ‘entered into a
-ship.’ Have you an idea that the craft was a vessel with three masts,
-square rigged?”
-
-“I did not know any thing about it,” replied Will Orwell.
-
-“That ship was nothing but a boat, not as big as the Goldwing
-probably. I repeat, that we are to organize the ship’s company; and I
-assure you that the expression is quite correct.”
-
-“Of course it is,” added Dave Windsor. “I only wanted to know about
-it.”
-
-“That’s right: ask all the sensible things you can think of, and I
-shall be glad to answer you. You can’t all be captains or even
-officers.”
-
-“We don’t expect to be,” added Ben Ludlow, when the captain paused to
-note the effect of his statement.
-
-“It is necessary to have some privates on board; but one position is
-just as honorable as another if it is well filled,” continued the
-captain. “There is to be no favoritism on board or in the school. Now,
-we must have firemen, deck-hands, cooks, and waiters; and it is just
-as important for you to learn the duties of these positions as those
-of officers.”
-
-“Are we to learn to cook?” asked Jim Alburgh, laughing.
-
-“You are; and I consider this one of the most important parts to
-learn. I served as cook on board of a brig during one voyage to the
-West Indies; and I took as much pride in performing my duties
-correctly, as ever I did when commanding an East Indiaman,” replied
-the principal with energy.
-
-“I know something about cooking, and I like the business,” added Jim
-Alburgh.
-
-“Ah, here comes two recruits!” exclaimed Captain Gildrock, as
-Pemberton and Bolingbroke Millweed came on board. “I am particularly
-glad to see you, boys.”
-
-“Thank you, sir,” replied Pemberton politely; and the principal was
-delighted to see that there was no appearance of compulsion in their
-coming.
-
-“We have twenty-two of the pupils I want: four of them will join us at
-Burlington, and two more at Plattsburgh. I hope the other two will
-arrive before we begin the school.”
-
-“Are we going to Plattsburgh to-day, sir?” asked Bob Swanton.
-
-“We are; and it is time we were moving, though we have considerable
-to do before we can leave. I have concluded to be captain myself for
-the present, until I find a pupil who is competent to fill the place.”
-
-“Dory!” exclaimed several of the boys.
-
-“Dory will not be captain, though I think he is competent. I want him
-in another place. He is my nephew, but he shall not be favored on that
-account. I have places for the twenty-four pupils of the school, and I
-will name them to you. Next to the captain will be the first and
-second officers, sometimes called mates, and, in men-of-war,
-lieutenants.”
-
-“But none of our crowd know any thing about steamers or boats, and are
-not fit for officers.”
-
-“The officers will learn their duties; and after a while, when you
-have all had a chance to know what is required of you, these positions
-will be given to those who are the most competent to fill them. The
-next in rank will be the first and second pilot. As Dory is the only
-one of you who is fitted to pilot a steamer, I shall appoint him first
-pilot. This is the only one I shall select for any place. All the
-others will be drawn by lot as soon as we leave Burlington.”
-
-A few of the pupils were disposed to applaud the appointment; but
-others hushed them up, and there was no demonstration.
-
-“The third in rank are the engineers. As I am captain, Mr. Jepson will
-be the chief-engineer. We shall have a first and second
-assistant-engineer. Next come the first and second cook. Following
-this department is the steward’s. The first, or chief, steward, the
-second, third, and fourth stewards, are the names of the places. Then
-come the firemen, of whom there will be four, and lastly the crew, or
-deck-hands as they are sometimes called. When we have twenty-four
-scholars, there will be eight of them.”
-
-The boys then asked a score of questions, which the captain answered
-with great good-nature, though some of them were trivial.
-
-“Now, my lads, you wear the clothes in which you came from your homes.
-I have provided uniforms for you, which you will put on before we get
-under way.”
-
-Mr. Sheers, a tailor from the town, was in attendance to assist the
-boys in fitting themselves to the uniforms. This dress consisted of
-woollen shirts, blue sailor-pants, and short jackets. A white cap was
-given to each, and in half an hour all hands were on deck in their new
-rig. They looked very salt for a fresh-water lake, but the uniform was
-very neat and appropriate.
-
-While the captain was talking to the pupils, Bates had brought on
-board a quantity of provisions and stores, which he had put in their
-proper places. The ice-house had received a supply, and every thing
-was ready for a start. Dory was directed to get under way, and he went
-to the pilot-house. Bates was on duty, and cast off the fasts when the
-signal was given. The bells rang, and the Sylph was soon moving out of
-the lake. In an hour and forty minutes she touched the wharf at
-Burlington. The Goldwing Club were on the pier, as they had been
-notified to be by Dory. Additional provisions were taken on board, and
-again the steamer was under way.
-
-Captain Gildrock called all the students to the hurricane deck, where
-Dory could see what was going on. The boys were greatly excited, for
-they were curious to know what positions they would obtain. Captain
-Gildrock produced a number of white cards, and then stood up before
-the scholars. Taking a box which Bates brought to him, he dropped the
-cards into it, and then shook them up.
-
-“Now, my lads, you will soon know who is cook and who is first
-officer,” said the captain, as he placed the box on the shelf in the
-pilot-house, where the boys could reach it through one of the windows.
-“On each of the cards is written one of the positions of which I spoke
-to you. You will walk up to this window, reach into the box, and draw
-out one of the cards. You will not look into the box.”
-
-The captain drew the curtain over the window, so that it was
-impossible for any boy to see the interior of the box, as he had to
-thrust his arm through the folds of the curtain.
-
-“If there is any thing unfair about this method of assigning the
-places, I want you to say so now,” added the captain, when the
-preparations were completed.
-
-“It is all as fair as any thing can be,” added Dave Windsor; and all
-the others expressed their satisfaction.
-
-“As fast as you draw your cards you will go down to the main deck. As
-you take the card from the box, you will give me your name; and I shall
-write it down in a book I have prepared for the purpose, against the
-name of the position. Now, one at a time.”
-
-Bob Swanton was the first to come forward. He drew a card, and held it
-up so that the captain could read what was on it.
-
-“First steward,” said the captain, reading it, and writing the
-position against the name in his book.
-
-The next one was Tom Ridley, one of the Genverres boys. He drew
-“fourth fireman.”
-
-Dick Short was “starboard watch, No. 1.”
-
-“All the starboard watch have odd numbers, and the port even numbers,”
-explained the captain.
-
-Thad Glovering, of the Goldwing Club, drew “first officer.” Corny
-Minkfield was first assistant-engineer. Pemberton Millweed was first
-cook. When Oscar Chester walked up to the pilot-house, there was a
-sensation among the boys that could not be wholly concealed. When he
-drew “second pilot” the sensation was more decided, though no one
-spoke; but all knew that he was to be associated intimately with Dory
-Dornwood.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE SYLPH.
-
-
-“Who is first pilot, sir?” asked Oscar Chester while the captain was
-writing his name against his position.
-
-“Dory Dornwood,” replied Captain Gildrock.
-
-Oscar made no reply; but, taking his card, he went to the main deck
-without a word of comment. It was not at all likely that the rebel
-would agree with the first pilot.
-
-Captain Gildrock’s book, when all had drawn their cards, and Dory had
-drawn one each for the two Plattsburgh pupils, gave the places as
-follows:--
-
- _First officer_ THAD GLOVERING.
- _Second officer_ WILL ORWELL.
- _First pilot_ DORY DORNWOOD.
- _Second pilot_ OSCAR CHESTER.
- _Engineer_ GEORGE JEPSON.
- _First assistant-engineer_ CORNY MINKFIELD.
- _Second assistant-engineer_ JOHN BRATTLE.
- _First fireman_ NAT LONG.
- _Second fireman_ DAVE WINDSOR.
- _Third fireman_ BOLLY MILLWEED.
- _Fourth fireman_ TOM RIDLEY.
- _First cook_ PEMBERTON MILLWEED.
- _Second cook_ JIM ALBURGH.
- _First steward_ BOB SWANTON.
- _Second steward_ STEVE BAXTER.
- _Third steward_ GEORGE DUANE.
- _Fourth steward_ LICK MILTON.
- _Starboard watch_ DICK SHORT.
- _Starboard watch_ PHIL GAWNER.
- _Starboard watch_ BEN LUDLOW.
- _Port watch_ HARRY FRANKLIN.
- _Port watch_ NED BELLOWS.
- _Port watch_ LEW SHOREHAM.
-
-“First and second officers, pilots, and engineers will return to the
-hurricane deck; the others will remain on the forecastle,” said
-Captain Gildrock, when the cards had all been drawn.
-
-The wheel had been given to Bates, and Dory had gone to the main deck
-with the others. The boys seemed to be in good humor, and those who
-had drawn inferior positions were apparently the jolliest of the
-crowd. Very likely they were disappointed: if they were, they did not
-complain.
-
-The principal brought from the pilot-house a pile of coats and half a
-dozen badges, which he laid on a bench. As soon as the half-dozen he
-had called up had assembled near him, he spoke again.
-
-“I told you there would be some changes in the uniform after we left
-Burlington,” said he. “Those whom I have called up are to be regarded
-as officers. Instead of wearing the short jackets you have on, you
-will put on sack-coats. On his cap each of you will wear one of these
-badges, which indicates the position the wearer holds.”
-
-The officers put on the badges, and exchanged the short jackets for
-the more dignified garments handed to them by the captain. Certainly
-they looked more like officers than before. There was some
-good-natured chaffing among them, for they could not well help making
-fun of each other. As there was no appearance of ill-feeling among
-them, the principal did not object.
-
-“What are we to do now, Captain Gildrock?” John Brattle asked.
-
-“The first thing to do is to learn your duties,” replied the captain.
-“You and Minkfield will go to the engine-room, and Mr. Jepson will
-instruct you.”
-
-The two engineers hastened below, full of enthusiasm, and very anxious
-to learn the duties of their new positions. The captain proceeded to
-instruct the first and second officers in regard to their offices, but
-all the time he was thinking about the second pilot. He was not
-prepared to send Oscar Chester into the pilot-house with Dory. But
-Bates knew how to steer, and knew the way to Plattsburgh; though he
-was not a pilot for the lake. Finally he concluded to send the second
-pilot to learn how to handle the wheel, while he kept Dory with him to
-assist in organizing the crew.
-
-Captain Gildrock then went down to the main deck. The four firemen
-were immediately sent to the engineer. It happened that the two cooks
-had had some experience in their new department; and they were ordered
-to the galley, with instructions to learn all they could about the
-cooking arrangements, so that they could find any thing they wanted.
-
-Pemberton Millweed had learned to cook a little, while with parties on
-the lake; and Jim Alburgh had spent one winter in a logging-camp in
-the woods, where he had learned the rudiments of the art. Both of
-them had a taste for this sort of thing; and, as soon as they had
-installed themselves in the galley, they were as happy as though they
-had drawn the cards bearing the titles of first and second officer.
-
-The galley, or kitchen, was in the house on deck, with a glazed door
-on each side. The galley, or stove, from which the apartment takes its
-name, was forward of the doors. The after-end of the room was fitted
-up with a table, and a great number of lockers to contain every
-article needed in the art of cooking, except the meats and vegetables,
-which were in the ice-house, next to the galley. The two cooks, though
-strangers to each other until they met on board, were soon on
-excellent terms, and proceeded to make an examination of their new
-quarters.
-
-Captain Gildrock next called out the three stewards, and conducted
-them to the forward cabin. The general duties of the stewards were to
-take care of the cabins, set the table, wait upon it at meals. One had
-not yet come on board.
-
-“Then, we are to be sort of servants, are we?” said Lick Milton.
-
-“We are all equal on board of the Sylph,” replied the captain with a
-smile. “You are no more servants than all the others on the steamer.
-The first duty of officers and seamen is to obey orders; and the first
-officer is as much bound to do this as the stewards and deck-hands. It
-is as necessary to have our food good and well served as it is to
-navigate the vessel. You have as fair an opportunity to distinguish
-yourselves in this department as in any other. The officers may be
-waiters or stewards next month. In the course of time all the pupils
-will be required to discharge the duties of every department.”
-
-“How long do we have to serve as stewards?” asked Bob Swanton.
-
-“I am not fully decided as to that: it will depend somewhat upon what
-progress you make. Probably we shall make some changes in a month. But
-this yacht is not the principal thing in the Beech-Hill Industrial
-School. We shall not go out in her every day in the week, perhaps not
-more than once a week after you have learned your duties.”
-
-“We are not to sail in her every day!” exclaimed Steve Baxter.
-
-“Certainly not: after you have obtained a few lessons in discipline on
-board of her, she will be a sort of plaything. But we shall make a
-trip every Saturday in her. On Monday morning we shall begin to put
-the shop in order, and go to work there as soon as we are ready.”
-
-“Then, we are not to have much fun,” added Lick Milton.
-
-“I hope you will all be pleased with your work in the shop and in the
-schoolroom,” replied the captain. “On board of large vessels the chief
-steward is a person of no little consequence. He purchases the
-provisions and stores, and, in consultation with the first cook, makes
-out the bill of fare for each meal. All the other stewards obey his
-orders, and he is responsible for the condition of the cabin and the
-table. But I intended to put a sack-coat on you, Swanton, and give you
-a badge.”
-
-The chief steward went to the pilot-house with the captain, where he
-was provided with the sack and badge. He was directed to return to the
-cabin, and see that his department was in order, and all the stewards
-familiar with their work. Swanton was required to arrange with the
-cooks for a dinner for all on board, and to set the table for twelve
-persons. The principal gave them no minute instructions, preferring
-first to see what the chief steward would do without them.
-
-Repairing to the forward deck with Dory, the captain found the six
-seamen, or deck-hands, waiting to be informed in regard to their
-duties. The first and second officers were called, for the work of the
-crew was to be supervised by them. They were to wash down the decks,
-and keep every thing outside of the cabins and engine and fire rooms
-in order. They were to learn to row the boats, heave the lead, to
-attend to the fasts in making a landing, to hoist and lower the boats,
-and to take their trick at the wheel.
-
-They were divided into two watches, each being distinguished by a star
-on the right or left arm. Captain Gildrock was a practical man; and,
-as soon as he had explained the general duties of the crew, he
-required the decks to be washed down for the sake of the practice. By
-the aid of the steam-pump the planks were soon covered with water.
-They were scrubbed with brooms, and dried with swabs, the first and
-second officers superintending the work.
-
-The boys worked as though they enjoyed it. The sun soon dried the deck,
-and it looked as white as though it had been holystoned. The next
-lesson was in heaving the lead; and one by one the boys were mounted
-on the rail, and exercised till they could do it to the satisfaction
-of the principal.
-
-It was now eleven o’clock, and the Sylph was half-way to Plattsburgh.
-It was necessary to see what had been done about dinner, and the
-captain went into the forward cabin. He found the three stewards on
-board very busy setting the table. They had found every thing they
-needed, and the table looked well. The principal encouraged the boys
-with some words of praise, and then went to the galley. There was a
-good fire in the range, and Pemberton Millweed was frying “chips.”
-
-The principal tasted the potatoes, and pronounced them excellent. The
-second cook was busy at the table preparing the vegetables. As both of
-them appeared to know what they were about, the captain asked no
-questions, and allowed the cooks and stewards to proceed with the
-dinner in their own way.
-
-A visit to the engine-room revealed the fact that Corny Minkfield, the
-first assistant-engineer, was in charge there, the chief-engineer
-being engaged in instructing the firemen in their duties. But Corny
-had been on steamers a great deal, and had some ideas in regard to
-machinery. He sat upon the sofa abaft the engine, and looked as
-dignified as though he had served in this department a dozen years.
-
-In the fire-room Mr. Jepson was doing his duty faithfully. The firemen
-asked a great many questions, all of which were carefully answered.
-The second engineer was one of the party, for it was necessary that
-the engineers should fully understand the duties of the firemen. There
-was nothing for the principal to do, and he returned to the deck.
-
-Dory was directed to take the wheel. When he went to the pilot-house,
-he found that Oscar Chester was steering the steamer. He was doing
-very well for a beginner, and the first pilot did not interfere.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-ANOTHER BATTLE AT PLATTSBURGH.
-
-
-Dory, without saying a word to Oscar, relieved Bates, and took his
-place at the starboard window in front. Captain Gildrock was pacing
-the hurricane deck, and the first pilot did not fear an attack from
-the rebel. But Oscar looked ugly, and bestowed savage glances upon his
-associate in the pilot-house.
-
-“We shall get to Plattsburgh just at dinner-time,” said Captain
-Gildrock, stopping at the door of the pilot-house.
-
-“I suppose we can take dinner at the wharf as well as anywhere else,”
-replied Dory.
-
-“We shall not go up to the wharf; but we will keep the boat going till
-after dinner,” added the captain. “What is your course, second pilot?”
-
-“I am steering for that lighthouse ahead,” replied Oscar.
-
-“All right; but you may go to the eastward of it.”
-
-“What shall I steer for, sir?” inquired the second pilot.
-
-“I don’t know of any object near enough to guide you; but you can
-steer by compass, and make the course north by east,” added the
-principal in a matter-of-fact way.
-
-“I never steered by compass, sir, and I don’t know how,” said Oscar.
-
-“That is one of the things a pilot ought to learn very early in his
-course. There is a compass in front of you on the shelf.”
-
-“I have seen it, but Bates told me to steer for that lighthouse.”
-
-“You did quite right. That is Cumberland Head light. You are steering
-just north by the compass, but there is a variation of the needle of
-about eleven and a half degrees. Now, port the helm until the point
-‘N. by E.’ comes to the mark on the front of the case. Steer small,”
-continued Captain Gildrock, placing himself by the side of the second
-pilot.
-
-Oscar had learned enough of Bates to enable him to do this. He even
-knew that “steering small” was to move the wheel but a little at a
-time.
-
-“That’s right: now you have the steamer on her course. Remember, that,
-so far as any turning is concerned, the compass is stationary. It is
-the steamer, and not the compass, that turns, the needle always
-pointing to the north.”
-
-“I think I understand it, sir,” replied Oscar.
-
-But he did not, for the very first time he moved the wheel he turned
-it the wrong way.
-
-“The other way, Chester,” interposed the principal very gently. “You
-are doing first-rate, and you will soon get the hang of the new
-schoolhouse.”
-
-Oscar reversed the movement of the wheel, and soon got the course
-again. He was wholly absorbed in his duty, and at that moment he had
-forgotten that Dory stood within a few feet of him. In a few minutes
-the second pilot got the nack of keeping the point for which he was
-steering on the mark.
-
-“You are all right now, Chester,” said the captain. “You will make a
-good pilot in due time.”
-
-“Thank you, sir,” replied Oscar, who certainly appeared to have been
-greatly humanized by his experience on board.
-
-The Sylph went along on her new course very well. The second pilot
-had learned the art of steering small, and the steamer hardly wabbled
-at all. He kept his eyes fixed steadily on the compass, and the danger
-was that he would see nothing else. A small steamer was directly
-ahead, bound up the lake. Oscar did not appear to see her. Presently
-she blew one whistle. Dory waited for the second pilot to respond to
-the signal, but he did not appear to understand it. He had been shut
-up in the ice-house the night before when these signals were
-explained. Bates had had no occasion to instruct him in the manner of
-passing other steamers.
-
-Dory pulled the line, and gave the required signal. Oscar looked at
-him with a scowl on his face, but neither of the pilots spoke. The
-little steamer sheered off, but hardly enough to pass the Sylph in
-safety. Dory did not like to interfere, lest he should give offence to
-the waspish associate in the pilot-house.
-
-“Excuse me, Oscar Chester, but you must port the helm a little in
-order to pass that steamer,” said Dory, when he found that his
-companion was likely to shave a hair off the approaching vessel.
-
-“You are the first pilot, and I will obey whatever order you give me,”
-replied Oscar in snappish tones, as he put the wheel to port.
-
-“When a steamer blows one whistle, it is a signal that she intends to
-go to the starboard of us; and we have to reply with the one whistle,”
-added Dory, glad to find that the second pilot could speak to him even
-in waspish tones.
-
-“All right,” growled Oscar.
-
-At this moment one of the hands struck eight strokes, in couples, on
-the bell on the bitts. Bates had been explaining the bells to the
-crew.
-
-“All the starboard watch will go to dinner now!” shouted Captain
-Gildrock.
-
-The first officer and the second pilot were in the starboard watch.
-The engineer had arranged the watches to suit himself.
-
-“I will relieve you while you are at dinner, Oscar Chester,” said
-Dory, taking hold of the wheel.
-
-“Thank you,” replied Oscar gruffly, as he left the pilot-house.
-
-Dinner was on the table in the forward cabin. The three stewards stood
-behind the chairs. The table looked as neat as that of a first-class
-hotel. The linen was clean and white, the articles were arranged with
-good taste, and the dishes were neatly disposed in their proper
-places.
-
-Captain Gildrock took his place at the head of the table, with the
-chief steward behind his chair. The first officer was directed to take
-the seat at the opposite end of the table. Mr. Jepson and Mr.
-Brookbine sat on the right and left of the captain, and the rest took
-such places as they chose.
-
-The dinner was not an elaborate one, and both of the cooks were equal
-to such a meal every day in the week. In front of the captain was a
-dish of beefsteak, and before the first officer a platter of
-veal-cutlets. There were several kinds of vegetables, besides boiled
-potatoes and chips.
-
-Every thing was well cooked; and the occupants of the galley declared
-that it ought to be, for both of them had done this thing times enough
-to learn how. The captain declared that Pemberton Millweed was good
-for something; and, if he would devote himself to the art of cooking,
-he could make more money in one year than he could in six as a
-counter-jumper. The captain said as much as this to him after dinner.
-
-“But it is not quite so genteel,” replied Pemberton with a smile.
-
-“Genteel!” exclaimed the captain in a most contemptuous tone. “I will
-venture to say, that the cook of a first-class hotel in New York, not
-to mention many private families, is more genteel than any
-counter-jumper in Burlington. The most genteel man I ever saw was a
-journeyman barber. The bartenders cut the biggest swell in some
-cities. I can’t see why a cook should not be as genteel as a
-counter-jumper, if he is so disposed. Male cooks get anywhere from six
-hundred to three thousand dollars a year, and they can better afford
-to be genteel than clerks on five to ten dollars a week.”
-
-The captain was rather curious to know what had happened at the house
-of Farmer Millweed after the poor man went home that morning, but he
-was not willing to ask either of the boys about it. The sons had both
-joined the school, and both were discharging their duties manfully.
-Doubtless there had been a stormy scene at the house of the farmer,
-and Mr. Millweed had risen somewhat in the estimation of the
-shipmaster.
-
-The tables were set a second time at half-past twelve; and the port
-watch fared as well as the starboard, for, as far as practicable, a
-fresh meal had been cooked for its members. Mr. Jepson reported
-Bolingbroke as both willing and intelligent. He knew all about a
-steam-engine, and not a little about chemistry and the mathematics;
-for which the captain was willing to give the credit to the Genverres
-high-school.
-
-Obeying the instructions of the captain, Dory had come about, and the
-steamer was headed up the lake. At Cumberland Head she changed her
-course again, and ran for Plattsburgh. At the north beacon on the
-breakwater, he rang to stop her. The second officer, prompted by the
-captain, had the anchor all ready to let go. The pilot gave the order
-when he was ready.
-
-“Let go the anchor!” shouted Will Orwell.
-
-Splash it went into the water: the Sylph swung around, and all hands
-were called. Captain Gildrock made a little speech to the boys,
-praised them for what they had done during the forenoon, and then gave
-them two hours’ liberty to go on shore. He expected them to behave
-like gentlemen, and not disgrace the uniform they wore. They were to
-be on the wharf at three o’clock, in readiness to return to the
-steamer.
-
-The dummy exercise of lowering the boats was made real; and, with the
-exception of Jepson and Bates, all hands went on shore. No restraint
-was put upon them as to where they should go. Dory thought he would
-call upon some of his old friends in the place; and he started for the
-town, which is about three-quarters of a mile from the lake-shore.
-After he had passed the railroad-station, Oscar Chester suddenly
-presented himself before him. He had evidently been lying in wait for
-him.
-
-“Dory Dornwood, we meet now on an equal footing; and I think I can
-keep my feet on the solid land as well as you can,” said the second
-pilot savagely. “I promised to get even with you, and my time has
-come.”
-
-“If your time has come, Oscar Chester, my time has not gone,” replied
-Dory calmly; and therein he had the advantage of the rebel. “I don’t
-want to quarrel with you, and I won’t if I can help it. I should like
-to talk the matter over with you, for I think you will be fair when
-you look on both sides of the question.”
-
-“I don’t want to talk it over. You insulted me last night, and then
-you caused me to be tumbled into the lake. I am going to have
-satisfaction; for I never forgive an insult,” added Oscar, waxing
-fierce as his anger boiled within him.
-
-“I did not intend to insult you; and I only did what any skipper would
-have done under the same circumstances,” continued Dory.
-
-“No more talk. I intend to thrash you here and now, till you say you
-have had enough of it, and are willing to beg my pardon,” stormed
-Oscar, as he threw off his uniform sack, and tossed his badged cap
-upon the grass at the side of the road.
-
-By this time a party of the ship’s company came up. The second officer
-was in it; and, as soon as he understood what was going on, he
-hastened to the scene. He spoke to Oscar, and tried to induce him not
-to meddle with Dory. The others were not disposed to interfere with
-such a fellow as the second pilot. Will Orwell was his crony; and he
-persisted, taking his friend by the arm, and trying to lead him away.
-
-“Don’t talk to me, Will Orwell! You are half a traitor to me,” said
-Oscar, shaking off his crony.
-
-Without waiting for another word, the rebel leaped upon Dory. An
-instant later Oscar went over backwards, with the blood spurting from
-his nose. He sprang to his feet, and renewed the attack. In two
-minutes more he lay upon the ground, unable to rise.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON SHORE.
-
-
-Oscar Chester was not killed, or even very seriously injured. The last
-blow of Dory had been planted in a sensitive place, and he had been
-stunned by it. His companions gathered around him, lifted him up, and
-procured some water from the Fouquet Hotel, with which they washed his
-head. In a few minutes his senses came back to him, and he was able to
-comprehend the situation.
-
-Dory had been hit several times; but he was a tough youngster, and
-seemed to be none the worse for the battle. As he viewed the matter,
-he had simply defended himself, according to the first law of nature.
-He had done his best beforehand to avoid the fight, and had proposed
-to talk the matter over in order to ascertain who was to blame.
-
-“That was an awful crack you gave him at the end,” said Fireman
-Bolingbroke Millweed, joining Dory, who stood alone on the grass. “I
-didn’t know that you were such a hard hitter.”
-
-“I did not know it myself,” replied Dory, wiping the perspiration from
-his brow. “I am not a fighting character, and I never struck a blow in
-my life except in self-defence.”
-
-“I think Chester has got enough of it,” added the fireman.
-
-“I don’t know about that. He acts to me as though he was crazy. It
-would be just like him to pitch into me again as soon as he feels able
-to do so. I am sure I don’t want to quarrel with him, especially as he
-is to be in the pilot-house with me. If I have done any thing out of
-the way, I am willing to beg his pardon; but he wouldn’t even talk
-with me about his grudge against me.”
-
-“I saw the whole of it, and heard all that was said. I am sure you are
-not to blame,” added Bolingbroke. “But I was glad to see you knock him
-out after he was so unreasonable.”
-
-“You were in the boat last night when the trouble began, and I hope
-you will be able to remember what passed between Oscar and me; for,
-after this, my uncle will be very likely to investigate the case.”
-
-“I remember all about it. Oscar wanted to steer the boat, and you
-objected. When he got up from his seat,--to take the helm, I
-suppose,--you told him to sit down; and you spoke rather sharply. Then
-the boat gave a lurch, and he went overboard. If it hadn’t been for
-you, Dory, he would have been drowned as sure as fate,” replied
-Bolingbroke, rehearsing the facts precisely as they were.
-
-“I am ready to face the music, and if I have done any thing wrong I
-shall be glad to apologize for it. In this fight, I only defended
-myself, as I think every fellow ought to do.”
-
-“How are you, Dory?”
-
-The pilot looked around, and saw Mr. Peppers, a constable of
-Plattsburgh, who sometimes did detective work. He had sailed down the
-lake with Dory in the Goldwing a few weeks before, and Peppers had a
-strong regard for the skipper.
-
-“I am glad to see you, Mr. Peppers,” replied Dory, shaking hands with
-the detective.
-
-“You have settled that fellow so that he won’t want any more of your
-love-pats,” replied Peppers, laughing. “I saw the whole of it, and it
-was handsomely done.”
-
-“I merely defended myself. He pitched into me, and I could not help
-myself,” answered the pilot in the language and tone of apology; for
-he did not want any one to think that he ever engaged in a voluntary
-fight.
-
-“I know it: I saw the whole of it. You were trying to talk with him
-when he rushed upon you,” added Peppers.
-
-By this time Oscar Chester appeared to have recovered from the heavy
-blows of his brother pilot. He and Will Orwell walked up the street
-towards the town. The excitement was all over, and the other pupils
-scattered. Peppers followed Chester. Dory was doubtful what to do. At
-first he thought of going on board of the Sylph, and reporting the
-battle to his uncle.
-
-After a little consideration, and some talk with Bolingbroke about it,
-he decided not to do so. He was ready to answer to any charge that
-might be brought against him, and it would be time enough to defend
-himself when he was accused. He called at the Witherill House, had a
-chat with the landlord and the clerk, and then returned to the wharf.
-By this time most of the boys had seen all they wanted to of the town,
-and were ready to go on board. Captain Gildrock had come on shore, and
-had just gone on board with the two Plattsburgh boys who were to join
-the school.
-
-Bates was in charge of the boats; and, as soon as the crew of one of
-them appeared, he sent one load on board. The principal was
-instructing the two new hands, who had already put on the uniform. One
-was a steward, and the other belonged to the port watch.
-
-At a little after three o’clock the other boat came off, and the
-students rushed up the accommodation steps as though they enjoyed the
-steamer and the lake more than the town. George Duane, the new
-steward, was handed over to Bob Swanton, after a proper introduction;
-and they retired to the forward cabin.
-
-“Have all hands come on board?” asked Captain Gildrock.
-
-The boys looked about them, as though they were unable to answer the
-question.
-
-“You don’t know: well, we can soon ascertain by calling the roll,”
-added the principal, as he took the list of students from his pocket.
-“Mr. Glovering.”
-
-“Here sir,” replied the first officer in the midst of the laughter of
-the boys when they heard the handle applied to his name.
-
-“Mr. Orwell.”
-
-“Here, sir.”
-
-“Mr. Dornwood.”
-
-“Here, sir.”
-
-“Mr. Chester.”
-
-There was no response to this name, and it was repeated. There was no
-answer.
-
-“Is the second pilot on board?” asked Captain Gildrock; and Dory
-wondered if he knew any thing about the second battle of Plattsburgh.
-
-The first and second officers looked about the deck and into the
-cabins for the missing pilot, but he could not be found. A more
-thorough search was made by all hands, and it was soon evident that
-“Mr. Chester” was not on board. The captain finished the call of the
-roll, and made no remark in regard to the disappearance of the second
-pilot. He directed the first officer to get up the anchor.
-
-It looked as though Oscar Chester had absconded, notwithstanding his
-good conduct during the forenoon. Possibly some of the boys,
-especially Will Orwell, knew something about the matter; but they did
-not volunteer to give any information, and the principal did not ask
-for any. He said nothing at all, in fact, about the missing student.
-The captain did not appear to be in the least degree disturbed by the
-absence of the refractory pupil.
-
-Captain Gildrock looked on while the crew walked around the capstan.
-The officers had learned their lesson well; and, for a first trial,
-the operation of getting up the anchor was handsomely done.
-
-The first pilot was at his post; and, as soon as “anchor aweigh” was
-reported to him, he rang the gong. Mr. Jepson stood on deck, near the
-door of the engine-room, having stationed his first assistant at the
-machine. He opened the valve slowly, and the thumping of the screw was
-immediately heard.
-
-Captain Gildrock had gone to the hurricane deck, where he could see
-all that was done in the pilot-house and on the forecastle. He cast
-occasional glances at the wharf, and he directed Dory to run in that
-direction. Then he called the first officer, and told him to get ready
-to make a landing.
-
-Dory ran the Sylph up to the wharf, where she was secured by the
-enthusiastic crew. The portion of the bulwark at the starboard gangway
-was removed, and the plank run out. While Mr. Glovering was wondering
-who was going on shore, Oscar Chester stepped out of the building on
-the wharf, and walked on board as coolly as though nothing had
-happened to disturb his equanimity.
-
-“Haul in the plank!” called the captain. “Cast off, Dory.”
-
-The pilot on duty blew a sharp whistle, which was the signal to cast
-off the fasts; and the officers below attended to this duty. The Sylph
-backed out from the wharf, and then went ahead, the engine being
-wholly managed by Corny Minkfield. Oscar Chester went directly to the
-hurricane deck, and was about to enter the pilot-house, when he was
-confronted by Captain Gildrock.
-
-“You are late, Mr. Chester,” said the principal.
-
-“I came on board against my will, sir. In fact, I was brought down to
-the wharf,” replied Oscar.
-
-“Indeed? Who brought you to the wharf?” asked the captain with a
-half-suppressed chuckle.
-
-“I wasn’t introduced to him, but he said he was a constable.”
-
-“You ought to have been introduced to him,” laughed the captain. “I
-can’t go through the ceremony now, because the constable is not here;
-but his name is Peppers. Dory knows him, and he will introduce you if
-I don’t happen to be present when you meet again. Am I to understand
-from what you say that you did not intend to return to the steamer?”
-
-“I did not intend to return: on the contrary, I meant to run away; for
-I suppose that is what you would call it,” replied Oscar.
-
-“If I remember rightly, you promised this morning to behave as well as
-you knew how, if I released you from the brig,” added the captain.
-
-“I meant what I said at the time, and intended to keep my promise; but
-something happened on shore that prevented me from doing so,” replied
-Oscar rather sheepishly for him.
-
-“What is the matter with your face, Mr. Chester? Your nose is swelled,
-and you have a mouse under each eye. I should say that both of your
-eyes would be in mourning for the next week,” added Captain Gildrock.
-
-“The black eyes are in consequence of something that happened on shore,”
-answered the second pilot.
-
-“What was that?”
-
-“Excuse me, sir: if you will ask Dory, he can tell the story better
-than I can,” replied Oscar, glancing at the pilot at the wheel.
-
-This conversation took place at the door of the pilot-house, and Dory
-could not help hearing all that was said; and if he looked behind him
-he could see the parties.
-
-“I prefer that you should tell your own story,” added the principal
-rather sternly. “My business just now is with you and not with Dory.”
-
-“To make a short story of it, sir, I attempted to thrash Dory, and I
-got thrashed myself,” answered the culprit.
-
-“Served you right!” exclaimed the captain. “Have you settled the
-matter finally?”
-
-“It seems to have settled itself, sir. I had no doubt I could whip
-Dory as easily as I could turn my hand. I never met one of these
-proper fellows before that I could not whip, and without the least
-difficulty. I am satisfied now that he can whip me every time, and
-that settles the matter.”
-
-“I should say that you judge yourself and Dory by a very mean and
-cowardly standard. But if you are satisfied, nobody else need complain
-this time. Return to your duty, Mr. Chester.”
-
-Oscar went to the wheel, and did not seem to have any delicacy about
-meeting Dory.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-THE NEW HEAD OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY.
-
-
-Captain Gildrock judged, from the appearance of Oscar Chester’s face,
-that he had been severely punished for his assault upon his superior
-officer. He had not heard a word about the second battle at
-Plattsburg. Though Bates knew all about it, he never meddled with what
-did not concern him.
-
-He walked away from the pilot-house, satisfied that Dory could take
-care of himself if the second pilot wanted any thing more of him. Mr.
-Jepson had divided the firemen into watches, and two of them were now
-off duty. The principal saw Bolingbroke walking the hurricane deck,
-and called him. In answer to his question, Bolingbroke told him all
-the particulars of the fight on shore. Of course the statement was
-highly favorable to Dory.
-
-If no one else knew it, the principal did, that Will Orwell was a
-crony of the second pilot. From him he could get the other side of the
-story, if there was any other side to it; and he called the second
-officer. Orwell’s story did not differ materially from that of the
-fireman, and the captain was satisfied that the assault upon his
-nephew had been entirely unprovoked. He knew all about the difficulty
-in the boat, and on board of the steamer the night before.
-
-The captain was satisfied that Chester had been sufficiently punished,
-especially when he considered what a shock the pride of the wilful boy
-had received in his failure to thrash Dory. Doubtless his attempt to
-run away had been caused by his defeat. He was humiliated and
-mortified at the result.
-
-Of course Peppers did not act without instructions. The principal
-expected a demonstration on the part of the rebel. He had written to
-the officer the day before, requesting him to be on the wharf when the
-Sylph arrived, and instructing him to watch Oscar all the time the
-latter was on shore. He was to bring him off if he attempted to run
-away.
-
-Peppers soon ascertained which of the boys he was to “shadow,” and
-followed him wherever he went. Orwell remained in his company till it
-was time to return to the wharf. Oscar declared that he would not go
-on board again, and tried to induce his crony to join him in his
-flight into the country.
-
-Orwell was second officer, and was delighted with his experience in
-the Beech-Hill Industrial School so far. It was better than a play to
-him, and nothing could have induced him to run away from the agreeable
-life which had just opened upon him. He had reasoned with his friend
-very earnestly, and even had the pluck to tell him flatly that Dory
-was altogether in the right, and he was altogether in the wrong.
-
-Oscar admitted that he was pleased with the school, but he could not
-endure the humiliation of playing “second fiddle” to Dory after what
-had happened. They parted, and Orwell went on board with the other
-pupils; and he was utterly astonished when he saw his crony come on
-board at the wharf.
-
-“If you wish to steer, I will give you the wheel, Oscar Chester,” said
-Dory, when the second pilot had been in the room a few minutes. “It is
-not a new thing to me; and I am not anxious to steer, though I like to
-do it well enough.”
-
-“Thank you, Dory Dornwood: you are very kind. You can whip me every
-time; and, of course, you can bully me if you have a mind to do so,”
-replied Oscar, beginning very stiffly.
-
-“I have no wish to bully you or any other fellow. I don’t want to
-quarrel with any person; and, as we are to be in the pilot-house
-together, I hope we shall be able to agree,” added Dory in the most
-conciliatory tones.
-
-“We shall agree after this,” said Oscar, letting himself down a few
-pegs. “You can whip me, and that is enough. I can’t quarrel with you
-without getting the worst of it. I must submit, and I may as well make
-the best of it.”
-
-“I don’t believe in fighting, and I don’t care a straw who is the best
-man. I don’t mean to bully even the weakest fellow in the school. I
-know I speak quick sometimes, but I don’t mean any thing by it. I am
-told that I spoke rather sharply to you in the boat last night. I am
-sorry for it, and I beg your pardon,” said Dory.
-
-“You don’t owe me any apology after you have whipped me; and you are
-generous to let me down as easily as you can,” added Oscar.
-
-“It was since we came on board, after the affair, that I was told I
-spoke sharply to you. If you had told me so before hitting me, I
-should have begged your pardon. I mean to do the right thing.”
-
-“Your hand, Dory!” exclaimed Oscar, extending his own. “You are a good
-fellow, even if you are so frightfully proper.”
-
-Dory gave the rebel his right hand, and his companion shook it
-heartily. There was some good left in Oscar Chester.
-
-“I always thrashed every fellow in the school that didn’t fag to me,
-and I suppose I have been spoiled. But I will try to do better. If I
-don’t do well, you must thrash me again, Dory,” added the second
-pilot, smiling blandly. “I hope we shall be friends; and I will take
-the wheel now, if you will show me how to handle it.”
-
-“You handle it very well already, though there are a great many things
-you will have to learn, as every wheelman must,” replied Dory
-cordially, and without putting on any airs.
-
-There was peace in the pilot-house now, as there was in every part of
-the steamer. Captain Gildrock looked into the room after a while, and
-found that the two pilots were apparently excellent friends. He did
-not say any thing, or even enter the apartment; for he thought the
-boys would get along better without any help.
-
-The Sylph went up the lake as far as Ticonderoga. The instruction was
-continued in all the departments; and as the students were required to
-do the work themselves, as well as listen to the theory, they made
-rapid progress, and enjoyed themselves to the end of the trip. They
-were sorry when it was finished.
-
-The steamer was secured at the temporary wharf in Beech Lake. Supper
-had been served on board as arranged in the morning; and the cooks and
-stewards had to put things in order before they went on shore. The
-engineers and firemen were taught in what shape to leave the engine
-and boilers. The first and second officers put the decks in order. But
-the pilots had nothing to do when the boat touched the wharf.
-
-“Is Captain Gildrock on board?” asked Mr. Millweed, who was on the
-wharf when Dory landed.
-
-“He is in the after cabin,” replied the first pilot; and he would have
-been very glad to hear what passed between the principal and the
-farmer.
-
-But he had been taught to mind his own business; and he walked up to
-the dormitory with Oscar, who had not yet visited the room
-appropriated to his use. Mr. Millweed went on board of the Sylph, and
-found the captain at the desk in his room.
-
-“I will wait till you are ready to see me, Captain Gildrock,” said he.
-
-“I am ready to see you now, and anxious to hear what you have to say,”
-replied the principal, as he led the way out of the state-room into
-the main cabin. “Both of the boys came on board before nine, and have
-done well. Pemberton is first cook, and Bolingbroke is third fireman.”
-
-“I suppose they don’t like these places,” added Farmer Millweed.
-
-“Both of them seem to be very well satisfied. Pemberton is an
-excellent cook,” answered the captain. “He thinks his position is not
-particularly genteel, but he will get over that in a short time. Did
-Mrs. Millweed consent to their joining the school?”
-
-“She did not: she objected with all her might. But I saw that the boys
-were inclined to go to the school. We had a regular row, but I stuck to
-my text; and finally I told the boys I could not support them another
-day in idleness.
-
-“My wife cried; but I told her it was no use, for we should all be
-turned out of the house, and all that I had would be sold to pay my
-debts. I told the boys to hurry down here before the boat started; and
-they minded me, in spite of the screams of my wife. It made me feel
-bad, but I couldn’t help it.”
-
-“I am sorry you had any trouble, but I think you have done right,”
-added Captain Gildrock.
-
-“When the boys had gone, I had a talk with the girls. I told them the
-plain truth, and insisted that they should go to work. Both of them
-said they were willing; but their mother declared they should not go
-into a store or factory, or any thing of that sort, to work. They had
-been finely educated, and were fit to adorn the drawing-room of a rich
-man.”
-
-“Very likely they are; but the next thing is to find the
-drawing-room,” suggested the captain.
-
-“That is the very thing I said to Matilda--that’s my wife. I told the
-girls I would try to find places, and they both said they would take
-any places I could get for them. Matilda said they should not. I told
-them I had not money enough to buy a meal of victuals, and the
-storekeepers and the butchers won’t trust me. I found a place in a
-store for Elinora myself; and she went to it, after dinner, to-day.”
-
-“Excellent! You are doing bravely!” exclaimed the captain. “I will see
-what can be done for the other girl as soon as I go ashore. By the
-way, I was thinking of getting a young man to keep the records of the
-school, and do some of my writing for me. A woman will do just as
-well. I will give your other daughter five dollars a week, and raise
-her wages as fast as she learns to do the work.”
-
-“God bless you, Captain Gildrock!” ejaculated the discouraged father.
-“If the children can support themselves, I can take care of my wife
-after we have lost the farm and every thing else. I can get work at
-day wages.”
-
-“I hope you won’t lose your farm,” added the captain.
-
-“There is no help for it. The mortgage note will be due in a short
-time; and I can’t pay the interest, let alone any part of the
-principal.”
-
-Farmer Millweed groaned in spirit, when he thought of the final blow
-that was about to fall upon him. He had been an honest, temperate,
-hard-working man all his life, though he was a person of but little
-force of character. His wife’s aspirations after gentility had
-actually ruined him. As things were going on the day before, the
-family were only a few steps from the poorhouse.
-
-“I think you are an honest man, and I am very sorry to see you brought
-to the verge of ruin in this way,” said Captain Gildrock after a few
-minutes’ reflection. “I will let you have the money to pay your
-interest when it is due, and I will take the mortgage on your place
-myself.”
-
-“I did not expect any thing of this sort from you, captain; and I am
-sure”--
-
-“Never mind that, Mr. Millweed. If any of your creditors trouble you,
-come to me. You have got rid of the principal trouble; and there is no
-reason why you should not do well,--pay all your debts, and clear off
-the mortgage on your farm.”
-
-The farmer was profuse in his expressions of gratitude; but the
-captain cut them short by inquiring still further into his affairs,
-and giving him much good advice. Mr. Millweed went home with hope in
-his soul. There was a new head to the Millweed family.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI.
-
-CAPTAIN GILDROCK ARGUES AGAINST HIGH-SCHOOLS.
-
-
-The next day was Sunday; and Captain Gildrock insisted that all the
-students should attend church, and refrain from all work and play.
-Those who lived in Genverres were allowed to spend the day at home. No
-excursions on the river or the lake were permitted, and no scholar was
-allowed even to get into any of the boats.
-
-On Monday morning the actual work of the school was begun. The
-study-hours were from nine till twelve in the forenoon. The two
-gentlemen who were to teach in the scholastic department had arrived,
-and promptly at the hour the school was called to order.
-
-“Now, my lads, we are ready for work,” said the captain on the
-platform. “I am told that you can all read, write, and cipher. You
-have some knowledge of geography and history. I dare say, some of you
-have studied Greek, Latin, French, and German, which are all very well
-in their place; but we shall have nothing to do with them here. We are
-to make good mechanics of you, and not good scholars.”
-
-“Can’t good scholars be good mechanics?” asked Bolingbroke Millweed.
-
-“Certainly they can: I don’t object to any amount of scholarship,”
-replied Captain Gildrock rather warmly. “You have been to the
-high-school, Bolingbroke; but all that you have learned will not
-prevent you from becoming a first-class mechanic. On the contrary,
-your education will be a great help to you.”
-
-“That is just what I thought,” added the graduate of the high-school.
-
-“For two or three years an exciting question has been under discussion
-here in Genverres,” continued the principal, turning to the two
-instructors. “I have taken the practical side of the subject, and I
-don’t believe in sending all the boys and girls to the high-school.
-When our fathers here in New England planted the schoolhouse by the
-side of the church, I don’t believe they meant a high-school.”
-
-“Of course not: such an institution was unknown in their day,--at
-least, as we understand it,” replied Mr. Bentnick. “They simply meant
-an ordinary common-school education, as we call it now.”
-
-“That must be all they meant; but there has been progress in
-education, as in every thing else, since their time,” added Mr.
-Darlingby.
-
-“I rejoice in the progress as much as any one can,” retorted the
-captain vigorously. “But I believe there is intemperance in the matter
-of education as well as in eating and drinking. The first business of
-life, in an enlightened or a savage state, is bread and butter. In
-other words, a man must get his living before he does any thing beyond
-that; and the greater part of our population can do nothing more than
-get a living. Do you believe that, boys?”
-
-The boys did believe it, though none of them had ever given much
-attention to social and political economy. It was plain enough that
-the first duty of existence for every person was to support himself.
-
-“But some are born rich,” suggested Corny Minkfield.
-
-“Then their means of support are provided, but this is not the case
-with one in a hundred. The great body of our people have to earn their
-own living. The only real objections I have to the high-school are,
-first, that it unfits boys and girls for the humble labors of life;
-and, second, that it uses up so many of the years of the young in
-learning what does not directly help them in earning their own
-livelihood,” continued the captain.
-
-“But what they learn in the high-school is a direct help to them in
-all the business of life,” suggested Mr. Darlingby.
-
-“Boys and girls spend their time from fourteen or sixteen years of
-age, till they are eighteen or twenty, in learning Latin, French,
-German, literature, the higher mathematics, and such branches, when
-they might learn a trade, or obtain a knowledge of business. When they
-graduate, they don’t want to learn a trade, work on a farm, or do
-manual labor of any kind. They look down upon such occupations. They
-want to be clerks, if they are boys, or marry wealthy men, if they are
-girls. They must do something, if any thing at all, that is genteel.”
-
-“There is a great deal of truth in that statement,” added Mr.
-Bentnick. “Boys don’t stay in the country, and work on the farm, now
-as they did fifty years ago.”
-
-“I had a curiosity, when I was in New York last spring, to inquire
-into the salaries paid to clerks and salesmen in dry-goods stores,”
-continued the captain. “So far as I could obtain the information, the
-average was not above ten dollars a week. Of course, some got two or
-three thousand dollars a year, or even double these sums; but I found
-that a great many young men worked for five or six dollars a week, and
-some for even less. Good mechanics earned from ten to thirty dollars a
-week.
-
-“Why, a common laborer got from six to twelve dollars a week. While
-mechanics and laborers were in demand, there were multitudes of
-counter-jumpers, and other persons who wanted what they called genteel
-occupations, who could get nothing to do. In a word, our institutions
-of learning have fitted too many for the so-called higher grades of
-employment.”
-
-“But sometimes the mechanics and laborers are out of work?” said
-Bolingbroke.
-
-“They are, for it sometimes happens that overproduction shuts up the
-shops and manufactories. But these men have been taught to work with
-their hands, and their bodies have been fitted for such service. When
-they can’t get work at their trades, they do something else. Thousands
-upon thousands of them go to the great West, and become farmers. They
-can always get a living out of the earth, if they can’t any other way.
-But I did not intend to argue this question; though I desire every
-young man to think for himself, and form his own opinions. You can
-think as you please; and if you believe that high-schools, as managed
-at the present time, promote the best interests of the whole people,
-you are entirely welcome to your opinion.”
-
-“My father don’t believe in high-schools, and would not send me to
-one,” said Phil Gawner.
-
-“Never mind what your father believes: make up your mind yourself, and
-have your own opinions, my lad. Now, boys, the studies you are to
-pursue here are those which will fit you to become good mechanics. But
-I hope you will read and study as long as you live. What I intend to
-do is to fit you out with a business that will enable you to earn your
-own living.”
-
-Miss Fatima Millweed was present with the record-books with which she
-had been provided; and the name, age, and residence of each pupil were
-taken. The average age of the scholars was found to be fourteen and a
-half. A few were only twelve, but several were eighteen and nineteen.
-All of them were graduates of grammar-schools, and some had attended
-high-schools and academies. Of course, the schools they had attended
-did not fairly gauge their attainments; for some of the oldest, who
-had been to the higher schools of learning, were weak in knowledge and
-mental power when compared with the ones who had only been to the
-lower grades of schools.
-
-“Now, my lads, a few words more, and I shall leave you to your
-instructors. The studies you will pursue are all practical ones,” said
-the captain, taking the platform again. “The principal branches will
-be drawing, natural philosophy, chemistry, geometry, and book-keeping.
-Geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar will be taught
-incidentally. Before you graduate, there will be a course in botany,
-geology, and zoölogy. At one o’clock you will all assemble in the
-shop, and make a beginning in the mechanical part of your education.”
-
-The captain left the platform, and left the schoolroom. Mr. Bentnick
-was the chief instructor, Mr. Darlingby being his assistant. He
-proceeded to organize the classes in the studies the principal had
-mentioned. He made such rules as he considered necessary, but they
-were not very stringent.
-
-The boys were divided into two classes, according to their
-attainments. Ten were found who had made considerable progress in the
-four principal studies, and these were the first class. Mr. Bentnick
-proceeded to give them a lecture in chemistry. It was conversational,
-and the instructor soon found where to make a beginning in the
-science.
-
-At the same time Mr. Darlingby began with the rudiments in the second
-class. The pupils were provided with text-books, and lessons assigned
-for the next day. A start was made in geometry in the same manner, and
-by that time it was noon. At quarter past twelve the dinner-bell rang;
-and all hands, including the family, the instructors, the pupils, and
-Miss Millweed, seated themselves at the long table. It was a sociable
-meal; and no one seemed to be under any restraint, though the boys
-behaved very well.
-
-Mr. Darlingby had something more to say in favor of high-schools, in
-which he had been a teacher for several years. He wanted to know if
-Captain Gildrock believed that the higher branches should be taught at
-the public expense.
-
-“I think the expense is the least important part of the subject,”
-replied the principal; “but I will answer the question. I do not
-believe that high-schools should be supported, as a rule, out of the
-public taxes.”
-
-“You are very radical in your opinions, Captain Gildrock,” added the
-instructor.
-
-“Let us look at it a moment. There are two thousand scholars of all
-ages in the public schools of Genverres. Not more than one in five of
-them will ever reach the highest class in the grammar-school. The
-other four will leave school, and go to work: their parents need them,
-or what they can earn. But the parents of all those who fall out of
-the schools by the way are tax-payers. Some are only poll-taxes, but a
-few of them pay on their little lots of land and houses. It costs
-about five times as much to educate a pupil in the high-school as in
-the elementary schools. The parents of four-fifths of the scholars
-can’t afford even to send their children through the grammar-school
-course, to say nothing of the high-school; but they have to pay their
-share of the expenses of the high-school, which I contend is not
-just.”
-
-“But the safety of our institutions depends upon the education of the
-people,” replied Mr. Darlingby.
-
-“Does it depend upon a college education? Why not insist that every
-person should be a graduate of a college, and that no person could be
-moral and upright without having a college degree?” added the
-principal.
-
-“There is reason in all things.”
-
-“You draw the line after the high-school, and I before: that is the
-only difference. It would be as just to support the colleges at the
-public expense as the high-schools. The education that preserves the
-State is not French and German, Latin and Greek, chemistry and
-physics; but it is the education that distinguishes the immigrant who
-cannot read and write from the farmers and mechanics of this country.
-It does not include a high-school training.”
-
-“Then, if a poor man’s son or daughter, with a taste for learning,
-wants an education, he shall not have it because his father cannot
-pay for it,” added Mr. Darlingby warmly and indignantly.
-
-“You have struck the weak point of my argument, sir,” replied the
-principal. “I would have scholarships provided by the State for such
-pupils.”
-
-Dinner was over, and the company left the table.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII.
-
-THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS IN THE SHOP.
-
-
-The boys had listened with interest to the discussion at the
-dinner-table; and, when they gathered in front of the shop, they were
-talking about the subject themselves. But they were hardly ready to
-settle their opinions in the matter. The principal’s views sounded
-very much like heresy to some of them, who had been taught that it was
-the most praiseworthy thing in the world to attend the high-school.
-They were in doubt; and, in this respect, they were like thousands of
-full-grown women and men.
-
-When Mr. Jepson unlocked the doors of the shop, there was a general
-rush for the inside of it. High-school education was forgotten, and
-everybody’s curiosity was excited to know what the mechanical school
-was to be.
-
-The master-carpenter and the engineer, assisted by Bates and other men
-who worked on the estate, had placed all the boxes of carpenter’s
-tools in the shop; but not one of them had yet been opened. The
-benches were all that looked like furniture. Of these there were half
-a dozen for wood-work, and a dozen for iron. Overhead were the shafts,
-drums, and pulleys by which various machines were to be operated.
-
-“Here we are again, my lads,” said Captain Gildrock, standing upon one
-of the boxes. “The first thing to be done is to put the shop in order.
-Your instructors are here; and you must heed what they say, and obey
-their orders. Like the session of the forenoon, the afternoon will
-last three hours. At four o’clock you will be dismissed for the rest
-of the day. The time will be your own then, but you must learn the
-lessons which have been assigned. Now, Mr. Brookbine and Mr. Jepson, I
-turn the pupils over to you. They have already been divided into
-classes. Mr. Jepson will take the first, and Mr. Brookbine the
-second.”
-
-Captain Gildrock stepped down from the box, and seated himself on one
-of the benches to witness the proceedings. He was quite as much
-interested as any of the pupils.
-
-“I am to teach you the use of carpenter’s tools,” said Mr. Brookbine.
-“It will be an easy and pleasant job if you give attention and try to
-do the best you can. The tools we have here are of the latest fashion,
-and some of them are quite different from those with which I learned
-my trade.
-
-“Let me say, that every one of them must be handled with the utmost
-care, and be kept in good order. You will be shown how to grind upon
-the grindstone, and sharpen on the oil-stone, the chisels and
-plane-irons. None but a bad workman ever uses dull tools. It is easier
-to avoid running your tools against a nail than it is to grind out the
-gaps the nail will make.”
-
-“But where are the tools? I don’t see any,” asked Tom Ridley.
-
-“They are in these boxes, and we will now open them. I will put two of
-you to each box, for there are just six of these large boxes. Dory and
-Thad Glovering may begin with the first one: the others will look on,
-and see how it is done. You may learn how to do it, or how not to do
-it.”
-
-The carpenter handed Dory and Thad a wooden mallet, a chisel, and a
-hatchet. Thad was full of enthusiasm. He thought he knew just how to
-do it. He had the hatchet and chisel in his hands. Inserting the
-latter under the lid of the box at one end, he struck the handle of
-the chisel with the hatchet.
-
-“Stop there, if you please,” interposed Mr. Brookbine.
-
-Thad looked at the carpenter with astonishment, for he had no
-suspicion that there was any thing wrong in what he had done.
-
-“What I say to Thad I say to the whole class,” continued the
-carpenter. “He has done just what most of you would if you had been in
-his place. What is that mallet for, Thad?”
-
-“To hit with, just as your fist is,” replied the amateur workman,
-laughing.
-
-“To strike with, and that is just what your fist is not for. You are
-never to strike a wooden tool, or the wooden handle of a tool, with a
-hammer or a hatchet. Can you all remember that, my lads?”
-
-“Yes, sir!” shouted all the boys.
-
-“Don’t do it, then. A mallet is used in striking a chisel.”
-
-Thad took the mallet, and hit the chisel a tremendous crack with it.
-The tool happened to be in a rather loose place in the opening, and it
-went in to the handle. Thad tried to draw it out. He pulled and tugged
-and wrenched at the chisel, but it was in firm enough to resist all
-his efforts. He was so much in earnest, that his attempts amused the
-rest of the boys; and they were soon laughing with all their might.
-The machinists at the other end of the shop were interested, and some
-of them went over to see what the excitement was. But they were called
-back by Mr. Jepson before they could see inside of the ring that
-surrounded Thad.
-
-“Pull away, my lad,” laughed the master-carpenter. “But when you get
-tired of the work, let me know, if you please.”
-
-“I can’t get it out,” replied Thad, when he discovered that he was the
-laughing-stock of the class.
-
-“Perhaps you can, if you keep on wrenching for a day or two longer.”
-
-“I have done my best, and it won’t come out.”
-
-“I don’t think it will under any such treatment,” added Mr. Brookbine.
-“You laugh, boys, because it is funny; but I doubt if the majority of
-you would have done any better. Here is a lesson to learn. Skill is
-better than strength, but skill and strength win the battle.”
-
-“Good!” shouted Steve Baxter. “I will remember that as long as I live:
-skill and strength win the battle.”
-
-“I hope you will all remember it, for it is just the motto for a
-carpenter. The ‘improvement,’ as the minister would say, upon the
-text, is this: When things don’t work right, and won’t do as you want
-and expect them to do, don’t yank, twist, jerk, and wrench at them.
-Something is the matter, and you must see what it is. That chisel
-would not come out. Why not?”
-
-“It is in too tight,” replied Dick Short.
-
-“Right, Dick: what is to be done?”
-
-“Loosen it, if you can.”
-
-“Dory, you may try your hand at it, taking the chisel as you find it.”
-
-Dory had been studying the situation, and had made up his mind what to
-do. Taking the hatchet, he inserted the edge of it in the crack, near
-the chisel, and drove it in with the mallet. The chisel dropped out of
-itself. But the hatchet stuck as hard as the chisel had.
-
-“Good, so far, Dory; but your chisel is in chancery,” said the
-carpenter.
-
-“What is sauce for goose is sauce for gander,” replied Dory as he picked
-up the chisel, and inserted it in the opening made by the hatchet.
-Twisting the hatchet a little, he started the nails with which the
-cover of the box was secured.
-
-In the manner described, Dory alternately used the tools till he had
-gone half-way round the box, when he and Thad took hold of the board
-with their hands, and pulled it off.
-
-“That was very well done,” said the carpenter. “But the board could
-have been taken off without pulling it off with the hands.”
-
-“I know it, Mr. Brookbine; but that was the quicker way to do it,”
-replied Dory.
-
-“So it was. It is quicker to pick up a rock, if you can, than to hoist
-it with a machine,” added Mr. Brookbine. “Now, Corny Minkfield, you
-and Nat Long may open the next one.”
-
-These operators had closely observed the method of Dory, and they
-opened the box without any difficulty. The others were disposed of in
-the same manner. The boys turned to the instructor for the next step
-in the interesting proceedings.
-
-“These boxes contain six sets of carpenter’s tools,” said Mr.
-Brookbine. “I shall describe them to you as they are taken from the
-cases. The tools are all packed in the same order. Dory will pass me
-the first package, and those who have opened the boxes will take the
-same bundle from each of them.”
-
-Dory took a thin package from the top of the box. Removing the paper
-from it, he handed the tool to the carpenter.
-
-“I needn’t tell you what this is, for you all know,” continued Mr.
-Brookbine.
-
-“It looks very much like a saw,” said Thad. “I know what it is, and
-what it is for.”
-
-“I am glad you do, Thad, though I have my doubts. Will you look at it,
-and tell me what kind of a saw it is?”
-
-Thad took the implement; and, putting on a very wise expression, he
-examined it carefully.
-
-“I should say that this was a hand-saw,” said he at last.
-
-“Quite right: it is a hand-saw. Why is that name given to it--to
-distinguish it from what?”
-
-“From the saw in a saw-mill, or a circular-saw, which is not a
-hand-saw,” answered Thad.
-
-“You have answered as well as could be expected. There is no
-particular meaning to the name, and the term is seldom used. There are
-not a few words that lose their original meaning. I suppose if I
-should ask you to go for a wood-saw, you would know what I meant.”
-
-“I should say you meant the one used to saw fire-wood,” replied Thad.
-
-“Precisely so; but all the saws in these boxes are wood-saws. Mr.
-Jepson has saws for sawing brass and iron; but the term ‘wood-saw,’ or
-‘buck-saw,’ was not given to distinguish it from them. If I asked you
-to saw off the end of the board you have taken off the box, do you
-think you could do it with this saw, Thad?”
-
-“I think I could: in fact, I have no doubt of it,” replied Thad
-confidently.
-
-“Suppose you try it; but don’t saw through any of the nails.”
-
-Dory assisted him to place the board in a proper position on the box.
-The amateur commenced operations, but the saw did not work as well as
-he expected. In spite of all his efforts, it would jump out of its
-place; and it would not cut at all well.
-
-“I don’t think this saw has ever been filed,” said Thad, disgusted
-with the ill success of his efforts.
-
-“The saw is sharp, well set, and in good order,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine. “Can any one of you tell me what kind of a saw this is?”
-
-“It is a slitting-saw,” answered Dory and two or three others, who had
-been examining the saws taken from the other boxes.
-
-“That’s what’s the matter,” laughed the carpenter. “It was not made to
-cut across the grain, and it will not do it very well. With this saw
-you work _with_ the grain of the wood, and it is never used for
-any other purpose. You will all have a chance to try it in a day or
-two.--The next package, Dory.--Another saw,” added the instructor, as
-he took the tool in his hand. “Can any of you tell me what kind of a
-saw this is?”
-
-“It is a cutting-off saw,” said Nat Long.
-
-“Right. It is also called a panel-saw, when it has fine teeth. If you
-compare the filing and setting of the two saws, you will see that the
-teeth of the last are of a different angle from the other, and that it
-has more set than the slitting-saw; that is, the teeth are thrown out
-more.--What next, Dory?”
-
-Just then there was a roar of laughter from the machine-shop.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIII.
-
-SOMETHING ABOUT TOOLS AND WORK.
-
-
-If there was any thing funny, the boys all wanted to know what it was;
-and some of them were inclined to run over to ascertain why the young
-machinists were laughing. Mr. Brookbine suspended his instructions,
-and seated himself on one of the benches.
-
-“Shall we appoint a committee to ascertain what is going on at the
-other end of the shop, or shall we all go over and see for ourselves?”
-said the carpenter.
-
-“We must have a partition between the two shops,” added Captain
-Gildrock. “Just now half the machinists started to come over here.”
-
-“The partition would be a nuisance; and, after a while, the boys will
-probably get tired of laughing at each other’s blunders,” added the
-carpenter: and by this time the class were all giving attention. “What
-next, Dory?”
-
-Dory unfolded another package, which was found to contain another saw.
-Mr. Brookbine took it, and held it up before the pupils.
-
-“You all know that this is a saw, but what is the name of it?” he
-asked.
-
-“I have always heard it called a fine saw,” answered Jim Alburgh.
-
-“It is often called so, but I have shown you that names don’t always
-describe the object to which they are applied. Some saws made like the
-cutting-off saw have finer teeth than this one,--the panel-saw, for
-instance. There is another and better name, which applies to all saws
-of this kind; and, if you please, we will call it the back-saw. You
-see that it has a steel back to prevent it from bending, as all
-without it will do.--The next article.”
-
-This proved to be another back-saw, but not more than half as long or
-wide as the first one. It was for finer work, and could very properly
-be called a fine saw. The carpenter required the next four packages to
-be opened before he said any thing about their contents.
-
-“These are planes,” said he, when he had placed them on a bench where
-all the class could see them. “These four are the ones in common use,
-but you cannot fully understand them until you have used them a while.
-We will examine the one that is used first, and here it is;” and Mr.
-Brookbine took up one of the tools. “What should you call this?”
-
-“A fore-plane,” replied Dick Short.
-
-“That is as good a name for it as any other, but this is a jack-plane.
-It is used to take off the rough side or edge of the board. It is
-fifteen inches long. What the manufacturers call a fore-plane is
-eighteen or twenty inches long. In this country very few carpenters
-use both: and, whichever one it may be, some call it a jack-plane, and
-some a fore-plane; the latter being the most common name in this part
-of the country.
-
-“When I learned my trade, boards were brought into the shop just as
-they came from the saw-mill. Now they are generally planed by
-machinery, so that the hardest part of your work will be done before
-you get the board. Here is a short plane, only eight and a half inches
-long. What do you call it?”
-
-“A smoothing-plane. It is used to polish off the board after you have
-taken off the rough,” replied Corny Minkfield.
-
-“Hardly to polish it, though I understand what you mean. We don’t
-polish wood with a plane: we simply smooth it.”
-
-“That is what I meant,” added Corny.
-
-“If polishing various kinds of wood were not a part of the
-cabinet-maker’s business, I should have said nothing; but we must
-learn to use words that correctly convey our meaning, when we can just
-as well as not. The smoothing-plane is used after the rough has been
-taken off the board. This is the next plane in the series,” continued
-Mr. Brookbine, taking up the longest of the three.
-
-“That’s a short jointer,” said Jim Alburgh.
-
-“You are rather old-fashioned as well as myself. We call it, in modern
-times, simply a jointer. When I was a boy, we had a long and a short
-jointer; but the former is seldom seen in a shop at the present time.
-This jointer is twenty-two inches long, and they are made up to thirty
-inches. The long jointer was three feet and a half and even four feet
-long. Have you any idea what the use of this plane is?”
-
-“It is used in making joints,” answered Thad at a venture.
-
-“Not very definite. Carpenters are sometimes called joiners, and the
-reason is plain enough. If you were going to lay a floor, it would be
-necessary to joint the edges of the boards; and this plane would be
-used for that purpose. In a word, the jointer is needed to get a
-straight edge on pieces of wood more than a foot or two in length. If
-two boards are exactly straight on the edges, they will make a good
-job.
-
-“Here is the last plane we shall consider now. It is the shortest of
-the four, and it is made of steel or iron. It is called a block-plane,
-and can be used only in planing across the grain of the wood. When you
-have sawed off a piece of work, this plane would be used to smooth off
-the end of the wood. It is quite different from the others. The first
-three have double irons, while this one has only a single iron.”
-
-Mr. Brookbine took up the block-plane, and removed the iron from it.
-“This is called the iron, though it is always made of the best of
-steel,” he continued. “The slant made by grinding off the end of the
-iron, so it will be sharp, is called the bevel. In the first three
-planes, the bevel is on the under side when the implement is
-used. In the block-plane, the bevel is on the upper side.”
-
-“But what are the double irons for in the other planes?” asked Thad.
-“I have seen them, but I never knew what the extra one was for.”
-
-“That is a sensible question, Thad. If the grain of the wood were
-always straight,--that is, parallel with the length of the board,--a
-single iron would answer very well. But wood, like some men and women,
-is sometimes cross-grained; The tendency of the iron in the plane is
-to follow the grain as far as the face of the plane will permit. The
-edge of the upper iron is curved a little, so that it prevents the
-cutter from going in too deep; and it turns the shaving up in such a
-manner that it don’t choke up the opening. The upper iron also
-stiffens the lower one, which is now made very thin compared with the
-custom made years ago.
-
-“I judge that some of you have used a plane, or tried to do so. If so,
-you have found great difficulty in getting your tool set right. These
-planes are of the latest pattern. In old planes the iron is set with a
-wooden wedge. You have to drive in the wedge with a hammer; and, when
-you take it out, you have to strike several smart blows on the top or
-the back end. To get the iron just right bothers the beginner more
-than any thing else.
-
-“In these planes there are no wedges. A little lever is moved, and the
-iron is fast; as you may see by trying it. Under the iron you notice a
-screw, which may be turned by the thumb without taking the hand from
-the plane. By turning this screw to the left, you force the iron down
-so that it cuts a thicker shaving. Turn it to the right, and you get a
-thinner shaving. You have no use for a hammer, unless it be to knock
-the iron to one side or the other; for the edge of the cutter must be
-exactly parallel to the surface of the plane. That will do for
-planes.--What next, Dory?”
-
-A patent bitstock, very beautifully made, with the metal parts
-nickel-plated, was handed to the carpenter. The boys knew what it was,
-though most of them had never seen one of that kind.
-
-“This is sometimes called a brace, though bitstock is the more common
-name in this country. It has some peculiarities,--the first, that the
-socket will hold a bit of any common shape, the holder adapting itself
-to the form as it is screwed up.
-
-“The second is a ratchet-arrangement, by which a hole may be bored
-close to a partition. With an ordinary bitstock, you cannot bore a
-hole within three inches of a wall, or any other fixed body. After
-adjusting the ratchet, you may turn the crank half around, or as far
-as you can; then you can carry the crank back without turning the bit,
-and repeat the movement as long as may be necessary.”
-
-Dory next handed up a large bundle of bits. “This is an augur-bit,”
-the carpenter continued, holding up one of this kind. “This is a
-pod-bit, and this a centre-bit. Here is a reamer, used to enlarge a
-hole in a piece of metal, as a hinge. This is a countersink, to fit
-the opening of a hole in wood or iron to the head of a screw.
-
-“This is an iron square, to be used mainly in heavy work, such as
-framing a house. These are try-squares, very handy for bench-work.
-This is a bevel, with which you get the slant of any thing, and
-reproduce it in your work. Here is a package of two-foot rules. I
-shall give one to each of you, for a mechanic should always have his
-rule about him. Carry it in your pocket. A level: in putting up a
-shelf, for example, you will ascertain when the board is horizontal by
-applying this implement.”
-
-Many other tools were taken from the box, but the master-carpenter’s
-method of describing such things has been sufficiently shown.
-
-“Now, my lads, the next thing is to dispose these tools where you can
-get at them,” Mr. Brookbine proceeded. “We have six benches, and more
-will be put up when they are needed. Each of them is provided with a
-bench-hook and a wooden vise, or bench-screw.”
-
-“What is a bench-hook?” asked Phil Gawner.
-
-“This iron with half a dozen teeth like a saw. Under it is a lever, so
-that it may be raised or lowered, according to the thickness of the
-board you are planing, which it holds in place. Behind each bench we
-shall put a shelf, on which the planes are to be kept.”
-
-“Can’t we keep them on the bench, as most carpenters do?” asked Dory.
-
-“You can, but I don’t think that is the best way. You see that each
-bench is provided with a dust-brush, to be used in removing the
-shavings; and a neat workman will keep his bench as free as possible
-of rubbish. If you want to brush off your bench, you must move your
-planes twice, or put them on the floor. On the shelf they are always
-out of the way when not in use. We will make this shelf at once. We
-will have it four feet long, and six inches wide. It will be large
-enough to accommodate some other tools.”
-
-“Are we to make them of these old box-covers?” asked Ned Bellows.
-
-“The shelves are to be permanent, and we will make them of new lumber.
-You need just twelve superficial feet of board, with a sufficient
-allowance for waste. The latter item is one of great importance to the
-carpenter; for a man may waste more lumber than would suffice to pay
-his wages, by being careless, or using bad judgment. We will go to the
-lumber-shed, and see what we can find.”
-
-Mr. Brookbine led the way. Captain Gildrock had provided a large
-supply of boards, plank, joist, and small stuff, which had been “stuck
-up” in the building provided for the purpose.
-
-“Now, boys, see if you can find the right material for the shelves,”
-said the carpenter. “You have your rules, and you can measure as much
-as you please.”
-
-The pupils fell to pulling over and measuring the boards. All of them
-figured up what shape the board must be to furnish what would be
-needed.
-
-“I have it!” exclaimed Ben Ludlow. “Here is just the board to make the
-whole of them. It is just a foot wide.”
-
-“Then, it won’t do,” replied the carpenter. “It is neither long enough
-nor wide enough.”
-
-But Thad found one that was twelve feet and a half long by thirteen
-inches at one end and fourteen at the other. Mr. Brookbine said it
-would do, and it was carried to the shop.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIV.
-
-WORK FOR THE HEAD AND THE HANDS.
-
-
-The boys were given to skylarking. Lick Milton and Phil Gawner were
-carrying the board. It rested on the right shoulder of one and the
-left shoulder of the other, with the arm above the elbow raised to
-keep it in place. Just before they reached the shop, Dick Short, who
-was half monkey in his movements, made a sudden spring, leaping upon
-the top of the board.
-
-Down went the board, and down went the two boys under it. Dick turned
-a somerset, and came down upon his feet. Phil Gawner was not at all
-pleased with the incident; and, picking himself up, he rushed upon the
-assailant, evidently determined to thrash him for his trouble. But
-Dick Short had no idea of getting into a fight, and ran away as fast
-as his legs would carry him.
-
-Phil chased him till they approached a tall maple whose lower limbs
-were at least ten feet above the ground. Dick seized hold of the tree,
-and went up it like a monkey. Phil attempted to grasp his feet, but
-the boy-ape kicked until he was out of reach of his pursuer.
-
-“Let me get hold of you!” exclaimed Phil, rubbing his elbows, which
-had suffered in his fall.
-
-“I’ll let you get hold of me if you can,” laughed Dick.
-
-“What are you about here? Don’t you know it is school-time?” demanded
-Mr. Brookbine, who was indignantly following the skylarker. “Come down
-out of that tree!”
-
-“Send Phil back to the shop, and I will,” replied Dick.
-
-“Will you come down, or shall I fetch you down?” added the carpenter
-very decidedly.
-
-“Fetch me down, if you please,” answered Dick with a chuckle.
-
-Possibly the runaway thought he should like to see the
-master-carpenter climb the tree. Captain Gildrock had come out of the
-shop, but he did not interfere with the instructor in mechanics. Very
-likely he desired to see how he would manage the case.
-
-[Illustration: DICK SHORT UNDER GUARD. Page 257.]
-
-“Here, Tom!” said Mr. Brookbine after a whistle. He addressed the call
-to a tremendous St. Bernard dog, which had come to Beech Hill with him.
-
-Tom promptly obeyed the summons. His master pointed up the tree, and
-soon got the eyes of the canine fixed on the culprit. Then he directed
-him to lie down at the foot of the maple. The dog appeared to
-understand his mission. The principal was glad to find the carpenter
-did not display any thing like anger.
-
-“Now, Phil, we will go back to the shop, and attend to those shelves,”
-said Mr. Brookbine.
-
-Phil wanted very much to get hold of Dick Short. He looked up at him,
-and then at the dog. He said nothing; for he realized that the
-instructor intended to punish his assailant in his own way, and he was
-rather curious to see what the result would be.
-
-Phil and the rest of the boys followed the carpenter. The board was
-taken into the shop, and not a word said about the incident which had
-just occurred.
-
-“We have no saw-horses, or trestles as some call them. But we can use
-a couple of these boxes, and in a few days we shall be able to make
-all the furniture we need in the shop,” said the carpenter as
-pleasantly as though no breach of discipline had occurred.
-
-The pupils expected him to say something on the subject of skylarking
-in general, and the late case in particular. He directed a couple of
-the boys to place the boxes where he wanted them, and then to put the
-board upon them.
-
-“There will be waste in that board: I think the one I picked out would
-have done better. It was just the right length,” said Ben Ludlow, who
-was rather displeased because his board had been rejected.
-
-“How wide was your board, Ben?” asked the carpenter.
-
-“Just one foot to a hair. It was exactly wide enough to make two
-shelves,” answered Ben.
-
-“You think you were right, Ben, and I am glad to see that you are
-ready to argue your side of the question. If I don’t prove that you
-were wrong, I hope you will stick to your opinion,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine, as he took one of the slitting-saws from the bench.
-
-He sawed about three inches into one of the lids of the boxes. Calling
-Ben close to him, he applied his rule, where the sixteenths were
-marked, and asked the doubtful student how wide the slit was.
-
-“Just a sixteenth, as near as I can make it out,” replied Ben.
-
-The boys began to laugh, for they saw the result of the argument.
-
-“There will be four edges to the two strips of six inches in width,
-when the board is sawed through its length, will there not, Ben?”
-
-“Yes, sir,” answered the other side of the question.
-
-“Will those edges be perfectly smooth?”
-
-“Of course they will not: they will be just as the saw left them.”
-
-“They are not likely to be sawed perfectly straight, even if the job
-were done by an experienced workman. How much shall we have to plane
-off in order to get the edges straight and smooth?”
-
-“I don’t know,--half an inch from each, perhaps. I give it up. I was
-wrong, sir.”
-
-“Not half an inch, with such clear, finish-lumber as this board: that
-would be shameful. Call it an eighth of an inch; and from the four
-sides you will take off half an inch, besides the sixteenth cut out by
-the saw. Your shelves would be less than five and three-quarters wide,
-which is not six inches. When we want any stock to be of a certain
-width, it won’t do to make it a quarter of an inch less than that. You
-might waste the whole board in that way.”
-
-“I give it up, and it was stupid on my part,” added Ben.
-
-“Such mistakes are to be expected from beginners. Now let us look at
-the board we have. In the length we have six inches to spare, which is
-abundant. Now let us see if the ends of the board are sound. Are there
-any checks or splits in it?”
-
-None of any consequence were found.
-
-“Now, boys, laying out the work is quite as important as doing it. If
-you make blunders in your calculations, the job will not come out as
-you expect. We must first cut the board into six lengths.”
-
-“We are to take out six-sixteenths of an inch for the saw-cuts,”
-suggested Steve Baxter.
-
-“Why six?”
-
-“Because the board is to be sawed into six lengths.”
-
-“How many cuts do you make in order to get six pieces?”
-
-“Six, sir.”
-
-“Do you think so? Look it over a little more.”
-
-The rest of the boys, or most of them, looked upon the problem as a
-puzzle; and they were interested in it, though none appeared to have
-made up their minds.
-
-“Of course you have to cut six times to get six pieces,” said Phil
-Gawner. “I think Steve Baxter is right.”
-
-“Let us look at it, and see. When I have made one cut with the saw,
-how many pieces do I get?” asked Mr. Brookbine.
-
-“One,” shouted half a dozen of the pupils.
-
-“The second cut?”
-
-“Two pieces.”
-
-“Right; and the third, three, and the fourth, four,” continued the
-instructor. “When I cut the fifth time, how many have I?”
-
-“Five!” shouted the boys triumphantly.
-
-“But what is there left?” asked the instructor, astonished at the
-answer.
-
-“The rest of the board,” answered Steve Baxter.
-
-“Isn’t the rest of the board the sixth piece?” demanded the carpenter.
-
-The students looked rather blankly at each other; and Mr. Brookbine
-saw that they were not convinced, simple as the problem was.
-
-He took a stick, and cut it so that it was twenty-four inches long.
-Using his rule, he marked it off into pieces four inches in length.
-Sawing off the piece on the right of the first mark, he handed it to
-Steve. He asked the students to count as he cut off the lengths.
-
-“Five!” screamed the boys when he had made the fifth cut.
-
-“Here is the sixth piece. It is just four inches long. Now, where
-shall I put in the sixth cut?” asked Mr. Brookbine, as he handed the
-rest of the stick to Steve. “You have six pieces, though I have cut
-but five times.”
-
-“That’s so; but I can’t see why it should be so,” replied Steve
-vacantly.
-
-“The first four cuts each gave me one piece, or four pieces in all.
-The fifth cut gave me two pieces, did it not? for the rest of the
-board is a piece as well as the others.”
-
-All of them could see it then; and the principal applied the result
-to other numbers, and the students were willing to admit that an equal
-division into ten parts was made with nine cuts.
-
-“It is surprising how little things bother us sometimes,” continued
-Mr. Brookbine. “But we shall never get our shelves made at this rate.
-As we have leeway enough in the length of this board, we will cut the
-pieces four feet and one inch in length. Nat Long, you may measure it
-off on one side, and, Ned Bellows, you may do the same on the other
-side.”
-
-Both of them made mistakes, which were detected by the others; but at
-last the board was marked off into equal lengths. The same boys were
-required to take the steel square, and rule off the lengths. They were
-not inclined to do it accurately, as the instructor insisted they
-should. The cutting-off saws were then given to a couple of the boys.
-
-“You must not saw on the mark, but at the right-hand side of it, and
-close to it. Hold on! you are a quarter of an inch off the mark, Tom
-Ridley. That won’t do! You must cut the board at just the thickness of
-the saw-blade from the mark, so that you can see it all the time. When
-the sawdust covers it, blow it off.”
-
-“But I can’t make the saw start where I want it to,” replied Tom.
-
-“Catch hold of the board with your hand, and let the end of your thumb
-rest against the saw-blade to keep it in place,” replied the
-carpenter, taking another saw, and showing the pupils how to do it.
-“That’s it! Now you have got a start. Put three fingers through the
-handle, and keep the forefinger out straight, and pressed against it.
-Let the saw run lightly; don’t bear on, but rather lift up at the
-start. When you bear on at all, do it on the downward stroke.”
-
-“I am running away from the mark,” said Corny Minkfield, at the other
-end of the board.
-
-“Don’t do it: saw close to the mark all the way. Don’t grasp the
-handle of the saw so tightly. Hold it rather loosely, and take as long
-strokes as you can,” interposed Mr. Brookbine, as he applied a small
-try-square to the angle made by the saw-blade and the board. “Your cut
-through the board is not plumb.”
-
-The five cuts were finally made, and they had six pieces about four
-feet and an inch long. An opportunity had been given to all the class
-to try the saw, and some of them did very well.
-
-“Now, we want a little calculation again in regard to the width of the
-board. The time spent in making sure that you are right before you cut
-is never wasted. This piece of lumber is thirteen inches wide at the
-narrow end. We will cut each of these boards into two pieces
-lengthwise. But we will first reduce each to a uniform width of
-thirteen inches.”
-
-In the course of half an hour all this was done, and the six shelves
-were ready to go upon the bench.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXV.
-
-THE SECOND CLASS AT THE CARPENTER’S BENCH.
-
-
-Mr. Brookbine directed one piece of the board to be taken to each of
-the benches. He then stationed two of the class at a bench, intimating
-they were to work together, and divide the labor. When not actually
-employed, either one of the couple was to observe the other; but he
-was not to criticise him, for this might lead to quarrels. Every one
-could improve by noticing the mistakes of others.
-
-“The first thing is to get one straight and square edge on each
-board,” said the carpenter. “You will put one end of the board in the
-vise, and place one of the pins in the front of the bench, so that it
-will support the other end.”
-
-One of each pair of workmen adjusted the vise, while the other put the
-pin in the right place. The edge of the board was to be parallel with
-the top of the bench, and several of the boys had to make changes in
-its position. The instructor found it necessary to number the benches,
-and then to designate the workmen at each as No. 1 and No. 2.
-
-“Now, No. 2 will take the fore-plane. Place the end of it on the
-bench, and hold it so that you can sight along the face. Put the
-fingers of your left hand on the screw under the iron. Now turn the
-screw till the edge of the cutter is just a very little below the
-face.”
-
-Of course, half the students turned the wrong way; and it required
-some time to adjust the iron. The carpenter explained again that the
-screw must be turned towards the left to send the cutter down. At last
-the boys were all ready.
-
-“Probably not many of you have got it just right. I want you to take
-off a very thin shaving at first. After one stroke with the plane, you
-will see how to alter it,” continued the instructor, as the boys made
-their first attempt. Some of the planes took off no shaving at all,
-and some dug deep into the wood.
-
-“What do you call a thin shaving, Mr. Brookbine?” asked Jim Alburgh.
-
-“One not thicker than a piece of ordinary writing-paper to begin with.
-By and by you can take a thick shaving, when you have learned how.
-We must feel our way, and not spoil the board,” replied the carpenter,
-as he walked along by the boys, and looked at each plane.
-
-After a second or third stroke of the tool, the shaving was right all
-along the line. The workmen were required to plane till they had a
-smooth surface. Some of them were nicer and more particular than
-others, and the latter were told to do theirs over again. This
-discipline soon made them all careful.
-
-“Now, lift the end of the board, and sight along the edge of it,” said
-Mr. Brookbine, doing as he described with the board nearest to him.
-“This piece slants, or bevels, on the edge; and very likely all the
-rest of them have the same fault.”
-
-“Mine does,” added Phil Gawner. “I could slide down hill on it.”
-
-“Is that what the squinting is for?” asked Tom Ridley. “I have often
-seen carpenters do it.”
-
-“That is what it is for. You are to educate your eye so that you can
-tell at a glance whether a piece of work is straight, or not. I dare
-say, you can’t tell now whether the edge of the board is true, or
-not,” added Mr. Brookbine, as he passed along the benches, and
-examined the work of each boy.
-
-“Not a single one is right,” continued he. “As is apt to be the case
-with beginners, you all lean your plane to the right, just as you do
-with the saw. Most of you have got it so far out of the way that you
-can’t help seeing it with your eye.”
-
-The students admitted that they could see it. The carpenter told them
-to try again, and be sure to keep the plane perfectly level on the
-edge of the board. He directed them to take hold of the tool with the
-left hand, so that the middle finger would touch the perpendicular
-part of the board. After they had taken a few strokes more, they were
-told to sight their work again. Several of them declared that it was
-right now. Two of them had to use the plane again.
-
-“Take the small try-square, each of you. Place the handle against the
-perpendicular of the board, and the blade across the edge.” The
-carpenter took one of the squares, and showed them how to do it. “If
-you have it nearly square, it will do for our present purpose. Now
-take the jointer. Be sure that the cutter strikes the board at the end
-where you begin. Put the left hand on the plane as before, and be sure
-that you keep the jointer perfectly level.”
-
-The boys made the first stroke with the long plane. The carpenter had
-set the irons so that they took off a very thin shaving.
-
-“Mine will cut only in the middle,” said Tom Ridley.
-
-“Mine will take hold only at the ends,” added Ben Ludlow.
-
-“That’s all right,” replied the instructor. “Some of you have gouged
-out the middle of the board, and others have taken off the ends, with
-the fore-plane. The jointer is long enough to correct all these
-faults; only don’t lean the plane over either way.”
-
-After a few strokes the pupils were required to sight along their
-work. Under the constant admonitions of the carpenter, the edge was so
-nearly square that they could detect no fault. They were told to use
-the square. This trial proved that not one was exactly square. The
-plane was used again.
-
-When the boys had satisfied themselves, Mr. Brookbine inspected the
-work, and was able to find something out of the way with every piece.
-But at last the boards were all right. The students were required to
-measure the width of the pieces in the narrowest place. They varied
-considerably, but all had over a quarter of an inch to spare.
-
-“Now we will use a new tool, that I have not mentioned,” continued the
-carpenter, taking a bundle of gauges from one of the boxes, and
-putting one on each bench. “Take your rule, and set this gauge at just
-six inches.” He showed them how to do it, and then looked at each one
-to see that it was right.
-
-After telling the class to do as he did, he placed one end of the
-board against the bench-hook, and ran the gauge the entire length of
-it. Turning it over, but still keeping the straight edge on the right,
-he gauged the other side. Hardly one of the boys succeeded in carrying
-the gauge the whole length of the board. It slipped out of place
-because it was not held right. But at last all the pieces were gauged
-on both sides.
-
-“Now we are to plane the other edge of the board down to the
-gauge-mark. As you are to plane down about a quarter of an inch, you
-can take off a thicker shaving. You must keep watch of the mark, for
-you are not to go the breadth of a hair below it.”
-
-The pupils were exceedingly cautious, and after every shaving they
-looked at the mark. When they were pretty near it, the carpenter told
-them to take the jointer. All of them applied the try-square,
-correcting the faults as they discovered them; and they made very good
-progress. They were directed to plane out the gauge-mark, which they
-could see on the planed surface. Mr. Brookbine kept inspecting the
-work until it was satisfactory to him.
-
-“Now, we want to make these shelves four feet long,--just four feet,
-not a little more or a little less. Lay the board flat on the bench,
-and take the larger try-square, for the blade of the small one is only
-four inches and a half long. We will now square one of the ends of the
-shelf, but we don’t want to take off more than a quarter of an inch.
-In marking this, the lead-pencil won’t do, and you must use the point
-of your pocket-knife.”
-
-The carpenter saw that it was done properly. Then each pupil was
-required to take the larger of the two back-saws, and cut off the
-board on the mark. In using this saw, they were to touch very lightly,
-rather lifting it up than bearing on with it.
-
-After the utmost watchfulness on the part of the instructor, the cut
-was passably well done. Most of the workmen had used the small square
-in their efforts to keep the saw at right angles with the face of the
-board. Of course, there were some twists in the cut; and half of them
-had made the end slightly bevelling, in spite of all their efforts to
-avoid this fault.
-
-“It is very well for beginners. You can only do this thing off-hand
-after considerable practice, and I don’t think any six apprentices
-ever did any better than you have. Now put the end you have just cut
-off into the vise, so that you can smooth off the work with the
-block-plane. With this tool you can correct the error of the saw, and
-take out the bevel. Use the square constantly, both along the width
-and thickness of the shelf. The chances are, that you will take off
-too much if you are not very careful.”
-
-Most of the block-planes cut too rankly, and it was some time before
-they were properly adjusted. The boys were very careful, for each one
-felt that it would be a disaster to spoil the board. When the end was
-made smooth and square, Captain Gildrock passed along the benches, and
-he was generous of his praise. The students were encouraged.
-
-“Now measure off four feet from the square end, and use your
-pocket-knife to mark with. You must learn to do this accurately, and
-there must not be the variation of a shaving in the length of the
-shelves.”
-
-After the students had measured the boards, the carpenter went over
-all of them. Only two were inaccurate, and the instructor showed the
-delinquents where their fault was. The larger square was then called
-for.
-
-“Put the point of your knife on the mark you have made to indicate
-four feet, and bring the blade of the square against it. See that the
-handle is against the wood. Press down the square, so that it will not
-slip while you are ruling it off. Hold it tight all the time. Now mark
-it. When we want to be very correct, we use a knife to mark with,
-because the line thus made has no essential thickness.
-
-“Very well,” continued Mr. Brookbine, after he had inspected the
-marking. “We are to saw the end off outside of this line. We must keep
-the saw against the mark, but not cut it out. Remember that you have
-no leeway,--at least, only the thickness of the mark, which you will
-use up in smoothing off this end of the board.”
-
-The students sawed the end off with the utmost caution, using the
-square to keep the tool plumb. Mr. Brookbine pronounced it well done.
-With the experience they had obtained with the block-plane, they
-smoothed off the end without any difficulty; and the boards were ready
-for the next operation.
-
-“Now we must round off the outside corners of the shelf,” said the
-carpenter. “At this point you need a little geometry, and this is
-where the high-school comes in. This board is six inches wide. Rule
-off six inches from the length at each end. What sort of a figure will
-that make?”
-
-“This class never studied geometry,” interposed Captain Gildrock.
-
-“But they know this figure,” replied the carpenter.
-
-“It is a square,” said Thad Glovering.
-
-“Right. The diagonal of a square is a line connecting the opposite
-corners: rule in a diagonal. Now rule another from the other corners.
-I dare say Mr. Bentnick will not find my geometry as scientific as his
-own. Where the diagonals cross each other is the centre of the square.
-Take the compasses, and set the points three inches apart. The problem
-is to inscribe a circle inside of a square, though it is necessary to
-mark only a quarter of the square.”
-
-The quarter of a circle was inscribed, and formed the round corner of
-the shelf. It was repeated on the other end.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVI.
-
-THE END OF THE FIRST SCHOOL-DAY AT BEECH HILL.
-
-
-The next operation for the class was to round off the ends of the
-shelves. Mr. Brookbine asked the boys how they would do it. One said
-he would plane it off, another would saw it off, and a third would
-chop it off with the hatchet.
-
-“There are three ways, neither of which is practicable,” continued the
-carpenter. “You can’t plane off a circular face, and the saw or the
-hatchet would leave the work in a rough state. We will use all three
-of the methods named. First we will saw off the corner; then we will
-cut away a little more with the hatchet or shave; and finally we will
-plane it off smoothly, though we shall not use a plane, but another
-tool for the purpose. Mark off the part you will saw from the board,
-and saw it off.”
-
-This was done without any aid from the teacher. Then shingling-hatchets
-were used to take off the two corners left by the saw.
-
-“Now we will introduce you to the spokeshave, an exceedingly useful
-tool for many purposes. It does the same work as a plane, and in the
-same manner; but as it has no appreciable length, compared with a
-plane, we can follow curves with it. Put the corner of the board in
-the vise, and then with the spokeshave work down to the circular line.
-Don’t cut the mark off; never do that. It will take you some time to
-do this job.”
-
-Mr. Brookbine showed the workmen how to use the new tool; and they
-went to work with it in earnest, being greatly interested in their
-occupation. While they were thus engaged, the carpenter went to the
-door to ascertain the state of things at the tree where one of the
-class was taking a vacation. Tom lay at the foot of the tree, and Dick
-Short was seated on a limb twenty feet from the ground. If the
-prisoner moved, the dog looked up at him; and Dick could think of no
-strategy by which he could outwit the faithful sentinel. The
-instructor only looked, and then returned to the bench. Dick was
-likely to stay where he was until the St. Bernard changed his quarters.
-
-“Use the try-square when you get near the mark,” said the carpenter,
-as he resumed his place. “Every part of the quarter circle must be
-true.”
-
-One after another the students carried the shelf to Mr. Brookbine, as
-they finished it. Some criticisms were made on the work, and some of
-it had to be corrected. In due time they were all completed and
-approved. The sides of the shelves were just as they came from the
-planing-machine; and the boys were directed to lay them on the bench,
-and use the smoothing-plane upon them. These planes were adjusted so
-they cut the thinnest possible shaving. The shelves were made as
-smooth as glass.
-
-“I don’t see how we are to put the shelves up,” said Ben Ludlow when
-the boards were finished.
-
-“That is just the river we are to cross next,” replied Mr. Brookbine.
-“I believe we have no iron brackets, though I dare say the machinists
-at the other end of the shop could make them for us if we are willing
-to wait for them. For the want of them we will make a couple of ogee
-brackets of pine for each shelf.”
-
-“Ogee!” exclaimed Steve Baxter. “Is that Latin?”
-
-“It may be: I don’t know. My Greek and Latin were neglected. The ogee
-form is very common, and there is an ogee arch in architecture.--We
-need a blackboard in the shop as well as in the schoolroom,” said the
-carpenter, turning to Captain Gildrock. “But I can chalk it out on one
-of these box-tops.”
-
-He made a drawing of half a square, connecting the ends of the two
-sides by a diagonal. In other words, it was a right-angled triangle,
-resting on one of the points, with the side perpendicular to the top.
-
-“This is the shape of the board we shall get out. I divide the
-diagonal into two equal lengths. Each half will be the chord of the
-arc of a circle. The upper arc is outside of the chord, and the lower
-one inside of the chord;” and Mr. Brookbine drew the arcs with his
-chalk.
-
-“But you can’t get that figure out of that piece of board,” interposed
-Thad, who was thinking with all his might.
-
-“Very true, my lad; and I am glad to see that you have your eyes open.
-I want you to correct all my blunders. In order to get the ogee out of
-this piece of wood, I must draw a line parallel to the diagonal, far
-enough inside of it to permit me to get the arc out of the piece.”
-
-“Isn’t there any other way to do it?” asked Dory.
-
-“There is another way, and perhaps it is a better one,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine, as he drew another square on the board. “On the diagonal I
-draw the two arcs” (suiting the action to the words). “With a
-keyhole-saw, I follow this curved line, and cut the board in two
-pieces. Perhaps this will be the better way to do it, as it will give
-a little different practice.”
-
-“That is the way I was thinking of,” added Dory.
-
-“I am glad you thought of it. You and Thad may go to the lumber-room,
-and get the board to make these brackets of. We want six pairs of
-them, and we are to get out six pieces six inches square.”
-
-The boys soon returned with a board about twenty inches long and a
-little over a foot wide. It was sawed into six pieces, planed and
-squared to the exact size required. While the boys were thus employed,
-the carpenter made a pattern of a single bracket out of a piece of
-quarter-inch board. As soon as one of the square boards was ready, he
-applied the pattern to it, and marked the ogee line with a
-sharp-pointed pencil.
-
-The instructor then distributed the keyhole-saws, and explained how to
-use them. The square boards were put into the vises, after they had
-been marked from the pattern. The saws were narrowest near the points.
-If the pupils found any difficulty in turning the saw, they were
-required to take short strokes, using the tip end, until they got over
-the difficulty. The narrower the saw, the more easily it could be
-turned from a straight line.
-
-“Turn the bottom piece up-side-down, and it will exactly correspond
-with the upper piece, if you have sawed all the way on the line,” said
-the carpenter, when some of the boys had finished the first piece.
-
-“Mine don’t,” added Lick Milton. “I kept close to the line all the
-way.”
-
-“Another blunder of mine!” exclaimed Mr. Brookbine, “for which I
-tender my apology. I told you to saw on the right of the mark. This
-is always to be done when practicable; but I neglected to say that it
-is not always convenient, or even possible, to do it in that way. In
-this instance the line ought to have been sawed out, and then the cut
-would have been precisely in the middle of the piece. Sometimes, too,
-when you cannot shift the work end to end, it becomes necessary to saw
-on the left of the line. In cutting the next one, saw out the line,
-and see how it comes out then.”
-
-The result verified the statement of the teacher, for the two pieces
-almost coincided. The workmen were directed to apply the spokeshave to
-the curves on the bracket, and they were soon ready.
-
-“Now we will proceed to put the shelves up,” continued Mr. Brookbine.
-
-“Not this afternoon,” interposed Captain Gildrock. “It is four o’clock
-now, and we must be as punctual in closing the sessions of the school
-as in beginning them. I must say, my lads, that I have been very much
-pleased with your attention and general good conduct on the first day
-of the Beech-Hill Industrial School.”
-
-“For one, I should like to go on with the work until supper-time,”
-said Ben Ludlow.
-
-“So would I!” shouted about all the rest of them.
-
-“I think not, boys,” replied the captain. “I am glad to find you so
-much interested in your work, but we must not overdo it. We shall keep
-to our regular hours. The rest of the day, and the morning until nine
-o’clock, belongs to you; but you must not forget the lessons assigned
-to you for to-morrow. You may use the boats for a couple of hours now,
-if you choose. There are enough of the small craft to accommodate the
-whole school.”
-
-The boys put on their coats, and left the shop. Some of them were
-curious to know what had become of Dick Short, and they walked to the
-maple-tree. But Mr. Brookbine ordered them off, saying that they were
-to have no communication with Dick. Tom still kept his position at the
-foot of the tree.
-
-“Mr. Brookbine,” called Dick, when he saw the instructor come out of
-the shop.
-
-“Well, my lad, what is it?” asked the carpenter. “Do you want to jump
-on another board, and kill a couple more boys?”
-
-“I haven’t killed any boys,” replied Dick.
-
-“If you haven’t, it isn’t your fault. You went to work in the right
-way to do it, or, at least, to hurt them badly. What do you want now?”
-
-“Don’t you think I have been up this tree about long enough, Mr.
-Brookbine?” continued Dick in the meekest of tones.
-
-“I don’t know: you know better than I do. If you haven’t been up there
-long enough to keep you from skylarking in school-hours, you had
-better stay there a week or two longer; and Tom will see that you
-don’t come down.”
-
-“I will be as sober as a judge in school-hours after this. I didn’t
-think what I was about when I jumped on that board, and I am sorry I
-did it,” pleaded Dick, who was heartily disgusted with being watched
-by the big dog.
-
-“Very well: I am satisfied; but I don’t know whether Phil Gawner is,
-or not,” added the instructor.
-
-“I will beg his pardon, or let him thrash me, just as he chooses,”
-suggested Dick.
-
-The instructor called Phil as he was going down to the lake. As soon
-as Phil came within hailing-distance of the tree, Dick made his
-apology, which was promptly accepted; and the culprit was permitted to
-descend the tree. His punishment was so odd that it puzzled him. He
-had often been whipped in school for his pranks; but to be imprisoned
-over two hours up in a tree, with a dog to keep guard over him, was
-more than he could stand.
-
-Most of the students were at the lake by this time. Dory had already
-invited Oscar Chester to take a sail in the Goldwing, and he had
-accepted. The four members of the Goldwing Club had been in the
-schooner so much that they preferred to take a four-oar boat that was
-moored on the lake.
-
-In fifteen minutes the Goldwing was out on Lake Champlain. The wind
-was fresh from the south-west, and the lake is not the best place in
-the world for a sailboat. Puffs of wind, and even pretty smart
-squalls, sometimes come from the hills that surround this beautiful
-sheet of water, so that the skipper has to be on the alert.
-
-“I should be very glad to have you steer her now, Oscar, if you wish,”
-said Dory to his passenger as soon as the boat was well out in the
-lake.
-
-“Thank you, Dory,” replied Oscar. “I think we shall be the best of
-friends, after all.”
-
-“It will not be my fault if we are not,” added Dory.
-
-Just then the Monkey, which Sim Green had brought up from Burlington
-on Saturday, came out off the river in charge of Bolingbroke Millweed.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVII.
-
-OSCAR CHESTER TAKES A LESSON IN BOATING.
-
-
-“I don’t know why it is, but every fellow I ever knew took to boats,”
-said Oscar Chester, who had just gone to the helm of the Goldwing.
-“The fellows here are just like all the rest of them, and about every
-one of them is in the boats. There come three rowboats out of the
-river.”
-
-“In Burlington all the boys were anxious to get out on the lake. I was
-like all the rest of them; and, as my father was a pilot on a steamer,
-I had a better chance than most of them. There is the Goldwing Club,”
-added Dory, as the four-oar boat came out of the river.
-
-“What’s the Goldwing Club?” asked Oscar.
-
-“We used to have a flat-bottom boat in Burlington, and we formed a
-club. The craft was smashed; and, after I bought the Goldwing, we used
-to sail in her. We learned to row, but the club are not doing very
-well with their oars,” added Dory, as one of the party “caught a crab.”
-
-“Who is managing that sailboat, Dory?” asked Oscar, as he pointed at
-the Monkey.
-
-“Bolly Millweed; but he don’t know how to do it, and he ought not to
-come out on the lake without a skipper.”
-
-“That’s just my case, but I am very anxious to learn how to do it.”
-
-“You will soon learn. One sails a boat as he drives a horse: it is
-done more by the feeling than by the sight. All you need is practice,
-for the science is very simple. But I think we had better come about,
-for I am afraid some of those fellows will get into trouble. Bolly has
-trimmed his sail in a very careless manner; and, if a puff of wind
-should come upon him, he don’t know what to do any more than a baby.
-His sheet is made fast too.”
-
-“I don’t know any better than he does what to do.”
-
-“Bolly has the wind on the beam, but he has his sail trimmed to go as
-close to the wind as his boat will lie. Now put the helm down, if you
-please, and we will come about.”
-
-“Which way is ‘down’?” asked Oscar blankly. “Do you mean down the
-lake?”
-
-“It happens to be so in this instance, but that is not what we mean by
-‘down.’ ‘Down’ is to leeward. ‘Up’ is the way from which the wind
-comes, and ‘down’ the way towards which it blows.”
-
-“Nothing was said about ‘up’ and ‘down’ on the steamer the other day.”
-
-“In a steamer it makes no difference which way the wind blows, and the
-terms don’t mean any thing in particular. But, in a sailboat, we
-manage her altogether by the wind. Now put the helm down,” added Dory,
-as he stood by the sheets.
-
-Oscar did as he was directed; and, as soon as he shifted the tiller,
-all the sails began to shake.
-
-“There is some mistake about that,” said Oscar, as he began to restore
-the tiller to its former position. “That knocks all the wind out of
-the sails.”
-
-“You did just right! keep the helm down!” exclaimed Dory with energy.
-“She is doing just as she should.”
-
-“But I don’t see how you are going to sail with the canvas flapping
-like this,” added Oscar, as he put the helm hard down again.
-
-“She is in stays now. Wait a moment, and you will see what she does,”
-replied Dory.
-
-At that instant the wind caught the jib, and the schooner began to
-swing very rapidly. The other sails filled at the same time.
-
-“Now right the helm and meet her,” continued Dory. “Be lively about
-it. Carry the tiller over till you feel a strong resistance. Over with
-it, before she falls off too far.”
-
-Oscar obeyed, but he had been hardly prompt enough in his movements.
-The sails were brought too nearly at right angles with the wind, which
-caused her to careen till the new skipper’s nerves were badly shaken.
-A bucket of water poured in over the wash-board.
-
-“Down with the helm, Oscar!” said Dory sharply. “The other way!” he
-added, springing to the tiller, and putting it hard down.
-
-“You said ‘down’ was the other way,” retorted Oscar in a tone that
-indicated anger on his part.
-
-“Now we are all right,” said Dory, laughing, as the boat came up so
-that the pressure was eased off the sails.
-
-“‘Down’ can’t be both ways,” growled Oscar.
-
-“But sometimes it is one side of the boat, and sometimes the other,”
-replied Dory very gently, for he saw that a storm was gathering in the
-breast of his companion. “Sometimes it is port, and sometimes it is
-starboard.”
-
-“I don’t see how any one is to know which way is ‘down,’” muttered
-Oscar.
-
-“I can tell which is ‘down’ every time, and without fail; and so can
-you, after you have sailed a boat a little longer. ‘Up’ is the way the
-wind comes from, and ‘down’ is the other way. Before you tacked, you
-had the wind on the port side of you, and ‘down’ was to starboard. Now
-you have the wind on the starboard, and ‘down’ is on the port side.”
-
-“I don’t think I understand it very well, and you had better take the
-helm. I am afraid I shall upset her,” said Oscar, somewhat disgusted
-with his experience so far.
-
-“I think the wind is rather too fresh for a first lesson to-day,”
-replied Dory, as he took the tiller. “It would be better for you to
-try it when there isn’t wind enough to upset her if you make a
-mistake. You must excuse me if I spoke too quick to you just now, for
-the Goldwing would have gone over in another second if she had had
-her own way.”
-
-“I was just beginning to get a little mad,” replied Oscar. “It don’t
-take much of a breeze to put me into a passion. But it is all right
-now, and I won’t get mad if I can help it. It comes upon me before I
-know it. Do you think I shall ever be able to sail a boat?”
-
-“I know you will. I will tack the boat several times, so that you can
-see just how it is done. I suppose you know how to drive a horse,
-Oscar?”
-
-“Of course I do.”
-
-“If you let your horse run off a steep bank, you will upset the
-carriage. A boat won’t do it a bit better. If you let the wind blow
-square against the sails, she won’t go ahead; and there is nothing
-under the canopy to prevent her from going over, even with less wind
-than there is to-day. You should never let her get into such a pickle,
-any more than you would drive your horse off a precipice.”
-
-“I can see what you mean. There is nothing to prevent her from tipping
-over.”
-
-“On the wind, as the Goldwing is now, we keep her so that the sails
-will fill. Just a little movement of the tiller will spill them all:
-see if it don’t,” continued Dory, as he put the helm down a very
-little. “All the sails are shaking. I keep her so that she bears on
-the helm all the time. When the pressure is too little, I know that
-she is coming up into the wind, and I shift the tiller.”
-
-“I begin to see through it.”
-
-When he had a good full, Dory put the helm down, explaining his
-action. When the jib began to draw, he began to right the helm. Oscar
-got the idea; and, after a few more tacks, he understood it perfectly,
-and was permitted to do it himself.
-
-“Suppose you get caught with the wind blowing square against the
-sails, and are in danger of going, over, what do you do--put the helm
-down?” asked Oscar.
-
-“If the wind was fresh I should not wait for her to come up, for she
-might go over before she came up to a safe position. Let me take the
-helm again, and I will show you.”
-
-The skipper put the helm up, and in a moment the water began to pour
-in over the wash-board. Oscar thought she was going over, and he
-convulsively grasped the seat with both hands. Dory gave the end of
-the fore and main sheets a twitch, in the twinkling of an eye, which
-cast them off. The two principal sails ran out instantly, the pressure
-was removed, and the boat came up to an even keel.
-
-“That is the way to save yourself when you get into a tight place,
-Oscar; but you ought never to get into such a tight place as that. A
-boat can’t possibly upset unless she is in that position. But, before
-she falls off enough to put you into chancery in that style, she will
-bear very hard on the tiller, which will give you warning enough. If
-you let go the tiller, she will come into the wind herself. The
-Goldwing, or any boat properly rigged and ballasted, would never get
-you into such a scrape: you must force her into the dangerous
-position. Now you may take the helm.”
-
-In half an hour Oscar could beat to windward as well as an old salt,
-though his education as a boatman was by no means completed. The
-Monkey, which had been moving at the rate of less than a mile an hour,
-had by this time got out into the middle of the lake, where she felt
-the full force of the wind.
-
-Like all monkeys, the sloop was behaving very badly indeed; but it was
-solely because she was badly handled. Dory was confident she would
-meet with an accident; and he required Oscar to come about off Scotch
-Bonnet, about three miles below the mouth of the river. After some
-manœuvring, he got the foresail on the port side, with the mainsail on
-the starboard; and the Goldwing began to fly, wing-and-wing, before
-the wind.
-
-The wind had a reach of several miles from the head of North-west Bay,
-and there was considerable sea. The schooner rolled, pitched, plunged,
-and yawed about at a fearful rate. Oscar found that he had his hands
-more than full. He wanted to give it up, but the skipper assured him
-he was doing as well as any one could; that all vessels knocked about
-like that when running exactly before a fresh wind.
-
-“But isn’t there any danger in staving along like this, Dory?” asked
-Oscar.
-
-“None at all if the boat is well handled. If you vary your present
-course too much, one or the other of the sails would bang over to the
-other side. It would do no harm even then, unless it was the mainsail,
-and the boom hit you on the head.
-
-“Then, if you should let her come a quarter way around, you would have
-her in that ugly position with the wind at right angles with the
-sails, and she would upset. With as much wind as there is to-day, she
-will go over every time you put her into chancery; and it won’t be her
-fault either.”
-
-Oscar soon got used to the motion and the erratic gyrations of the
-boat, and then he enjoyed it. He had been told to steer for a tree on
-a hill, and he kept the course remarkably well for a beginner. The
-Goldwing had gone two miles in a little over ten minutes, and the
-shoal-water of Field’s Bay was ahead of her.
-
-“We must haul up a little, or we shall get aground,” said Dory. “As we
-are going squarely before the wind, there is no up or down about it;
-and you must put the helm to starboard. But we will do it without
-making any sensation,” he added, as he cast off the main-sheet. “The
-foresail will pop over to the other side, and do it with a rush. Now,
-starboard, very slowly.”
-
-Dory let out the main-sheet, so that the sail did not draw full. Over
-went the foresail with a rush.
-
-“Steady! That is, keep her as she is.” Relieved of a portion of the
-pressure on the mainsail, she did not heel over much under the shock.
-Dory was about to ask Oscar how he would come about, when a tremendous
-yell came up the lake from the other students.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXVIII.
-
-THE UPSETTING OF THE MONKEY, AND ITS LESSON.
-
-
-“The Monkey has upset!” exclaimed Dory, considerably excited by the
-catastrophe.
-
-“You had better take the helm, Dory, for we can’t wait to make any
-mistakes,” added Oscar, as he gave the tiller to the skipper.
-
-“Bolly is determined to drown himself, and he will do it if he keeps
-on trying. I did not think he had pluck enough to go out in a sailboat
-again without a skipper.”
-
-“But the rowboats are all around him, and they are all pulling towards
-the Monkey,” continued Oscar. “But that sailboat don’t sink, as you
-say the other did.”
-
-“Perhaps she has not ballast enough to carry her down. She is lying
-flat on her side, and the fellows that were in her are clinging to
-her. They are safe for a while if they will only hold on,” said the
-skipper of the Goldwing when he had taken in the situation.
-
-The Goldwing was within five hundred feet of the Monkey when the
-latter went over; and, before any of the rowboats reached the wreck,
-the schooner was alongside of her. The skipper had taken in the
-foresail; and, as she rounded-to, Oscar let go the jib-halyard, and
-Dory lowered the mainsail. With the boat-hook Oscar got hold of the
-wreck, and the schooner was hauled alongside.
-
-Bolly, Steve Baxter, and Phil Gawner were helped into the Goldwing.
-All three of them were thoroughly frightened, but were not otherwise
-damaged.
-
-“Who was the skipper of this boat?” asked Dory.
-
-“Bolly; and he said he knew how to sail a boat, or we should not have
-come out with him,” replied Phil.
-
-“Can you skipper a boat, Bolly?” said Dory, turning to Bolly.
-
-“I thought I could,” answered Bolly sheepishly.
-
-“You thought so last Friday, when you let that steam-launch run into
-you.”
-
-“But since that I have watched you, and I was sure I could do it,”
-pleaded Bolly.
-
-“I don’t think you know any more about it now than you did then. I
-told Oscar you would upset the boat when I first saw her come out of
-the river. I don’t believe you will ever be hanged. If you are going
-to keep doing this thing, you had better learn to swim,” added the
-skipper of the Goldwing.
-
-“I won’t try it again: there is something about sailing a boat that I
-don’t understand,” replied Bolly.
-
-“A good deal that you don’t understand; and, if you want to commit
-suicide, you had better keep on sailing a boat. You will finish the
-job one of these days. It is lucky this boat did not sink, like the
-other. If she had, some of you might have been drowned. As it is, we
-must get her up, and bail her out.”
-
-“If you will tell us how, we will do all the work,” added Bolly.
-
-By this time the four-oar boat came up. Corny Minkfield was acting as
-coxswain, in the absence of Dory. Dick Short was not in the boat, and
-Dave Windsor and John Brattle pulled the two after-oars.
-
-“Where is Dick Short?” asked Dory.
-
-“Mr. Brookbine would not let him come. He said he must learn the lesson
-he lost while he was up a tree,” replied Corny. “We have got two
-greenhorns in the boat, and we can’t row worth a cent.”
-
-“No need of telling of it, for any one could see it a mile off,”
-laughed Dory.
-
-“Corny wants to do all the ordering while we do all the work,” added
-Dave Windsor. “When he is appointed boss we will mind him.”
-
-“Just as you like. There is Captain Gildrock on the point watching us,
-and I don’t believe he will let any of you fellows out in a boat again
-till you learn how to handle one. But we must put the Monkey in shape,
-and take her up the river: Sim Green don’t want to lose another boat
-just yet.”
-
-Dory fastened a line to the mast-head of the Monkey. As the boat had
-gone over on the port side, he moved the Goldwing to the opposite
-side. But pulling on this line would only move the boat in the water
-without righting her.
-
-Making another line fast to the middle of the inside of the wreck, he
-passed it over the side out of the water, and then drew it under the
-keel, carrying the rope out beyond the mast-head. The end of the line
-was then made fast to the stern of Corny’s boat, whose crew were
-directed to pull with all their might when the word was given.
-
-Dory then climbed to the foremast-head of the Goldwing, with the other
-line tied around his body. From this elevated position he could pull
-up from the fallen mast of the Monkey. He gave the word to Corny to
-pull, and the boat yanked away at the line; but the crew pulled so
-badly that they did not exert any great force.
-
-The skipper passed his line over the spring-stay of the schooner, so
-that Oscar could keep what he got. When he pulled at the rope, greatly
-to his delight, and somewhat to his astonishment, the mast of the
-wreck began to rise, and the hull began to right. After it had been
-elevated a few feet, it was easy work; and the Monkey was soon right
-side up. The rowers gave a smart cheer when the work was accomplished.
-
-Bolly and his companions timidly returned to the Monkey. All the
-buckets and dippers that both boats contained were in demand, and she
-was soon free of water. The lines were cast off, and both sailboats
-were ready to return to Beech Lake. Phil and John Brattle positively
-refused to sail with Bolly again, and the late skipper of the Monkey
-had his doubts about attempting to get the boat into the river without
-upsetting her.
-
-“I can do it,” suggested Oscar.
-
-“I have no doubt you can, Oscar, and you may do it,” replied Dory.
-“You will have the wind fair all the way.”
-
-Oscar took his place in the Monkey, which he soon found was not such a
-craft as the Goldwing. He trimmed the sail, and got under way without
-making any mistakes. He had the wind on the beam, and he let out the
-sheet of the sloop until the sail would just draw full. The craft made
-double the speed she had attained at any time since she came out with
-her incompetent skipper.
-
-Dory followed her in the Goldwing when he got his sails up. He watched
-the work of his pupil with close attention as he passed the Monkey,
-and shouted his approval to Oscar. When he reached the point, Captain
-Gildrock made a signal that he would like to be taken on board the
-schooner; and Dory made a landing.
-
-“No more boating for these boys at present,” said the principal, as he
-stepped into the Goldwing. “They can neither sail a boat nor row one.
-Who is sailing that boat now, Dory? He is doing better than has been
-done with her before this afternoon.”
-
-“Oscar Chester is in charge of her. He has been sailing with me in the
-schooner; and, as far as he has gone, he knows how to do it,” replied
-Dory.
-
-“It will be impossible to keep them out of the boats; and the pupils
-must be taught at once how to row, and how to handle a sailboat,”
-continued the captain, as he glanced at the rowing of the party in the
-four-oar boat. “When I saw that sloop-boat go over, I thought that the
-first day of our school was to end in a disaster. I am thankful that
-no one lost his life. But no one shall go out of Beech Lake again in a
-sailboat unless there is a skipper on board.”
-
-Dick Short welcomed the boys back to the school-grounds. He had made
-up the lost lesson, and was as good-natured as though he had not been
-punished. Before breakfast the next morning, the boys all walked over
-to the beach in the little lake, and went into the water. In the
-evening a great deal had been said about learning to swim. It was
-found that only eight boys out of the twenty-two could swim a stroke.
-Dory and Harry Franklin were appointed instructors in this department;
-and they were to have a lesson every day, when the weather was
-suitable.
-
-Some pieces of plank were obtained at the lumber-shed, and conveyed to
-the beach. Holding these floats with their hands, some of the boys
-ventured out into deep water. The first thing was to obtain the
-necessary confidence. They were told how to move their feet in the
-operation, and the first trials were very satisfactory.
-
-The schoolroom exercises of the forenoon were about the same as the
-day before. The boys all felt that their learning was to be of the
-most practical kind, such as would help them in the business of life.
-All education does this, but all boys cannot realize it.
-
-The first business of the afternoon with the second class was to put
-up the shelves they had made the day before. Of course, the boys had
-to go through a great many forms that were useless to experienced
-workmen.
-
-“Now, my lads, we are to nail the shelves to the brackets,” said Mr.
-Brookbine. “To do this correctly will be a nicer job than you have yet
-done; but you must work carefully, and give strict attention to the
-directions. With the larger try-square draw a light line eight inches
-from each end of the shelf, and on the top.”
-
-“Which is the top?” asked Dick Short, as he looked on both sides of
-the board in the hands of Phil Gawner, who was his bench-partner.
-
-“Either side will answer for the top, but you should take the best
-side--the one with no rough places in it--if there is any choice.
-Always put the best side out: there is no cheat in it in carpentering.
-It is not like putting all the poorest apples at the bottom of the
-barrel.”
-
-The students selected a side for the top, and ruled the lines.
-
-“Now draw another line on the other side, seven inches and a half from
-the end,--a more decided line than the other. Good! Now put one of the
-brackets in the bench-vise, and screw it up tight. Put the wide end of
-the bracket up, and about two inches above the top of the bench.--Tom
-Ridley, you have got it four inches.--Ben, you are not more than one
-inch.--You must learn to measure distances with the eye. That will do.
-
-“Here are several kegs of nails, which I opened this forenoon. We
-have spikes, tenpenny, eightpenny, sixpenny, shingle, and lath nails.
-There are two kinds of the same length, as a tenpenny or an eightpenny
-board-nail, or a finish-nail. Board-nails have a broader head, and are
-stouter than a finish-nail. Which kind shall we use for the shelves?”
-
-“Finish-nails,” shouted half a dozen boys at a venture.
-
-“Eightpenny finish will be about right. No. 1 will nail to the first
-bracket, and No. 2 to the second. No. 2 will take the board, and lay
-the end on the bracket, and No. 1 will nail it. Fix the shelf exactly
-against the mark on the under side. Hold the board very still; and,
-when the nailer gets it exactly right, he should put his left hand
-against the bracket, grasping the board at the same time.”
-
-The instructor did it himself, and all the nailers observed how he did
-it.
-
-“The light line on the top is to show you where the nails are to be
-driven. Now go ahead. Strike so as to hit the nail squarely with the
-face of the hammer, so that it will not bend the nail, or slip off and
-mar the board.”
-
-He had to stop half of them, and give them a little outside practice
-with the hammer. But the boards were nailed on. They were tried with
-the square, and then nailed against the wall, between the windows. The
-planes were put upon them, and the boys were proud of their first job.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXIX.
-
-AN AFTERNOON IN THE MACHINE-SHOP.
-
-
-The first class of the Beech-Hill Industrial School were most of them
-older than the members of the second class. All of them had attended
-high-schools or academies, and made more or less progress in the
-studies to be pursued. But they had no better knowledge of practical
-mechanics and the use of tools.
-
-Mr. Jepson, the instructor in the metal department, had served his
-time for seven years as a machinist in England, and had worked at his
-trade a great many years in America. He was competent to build a
-steam-engine or to run one, and had learned his trade with more
-thoroughness than most American mechanics.
-
-One of his specialties was drawing; and he was to teach this branch,
-which is the foundation and corner-stone of all practical mechanics.
-In his opening speech to the class, he said that the first thing in
-doing a job of any kind was to make a plan or picture of whatever was
-to be constructed.
-
-Unlike the carpenter, he did not begin by giving the names and uses of
-the various tools on his bench, and on the walls near it. He told the
-boys what could be done in brass, iron, and steel. He pointed out in
-what manner chemistry and geometry, as well as natural philosophy, if
-not absolutely essential, were exceedingly valuable, to the machinist.
-
-“I don’t believe half the machinists know any thing about these
-branches,” said Bob Swanton.
-
-“I don’t believe a quarter part of them learned any thing about these
-sciences, or even drawing, in school; but they have had to learn them
-in working at their trade,” replied Mr. Jepson. “In forging iron, in
-casting any metal, in brazing, soldering, and many other operations,
-one must learn the effect of heat upon metals, and the effect of
-various substances upon them.
-
-“Do you think an old-fashioned blacksmith don’t know some of the uses
-of borax? Why does the tinman use resin, or some chemical preparation,
-in preparing and soldering his wares? Why does the blacksmith cool one
-piece of iron by putting it in water, and let another piece cool off
-on the floor, if he don’t know any thing about the science of
-chemistry?”
-
-“I meant book science,” added Bob Swanton.
-
-“All science is the same, whether it be in a book or in a man’s head,”
-added the instructor. “You must get it into the head to have it of any
-use to you, and it matters not where it come from. All I mean to say
-is, that a theoretical knowledge of science, such as you get in
-school, will be of very great advantage to you in the mechanic arts.”
-
-“We are willing to admit that,” said Lew Shoreham rather impatiently;
-for he was in a hurry to get hold of the tools, as the second class
-were.
-
-“Here is a bar of brass, half an inch square,” said the machinist,
-taking the piece of metal from his bench. “We can do almost any thing
-with it that we can with wood.”
-
-“You can’t saw it, and plane it as you can a piece of wood,” said Will
-Orwell, who had probably never been in a machine-shop in his life.
-
-“Certainly we can: why not?” demanded the teacher.
-
-“Saw brass!” exclaimed Will. “I never saw any such thing done.”
-
-“Did you ever see a watch made?”
-
-“I never did; but”--
-
-“Then, you ought to believe that a watch can’t be made,” interposed
-the machinist.
-
-“It looks absurd to me to talk of sawing brass, and I don’t believe it
-can be done,” persisted Will.
-
-“Possibly I may be able to convince you that it can be done: in fact,
-I know I can, if you are not very unreasonable,” added Mr. Jepson, as
-he put the bar of brass into one of his iron vises, and screwed it up
-tight. “Now, stand by me, and see that I don’t deceive you.”
-
-The machinist took a hack-saw from a hook in front of him.
-
-“There is the brass in the vise, and here is the saw,” continued the
-instructor. “I shall saw the brass bar into two pieces, and I shall do
-it about as quick as an amateur would saw a piece of hard wood of the
-same size.”
-
-“That thing don’t look like a saw,” Will objected.
-
-The instructor took from a drawer a package of hack-saws, on which
-there was a label.
-
-“What does that say, my lad?” asked Mr. Jepson, handing the package to
-the sceptical student.
-
-“One dozen hack-saws,” Will read on the label.
-
-“Here is one from the package, and you will see that it is just like
-the one in the frame. It is a saw without a particle of doubt.”
-
-“It looks more like a file.”
-
-“It is not at all like a file.”
-
-“Dry up, Will! Admit that it is a saw, and don’t argue the question
-all day,” interposed Lew.
-
-“I will give it up: it is a saw,” added Will.
-
-The machinist applied the saw to the brass bar, started it carefully
-so that it need not jump about, and then worked quite lively for a few
-moments. The end of the bar soon dropped on the floor, and Will picked
-it up.
-
-“I grant that you have sawed brass, but I don’t see how you can plane
-it,” said Will.
-
-“In order to plane it, I should have to put it into a planer; but I
-can take off shavings as long as the bar itself. I must convince you,
-Will, or you will never believe it.”
-
-All the boys were curious to see this operation. The bar was put into
-the machine, and the interested observers picked up the long and
-tightly curled shavings of brass. Of course, Will was convinced. Mr.
-Jepson then took a rod of brass an inch in diameter, and held it up
-before the class.
-
-“This rod is also of brass: it is not made of cheese, though you will
-think it can be cut about as easily as though it were cheese,”
-continued he, as he fixed the rod in a turning-lathe. Running on the
-belt with the lever in front of him, the rod began to turn with
-tremendous rapidity.
-
-The boys gathered around the lathe, and the machinist took up a tool
-made of an old file. He applied it to the brass, and the metal
-shavings began to drop rapidly upon the frame of the lathe. In a few
-moments the end of the rod became a shining ball. The metal could
-hardly have given less apparent resistance if it had been cheese.
-
-With various tools the machinist soon had a cup next to the ball. Then
-he made an ogee form, and a dozen other shapes, until the boys were
-utterly astonished at the results. It seemed incredible to them that
-brass could be cut as easily as soft pine.
-
-“I suppose that can only be done with brass,” said Oscar Chester.
-
-“It can be done with iron just as well, though the operation will be
-slower; or with steel, and then it is still slower,” replied the
-machinist, as he adjusted a rod of iron in the lathe.
-
-With no more difficulty than before, though not so rapidly, he cut the
-same form as in brass. With another lathe, he cut a screw on an iron
-rod. Taking a blank nut, he put it into the vise, and applied the
-proper tap to it, cut the female screw, and then put it on the rod.
-Then he cut a screw with a stock and die on a piece of brass wire, and
-tapped a nut to fit it.
-
-He went to the forge, and welded a couple of pieces of iron together,
-and had something to say about tempering metals. Taking an old brass
-candlestick, he sawed the pedestal into two pieces, which he held up
-before the boys, and then allowed them to examine the parts. He then
-brazed them together so nicely that the boys could hardly see the
-place where it had been sawed.
-
-“Are we to learn to do all these things, Mr. Jepson?” asked Pemberton
-Millweed.
-
-“That is what you are here for,” replied the instructor. “But you will
-not begin with the lathe and the plane; and there is a great deal of
-hard work to be done at this trade.”
-
-“What is the first thing we are to learn?” inquired Bob Swanton.
-
-“Filing.”
-
-“Filing! We can do that now!” exclaimed Lew Shoreham.
-
-“Not one of you can do it properly. Any one thinks he can do it, but a
-nice piece of filing is one of the most artistic things in the trade.
-It cultivates the eye and the hands, and you could spend months at it
-without exhausting the subject. But I dare say we are not to go into
-the extreme niceties of the art. I can tell you this, my lads: if you
-should work at the trade of a machinist for fifty years, there would
-still be something to be learned, and greater skill to be obtained.”
-
-“Then, we are not likely to become full-fledged machinists in six
-months,” added Pemberton Millweed.
-
-“Certainly not, but you can learn a great deal in that time; and, if
-you follow the trade for a living, you will have to keep learning all
-the time you work at it. In America, apprentices, if there are any
-now, only work six months or a year, and really learn the trade, if
-they learn it at all, after they go to work as journeymen. Labor is
-too valuable in this country for a man to spend seven years in
-learning a trade: besides, one who has worked six months at a trade
-becomes valuable to his employer.”
-
-“But we are to learn a lot of trades in six months or a year,”
-suggested Harry Franklin.
-
-“Not at all: the only trades you are to learn are those of machinist
-and carpenter. Incidentally you are to learn a score of other things.
-When we find out what the boys are best for, we shall put them mainly
-to that. It is a good thing for a machinist to know something about
-carpentering, and for a carpenter to be able to handle a piece of iron
-as well as a piece of wood.
-
-“Almost every trade now is subdivided into several. Formerly a
-carpenter did every thing about a house. Now the doors are made by one
-concern, the blinds by another, the stairs by a third, the floors are
-laid by a fourth, the lathing by a fifth: all the mouldings are done
-by machinery, and so on. So it is with many trades: they are cut up
-into specialties. Now, if you please, we will go to work.”
-
-On this side of the shop there were a dozen short benches, each
-supplied with tools, which were fewer and simpler than on the
-carpenters’ side; for much of the work was to be done by machinery.
-Out in the floor were several lathes for heavy work, a planer, a
-boring-machine, a circular-saw for metals, a grindstone, several
-emery-wheels and polishers,--in fact, every thing that could be
-required for work in metals.
-
-Mr. Jepson gave out several blocks of iron, and required the boys to
-put them in the vises. Then he explained the large number of files
-belonging to each bench, gave each student a drawing of the form into
-which he was to file his metal, and set them at work.
-
-Passing from one pupil to another, he instructed him in the work
-before him. The boys soon found that they had not taken an easy job,
-but they did not complain. Some of them soon learned to handle the
-file with some degree of skill, and the instructor began to have some
-idea who would make machinists among them.
-
-When the school was dismissed for the day, the pupils were directed to
-go on board of the Sylph.
-
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXX.
-
-WHAT THE STUDENTS FOUND AT THOMPSON’s POINT.
-
-
-At the scholastic session, in the morning, the scholars had been
-forbidden to take any of the boats without special permission, which
-would not be granted to those who were not qualified to manage them.
-The Goldwing, and a sloop called the Emma, were the only sailboats
-belonging to Beech Hill.
-
-Besides the two four-oar quarter-boats belonging to the Sylph, there
-were four other rowboats, two pulling four oars, and two pulling two
-oars, each. When the boys went on board of the steam-yacht, they
-noticed that all the rowboats were made fast to her stern. It was
-evident that the present excursion was for the purpose of drilling the
-boys in rowing and handling boats.
-
-Captain Gildrock had been away all the afternoon, and returned only in
-time to join the school in the steamer. Bates had got up steam, for he
-had learned to be a man-of-all-work, from hoeing corn, up to steering
-a steamer. Dory was sent to the pilot-house, but no one heard the
-instructions given him. Oscar went with him; but, if Dory knew the
-programme, he did not speak of it.
-
-The ship’s company all went to their stations, though there was
-nothing for the cooks and stewards to do. Oscar steered until the
-steamer was near Thompson’s Point, opposite Split Rock, when Dory took
-the wheel. The captain had instructed Thad Glovering, the first
-officer, to get the anchor ready. Dory ran the steamer into a bay next
-to the point; and, when she was within a quarter of a mile of the
-shore, he rang to stop her.
-
-“Back her, Dory,” said the captain, who did not wish to go too near
-the shore. “That will do: let go the anchor.”
-
-“Now, my lads, we are going to learn to handle boats before we sail
-any more,” said Captain Gildrock. “It is often as important to be able
-to handle a boat properly, as it is to be able to sail the ship. We
-are rather short of instructors in the art of rowing, but we shall do
-as well as we can. I will take the port quarter-boat, and Dory will go
-in the starboard.”
-
-“The Goldwing Club know how to row,” suggested Dory. “They can do all
-that I can, though that isn’t much.”
-
-The captain admitted that they could row very well, for he had seen
-them do it; and he appointed the other four members of the club as
-coxswains of the remaining boats. In a few minutes they had all
-embarked, and, as directed, had assembled around the port
-quarter-boat, from which Captain Gildrock told them all that could be
-told in regard to the art of rowing.
-
-“You will obey the orders of the coxswains without grumbling, or
-asking any questions,” continued the captain, when he had given the
-pupils the names of the different parts of an oar, and shown them how
-to use it. He was in favor of a man-of-war stroke, especially for
-beginners; for it was slow and measured.
-
-The Goldwing Club had practised it a great deal, for the skipper had
-learned it of his father. The boats separated, and each coxswain
-proceeded to tell what he knew about rowing “man-of-war fashion.” Many
-of the boys were disposed to indulge in a little skylarking, and some
-of them were not inclined to obey the orders of the several members of
-the Goldwing Club. But the captain was too near to permit any thing
-like an outbreak.
-
-But the boys were greatly interested in all aquatic sports, and in an
-hour’s time they could pull a very fair stroke. They learned all the
-man-of-war boat terms, and could “toss” and “let fall” with tolerable
-precision.
-
-“Pull to the end of the point,” shouted Captain Gildrock, as his boat
-led off in that direction.
-
-The other boats followed him. As they approached the shore, the
-coxswains discovered that there were several persons there; though it
-was generally an unfrequented spot, without a house within a mile of
-the point. The rowers, being back to the shore, could see nothing. The
-coxswains wondered what the sensation was to be, for they were
-satisfied that there was “something in the wind.”
-
-Even when the boats touched the beach they could see nothing, for the
-point was covered with trees. Captain Gildrock landed first, and the
-coxswains had hard work to prevent their crews from following him
-pell-mell. But the discipline was preserved without breaking any
-thing, till orders came for all to go on shore. The boats were all
-hauled up so that they should not get adrift, and the several crews
-followed the captain up the hill.
-
-“Hurrah!” yelled those who got to the road first.
-
-Doubtless this yell gave expression to their astonishment as well as
-their enthusiasm. In the road, which leads down to the end of the
-point, they found two long vehicles, the pairs of wheels on which were
-twenty feet apart.
-
-Standing by the side of them were two men, who were the teamsters, and
-two boys of seventeen, very genteelly dressed. On each vehicle was a
-boat, each of which was hardly less than fifty feet long. They were
-both broad for rowboats, and were finished in the most elegant style.
-The students were delighted, and could hardly find words to express
-their enthusiasm.
-
-“Six oars on a side! Twelve oars in one boat! Who ever heard of such a
-thing?” exclaimed Will Orwell.
-
-“You would not have believed there was such a boat, to say nothing of
-two of them, if you had been told about it,” said Dave Windsor
-mischievously.
-
-“I believe in them both now,” replied Will. “Do you suppose they are
-for us?”
-
-“I think they must be. I don’t believe there is any other concern in
-these parts that would have any use for such boats,” added Dave.
-
-“My lads, here are two new pupils, from the city of New York. I hope
-you will give them a cordial welcome, and make things pleasant, for
-them,” said the captain, interrupting the comments of the boys on the
-boats.
-
-“Hurrah for the New-Yorkers!” shouted Ben Ludlow; and three lusty
-cheers were given in response to the captain’s introduction of the new
-boys.
-
-“This is Luke Bennington, and his father is a shipbuilder. He knows a
-ship from a cooking-stove, and can give you all points in boating. The
-other is Matt Randolph, whose father is captain of an ocean-steamer;
-and he can do any thing in a yacht except splice the main-brace.”
-
-The two boys began to bow as they were introduced, and kept it up
-until the principal ceased. Then they went in among the boys, and
-began to shake hands with them, and to make themselves acquainted.
-
-“What about those boats, Captain Gildrock?” called Bob Swanton, after
-he had met the new-comers.
-
-“Those are twelve-oar barges such as they use in the navy. They are
-single banked, and will accommodate nine persons in the stern-sheet,”
-replied the captain. “They were built in New-York City especially for
-the Beech-Hill Industrial School. I expected to have had them a week
-ago, but they were not finished. Luke Bennington and Matt Randolph
-came up in charge of them. Now, if you are ready, we will put them
-into the water.”
-
-The barges were unloaded, and conveyed to the lake. As soon as they
-were in the water, the students gave the usual three cheers. Of
-course, they were not satisfied until they were seated in them; and
-there were now just students enough to man them, without any
-coxswains. They pulled off to the steamer, towing the other boats. The
-boys were sorry to get out of them so soon, but there was no more than
-time to reach the school before six o’clock.
-
-The new boats were the subject of much enthusiastic talk that evening,
-but they were not to be used until four the next afternoon.
-
-That night two more students arrived, and the complement intended was
-exceeded. Dory was moved into the mansion, and also Thad Glovering, so
-that the dormitory would accommodate them. Of the new boys it happened
-that three of them were qualified for the first class, while the
-fourth was admitted to the second class.
-
-The next day the studies, and the work in the shop, went on as before.
-It was a new thing to the boys, and the captain did not expect any
-difficulty at present; and he had none, beyond the little bits of
-mischief which were not at all serious. Dory was superlatively happy
-in the snug harbor he had found after the wanderings and trials of the
-earlier part of the year.
-
-The deep interest of the principal in the institution induced him to
-give his personal attention to every thing that was done. He was in
-the school-room most of the forenoon, and in the shop most of the
-afternoon. But his teaching was done mostly on board of the Sylph, and
-in the boats. When he found an opportunity to improve the minds or
-hearts of the boys, he used it, wherever it happened to be. His
-instructions were always welcome to the students.
-
-The practice in swimming was kept up every day during the rest of the
-season, unless the weather was unfavorable. In a fortnight most of the
-boys could swim very well; but half a dozen of them had not yet
-obtained the confidence to strike out, without the planks, into the
-deep water of the lake. The two New-Yorkers were fine swimmers, and
-their example and suggestions were valuable to the others.
-
-On the day after the arrival of the barges, the students gathered at
-the lake for the exciting exercise of rowing. They were gathered on
-the temporary wharf built for the accommodation of the Sylph.
-
-“We have not got things to rights here yet, my lads,” said Captain
-Gildrock. “I was thinking this summer of building a suitable wharf and
-boat-house, but I concluded to let you do it. We can have two
-boat-clubs now, and we want a hall for them to meet in during the
-winter. You are to build this house.”
-
-“Build a house!” exclaimed Bob Swanton.
-
-“That was what I said, and what I meant,” replied the captain. “It
-will be a boat-house, large enough for all the boats on the lower
-floor, and for a club-room on the second floor.”
-
-“Can we do it?” asked Ben Ludlow.
-
-“If you can’t do it, with Mr. Brookbine’s assistance, I might as well
-discontinue this school at once. I find that boys work best, and enjoy
-it more, when their labor is to accomplish a result. You will not only
-build the house, but you will, I hope, make the plan for it. When you
-get a little farther along with your drawing, you will be competent to
-do it.
-
-“I shall offer several prizes for the best plan, and build upon it
-when it is accepted. We shall also build a wharf of stone at the same
-time, and that will be a part of the plan. I want you to think how you
-would do it all as you have opportunity.
-
-“For the present,” continued the captain, “the first class will be
-machinists; and the second class, carpenters. I think it is better,
-therefore, to give one boat to the first class, and the other to the
-second. Each of the classes may organize a boat-club at once. I should
-like to have each one choose a coxswain now, before you get into the
-boats. Don’t do as the American people often do,--select one who don’t
-know any thing about the work he is to do. Elect one whose orders you
-will be willing to obey.
-
-“This election will be of temporary coxswains. In a week or two, when
-you have learned more about boats, you can do it more understandingly
-than now.”
-
-The students were delighted with the idea, and a lot of them fell to
-electioneering as naturally as the average American citizen. In the
-first class, Matt Randolph was elected; in the second class, Dory
-Dornwood received very nearly a unanimous vote. The coxswains were
-directed to take the command at once, and they proceeded to number
-their men. Then they were assigned to their places. Dory was the first
-to get his boat off, and he led the way out into Lake Champlain.
-
-Each coxswain exercised his crew for an hour; and, of course, they had
-to have a race. As Dory had all the Goldwing Club with him, his boat
-won it; though the boys in the first class were older and stronger
-than those of the second. Captain Gildrock had told them that each
-club might name their own boat, and every student was requested to
-propose a good name at the next meeting. They had a great deal of fun
-over this subject.
-
-When the name of “Leader” was first suggested, it met with favor; but
-Ned Bellows, who had proposed “Winooski,” said he would vote for
-“Leader” if the other boat would call their barge “Follower.” The joke
-was carried so far that a committee was appointed to wait on the other
-club, and suggest the name of “Follower.” Of course, the first class
-were indignant; as the suggestion was a reflection upon their position
-at the end of the first race. The names finally adopted were
-“Gildrock,” in compliment to the captain, and “Winooski,” one of the
-rivers of the State.
-
-Perhaps the students enjoyed themselves more in these elegant barges
-than even in the Sylph. Before the season closed, they made many
-excursions in the Gildrock and the Winooski; and with all the practice
-they had, under the best instructors, they could not well avoid
-becoming first-class oarsmen.
-
-As they continued their work in the shop, some of the boys developed a
-very decided taste for the mechanic arts; some preferred carpentering;
-others were fascinated with wood-turning, after the lathes were in
-use; not a few desired to be working machinists; and some desired to
-learn only enough of the latter trade to enable them to run a
-steam-engine to the best advantage.
-
-After finding out what trade best suited each boy’s taste and ability,
-the captain intended to allow him to work mainly at that trade, though
-not to the neglect of any other essential knowledge. To say that all
-the boys were delighted with their occupation, with their work in the
-school-room and the shop, as well as their play on land and water,
-would not be stating the truth too strongly. Even Pemberton Millweed
-was proud of his accomplishments when he could make a bolt, with a
-screw and nut: and it is even probable that he forgot the meaning of
-the word “genteel;” at any rate, he did not use it any more.
-
-Bolingbroke became a good mechanic as well as a good scholar,--all the
-better mechanic for being a good scholar. Both of the farmer’s boys
-were glad they failed to find places in stores; for they were
-satisfied in less than a month that they could earn more money, be
-quite as respectable, and more independent, as mechanics.
-
-Elinora liked her place in the store, where she had fair wages. She
-paid her board at home, and was independent of everybody. The captain
-found plenty for Fatima to do, and she proved to be a very valuable
-clerk to him.
-
-The boys look out of the corners of their eyes when they see Mr.
-Darlingby with her, as he is a great deal of the time when they are
-not about their work; and even the principal fears that he may lose
-his accomplished assistant in the care of the records and his
-correspondence.
-
-Farmer Millweed seemed to have become a new man, as well as the new
-head of his family. Captain Gildrock took the mortgage on his farm,
-and lent him money to pay his interest and the more pressing of his
-other debts. His daughters pay their board, and the eight dollars a
-week from this source is a godsend to him.
-
-Mrs. Millweed does not say much about the new order of things, but she
-cannot help seeing and appreciating the improvement in their
-circumstances; for the farmer is certain that he shall be able to pay
-all his debts in time, and own his farm free and clear.
-
-Affairs went on very smoothly at the Beech-Hill Industrial School for
-several weeks, though in time the institution had its trials and
-troubles; and we are content to leave the “Champlain Mechanics” in
-their “Snug Harbor,” expecting to present them again when they begin
-their promised work with the “Square and Compass,” in the practical
-work of “Building the House.”
-
-
-
-
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- _LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON._
-
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-Transcriber’s Note:
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-this_. Dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged.
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- Contents.
- Missing end quote added to ‘... have a warrant for his arrest.”...’
- Missing period added in list, Chapter XVII, after name ‘Phil Gawner’
- ‘Dont’ to ‘Don’t’ ‘...Don’t hurt him,” added Dory....’
- ‘yatch’ to ‘yacht’ ‘...interested in the steam-yacht...’
-
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-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Snug Harbor, by Oliver Optic
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: Snug Harbor
- or The Champlain Mechanics
-
-Author: Oliver Optic
-
-Release Date: December 12, 2015 [EBook #50678]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SNUG HARBOR ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Carol Brown, and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-<!--<span style="white-space:nowrap;"></span> to prevent wrap anywhere in text-->
-<!--above instruction is ignored by Nook -->
-
-<!--001.png-->
-<div class="chapter box"><!--advertisement-->
-<p class="center muchlarger"><cite>The Boat-Builder Series.</cite></p>
-<hr />
-
-<p class="p2 center">I.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">ALL ADRIFT;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">THE GOLD WING CLUB</span>.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">II.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">SNUG HARBOR;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS</span>.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">III.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">SQUARE AND COMPASS;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">BUILDING THE HOUSE</span>.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">IV.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">STEM TO STERN;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">BUILDING THE BOAT</span>.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">V.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">ALL TAUT;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">RIGGING THE BOAT</span>.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">VI.</p>
-
-<p class="mt1 center larger">READY ABOUT;<br />
-<span class="smaller">OR</span>,<br />
-<span class="ls">SAILING THE BOAT</span>.</p>
-</div><!--end advertisement-->
-<!--002.png-->
-<!--003.png-->
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px">
- <img src="images/frontis_1.jpg"
- width="auto" height="100%"
- alt="Illustration: The collision on Lake Champlain"
- />
- <p class="caption">THE COLLISION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.&emsp;<a href="#page_15">Page 15</a>.</p>
-</div>
-
-<!--004.png-->
-<div class="chapter">
-<p class="p4 center">OLIVER OPTIC’S</p>
-
-<p class="center">BOAT-BUILDER<br />
-SERIES</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px">
- <img src="images/frontis_2.jpg"
- width="auto" height="100%"
- alt="Illustration: Illustrated title page"
- title="Illustrated title page"
- />
-</div>
-
-<p class="center mt2">SNUG HARBOR</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center">BOSTON,<br />
-LEE <span class="muchsmaller">AND</span> SHEPARD<br />
-PUBLISHERS.</p>
-</div>
-<!--005.png-->
-<!--006.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--title page-->
-<p class="p4 center"><span class="sc larger"><i>The Boat-Builder Series</i></span></p>
-<hr />
-
-<h1>SNUG HARBOR</h1>
-
-<p class="center muchsmaller">OR</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center muchlarger">THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS</p>
-
-<p class="center muchsmaller">BY</p>
-
-<h2 class="no-break">OLIVER OPTIC</h2>
-
-<p class="center muchsmaller">AUTHOR OF “YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,” “THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES,”<br />
-“THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES,” “THE WOODVILLE SERIES,” “THE<br />
-STARRY-FLAG SERIES,” “THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES,” “THE<br />
-ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES,” “THE YACHT-CLUB<br />
-SERIES,” “THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES,” “THE<br />
-RIVERDALE STORIES,” “ALL ADRIFT,”<br />
-ETC., ETC.</p>
-
-<p class="p4 center"><i>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS</i></p>
-
-<p class="p4 center">BOSTON<br />
-<span class="ls">LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS</span><br />
-<span class="smaller">NEW YORK</span><br />
-<span class="ls">CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM</span><br />
-1884</p>
-</div><!--end title page-->
-<!--007.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--copyright page-->
-<p class="p4 center"><span class="sc">Copyright</span>, 1883,</p>
-<p class="center"><span class="sc">By</span> WILLIAM T. ADAMS.</p>
-<hr />
-<p class="center"><i>All rights reserved.</i></p>
-</div><!--end copyright-->
-<!--008.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--dedication page-->
-<p class="p4 center">TO MY YOUNG FRIEND</p>
-<p class="center larger ls">HARRY CLINTON WHITE</p>
-<p class="center muchlarger"><span class="black">This Book</span></p>
-<p class="center">IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.</p>
-</div>
-<!--009.png-->
-<!--010.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--Preface-->
-<h3 class="p4">PREFACE.</h3>
-<hr />
-
-<p class="p2">“Snug-Harbor” is the second volume of “<span class="sc">The Boat-Builder
-Series</span>.” Though it contains its fair proportion of story and
-adventure, there is less of these elements than in its predecessor;
-though the writer believes there is enough to keep up the interest of
-his young readers. Dory Dornwood, the hero of the initial volume of
-the series, is again presented, and about a quarter of a hundred
-others; though all of them cannot be heroes. Like the former volume,
-the scene is laid on Lake Champlain and its shores.</p>
-
-<p>In accordance with the hint thrown out in the preface of the first
-volume, the Beech-Hill Industrial School makes a beginning in this
-book; and its pupils are gathered together in the schoolroom and the
-workshop. The boys are instructed only in those branches of learning
-which will be of the greatest practical utility to them as mechanics.
-They are taken into the shop, and set to work as carpenters and
-machinists; and some idea is given of their operations at the bench.
-But in a work of this kind the author finds it hardly practicable to
-describe in detail the work done by the Champlain mechanics; though he
-has done so to some extent, as a suggestion rather than as a system of
-instruction
-<!--011.png-->
-for boy-workmen. Without a vast number of drawings, the
-tools and machinery used by the carpenter and machinist cannot be
-described and explained so as to be of any great practical service.
-The book is rather to create an interest in these trades than to
-furnish a guide to young mechanics.</p>
-
-<p>The author regrets that there is no American work of the kind
-mentioned. Our English cousins have sent us over some excellent works
-on the subject, which are very useful, though not fully adapted to the
-needs of American boys. A new friend suggests that such a book be
-prepared, and with his aid it may yet be done.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock, the founder and patron of the Beech-Hill Industrial
-School, has some radical ideas on the subject of education; and
-probably many of the older readers of this book will disagree with
-him: but the question he argues is worthy of attention and discussion,
-however it may be finally settled.</p>
-
-<p>Though the author is not a mechanic by trade, he has worked in his own
-shop for many years. With the carpenter’s bench, the turning-lathe,
-and the various implements for working in wood and metals, he finds
-not only his needed exercise, but a degree of pleasure which makes it
-all the more healthy and exhilarating; and he commends the work to his
-young friends, both for their amusement and instruction.</p>
-
-<p class="indent"><span class="sc">Dorchester, Mass.</span>, Aug. 20, 1883.</p>
-
-</div><!--end preface-->
-<!--012.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--Contents-->
-<table summary="table of contents">
-<tr><th colspan="2" scope="col"><span class="larger"><a name="top"></a>CONTENTS</span>.</th></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="one">I.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="right" colspan="2"><span class="muchsmaller">PAGE</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Sloop that went to the Bottom</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch01">13</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="two">II.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Young Man with a Long Name</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch02">23</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="three">III.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed tells his Story</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch03">34</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="four">IV.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Goldwing anchors for the Night</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch04">44</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="five">V.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">A Quarrel on Board of the Juniper</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch05">54</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="six">VI.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Impulsive Assault of the Engineer</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch06">65</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="seven">VII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Bolingbroke Millweed out of a Place</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch07">76</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="eight">VIII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Pupils for the Beech-Hill Industrial School</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch08">87</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="nine">IX.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Volunteer Helmsman and his Movements</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch09">97</a></td></tr>
-<!--013.png-->
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="ten">X.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Battle near Garden Island</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch10">107</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="eleven">XI.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Master-Carpenter disposes of his Prisoner</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch11">117</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twelve">XII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Captain Gildrock’s First Lesson in Navigation</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch12">128</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="thirteen">XIII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Handling a Steamer in a Fog</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch13">138</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="fourteen">XIV.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Strong-Room at the Beech-Hill Industrial School</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch14">148</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="fifteen">XV.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Something about the Affairs of the Millweed Family</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch15">159</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="sixteen">XVI.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Organization of the Ship’s Company</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch16">170</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="seventeen">XVII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Officers and Crew of the Sylph</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch17">180</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="eighteen">XVIII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Another Battle at Plattsburg</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch18">190</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="nineteen">XIX.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Something that happened on Shore</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch19">201</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty">XX.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The New Head of the Millweed Family</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch20">212</a></td></tr>
-<!--014.png-->
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-one">XXI.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Captain Gildrock argues against High-Schools</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch21">223</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-two">XXII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Champlain Mechanics in the Shop</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch22">234</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-three">XXIII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Something about Tools and Work</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch23">244</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-four">XXIV.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Work for the Head and the Hands</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch24">255</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-five">XXV.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Second Class at the Carpenter’s Bench</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch25">266</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-six">XXVI.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The End of the First School-Day at Beech Hill</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch26">277</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-seven">XXVII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">Oscar Chester takes a Lesson in Boating</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch27">288</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-eight">XXVIII.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">The Upsetting of the Monkey and its Lesson</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch28">299</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-nine">XXIX.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">An Afternoon in the Machine-Shop</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch29">310</a></td></tr>
-
-<tr><td class="center" colspan="2">CHAPTER <abbr title="thirty">XXX.</abbr></td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><span class="sc">What the Students found at Thompson’s Point</span></td>
- <td class="right noshrink"><a href="#Ch30">320</a></td></tr>
-
-</table>
-</div><!--end contents-->
-<!--015.png-->
-<!--016.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p class="p4 center muchlarger">SNUG-HARBOR;</p>
-
-<p class="center smaller">OR,</p>
-
-<p class="center larger">THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS.</p>
-
-<hr />
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3><a name="Ch01"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="one">I.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE SLOOP THAT WENT TO THE BOTTOM.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">“Starboard your helm! hard a-starboard!” shouted Dory Dornwood, as he
-put the helm of the Goldwing to port in order to avoid a collision
-with a steam-launch which lay dead ahead of the schooner.</p>
-
-<p>“Keep off! you will sink me!” cried a young man in a sloop-boat, which
-lay exactly in the course of the steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s just what I mean to do, if you don’t come about!” yelled the
-man at the wheel of the steamer. “Why didn’t you stop when I called to
-you?”</p>
-<!--017.png-->
-
-<p>“Keep off, or you will be into me!” screamed the skipper of the sloop,
-whose tones and manner indicated that he was very much terrified at
-the situation.</p>
-
-<p>And he had reason enough to be alarmed. It was plain, from his
-management of his boat, that he was but an indifferent boatman; and
-probably he did not know what to do in the emergency. Dory had noticed
-the sloop coming up the lake with the steam-launch astern of her. The
-latter had run ahead of the sloop, and had come about, it now
-appeared, for the purpose of intercepting her.</p>
-
-<p>When the skipper of the sloop realized the intention of the helmsman
-of the steamer, he put his helm to port; but he was too late. The
-sharp bow of the launch struck the frail craft amidships, and cut
-through her as though she had been made of card-board.</p>
-
-<p>The sloop filled instantly; and, a moment later, the young man in her
-was struggling on the surface of the water. The boat was heavily
-ballasted, and she went down like a lump of lead. It was soon clear to
-Dory that the skipper could not swim, for he screamed as though the
-end of all things had come.</p>
-<!--018.png-->
-
-<p><a name="page_15"></a>Very likely it would have been the end of all things to him, if Dory
-had not come about with the Goldwing, and stood over to the place
-where the young man was vainly beating the water with his feet and
-hands. With no great difficulty the skipper of the Goldwing, who was
-an aquatic bird of the first water, pulled in the victim of the
-catastrophe, in spite of the apparent efforts of the sufferer to
-prevent him from doing so.</p>
-
-<p>It was a very warm day towards the end of August, and a bath in the
-cool waters of Lake Champlain was not the worst thing in the world to
-take. The victim of the collision was more scared than hurt; and he
-lay in the bottom of the yacht, puffing and blowing like a black bass
-just stolen from his native element. He did not seem to be able to
-speak, and Dory thought he was making a great fuss about a very small
-affair.</p>
-
-<p>The Goldwing had been headed across the lake when her skipper picked
-up the victim; and, when he was safely on board, she continued on her
-course. Dory had come out to cool off and take a sail, and it made no
-difference to him where he went. The Beech-hill Industrial School had
-not
-<!--019.png-->
-yet commenced operations, and he had nothing on earth to do the
-greater part of the time.</p>
-
-<p>His father had died a few weeks before; but he had found a snug harbor
-at Beech Hill, where he resided with his mother and sister in the
-elegant mansion of his uncle, Captain Royal Gildrock. The captain had
-acquired an immense fortune by his operations in various parts of the
-world; but as his wife was dead, and he had no children, it had
-bothered him a good deal to determine what to do with all his money.</p>
-
-<p>For many years there had been a feud between the head of the Dornwood
-family and the owner of Beech Hill. Mr. Dornwood was an intemperate
-man, and never more than half supported his family; though he had good
-wages as a pilot on the lake. He had married the captain’s only sister
-in spite of the opposition of all her friends, and especially of her
-brother.</p>
-
-<p>When the captain attempted to assist his sister in taking care of her
-two children, her husband ordered him out of his house; for a great
-many sharp words had passed between them. The wife was afraid of her
-inebriate husband, and the attempts of the wealthy brother to help the
-family
-<!--020.png-->
-had ended in the complete estrangement of the brother and
-sister.</p>
-
-<p>But as soon as Mrs. Dornwood was a widow, the captain hastened to her
-assistance. Though Dory had made an earnest effort to support the
-family, he had finally consented to reside with his mother at Beech
-Hill. The pilot’s wife and children had always lived in the humblest
-tenements, worn the meanest garments, and lived upon the plainest and
-cheapest food.</p>
-
-<p>Their lot at the new home was in tremendous contrast with their former
-condition. Captain Gildrock was a plain man himself, and inclined to
-regard the elegancies and luxuries of life with contempt. Though his
-house was large, it was plainly furnished. If his table was not
-garnished by the skill of a French cook, it was loaded with the best
-that could be procured. To the Dornwoods every thing about the house
-was luxurious.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock was a thinking man, and he had ideas as well as
-money. The two go well together, for ideas are often barren things
-when one has not the means to carry them out. The worthy shipmaster
-had studied society and human nature in many lands and climes. After
-he retired
-<!--021.png-->
-from the sea and business generally, he had given his
-attention wholly to the affairs in his own country. After he had done
-so for a year or two, he was disposed to exclaim with the inspired
-writer, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the standard of the captain was too high for this world, but
-he felt that the American people were slipping away from first
-principles. The nation had prospered by toil,&mdash;by inducing and
-compelling the earth to yield her increase. Life had been something
-more than a pleasure-excursion.</p>
-
-<p>“When I was young,” he used to say, “the boys worked on the farm,
-learned a trade, or went to sea. Now all the young men go into stores,
-become counter-jumpers and man-milliners. Men get rich now by making
-corners, betting on futures, and in speculation of all sorts. A big
-thief is a gentleman: a little one is a criminal, after he is caught.
-The boys and girls have been educated too much: they get above their
-station in life, and then half starve themselves in order to be
-genteel.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain did not believe that the young people were educated too
-much; only that they
-<!--022.png-->
-were trained in useless accomplishments, as he
-regarded them. He did not think that the Genverres high-school, though
-a very successful institution in the opinion of the school-board and
-the citizens generally, was really a blessing to the town. He was
-confident that he had discovered the philosopher’s stone in education,
-though he found himself almost alone in his opinions.</p>
-
-<p>“That school only spoils good farmers and mechanics, good seamen and
-engineers. It gives them altogether too high notions of themselves. It
-turns its pupils out on the world fit only to be genteel. The
-education which the fathers of New England meant, when they planted
-the schoolhouse alongside the church, was simply a common-school
-education, without any high-school bosh on the tail-end of it. It’s
-all well enough for rich people: it is a luxury they can afford, and
-one they ought to pay for.”</p>
-
-<p>Very likely the captain was too ultra in his views, but the question
-he argued is one which must be settled before the lapse of many years.</p>
-
-<p>The shipmaster was a practical man, and he did not talk without
-acting. He believed in industrial education, not in the grammar-school,
-<!--023.png-->
-but in place of the high-school. He had talked his views in
-town-meeting, and printed them in the papers; but the people were not
-inclined to adopt them.</p>
-
-<p>A year before, he had taken a number of young men, and instructed them
-in seamanship and the construction and management of the marine
-engine. It was only a partial experiment, but he regarded it as an
-eminently successful one. Most of his pupils had obtained situations
-as engineers, and they were competent to fill them.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock hoped to convince the people that his views were
-correct, and he was ready to spend his money in demonstrating the
-truth of what he preached. His class of the preceding year had been
-rather too old when he took them in hand. He wanted boys from the
-grammar-school, twelve or fourteen years old, before they had “bowed
-down to the vanity of this world,” before they had learned to be
-genteel, before they oiled their hair, and spent half an hour a day in
-adjusting their neckties.</p>
-
-<p>After the death of his brother-in-law, the pilot, he had captured his
-nephew, after a hard struggle, and found he was the leading spirit of
-the Goldwing
-<!--024.png-->
-Club, which had taken its name from Dory’s boat. These
-boys were rather wild, but not bad. The captain succeeded in gathering
-them all into the Beech-hill Industrial School, as he decided to call
-the new institution. But the boys in Genverres were shy of the new
-school, or their parents were shy for them. Not a few of the latter
-regarded the retired shipmaster as a sort of harmless lunatic, liberal
-with his money, but, like all reformers, an unsafe leader to follow.</p>
-
-<p>Several boys from the high-school had made excellent records out in
-the world, and each fond parent expected his own son would join the
-galaxy of bright stars from its graduates. The captain could find only
-three boys in the whole town who would join the new school, while
-thirty went to the high-school. Possibly the requirement that the
-pupils should reside at Beech Hill had some influence with the
-parents.</p>
-
-<p>It looked as though the school was to begin with eight pupils,&mdash;hardly
-enough to man the Sylph, the captain’s elegant steam-yacht, the
-largest and finest craft of the kind on the lake. All the boys in the
-high-school would have liked to flirt about the lake in the
-magnificent steamer;
-<!--025.png-->
-but to do it as seamen, firemen, engineers,
-waiters, and cooks, was not wholly to the taste of the parents, if it
-suited that of the boys.</p>
-
-<p>Dory Dornwood was waiting for the school to begin. Great boxes of
-tools, machinery, and other material for the workshops, had arrived at
-Beech Hill; but the captain would not allow them to be opened until
-the boys came. Besides, he was very busy in looking up pupils for the
-new institution. He wanted twenty-four to begin with, and he was
-searching for them in some of the interior towns where he was
-acquainted.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was very impatient for the school to begin, though he was very
-happy in the midst of his new surroundings. He was a natural mechanic,
-and tools of any kind suited him better than books. He was fond of
-adventure, and wondered if he should ever have another time as lively
-as that on the lake before he was captured by his uncle.</p>
-
-<p>The young man he had picked up on the lake was about sixteen years
-old, and was a stranger to him. His wet garments, though poor enough,
-betrayed an effort at some style. After a while he recovered his
-breath, and seemed to be in condition to give an account of himself.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--026.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch02"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="two">II.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE YOUNG MAN WITH A LONG NAME.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">“You had a narrow squeak that time,” said Dory Dornwood, as soon as he
-thought the victim of the disaster was in condition to do a little
-talking. “It is lucky you didn’t get tangled up in the rigging of your
-boat. She went to the bottom like a pound of carpet-tacks; and she
-would have carried you down in a hurry if you hadn’t let go in short
-metre.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think I am remarkably fortunate in being among the living at this
-moment,” replied the stranger, looking out over the stern of the
-Goldwing. “That was the most atrocious thing a fellow ever did.”</p>
-
-<p>“What was?” inquired Dory, who was not quite sure what the victim
-meant by the remark, or whether he alluded to him or to the man in the
-steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, running into me like that,” protested the passenger with no
-little indignation in his tones.</p>
-<!--027.png-->
-
-<p>“Let me see, ‘atrocious’ means something bad or wicked, don’t it?”
-continued Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Something very bad and very wicked,” replied the stranger, with a
-sickly smile, as he bestowed a patronizing glance upon his deliverer.</p>
-
-<p>“I thought it was something of that sort. I suppose you don’t use such
-big words as that before breakfast, do you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Why not before breakfast as well as after? It is a common word, in
-use every day in the week.”</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t know but it might put your jaws out of joint, and spoil your
-appetite,” added Dory, as he glanced behind him to see what had become
-of the steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>“My appetite is not so easily spoiled.”</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose you came up from Burlington?” said Dory suggestively, as
-though he considered an explanation on the part of the stranger to be
-in order at the present time.</p>
-
-<p>“I have just come from Burlington,” answered the victim, who appeared
-to be disposed to say nothing more. “Do you suppose I can get that
-boat again?”</p>
-
-<p>“I should say that the chance of getting her
-<!--028.png-->
-again was not first-rate.
-She went down where the water is about two hundred and fifty feet
-deep; and it won’t be an easy thing to get hold of her,” replied Dory.
-“If you had let him run into you between Diamond Island and Porter’s
-Bay, where the water is not more than fifty or sixty feet deep, you
-could have raised her without much difficulty. I don’t believe you
-will ever see her again.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s bad,” mused the stranger. “She did not belong to me.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you are so much in. Perhaps, if she had belonged to you, you
-would not have let the steam-launch run into you,” added Dory, who did
-not quite like the way the victim was taking things; for he did not
-seem to remember that he had been pulled out of the water by the
-skipper of the Goldwing when he was in great danger of drowning.</p>
-
-<p>“I did not let the steam-launch run into me. The man in her did it on
-purpose. It was not an accident,” answered the stranger.</p>
-
-<p>“I heard the fellow say that he meant to sink you; and, after he said
-that, I thought you were a little out of your head to let him do it.”</p>
-<!--029.png-->
-
-<p>“I didn’t let him do it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I thought you did. If I had been at the tiller of that sloop, he
-wouldn’t have done it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Probably you are a better boatman than I am: I don’t pretend to know
-much about the management of a yacht,” replied the victim meekly, as
-he finished wiping the water from his face.</p>
-
-<p>“Then you ought not to be sailing a boat in a fresh breeze, such as we
-are having to-day. Why didn’t you put your helm down when you saw that
-he was going to run into you?”</p>
-
-<p>“Down where?” asked the victim with a vacant stare.</p>
-
-<p>“Down cellar!” exclaimed Dory, disgusted at the ignorance of the
-skipper of the sunken sloop. “No fellow ought to sail a boat if he
-don’t know how to put the helm down.”</p>
-
-<p>“A fellow can’t know every thing in the world.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, I suppose you know every thing else: but how to put the helm
-down was the one thing you ought to have known, when that fellow was
-kind enough to tell you beforehand that he meant to sink you.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t be too rough on me, Mr.&mdash; I don’t know your name. I am under
-very great obligations
-<!--030.png-->
-to you for the signal service you have rendered
-me, and I shall be glad to know you better.”</p>
-
-<p>“My name is Theodore Dornwood,&mdash;Dory for short. What is yours?”</p>
-
-<p>“Dory Dornwood!” exclaimed the victim, bestowing a look of
-astonishment upon the modest skipper. “I have heard of you before, and
-I am particularly glad to meet you.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should think you might be, since I picked you up in deep water. But
-you did not give me your name.”</p>
-
-<p>“My name is Bolingbroke Millweed.”</p>
-
-<p>“Is that all the name you have?” asked Dory, as he opened his eyes
-till they were as big as a pair of saucers&mdash;very small saucers. “I
-didn’t quite make it out, for it fairly snarled up my intellect.”</p>
-
-<p>“Bolingbroke Millweed,” repeated the stranger with a slight frown upon
-his brow. “It’s all the name I have.”</p>
-
-<p>“It’s name enough, I should say.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is hardly worth while to make fun of my name: I am not responsible
-for it, and it is the best I have.”</p>
-<!--031.png-->
-
-<p>“I beg your pardon, Mr.&mdash; I don’t know what your name is now, for
-really I did not take it in,” pleaded Dory, who was sometimes very
-brusk in his manner, though he did not mean to hurt anybody’s
-feelings. “Honestly, I did not understand you.”</p>
-
-<p>“You cannot have read English history very much, or you would have
-recognized the first name.”</p>
-
-<p>“I never did read English history much: in fact, I never did much
-reading of any kind.”</p>
-
-<p>“My first name is Bolingbroke, and my surname is Millweed. The whole
-of it is Bolingbroke Millweed,” added the victim, mollified as he
-pitied the ignorance of his deliverer.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, Mr. Millweed: I won’t tackle the first name until I get a
-little better acquainted with it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Viscount Henry <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> John Bolingbroke, after whom I was named, was a
-prime minister of England, and a fine scholar; though he was charged
-with treason. But I did not pick out the name myself: it was my
-mother’s choice, but I can’t say that I approve it. I suppose I shall
-be called ‘Bolly’ as long as I live.”</p>
-<!--032.png-->
-
-<p>“Of course your friends can’t handle such a jaw-breaker as Bolingbroke
-every time they want to ask you which way the wind is. But never mind
-the name, Mr. Millweed. I picked you up in deep water, and that’s how
-you happen to be on board of the Goldwing.”</p>
-
-<p>“The famous Goldwing! I am extremely happy to be on board of her;
-though I wish our meeting had been under more favorable
-circumstances,” added Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed, as he poured the water
-out of one of his shoes.</p>
-
-<p>“I only said that you were on board of the Goldwing; and the question
-now is, what shall I do with you, for I see the steam-launch is headed
-this way. I should judge from his actions that the man at the wheel of
-her wants to see you.”</p>
-
-<p>“He does want to see me! I am the victim of a conspiracy!” exclaimed
-Mr. Millweed in tragic tones, as he sprang to his feet.</p>
-
-<p>“The victim of a conspiracy? Is that what you call the sinking of a
-sloop?”</p>
-
-<p>“I feel that the brave and noble Dory Dornwood will be my friend,
-<span style="white-space:nowrap;">and"&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Clap a stopper on your jaw-tackle!” interposed
-<!--033.png-->
-the skipper of the
-Goldwing, borrowing an expression his uncle had quoted in his
-presence. “If you mean to blarney me, I shall be your enemy; and I
-will put you ashore on Diamond Island, without benefit of clergy.”</p>
-
-<p>“Excuse me: I did not mean to offend you, Mr. <span style="white-space:nowrap;">Dornwood,”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Avast heaving! Don’t ‘mister’ me. Call me Dory; but don’t call me too
-late for dinner,” laughed the skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“Since I know who you are, I shall tell you my story, and explain how
-I happened to be sailing the sloop, <span style="white-space:nowrap;">and”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“I know how you were sailing her, and you sailed her to the bottom.
-Tell me the rest of it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I will tell you why that man ran into me, and why he was chasing me
-up the lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s the point; but make the yarn a short one, or the steam-launch
-will be upon us before you get through with it. You have the floor,
-Mr. Millweed,” replied Dory, as he glanced at the approaching steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“But I don’t want to be caught by that man! It might be fatal to me.
-He is a conspirator; and
-<!--034.png-->
-he is seeking to destroy my good name,”
-pleaded Mr. Millweed earnestly.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t understand the matter. Is the man an officer?”</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: he is chief clerk in a store in Burlington, and the
-steam-launch belongs to his employer. But he is rapidly overtaking
-us,” said the passenger.</p>
-
-<p>“Why should he be after you? What have you been doing that is wrong?”
-asked Dory, who had no idea of enlisting on the wrong side in
-anybody’s cause.</p>
-
-<p>“I have done nothing wrong. I will tell you all about the matter, only
-don’t let that man get hold of me. Upon my sacred honor, I am guilty
-of no crime,” continued Bolingbroke Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was greatly tempted. He had a reputation on Lake Champlain, won
-but a short time before he made his snug harbor at Beech Hill. On two
-occasions he had successfully kept out of the way of a steamer. He had
-been pursued all one day by the swiftest steam-yacht on the lake, but
-by his “tactics” he had kept out of her reach.</p>
-
-<p>If the young man had been guilty of a crime,
-<!--035.png-->
-he would do nothing for
-him. His passenger spoke fairly; but, if he had been doing wrong, he
-would not scruple to lie about it. Dory decided to keep out of the way
-of the steam-launch long enough to hear Bolingbroke’s story. It was an
-exciting game to dodge a steamer, and he desired to play it. The water
-in the lake had been very low all summer, and no heavy rains had yet
-raised it. The low-water soundings on the chart needed no corrections.</p>
-
-<p>The Goldwing was a schooner, and Dory had been sailing under jib and
-mainsail only. This was about all the sail she could comfortably
-carry. The skipper looked over the situation very carefully. The yacht
-was on the wind, headed across the lake. After the sinking of the
-sloop, the two men in the steamer had a long talk before they started
-her screw again; and she was all of half a mile astern of the
-Goldwing.</p>
-
-<p>Coming up into the wind, Dory set the mainsail; and then it was a
-staggering wind for the Goldwing. By a little manœuvring the skipper
-brought Diamond Island between his own craft and the steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>The pursuer had gained on him while he was
-<!--036.png-->
-setting the foresail.
-Starting his sheets, he stood off to the south-west until the steamer
-was abreast of the island. She could not head him off; and then he
-came about again, steering her due south.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper was ready for the explanation, and the passenger proceeded
-to relate it.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--037.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch03"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="three">III.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>MR. BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED TELLS HIS STORY.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The wind was blowing very fresh; and the Goldwing staggered wildly, as
-she went ahead nearly before it. Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed appeared to
-be a little nervous, for the schooner carried twice as much sail in
-proportion to her size as the sloop in which he had come from
-Burlington.</p>
-
-<p>“She acts just as though she was going to tip over,” said he, clinging
-to the wash-board.</p>
-
-<p>“Tip over! She don’t do that sort of thing. She has got over all her
-bad habits,” replied the skipper. “But I should like to have you spin
-your yarn before we get up to Field’s Bay, so that I may know what to
-do with you.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have been looking for a place in a store for a year, for I was
-graduated at the high-school last summer,” Mr. Millweed began. “I know
-a young man by the name of Hackett Tungwood, who is in a store in
-Burlington. He wanted a vacation
-<!--038.png-->
-of a week, and he engaged me to take
-his place while he was absent.”</p>
-
-<p>“Did his boss agree to it?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“His employer did agree to it, and treated me very kindly when I went
-to the store at seven o’clock this morning. About nine o’clock Mr.
-Lingerwell, who is Hack’s brother-in-law, and the head man in the
-store, sent me to the safe for the cash-book.”</p>
-
-<p>“I got the book, and gave it to him. Just then Mr. Longbrook, the
-proprietor, came in, and asked Mr. Lingerwell for the four hundred and
-fifty dollars which had been put in the safe the night before. I saw
-the head man go to the safe, and then both he and his employer seemed
-to be in great consternation.”</p>
-
-<p>“Short words, or you never will finish,” interposed Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“I did not know what the matter was, but Mr. Lingerwell used a great
-many exclamations.”</p>
-
-<p>“What did he do with them?”</p>
-
-<p>“He uttered them, of course: what else could he do with them? If you
-continue to interrupt with irrelevant questions, it will take me a
-long time to tell the story,” replied Mr. Millweed impatiently.
-<!--039.png-->
-“I was
-putting up goods near the desk, or I should not have noticed what was
-going on. In a little while I heard enough to satisfy me that the four
-hundred and fifty dollars was missing.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Longbrook called me to the desk, and asked if I had been to the
-safe. I told him I had taken the cash-book from the safe, as I had
-been told to do. He looked me sharply in the eye. Mr. Lingerwell said
-no one else had been to the safe since he opened it in the morning.</p>
-
-<p>“I was sent back to my work, and the two men kept on talking about the
-money. It was clear enough to me that I was suspected of taking it,
-and I felt as though I was already in the State prison. I heard Mr.
-Lingerwell say he was sure I had taken the money, for it was all right
-when he opened the safe. I never was so terrified before in my life.
-Hack Tungwell had told me he did not expect to keep his place much
-longer: he might not return at all. If I pleased his employer, I might
-get the situation.</p>
-
-<p>“What I heard seemed to be the knell of all my hopes. I had done my
-best to get a place, for my father sadly needs what little I could
-earn. Then the two men talked in low tones for a while.
-<!--040.png-->
-Presently
-Mr. Longbrook went out of the store. I was sure he had gone for an
-officer to arrest me.</p>
-
-<p>“The idea of being arrested and marched through the streets by a
-constable was about as bad to me as being shot through the head. When
-Mr. Lingerwell went to the back part of the store, I rushed out at the
-front door.”</p>
-
-<p>“You left!” exclaimed Dory with something like indignation in his
-tones.</p>
-
-<p>“I did: I was wholly unwilling to be dragged through the streets by an
-officer.”</p>
-
-<p>“That was worse than sinking the sloop in two hundred and fifty feet
-of water. Do I understand you to say that you did not take the money
-from the safe?” demanded Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Do I look like a thief?” asked Mr. Millweed, rising from his seat in
-the standing-room in deep disgust; though he was immediately thrown
-back again by the motion of the yacht.</p>
-
-<p>“Never mind how you look: you acted just like a thief,” retorted Dory
-warmly. “You don’t say yet that you didn’t take the money when you
-went to the safe for the book.”</p>
-
-<p>“I do say now, most emphatically, that I did
-<!--041.png-->
-not take the money when
-I went to the safe for the cash-book, or at any other time. I didn’t
-even know there was any money in the safe,” protested Mr. Millweed
-very earnestly.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s coming to the point; but you have done the best you could to
-convince your employer and his head man that you did take it. I advise
-you to go straight back to Burlington, and then straight to the store,
-and face the music. If anybody says I stole any money, I want to see
-the man that says so.”</p>
-
-<p>“That would all be very well under ordinary circumstances,” pleaded
-Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s all very well under any circumstances.”</p>
-
-<p>“I had a theory of my own.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care any thing about your theory: I say the way is to face
-the music. If you had let them search you before you went out of the
-store, you would have been all right. They would not have found the
-money upon you, and you had had no chance to get rid of it. Now they
-will say you buried it somewhere on the shore of the lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I tell you I have a theory. I believe Tim Lingerwell took the
-money himself. How easy it
-<!--042.png-->
-would have been for him to slip the wallet,
-or the package, whatever it was, into my pocket when I was not
-looking.”</p>
-
-<p>“That thing has been done in a hundred and fifty novels and stories,
-but it isn’t done every day in Burlington. If Tim Lingerwell wanted
-the money bad enough to steal it, he wouldn’t put it into your
-pocket.”</p>
-
-<p>“He isn’t any too good to do such a thing. He and Hack belong in
-Genverres; and people here wouldn’t trust either of them with a pewter
-quarter,” argued Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps you are right: I don’t know. You have given yourself away,
-and made it look bad for you. If Tim Lingerwell took the money, what
-did he do with it?”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s more than I know. He has the care of the safe, and he and I
-were the only persons who had been near it when Mr. Longbrook came in
-for the money. I know I did not take it; and if I didn’t, he did.
-That’s the whole of it.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory believed his passenger had been a fool to run away; but, without
-knowing why, he could not help believing that he was telling the truth.</p>
-
-<p>“Where did you get the sloop in which you
-<!--043.png-->
-came up the lake?” he asked.
-“You said she did not belong to you.”</p>
-
-<p>“She belongs to Sim Green, a friend of mine, who lives next door to
-me. He was going down to Burlington to stay a few days with his uncle.
-Money is a scarce article in our family, and I had none to pay my fare
-by railroad. I was going to walk; but, at Sim’s invitation, I went
-down in his sloop. When I left the store, I went down to the boat, and
-got into it. Then I thought I would go home, and tell my father and
-mother what had happened.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you took the boat without leave?”</p>
-
-<p>“I knew Sim would not care, and he won’t come home before Saturday. I
-meant to send it back before that time,” Mr. Millweed explained.</p>
-
-<p>“That may be all right; but Sim won’t thank you for taking it, when he
-learns that she has gone down in two hundred and fifty feet of water.
-Now, what is to be done?” asked Dory. “Will you go back to Burlington,
-and face the music?”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know what to do,” replied Mr. Millweed, evidently overwhelmed
-with perplexity.</p>
-
-<p>“I have told you what I would do if I were in your place,” added Dory.</p>
-<!--044.png-->
-
-<p>“Then I will go back; but I don’t want to be dragged into Burlington
-by Tim Lingerwell,” replied Mr. Millweed, as he glanced at the
-steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>“All right, if you will only go back. What makes you think Tim
-Lingerwell took the money?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“The more I think of it, the more certain I feel that he took the
-money. Why should he call me from my work to get the cash-book out of
-the safe for him, when he was within six feet of it? Why should he
-send me to the safe at all, and leave it unlocked, when he knew there
-was so much money in it? Why didn’t he search me before Mr. Longbrook
-went out? He managed it all to suit himself,” replied the passenger
-with energy.</p>
-
-<p>Dory thought his passenger was right. If the head man in the store
-believed the substitute clerk had taken the money from the safe, he
-could not see why he had been permitted to leave the store.</p>
-
-<p>“Did they chase you in the street after you left the store?” asked
-Dory, who was rather inclined to do a little detective business on his
-own account,
-<!--045.png-->
-as he had had a taste of it during the summer.</p>
-
-<p>“No one chased me. I did not see any one from the store. I was off
-Split Rock when I first saw the launch, but I didn’t know Tim was in
-her till just before he ran into the sloop. The moment I heard his
-voice, I understood it all; but I did not know enough about a boat to
-get out of the way.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe you did, or you would not have sunk that sloop. The
-wonder is, that you got as far as you did without capsizing her.”</p>
-
-<p>“I hoisted the sail, and let her go. The wind was fair, and all I had
-to do was to keep her away from the shore. She frightened me out of my
-wits two or three times when the waves were high.”</p>
-
-<p>“With this breeze we can run away from that steam-launch. If you like,
-I will take you back to Burlington, after I have told my mother where
-I am going.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should like that very much,” replied Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“But we can’t run away from the steamer beating down the lake, and we
-must dodge her in some way,” suggested Dory.</p>
-<!--046.png-->
-
-<p>“I will do just as you say, Dory; and I begin to see what an idiot I
-was to run away, though I still think Tim Lingerwell had some plan to
-trip me up,” added the passenger.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had already decided upon his plan of operations. The steamer was
-on the wrong side of him: he wished he was below instead of above her;
-for he wanted to run into Beaver River, which he could not do on the
-open lake without encountering his pursuer.</p>
-
-<p>His southerly course had by this time brought him near the east shore
-of the lake. The steam-launch was all of half a mile distant. From the
-mouth of the river a shoal extends a mile out into the lake, and over
-a mile to the southward. Dory struck this shallow water at its
-southern extremity.</p>
-
-<p>The deepest water is near the shore, and the skipper followed it. The
-launch continued on her former course for a while, and then stopped
-her screw. Tim Lingerwell at the wheel was perplexed; but Dory found
-his way across the shoal, and entered the river. Then the launch went
-around the shoal, and continued the chase.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--047.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch04"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="four">IV.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE GOLDWING ANCHORS FOR THE NIGHT.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">As soon as the Goldwing was fairly in the river, Dory found the wind
-was light compared with what it had been on the open lake. But the
-skipper had made up his mind that his passenger should not be taken
-out of the boat: his plan for another movement was ready.</p>
-
-<p>“She is catching us, and I might as well make up my mind to go back to
-Burlington in the Juniper;” for that was the name of the steam-launch.
-“I believe Tim Lingerwell has that money in his pocket at this minute;
-for he probably has had no chance to get rid of it,” said Mr. Millweed
-in utter despondency.</p>
-
-<p>“You can make up your mind any way you please; but, if you don’t want
-to go with him, you needn’t. If you will do as I say, I will land you
-in Burlington to-night,” replied Dory, as the yacht passed the narrow
-neck of land between the river and Porter’s Bay.</p>
-<!--048.png-->
-
-<p>“I will do just as you tell me, Dory; for I know you are capable of
-doing big things.”</p>
-
-<p>“It won’t be a very big thing, but we can dodge the Juniper a great
-deal easier than you can go to bed without your supper. I shall make a
-landing at the cross-cut. You will go on shore, and follow the path
-until you get to the other side of the woods. Then take the other path
-to the river, and strike it half a mile above the landing.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is all that for?” asked Mr. Millweed, perplexed by the
-instructions.</p>
-
-<p>“You do just as I tell you, and ask no questions. I will be
-responsible for the result.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right: I will do so. But I might as well go home, for I shall be
-half-way there when I get to the other side of the woods.”</p>
-
-<p>“If you go home, Tim Lingerwell will find you there. He will think you
-have gone home; and that is just what I want him to think,” said Dory,
-as he made the landing at the cross-cut, which was a short way to
-reach the northern outskirts of the town.</p>
-
-<p>“I will do just what you say, Dory.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very well; but don’t be in a hurry. Wait till the Juniper gets a
-little nearer, so that Tim can
-<!--049.png-->
-see you. Then start off as though you
-meant business.”</p>
-
-<p>They had not long to wait, for the steam-launch had been gaining
-rapidly on the yacht since they entered the river. When she was near
-enough to enable those on board of her to see just what was done, Mr.
-Millweed leaped ashore, and ran with all his might.</p>
-
-<p>“Stop him! Don’t let him go!” shouted the helmsman of the Juniper. “He
-is a thief! He has been stealing a large sum of money!”</p>
-
-<p>“I am not a constable,” answered Dory quietly. “I pulled him out of
-deep water, and brought him ashore. If you want him, you can take
-him.”</p>
-
-<p>Tim Lingerwell rang his bell, and the engine stopped. He ran her up to
-the shore, carrying her bow line to a post, as he leaped upon the
-bank.</p>
-
-<p>“What did you let him go for?” demanded Tim, turning to Dory, who had
-also landed.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s none of my business where he goes,” replied Dory. “This is a
-free country.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I told you he had been stealing. Come, Greeze, we must catch him.
-He lives up this way; and we shall find him at home, if we don’t catch
-him before he gets there.”</p>
-<!--050.png-->
-
-<p>The engineer abandoned his machine, and the two men started off on a
-run in the direction taken by the fugitive. But Mr. Millweed had a
-good start, and the wood concealed him from his pursuers.</p>
-
-<p>As soon as they were out of sight, Dory took a survey of the Juniper.
-He had often seen her before, though he had never been on board of
-her; and he improved the present opportunity to do so. He made a more
-careful examination of her than a mere inspection seemed to require.
-Like Mr. Millweed, he had a theory. He looked into all the lockers,
-and even examined the space under the ceiling as far as he could get
-at it.</p>
-
-<p>Just as he was beginning to think his theory was entirely at fault, he
-drew out a large pocket-book, which seemed to be well filled with
-something. He opened it, and found that it contained a large pile of
-bank-bills. Mr. Millweed’s theory was correct: Tim Lingerwell had had
-no opportunity to dispose of the money, and he had put it where he
-supposed no mortal could possibly find it.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed’s honesty was demonstrated. Dory had been
-right in trusting him. It was a great satisfaction to him to find that
-he had
-<!--051.png-->
-judged his passenger correctly. But Tim Lingerwell was quite
-as big a fool as Mr. Millweed; and the same might be truly said of any
-person who commits a robbery.</p>
-
-<p>Dory took the money from the pocket-book, and put it into his
-hip-pocket. He put a portion of a newspaper into the place from which
-he had taken the bills, so as to make the pocket-book look as it had
-before its valuable contents had been removed. Then he placed it under
-the ceiling precisely as he had found it. His business on board of the
-Juniper was finished, and he hastened to get the Goldwing under way
-again.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Millweed had faithfully followed his instructions, and was on the
-bank of the river above the woods. The passenger leaped on board when
-the bow touched the shore.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you see them, Dory?” asked Mr. Millweed, greatly excited.</p>
-
-<p>“Of course I saw them. They landed where you did, and started off at a
-dead run after you. Lingerwell said you had gone home; and they expect
-to find you there,” replied Dory, as he headed the yacht on her course
-up the river again.</p>
-<!--052.png-->
-
-<p>“They won’t find me there,” added the passenger, chuckling at the
-success of Dory’s plan. “But won’t they find us at Beech Hill if you
-go there?”</p>
-
-<p>“It will be two hours before they get back to the Juniper again, and
-then they won’t know where to look for you. We are all right.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory did not go into Beech-Hill Creek, which led to the lake in the
-rear of the mansion of Captain Gildrock, but continued on his course
-till he came to the river-road, on which the estate was located. At
-this point he made a landing; and, leaving his charge in the boat, he
-hastened to the house.</p>
-
-<p>Dory found his mother and sister in the garden. As briefly as he
-could, he told the story of his passenger, and announced his intention
-of going to Burlington at once. As he did so, they walked to the
-house, where Mrs. Dornwood put up a heavy lunch for her son. The
-skipper showed the money he had taken from the Juniper, to prove his
-statement; but this was a secret she was not to reveal to any person
-at present.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Dornwood volunteered to call upon the Millweeds, and inform them
-of the true state of
-<!--053.png-->
-the case; for the visit of Tim Lingerwell was
-likely to give them much trouble and anxiety before the whole truth
-came out.</p>
-
-<p>With the large lunch-basket and his overcoat, Dory hastened back to
-the place where he had left the Goldwing. He found his passenger in a
-very nervous and troubled frame of mind, fearful that Tim Lingerwell
-might pounce upon him while he was waiting for the skipper. He
-re-assured him by his confident words, and they embarked without
-losing a moment.</p>
-
-<p>“It is a little more than an hour since we left the steamer; and
-Lingerwell may see us as we go down the river, though I don’t think he
-has got back yet,” said Dory, when the yacht was under way.</p>
-
-<p>“Why not wait here until after the Juniper has started?” suggested Mr.
-Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“We should have to wait all night, I think; for I don’t believe
-Lingerwell will go back without you,” replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“But you have to sail back to Burlington with the wind against you:
-the Juniper will be sure to catch us,” added Mr. Millweed anxiously.</p>
-
-<p>“I am willing to take the chances; and, whatever
-<!--054.png-->
-happens to us, I will
-promise that you shall be all right when you have faced the music,”
-answered Dory, keeping a sharp lookout ahead for the steam-launch.</p>
-
-<p>“All right: you have carried me through so far, and I will trust you
-to the end. You saved my life; and I shall never cease to be grateful
-to you, even if you do nothing more for me,” said the passenger with
-more feeling than he had before exhibited.</p>
-
-<p>As the yacht approached the place where the fugitive had landed, Dory
-saw that the Juniper was still there. As the skipper was obliged to
-beat a portion of the distance down the river, he made a tack within
-twenty feet of her.</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on, there!” shouted a voice from her; but it was not that of
-Lingerwell.</p>
-
-<p>At the same moment a man rose from the bottom of the launch. He proved
-to be Greeze, the engineer. The pilot had evidently sent him back to
-attend to the boat.</p>
-
-<p>“We will see you in Burlington,” replied Dory, with abundant good
-nature, when he was satisfied that Lingerwell was not on board of her.</p>
-
-<p>“We want that thief!” yelled Greeze.</p>
-<!--055.png-->
-
-<p>“You will take him down to Burlington with you when you go.”</p>
-
-<p>Doubtless this answer perplexed the engineer; but the yacht passed out
-of hailing-distance, and no explanation was practicable. After going
-around the bend of the river, the Goldwing could lay her course for
-the lake, close-hauled.</p>
-
-<p>“The engineer has left the boat again,” said Mr. Millweed, just before
-the yacht reached the bend. “Where do you suppose he is going now?”</p>
-
-<p>“He is going to find Lingerwell, and tell him that you have gone down
-the river. But he may not find him for two hours. Of course he is
-moving about looking for you. Very likely he will go to my uncle’s
-house to inquire for me, though he will not be any the wiser for his
-visit. But I feel as though it was about supper-time,” continued Dory,
-as he consulted the watch his uncle had given him on his last
-birthday. “It is quarter-past six.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have the same sort of a feeling; for I had no dinner to-day, and
-took my breakfast at six this morning,” added Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“Why didn’t you say so before? You might have been working your jaws
-from the time we
-<!--056.png-->
-left the shore-road,” said Dory, as he handed the
-lunch-basket to his passenger. “Help yourself, and I will feed as the
-helm gives me time.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Millweed showed that he had an appetite by the time the Goldwing
-reached the lake. As the sun went down, the wind died out, though not
-till the schooner had passed Split Rock.</p>
-
-<p>“I am afraid we shall not get to Burlington to-night; for we can’t go
-without wind,” said Dory, when the breeze had nearly deserted them.</p>
-
-<p>“Then I am sure to be caught,” added the passenger.</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: don’t give it up.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory kept the boat moving a mile farther; and then came to anchor
-inside of Cedar Island, where the masts of the Goldwing could not be
-seen from the lake. At the skipper’s suggestion, the passenger turned
-in, and went to sleep.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--057.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch05"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="five">V.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>A QUARREL ON BOARD OF THE JUNIPER.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Dory had put on his overcoat, and gone to sleep on the cushions of the
-standing-room. The jib had been lowered, but the fore and main sails
-were still set. The skipper had passed the main-sheet around his arm,
-so that any motion of the sail would wake him. This signal disturbed
-him about eleven by jerking him off the seat upon the floor of the
-standing-room.</p>
-
-<p>The wind had begun to come in fresh between Garden Island and
-Thompson’s Point, indicating that its direction was from the
-south-west. It was fair for Burlington; but, before he got up the
-anchor, he listened attentively for any sounds that might come from
-the open lake, for he had a suspicion that he heard something.</p>
-
-<p>A moment later he was confident that he heard the puff of steam from
-the escape-pipe of a steamer. It was cloudy, and the night was dark.
-He looked out between the islands and the mainland, but he
-<!--058.png-->
-could see
-nothing. The sounds came nearer for a time: then they ceased for a few
-minutes, and were followed by a splash in the water. He was satisfied
-that a steamer had anchored at no great distance from Cedar Island.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper’s nap had refreshed him, and he was not inclined to sleep
-while there was wind enough to move the schooner. Very likely the
-steamer which had anchored was the Juniper. Probably Tim Lingerwell
-realized that the Goldwing could not sail without wind; and he was
-afraid he might pass her if he continued on his course. Doubtless he
-suspected that she had put in behind some island.</p>
-
-<p>Dory got up the anchor, hoisted the jib, and, with the wind on the
-beam, stood off to the north-west. He had no doubt the steamer he had
-heard was the Juniper. The noise of her screw, and the puff of her
-escape-pipe, indicated that she was a very small craft. He concluded
-that Tim Lingerwell would keep a sharp lookout for him, and he
-expected to be chased as soon as he passed the island.</p>
-
-<p>When he could see between the two islands, he discovered a light,
-which marked the position
-<!--059.png-->
-of the Juniper. The Goldwing passed within a
-quarter of a mile of her; but the wind was coming quite fresh from the
-south-west, and Dory thought that he could take care of himself and
-his sleeping passenger.</p>
-
-<p>Though it was very dark, the skipper had not deemed it prudent to
-light one of his lanterns; for it would be sure to betray his
-presence. As the yacht continued silently on her course, Dory heard
-the sound of voices in the direction of Garden Island, behind which he
-could see the Juniper’s light.</p>
-
-<p>It was evident that the pursuers were not asleep. Dory listened with
-all his might, for he was deeply interested in what was taking place
-on board of the steam-launch. It seemed to him that the captain and
-engineer were talking a great deal louder than the occasion required.
-As they were in the same craft, it was hardly necessary for them to
-yell at each other. After he had listened a while, Dory thought the
-tones of the speakers were angry and even violent.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper brought the Goldwing up into the wind, for a short
-distance farther would carry the yacht out of sight of the Juniper. He
-listened
-<!--060.png-->
-again; and the tones of the crew of the steam-launch were
-more violent than before. What was the matter? There was clearly a
-quarrel in progress between the captain and the engineer. As the
-voices became louder and more forcible, the disputants were plainly
-approaching a crisis in the quarrel.</p>
-
-<p>“Help! Help! Murder!” yelled one of the angry men; and Dory was
-confident it was the voice of the engineer.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper of the Goldwing did not wait to hear any more, or to
-speculate upon the cause of the difficulty on board of the Juniper.
-Hauling in his sheets, he filled away on the starboard tack. The
-schooner could just lay her course for the steamer’s light. It looked
-a little like a stormy time ahead, and Dory decided to call his
-passenger.</p>
-
-<p>Leaving the helm for a moment, he went to the cabin forward; and a
-sharp word roused Mr. Millweed from his slumbers. Hastening back to
-the helm, he seized the tiller before the schooner had time to
-broach-to. At that moment the cry from the steamer was repeated,
-though it was fainter than before.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the matter, Dory?” asked Mr. Millweed,
-<!--061.png-->
-as he rushed into the
-standing-room. “Didn’t I hear a yell just now?”</p>
-
-<p>“If you are not deaf, you did,” replied Dory, still gazing at the
-steamer’s light. “There is a row on board of the Juniper. The engineer
-is shouting for help.”</p>
-
-<p>“What does it all mean?” inquired the passenger anxiously.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know what it means, but I am going up there to find out.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you think it is safe to go near them?” inquired Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know whether it is safe or not; but men don’t yell murder in
-the middle of the night without some good reason.”</p>
-
-<p>“What can be the meaning of it?” asked the fugitive, evidently
-believing that the skipper ought to be able to tell him all about it.</p>
-
-<p>“You can guess as well as I can, Bolly,” answered Dory. “Tim and the
-engineer are the only persons on board of the Juniper, and the quarrel
-must be between them. That’s all I know about it. But, if we are going
-to take a hand in this fight, we had better have some sort of weapons.”</p>
-<!--062.png-->
-
-<p>“You don’t mean to take a hand in any fight, do you, Dory?” asked
-Bolingbroke, not a little alarmed at the announcement.</p>
-
-<p>“Not if I can help it; but I don’t mean to let Lingerwell kill his
-companion, without putting a finger in the pie. Go to the cabin, and
-bring out the long tiller. You will find it under the berth you slept
-in.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I don’t like the idea of getting into a fight with such a fellow
-as Tim Lingerwell,” protested Bolingbroke, without heeding the
-request.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care whether you like it or not. It is plain enough that we
-ought to do something when a man is trying to kill another. Bring out
-the tiller!”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Millweed obeyed the order this time. Dory took the tiller, and
-placed it at his side, where it would be ready for use if the occasion
-should require.</p>
-
-<p>“There is a round stick by the centre-board casing. You had better
-have that in your hand, for you may want to defend yourself before we
-get through with this business. I don’t know what the quarrel is
-about; but we are likely to find out very soon,” added Dory.</p>
-<!--063.png-->
-
-<p>“Help! Help! Murder!”</p>
-
-<p>“There it is again!” exclaimed the skipper, not a little excited by
-this time.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s awful, isn’t it, Dory?” added Bolingbroke, his teeth chattering
-with terror at the terrible sounds that were borne over the dark
-waters.</p>
-
-<p>“Juniper, ahoy!” screamed Dory, forming a speaking-trumpet with his
-two hands. “What’s the matter?”</p>
-
-<p>No reply came back in answer to the question. Just then Dory began to
-wonder whether or not these cries were not a trick to call the
-Goldwing out from her hiding-place. The wind had just breezed up; and
-Tim Lingerwell might fear that the fugitive would escape him, after
-all his labor and pains to capture him.</p>
-
-<p>He thought enough of the idea to mention it to his passenger.
-Bolingbroke was ready to adopt the opinion that it was a trick: he was
-ready to adopt any thing rather than go near the Juniper, whether
-there was a fight or not on board of her.</p>
-
-<p>“Of course it is a ruse to get you out of your hiding-place,” said he
-with energy. “I thought of that myself.”</p>
-
-<p>“If the wind hadn’t just breezed up, I should
-<!--064.png-->
-not have thought of
-such a thing,” added Dory, still musing upon the point; for he did not
-like the idea of having his passenger taken from the Goldwing by a
-trick.</p>
-
-<p>On the other hand, it was possible, perhaps probable, that the two men
-had fallen out, and come to blows. Dory knew that Lingerwell was a bad
-man, and it is always easy for such men to make trouble. Strange as it
-may seem, the skipper did not connect the large sum of money in his
-hip-pocket with the quarrel on board of the Juniper. He did not even
-think of the bills he had taken from the steam-launch in the absence
-of her crew.</p>
-
-<p>“I wouldn’t go near her, Dory,” argued Bolingbroke. “I hope you won’t
-step into the trap Tim has set for you to fall into.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am not afraid of Tim Lingerwell, and I am going over there to see
-if any thing is the matter. We will be a little cautious about
-approaching the steamer.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you can’t run away from her if you find it is only a trick,”
-reasoned Bolingbroke.</p>
-
-<p>“We must take our chances,” replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>By this time the Goldwing was entering the
-<!--065.png-->
-passage between Cedar and
-Garden Islands. The Juniper was close to the shore, and the islands
-were about the eighth of a mile apart. The wind was freshening every
-minute; and Dory decided to run by the steamer, going as near as it
-was prudent to go.</p>
-
-<p>He could still hear the voices of the two men, though their tone had
-greatly changed. The skipper saw that the steamer was still at anchor,
-for she had swung around with her head to the wind. He was satisfied,
-by this fact, that the call for help was not a trick: if it had been,
-the Juniper would have been under way by this time.</p>
-
-<p>“Juniper, ahoy!” called Dory, as the Goldwing came up with the launch.
-“What is the matter on board?”</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing is the matter. Greeze has had the nightmare, and shouted
-murder in his sleep,” replied Lingerwell, trying to laugh it off,
-though the effort was a very sickly one.</p>
-
-<p>“Help! help!” shouted the engineer from the other end of the boat.</p>
-
-<p>“He don’t seem to have got over his nightmare yet,” added Dory.&mdash;“What
-is the matter there? What ails you?” demanded the skipper.</p>
-<!--066.png-->
-
-<p>“Lingerwell has nearly killed me: he says I stole his money while he
-was after the Millweed fellow,” replied Greeze.</p>
-
-<p>“Shut up, you stupid blockhead! Silence! Don’t say another word about
-it, and we will fix up the matter,” said Lingerwell in a wheedling
-tone, as though he would have given something handsome to have sealed
-the lips of the engineer.</p>
-
-<p>“I won’t shut up! I have been insulted and abused; and I will have
-satisfaction if it costs me my life. I didn’t take your money. I
-didn’t know you had any,” growled Greeze, moving aft.</p>
-
-<p>This explanation on the part of the engineer enabled Dory to
-understand the nature of the quarrel between the two men. When the
-Juniper had anchored, Lingerwell had evidently taken the pocket-book
-from its hiding-place, and found that worthless paper had been put in
-the place of the four hundred and fifty dollars. As he was not aware
-that Dory, or any other person, had been on board, he naturally
-concluded that the engineer must have robbed him of his ill-gotten
-money.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had come up into the wind under the lee of the Juniper. The
-lantern hung on a stanchion in the after part of the steamer, so that
-the skipper
-<!--067.png-->
-of the Goldwing and his passenger could see what took
-place on board of her. The engineer had no sooner reached the place
-where Lingerwell stood, than he leaped upon him with the fury of a
-tiger.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--068.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch06"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="six">VI.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE IMPULSIVE ASSAULT OF THE ENGINEER.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The engineer was evidently suffering under the humiliation of his
-former defeat; and now he was seeking to satisfy his revengeful
-feelings rather than gain any point, for Lingerwell had offered to
-“fix up the matter.” His onslaught was so sudden and unexpected that
-Lingerwell was borne down beneath him.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was wise enough to see, on the instant, that the impulsive attack
-of the engineer was a great mistake; but it was too late to correct
-it. In this case his sympathies were not “with the bottom dog;” for
-the engineer had the right on his side, in spite of his blunder.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper of the Goldwing felt called upon to take a hand in the
-conflict; and, when Lingerwell was about to shake off his opponent, he
-went to the assistance of the latter. The engineer had thrown his man
-upon his face, and he was in the act of turning over when Dory put his
-knees on the back of the fallen one.</p>
-<!--069.png-->
-
-<p>“Put your foot on his back, and grab one of his hands!” exclaimed
-Dory, as he grasped an arm.</p>
-
-<p>“I can hold him! He tried to kill me, and I will get even with him!”
-gasped Greeze.</p>
-
-<p>“<a name="dont"></a>Don’t hurt him,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“I will pay him off for what he did to me!” cried the engineer.</p>
-
-<p>“If you strike him, or kick him, I will leave at once!” added Dory
-decidedly. “We can hold him, and keep him from harming you again.”</p>
-
-<p>“He abused me, and I will get even with him,” replied Greeze, a little
-mollified by the threat of Dory; for he saw that he could not manage
-the steamer alone.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t harm him: the law will punish him,” continued Dory. “Bolly.”</p>
-
-<p>The passenger in the Goldwing had been looking on with no little
-surprise and terror, and had not ventured upon the deck of the
-Juniper. Possibly he was too much alarmed to realize that the tables
-had been turned.</p>
-
-<p>“What is it, Dory?” he responded to the call.</p>
-
-<p>“Bring me the rope that lies under the tiller.”</p>
-
-<p>Bolingbroke found the line, and carried it to
-<!--070.png-->
-the skipper; but he was
-careful not to go too near the fallen tiger, for such he had proved to
-be to him. Dory took the line, and succeeded in making it fast to the
-arm of Lingerwell.</p>
-
-<p>“What are you about, you young villain? Do you mean to tie my hands?”
-demanded the fallen man.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s the idea exactly,” replied Dory, as he attempted to pass the
-line around the arm held by the engineer.</p>
-
-<p>Lingerwell had been quiet for a minute after Dory took hold of him,
-but the idea of being captured and tied up like a felon was too much
-for him. With a series of heavy oaths, he made a desperate effort to
-shake off his assailants. The engineer meant business, though the
-direction of the assault had been taken out of his hands by the
-new-comer. He lay down upon his victim, and jammed his knees into the
-small of his back, so that escape was impossible. Dory passed the line
-around the other wrist of the conspirator, and the two were securely
-bound together behind him.</p>
-
-<p>“He is all right now, and cannot harm anybody,” said Dory. “Get
-another line, and we will
-<!--071.png-->
-secure his feet.” Bolingbroke brought the
-rope, for by this time he could see that his great enemy was
-powerless.</p>
-
-<p>Dory fastened the feet of Lingerwell together, and then turned him on
-his side, so that he could be more comfortable. Again the victim
-struggled to loose himself; but Dory had done his work well, and he
-could produce no impression upon the rope.</p>
-
-<p>“This is an outrage!” yelled he, furious with passion.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose it isn’t an outrage to try to kill a man,” replied Dory, as
-he took the lantern and examined the fastenings he had put on the
-prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t try to kill him! That is all nonsense!” replied Lingerwell,
-suspending his struggles.</p>
-
-<p>“We won’t argue the matter now,” replied Dory, walking to the forward
-part of the boat.</p>
-
-<p>He was followed by the engineer, who seemed to be desirous to explain
-the affair. Doubtless he was grateful for the service the boy had
-rendered to him, and looked upon the skipper of the Goldwing as his
-friend.</p>
-<!--072.png-->
-
-<p>“You are a plucky boy, Dory,” said Greeze, when they reached the
-wheel, near the bow of the boat. “But I think I could have handled
-that fellow alone.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is very strange that you should get into a quarrel out here in the
-middle of the night,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“It wasn’t a quarrel of my making; and, if he hadn’t taken me when I
-was not thinking of such a thing, the boot would have been on the
-other leg. He’s bigger than I am, but I can handle him if I have fair
-play.”</p>
-
-<p>“How did you happen to get into such a row?”</p>
-
-<p>“I stopped the boat when we reached this place, and then let go the
-anchor, at Lingerwell’s order. When I went forward, I found him on the
-floor, feeling about under the ceiling. I didn’t know what he was
-doing; and he didn’t care to have me know, for he told me to go aft
-and bank the fire in the furnace. I did so, and when I got through I
-went forward again. Lingerwell was at the lantern, looking over what
-was in a big pocket-book he had in his hands.”</p>
-
-<p>“Had he said any thing about a pocket-book before?” asked Dory.</p>
-<!--073.png-->
-
-<p>“Not a word. When I got to him, he looked as though he was very
-nervous and excited. He poked the pocket-book over, and then fished
-his pockets all through. I asked him what the matter was. He said he
-had dropped his pocket-book on the floor, some time during the day; he
-didn’t know when. He had just found it; but the money had all been
-taken out, and a piece of newspaper put in its place to swell it out.”</p>
-
-<p>“Did he say how much money was in it?” inquired Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“He said there was a good deal in it, but he didn’t tell me how much.”</p>
-
-<p>“Did he say there was a hundred dollars or more?”</p>
-
-<p>“He didn’t say a word about it. He kept getting more excited, and at
-last he said I must have taken the money from the pocket-book. I
-answered, that I didn’t do it: I hadn’t seen his pocket-book, and
-didn’t know he had any money with him. On that he got mad, and I was
-as mad as he was.</p>
-
-<p>“We had a long jaw about it, and then he pitched into me. He got me by
-the throat before I knew what he was about. He put me down,
-<!--074.png-->
-and then
-tried to fish my pockets. I yelled for help, for I thought he would
-kill me. I hardly knew what I did; but I shook him off, and we had
-another savage jaw about it. Then he pitched into me again. He had a
-club in his hand; and I think he would have used it on me, if he
-hadn’t heard you yell just at this time.”</p>
-
-<p>“I hoped my hail would let him know there was some one at hand, though
-it was only a boy,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“That was what made him let up on me. Then he tried to smooth it over;
-but I never was treated like that before, and I meant to have it out
-with him.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, here we are; and what is to be done next?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“We were waiting down here to catch that Millweed fellow that stole
-the money from the safe,” replied Greeze.</p>
-
-<p>“He says he didn’t take the money from the safe, and he is going back
-to Burlington to face the music.”</p>
-
-<p>“We might as well go along then: we haven’t any more business up here.
-You can steer the Juniper, and we will tow the Goldwing,” suggested
-<!--075.png-->
-the engineer. “I don’t know how this thing is coming out, but I am
-ready to go to Burlington. I suppose Lingerwell will have me
-discharged after this, but I don’t care for that. You have tied him
-hand and foot, and I don’t know what you mean by that. I meant to take
-what I owed him out of his hide.”</p>
-
-<p>“I tied him to keep him from pitching into you again. I want to see
-Mr. Longbrook as soon as we get to Burlington; and he can do what he
-likes with him,” replied Dory. “We will start for Burlington as soon
-as you are ready.”</p>
-
-<p>When the excitement was over, Bolingbroke Millweed had returned to the
-Goldwing, and to his berth in the cabin, where he was now fast asleep.
-The engineer replenished his fire, and in half an hour the Juniper was
-under way. At four o’clock in the morning she was at her wharf in
-Burlington. The Goldwing was made fast alongside of her. It was nearly
-daylight, and it would be quite by the time Dory could reach the
-residence of Mr. Longbrook.</p>
-
-<p>Bolingbroke was roused from his slumbers in the cabin, but he objected
-to calling upon the storekeeper at so early an hour in the morning.
-<!--076.png-->
-Dory did not care for his opinion, and insisted upon going without any
-delay. Greeze was to keep watch over Lingerwell until he heard from
-Dory, and Mr. Longbrook was to decide what was to be done with the
-prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>The house of the storekeeper was easily found. It was about five by
-this time, and the early visitors saw that the people were up. To
-Dory’s inquiry for the head of the family, the servant said he had
-gone to the store. He had staid there till midnight the night before,
-and had left the house as soon as it was light.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was not a little astonished at this severe devotion to business;
-but he hastened to the store, and found Mr. Longbrook was busy over
-his books. He had locked himself in, but he opened the door in answer
-to the skipper’s vigorous knocks.</p>
-
-<p>“I am too busy to see any one now,” said the storekeeper impatiently.
-“Come at nine o’clock, and I will see you.”</p>
-
-<p>“This young man wants to see you at once,” added Dory, pulling
-Bolingbroke into the doorway.</p>
-
-<p>“What, Millweed! So you have come back,
-<!--077.png-->
-young man,” added Mr. Longbrook,
-as he recognized his late assistant.</p>
-
-<p>“I have come back to tell you, sir, that I did not take the money from
-your safe,” stammered Bolingbroke.</p>
-
-<p>“What did you run away for, then?” demanded the merchant severely.</p>
-
-<p>“Because I was a fool and was frightened. I found that Mr. Lingerwell
-was determined to convict me, guilty or innocent; and I had not the
-courage to stay and see it out,” replied Bolingbroke honestly.</p>
-
-<p>“You lost four hundred and fifty dollars from your safe, Mr.
-Longbrook,” interposed Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“That was just the amount taken, and this young fellow took it. It
-looks as though he came to work here at this time for the purpose of
-getting it, and he left as soon as he had the money,” said the
-merchant angrily. “What have you done with the money, you young
-rascal?”</p>
-
-<p>“I have not had it, I have not seen it,” protested Bolingbroke.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t tell me that! No one else could have taken it. You and
-Lingerwell were the only two persons who went to the safe.”</p>
-<!--078.png-->
-
-<p>“Possibly Mr. Lingerwell took it himself,” suggested Dory.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Longbrook knit his brows into a frown, and turned away as though
-he was thinking of something. Doubtless he was considering whether or
-not it was possible that his trusted head man could have done such a
-deed.</p>
-
-<p>“At any rate here is the money,” added Dory, pulling the roll of bills
-from his pocket.</p>
-
-<p>The merchant opened his eyes very wide, and so did Mr. Bolingbroke
-Millweed.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--079.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch07"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="seven">VII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED OUT OF A PLACE.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Mr. Longbrook took the bills, and a smile of satisfaction overspread
-his troubled face. He looked at Dory with astonishment, and then
-glanced from him to Bolingbroke. The latter was quite as much
-surprised as the owner of the four hundred and fifty dollars.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had not given a hint to his companion or to the engineer that he
-had the money. He had concealed the fact from prudential motives. He
-had told his mother all about it, but he was not inclined to lead
-either of his associates in the boat into temptation.</p>
-
-<p>“I see,” said Mr. Longbrook, nodding his head at Dory. “Your friend
-has concluded to give up the money, and expects me to say nothing more
-about it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I never saw the money before; and I didn’t know till this minute that
-Dory had it,” protested Bolingbroke earnestly.</p>
-<!--080.png-->
-
-<p>“He tells the exact truth,” added Dory. “Neither he nor any one but my
-mother, who is at Genverres, knew that I had the money. I think you
-had better hear the whole story, and then you can judge for yourself.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Longbrook was quite willing to hear the story, for he was deeply
-interested by this time. He asked Dory and his companion into the
-store, and locked the door again. Bolingbroke gave his part of the
-narrative first, and Dory finished it out.</p>
-
-<p>“I believed Bolingbroke told me the truth; and I accepted Mr.
-Lingerwell’s statement that one of the two must have stolen the
-money,” said Dory. “When the skipper and engineer left the Juniper to
-catch my passenger, I looked the steamer over, and found the
-pocket-book. I put the piece of newspaper into the place where I took
-out the bills, hoping that Mr. Lingerwell would suppose he had the
-bills until he got to Burlington.”</p>
-
-<p>Then followed the skipper’s account of the quarrel on board of the
-Juniper, which confirmed Dory’s statement. It was as clear to the
-merchant as it was to Dory, that the head man had stolen the money.</p>
-<!--081.png-->
-
-<p>“Where is Lingerwell now?” asked Mr. Longbrook.</p>
-
-<p>“He is on board of the Juniper, tied hand and foot; and the engineer
-is keeping guard over him. He did not know I had been on board of the
-Juniper in his absence; and he was sure that Greeze must have taken
-the money from the pocket-book, and put the newspaper in its place.
-You can do what you like with him.”</p>
-
-<p>“I knew that man was a villain!” exclaimed Bolingbroke when Dory had
-finished his explanation. “I saw why I was sent to the safe for the
-cash-book, when it was almost within reach of his hands; and that was
-one of my reasons for running away. I was a fool, but I was
-frightened.”</p>
-
-<p>“I wish I had known that Lingerwell was a rascal a little sooner.
-Since he went after this young man yesterday, I have been examining my
-books. I am satisfied that he has robbed me of hundreds, if not
-thousands, of dollars. I can see just how he has done it. Now we will
-go down and see him, and we will have a warrant for his arrest<a name="arrest"></a>.”</p>
-
-<p>By this time it was seven o’clock, and the merchant departed for the
-warrant and the officer to serve it. Dory and Bolingbroke went with
-him.
-<!--082.png-->
-As they passed the Van Ness House, Dory was not a little surprised
-to see his uncle standing at the entrance of the hotel with quite a
-little crowd of boys. The skipper counted ten of them, and he wondered
-if they were to be pupils in the Beech-Hill Industrial School.</p>
-
-<p>“You are here in good time, Theodore,” demanded Captain Gildrock, as
-he recognized his nephew.</p>
-
-<p>“I came up on a little business, uncle,” replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Very important business it was to me, Captain Gildrock,” added Mr.
-Longbrook. “I am under very great obligations to him.”</p>
-
-<p>The breakfast-bell rang, and the boys were sent in to obtain the
-morning meal. The merchant gave an outline of the loss and recovery of
-his money. The captain asked a great many questions, which were all
-answered to his satisfaction. Then he insisted that the party should
-breakfast with him.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Longbrook accepted the invitation, and they entered the hotel. In
-the vestibule the merchant met the justice to whom he intended to
-apply for the warrant. He stated his case to him,
-<!--083.png-->
-and the gentleman
-promised to have the warrant ready by the time he had finished his
-breakfast. The party seated themselves at the table.</p>
-
-<p>“A telegram for you, Captain Gildrock,” said one of the clerks,
-bringing the message to him.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Dory away; no pilot; cannot go up the lake.&mdash;<span class="sc">Jepson</span>,’” read the
-captain from the despatch in his hand. “Then you did not come down in
-the Sylph, Theodore. Of course you did not. I have heard the story of
-your movements during the night. I telegraphed to you last night from
-here to come down in the steamer, and take the new scholars to Beech
-Hill.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have the Goldwing here, and I can take them home in her,” replied
-Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“But I have ten boys with me: there they are at the other table. They
-are about as wild and harum-scarum a set of youngsters as I ever saw
-in my life. But we will take all that out of them in a few days, when
-I get them to Beech Hill,” replied the captain confidently.</p>
-
-<p>“I can take the crowd up in the Goldwing.”</p>
-
-<p>“We will see about that when we have done breakfast, and you have
-disposed of your prisoner.”</p>
-<!--084.png-->
-
-<p>“The Juniper is at your service, Captain Gildrock.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you: perhaps we may want to use her.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Longbrook inquired in regard to the sloop that had been sunk. It
-was not likely that Lingerwell would be able to pay for the mischief
-he had done; and the merchant said he had a sloop, not a very fine
-one, which he was willing to give as a substitute for the one lost.
-Bolingbroke was delighted with this offer, and promptly accepted it.</p>
-
-<p>After breakfast the party proceeded to the wharf where the Juniper
-lay, the recruits for the Industrial School being required to report
-at the hotel at ten o’clock. Mr. Longbrook found things on board of
-his steam-launch precisely as represented to him by Dory. Lingerwell
-still lay on the floor in the after part of the steamer. Greeze sat
-near him, and apparently had not taken his eye off him since the
-departure of Dory early in the morning.</p>
-
-<p>The officer with the warrant had not yet put in an appearance. The
-merchant, before he showed himself to his delinquent head man, called
-the engineer up the wharf, and questioned him in
-<!--085.png-->
-regard to the events
-of the night. His statement did not vary from that of Dory and
-Bolingbroke, though Greeze as yet had no suspicion that the money he
-had been charged with stealing had been taken from the safe of his
-employer.</p>
-
-<p>“I think there are enough of us to handle this man,” said Mr.
-Longbrook, as he returned to the steam-launch. “You may untie his
-hands, Greeze.”</p>
-
-<p>“With fair play I can handle him alone,” replied the engineer, as he
-proceeded to release the wrists of the culprit on the floor. Greeze
-helped him to get upon his feet, and then gave him a seat opposite the
-merchant.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, Lingerwell, I find you did not capture the thief,” said the
-storekeeper.</p>
-
-<p>“I did not: he found an accomplice in Dory Dornwood, who helped him to
-escape,” replied the prisoner doggedly; and, as he had no knowledge of
-what had transpired at the store, he was not prepared to admit any
-thing.</p>
-
-<p>“But how does it happen that I find you a prisoner, bound hand and
-foot?” asked the merchant.</p>
-
-<p>“I am the victim of an outrage. I had some difficulty with the
-engineer in the night, and he
-<!--086.png-->
-joined forces with Dory against me. By
-taking me unawares, they succeeded in making me a prisoner. I had some
-money with me, and dropped my pocket-book on the floor near the wheel.
-When I found it, the money was taken out, and its place filled with a
-piece of newspaper.” This statement also confirmed that of Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“How much money did you happen to have with you?” inquired his
-employer.</p>
-
-<p>“About a hundred dollars. Of course I knew that the engineer had done
-this, for no one but Greeze and myself had been on board of the
-steamer.”</p>
-
-<p>“Are you sure of that?”</p>
-
-<p>“As sure as I can be of any thing in this world,” persisted
-Lingerwell.</p>
-
-<p>“Are you correct about the amount of money in your pocket-book?”</p>
-
-<p>“I would not say there was just a hundred dollars in it, but about
-that amount.”</p>
-
-<p>“Wasn’t there four hundred and fifty dollars in the pocket-book?”
-demanded the merchant sharply.</p>
-
-<p>“I am sure there was not,” the culprit persisted.</p>
-
-<p>“The pocket-book was not taken by the thief:
-<!--087.png-->
-do you happen to have it
-about you, Lingerwell?”</p>
-
-<p>“After I found it was empty, I laid it on the rail for a minute, and
-it fell overboard. It was so dark I could not recover it,” replied the
-prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>While Lingerwell was inventing and uttering this falsehood, Mr.
-Longbrook picked up a piece of newspaper, folded in the shape of a
-bank-bill, which he found lying on the floor of the steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose this is the piece of paper you found in the pocket-book in
-place of the money?”</p>
-
-<p>“That is the piece of paper.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here is the rest of the paper,” added Dory, taking a newspaper from
-his pocket.</p>
-
-<p>The merchant put the two pieces of paper together, and found they were
-part of the same sheet.</p>
-
-<p>“Then it was this Dory that robbed me of my money!” exclaimed the
-prisoner savagely.</p>
-
-<p>“Robbed you of my money, you mean, Lingerwell. Dory has returned to me
-the money he took from the pocket-book you hid under the ceiling of
-the launch. Lingerwell, to the crime of robbery you add the meanness
-and the baseness of charging it upon an innocent person,”
-<!--088.png-->
-said the
-merchant sternly. “Yesterday I would have trusted you with all I had
-in the world. To-day I find you are a thief and a villain. Here comes
-the officer with a warrant for you.”</p>
-
-<p>Lingerwell subsided at once; in fact, he broke down like a child, and
-cried like a baby. He had not supposed he could be discovered so
-readily, but rogues are very apt to make blunders. The officer marched
-him to the lockup; and we may as well add here, that he was sentenced,
-in due time, to the State prison for three years.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose I shall be wanted in the store, Mr. Longbrook?” asked
-Bolingbroke, when the culprit had been marched off.</p>
-
-<p>“If you had not run away, you would have been all right, young man,”
-replied the merchant. “Yesterday I engaged two experienced men at very
-low wages, and they were to come this morning. I shall not need you.”</p>
-
-<p>“If it is a fair question, Mr. Longbrook, how much do you pay the two
-men?” asked Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“One five, and the other six, dollars a week.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain nodded his head, but made no reply.</p>
-<!--089.png-->
-
-<p>“The fact is, there are three times as many clerks as there are
-places,” added the storekeeper.</p>
-
-<p>Bolingbroke was terribly disappointed to lose even a temporary place.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--090.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch08"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="eight">VIII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>PUPILS FOR THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Mr. Longbrook conducted Bolingbroke to another part of the wharf, and
-pointed out to him an old sloop, about the size of the one sunk in the
-deep water.</p>
-
-<p>“I am sorry you are out of a place, young man; but you are welcome to
-that boat in place of the one you lost, though I don’t feel under any
-obligations to replace it. It was your misfortune that you were
-accused of a crime. If you had not run away, I should have had a
-chance to investigate the matter. I went out for a moment, and when I
-returned you had gone. When I want another clerk, I will try to think
-of you,” said the merchant, as he walked away towards the store.</p>
-
-<p>Bolingbroke could hardly keep from crying at his disappointment in
-losing the place, which he had expected would be a permanent one. The
-salary was only four dollars a week; but he could
-<!--091.png-->
-board with a relative
-for two, and he could at least relieve his father of one mouth to
-feed.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the matter, my lad?” asked Captain Gildrock, as he and Dory
-walked up the wharf. “You look as though you had not a friend in the
-world.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have lost the place I expected to have, and my father is very
-poor,” replied Bolingbroke with due humility.</p>
-
-<p>“What sort of a place was it?” asked the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“It was a situation in Mr. Longbrook’s store. I have been looking for
-a place for a year; but I am afraid I shall never find one,” replied
-Bolingbroke, hoping the rich man would interest himself in his favor.</p>
-
-<p>“There are ten clerks for every vacancy. Can’t you find any thing else
-to do?”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know: I never looked for any other kind of a place.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should think you might find a place to work on a farm,” added the
-captain in perfect good faith.</p>
-
-<p>“On a farm!” exclaimed Bolingbroke, actually stopping in his walk in
-his astonishment.</p>
-<!--092.png-->
-
-<p>“I hear that there is a scarcity of help on the farms in the State,”
-continued Captain Gildrock. “I should say you might earn four or five
-dollars a week, or at least fifteen dollars a month, on a farm,
-besides your board; and that is better pay than you can get in a
-store.”</p>
-
-<p>“I never worked on a farm,” added Bolingbroke, who possibly knew that
-the rich man of Beech Hill had some peculiar notions.</p>
-
-<p>“Where do you live?”</p>
-
-<p>“I live in Genverres, on the north side, where my father has a farm.”</p>
-
-<p>“Does your father carry on a farm?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir: he has always been a farmer.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should think you could find enough to do at home. Don’t your father
-need any help on his place?”</p>
-
-<p>“He hires all the help he wants. I never did any thing on the farm.”</p>
-
-<p>“You look like a stout fellow; and I should think you could do a man’s
-work for him,” added the captain, surprised in his turn.</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps I could, if I had been brought up to it,” replied Bolingbroke
-rather sheepishly.</p>
-
-<p>“Have you any brothers and sisters?”</p>
-<!--093.png-->
-
-<p>“One brother and two sisters.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should not think your father ought to be very poor, if he has a
-farm, and two stout boys to help him. What does your brother do?”</p>
-
-<p>“He has been looking for a place in a store for the last three years.
-He has tried in Burlington, Rutland, and Brattleboro’; and he thinks
-of going to New York or Boston.”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t your brother work on the farm when he is out of work?” asked
-Captain Gildrock, who was beginning to get an inkling of the
-situation.</p>
-
-<p>“Neither of us ever did any thing on the farm. Mother has never been
-willing that we should work on a farm,” replied Bolingbroke. “Father
-wants us to do something else.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do your two sisters do any thing? How old are they?”</p>
-
-<p>“Elinora is twenty, and Fatima is twenty-two. They have never done any
-thing.”</p>
-
-<p>“I dare say they are both engaged, and their future is marked out,”
-suggested the captain with a smile.</p>
-
-<p>“Neither of them is engaged, and there is nothing to indicate their
-future.”</p>
-<!--094.png-->
-
-<p>“I suppose you have all been to school?”</p>
-
-<p>“We are all graduates of the Genverres high-school.”</p>
-
-<p>“Indeed!” exclaimed Captain Gildrock significantly, as though the last
-item of information explained the situation fully to him. “Why don’t
-you learn a trade?”</p>
-
-<p>“Learn a trade!” ejaculated Bolingbroke. “I never thought of such a
-thing.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is a good time to think of it now then. You are not more than
-sixteen or seventeen,” suggested the captain. “If you like, I will
-receive you as a pupil in the Beech-Hill Industrial School, where you
-can become a carpenter or a machinist, or learn to run an engine. You
-can stay for a year or longer, and it will cost you nothing. I think
-you said your father was very poor, and no other member of the family
-seems to be earning any thing.”</p>
-
-<p>“My father has hard work to get along. His farm is mortgaged for about
-all it is worth, and it takes all the money he can raise to pay the
-interest; and he is afraid he will lose all his property.”</p>
-
-<p>“If you will come to my school, I will put you in the way of saving
-money enough from your
-<!--095.png-->
-wages another year to pay your father’s
-interest. If I don’t I will pay it myself.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think a word from you would get me a place in some store in
-Burlington. If you would recommend <span style="white-space:nowrap;">me”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“How can I recommend you when I never saw you before in my life? I
-don’t do things in that way,” interposed Captain Gildrock. “If you
-join the school, I will see that you are in a position to earn fair
-wages another year. One of our last year’s boys gets thirty dollars a
-month besides his board. All of them get twenty or more. After they
-have had experience they will command from fifty to a hundred dollars
-a month. You can think of it, and let me know your decision in a few
-days; for the school opens on the 1st of September.”</p>
-
-<p>The party reached the hotel by this time. Dory and Bolingbroke were
-summoned to appear as witnesses in the case of Lingerwell the next
-day. Captain Gildrock found the ten recruits for the school at the
-hotel. He had picked them up among his friends in Montpelier, <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr>
-Albans, and <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Johnsbury. If he did not know it before, he had
-ascertained on his trip to Burlington with them, that they were a set
-of wild boys.</p>
-<!--096.png-->
-
-<p>He was in a hurry to get them to Beech Hill before they tore any
-houses down, or did any other mischief. At least five out of the ten
-had been expelled from private schools or academies, because the
-instructors could not manage them; three of them were the sons of
-wealthy men; and all of them were supposed to have a liking for
-mechanical pursuits. The captain was confident that he could manage
-them after he got them to his estate.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was satisfied that he could seat them all in the Goldwing, for he
-had often taken out twenty in her on pleasure-excursions. But his
-uncle was afraid they would “cut up,” as he expressed himself, and
-make trouble on the passage. He spoke to them about going in the
-schooner, and they were delighted with the idea. Most of them had
-never been on the lake in any sort of a craft, and some had never even
-seen a steamboat or a sailboat.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock consented to the arrangement after he had charged the
-recruits to behave with propriety in the boat, and to obey the orders
-of the skipper. They promised to do these things, and they were
-marched down to the wharf. Bolingbroke
-<!--097.png-->
-followed the party, evidently
-because he did not know what else to do with himself.</p>
-
-<p>“Couldn’t you say a word to your uncle in my favor, Dory?” said he on
-the way to the lake. “He knows all the storekeepers, and a word from
-him would make a place for me.”</p>
-
-<p>“He won’t recommend you, because he knows nothing at all about you,”
-replied Dory. “Why don’t you join the school, as he asked you to do?”</p>
-
-<p>“I should make nothing for my father by doing that,” added
-Bolingbroke. “I want to help him pay his interest-money.”</p>
-
-<p>“How much can you do for him when you get only four dollars a week?”
-asked Dory. “You would have to pay three for your board, and that
-would leave you about fifty to pay for your clothes, washing, and all
-other expenses. You would be just as well off at the end of the year,
-and so would your father, if you went to the school.”</p>
-
-<p>“But the idea of becoming a carpenter or a greasy machinist!”
-exclaimed Bolingbroke with a curl upon his lip.</p>
-
-<p>“I thought you wanted to earn money to help your father. A little oil
-on your hands won’t
-<!--098.png-->
-hurt you,” replied Dory, rather disgusted with his
-companion.</p>
-
-<p>“I am sure my mother won’t let me become a mechanic, but I will speak
-to her about it tonight. I suppose I can go down with you in the
-Goldwing: I have no other way to get home.”</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly, I have room enough. But how will you get the sloop Mr.
-Longbrook gave you up to Genverres?”</p>
-
-<p>“I will write to Sim Green, and he can go up in her when he is ready
-to return.”</p>
-
-<p>When the party arrived at the wharf, and the Goldwing was pointed out
-to them, they were delighted with her. Some of them wondered if it
-were safe to go in her, though most of the ten were afraid of nothing.
-Captain Gildrock had business in Burlington which would detain him
-till the next day, and it was arranged that Dory should come down in
-the Sylph to attend court. His uncle would return in the steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“But what are we to do with all these fellows before you come, uncle
-Royal?” asked Dory. “They will tear the house down, and dry up the
-lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“Jepson and Brookbine are there; and, as they
-<!--099.png-->
-are to instruct the
-pupils, they ought to be able to manage them,” replied the captain;
-but his looks indicated that he had some anxiety about the matter.
-“Tell Mr. Brookbine to assign the rooms to the boys, one to each, in
-the dormitory. The rogues will not think of doing any mischief until
-they are better acquainted.”</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock gave Dory a paper on which were written the names of
-the new pupils. He called them off, one at a time, and gave to each
-one his place in the boat. They behaved very well under the eye of the
-captain. They were seated five on each side of the standing-room,
-leaving room for the skipper to go forward and aft.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose you know all about a boat, fellows,” said Dory, as he went
-forward to hoist the jib.</p>
-
-<p>“Never saw a sailboat before!” exclaimed Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“Nor I!” shouted half a dozen others.</p>
-
-<p>“Where have you been all your lives?” laughed Dory, as he paused on
-his way.</p>
-
-<p>“In the woods,” replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper shoved off, and the Goldwing stood across the lake.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--100.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch09"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="nine">IX.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE VOLUNTEER HELMSMAN AND HIS MOVEMENTS.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The wind was strong from the south-west; and, after passing the
-breakwater, the Goldwing struck into a smart little sea for a
-fresh-water pond. The motion was so strange, not to say exciting, to
-the passengers from the interior, that they kept very still for a
-time. The water slopped over the bow, and occasionally a bucketful
-pounded pretty hard on the forward deck.</p>
-
-<p>Some of the boys were evidently a little startled, though they did not
-like to show that they were moved by this new experience. Others tried
-to look and act as though they had been on the waves all the days of
-their lives.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s all right, fellows,” said Dory, when about half a barrel of
-water slapped on the boards forward. “We intend to keep on the top of
-the water.”</p>
-
-<p>“Does a boat always do like that, and take the
-<!--101.png-->
-water in?” asked Ben
-Ludlow, who had never seen a sheet of water bigger than a pond a mile
-in diameter.</p>
-
-<p>“No: sometimes the boat don’t throw the water at all, but sometimes it
-does ten times as bad as now. I have been out in this boat when one
-hand had to keep baling all the time. We call this a quiet sail.”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course it’s a quiet sail,” added Oscar Chester, who had once been
-on a steamer. “There isn’t any thing to be afraid of.”</p>
-
-<p>“I can stand it as long as the rest of you,” replied Ben Ludlow, who
-thought the last speaker had cast an imputation upon his courage.
-“When Dory is frightened, it will be time enough for the rest of us to
-get scared.”</p>
-
-<p>“I had no idea that a boat made such a fuss in going along,” said Dave
-Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“It don’t always; but we are sailing against the wind as near as we
-can go,” Dory explained. “I suppose all you fellows are going to learn
-how to sail a boat, and you might as well begin now.”</p>
-
-<p>The skipper of the Goldwing proceeded to show in what manner the mouth
-of Beaver River was to be reached. When he had gone far enough to
-<!--102.png-->
-weather Willsborough Point, he could lay his course to Thompson’s
-Point; and from there he must beat about dead to windward. Most of the
-new pupils were interested, and asked a great many questions. Dory
-explained every thing very minutely; and it was not his fault if they
-did not understand, at least the theory of sailing a boat against the
-wind.</p>
-
-<p>“But I can’t see what makes the boat go ahead when the wind is against
-her,” suggested John Brattle. “I can understand how the wind pushes
-the boat along when it is blowing from behind her, but not when it
-comes from the way it does now.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is the friction of the wind against the sails. Did you ever see a
-ferry-boat cross a river by the force of the current?”</p>
-
-<p>John Brattle happened to be the only one of the party who had seen a
-current-boat. He had crossed the Androscoggin River, in Maine, in a
-stage on such a craft.</p>
-
-<p>“If the ferry-boat were headed square across the river, the current
-would not move her any way but down the river,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“There was a big wire rope stretched across the
-<!--103.png-->
-river, which did not
-let her go down the stream,” replied John Brattle. “Then the boat was
-turned to an angle half-way between the direction of the current and
-the wire rope.”</p>
-
-<p>“Precisely as our sails are set at an angle with the course of the
-boat. In this position the friction of the water against the boat
-forces it across the river.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you have no wire rope.”</p>
-
-<p>“We have a centre-board instead.” Dory pointed out the centre-board of
-the Goldwing, and showed how it worked. “This boat would slide off
-sideways if it were not for that.”</p>
-
-<p>“But we have to go a great deal farther when beating,” said Ned
-Bellows.</p>
-
-<p>“Of course we do,” replied Dory. “Sometimes we have to go two miles to
-make one when the wind is dead ahead.”</p>
-
-<p>“Captain Gildrock said it was twenty miles from Burlington to Beech
-Hill. Must we go forty miles to get there?” asked Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: the wind isn’t dead ahead. Here we are, just north of
-Willsborough Point. I am coming about now. Look out for your heads
-when the boom goes over.”</p>
-<!--104.png-->
-
-<p>Dory put the helm down, and all the sails began to flap and bang. But
-in a moment the Goldwing took the wind on the starboard tack, the
-sails went over, and the schooner began to gather headway on her new
-course.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s what we call tacking,” said the skipper. “We shall go about
-eleven miles on this tack.”</p>
-
-<p>“I say, Dory, let me steer her a while now,” added Oscar Chester,
-rising from his seat, and moving aft.</p>
-
-<p>“Keep your seat!” replied the skipper rather sharply. “You mustn’t
-move about in the boat.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I want to steer her,” persisted Oscar, resuming his seat.</p>
-
-<p>“Did you ever steer a boat?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“I never steered a sailboat; but I can do it as well as you can,”
-added the new pupil. “I have seen just how it is done. When you want
-the boat to go to the right, you put the stick in your hand to the
-left.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe in running any risks in a boat, and I must keep the
-helm myself,” answered Dory. “There is wind enough to upset the boat
-if you don’t know how to handle her.”</p>
-<!--105.png-->
-
-<p>“But I do know how to handle her. I have kept my eyes open, and I know
-all about it. It don’t take me a month to learn any thing.”</p>
-
-<p>“If we were alone I would let you try it, just to enable you to see
-how easy it is to be mistaken,” said Dory, laughing.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s nothing to steer a boat! You needn’t make such a big thing of
-it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Well, it is a big thing!” exclaimed Bolingbroke. “I thought I knew
-something about it yesterday, and I got overboard in two hundred and
-fifty feet of water; and that is deep enough to drown the whole of
-you. I should have finished my mortal career then if Dory had not
-picked me up.”</p>
-
-<p>None of the other boys said any thing, though it was plain to the
-skipper that they did not want Oscar to steer the boat. Dory began to
-understand what sort of a fellow Oscar was; and it was evident to him
-that he was the bully of the crowd, and that he had already set up,
-and perhaps established, his superiority. He was older and larger than
-Dory, though three or four of the new pupils were heavier than he.</p>
-
-<p>“You all seem to be afraid of a boat,” continued
-<!--106.png-->
-Oscar with a palpable
-sneer. “I am not afraid of her.”</p>
-
-<p>“Can you swim a mile?” asked Dory quietly.</p>
-
-<p>“I can’t swim a rod. I don’t intend to tip her over.”</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps the rest of the fellows can swim.”</p>
-
-<p>They all protested that they could not.</p>
-
-<p>“If this boat should fill with water, she would go to the bottom like
-a pound of lead,” continued Dory. “The water is over two hundred feet
-deep out here. It is four hundred off Thompson’s Point. But, if you
-can’t swim, you would drown just as quick in six feet of water as in
-six hundred.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care for your bugbears: I’m not afraid of them. I want to
-steer this boat, and I’m going to do it!” added Oscar stoutly.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe you will steer her on this trip,” replied Dory in a
-quiet tone. “But I will give you a chance to steer all you want to
-when we are alone.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you take me for a little chicken, Dory, that can be led around by
-you?” demanded Oscar, rising from his place.</p>
-
-<p>“Keep your seat!” added the skipper sharply.</p>
-<!--107.png-->
-
-<p>“No, I won’t keep my seat! I will let you know that you are not my
-boss.”</p>
-
-<p>“In a boat all hands must obey the skipper, as I shall obey you, Oscar
-Chester, when you are the skipper of any boat I am in; and that is
-just what Captain Gildrock told you all to do just before we sailed.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t obey a little snipper-snapper of a fellow like you, Dory. I
-never was bossed by any boy, and I don’t begin now,” blustered Oscar,
-moving towards the stern of the boat.</p>
-
-<p>Dory saw that there was likely to be trouble. He had correctly read
-the character of Chester; and he was not anxious, while responsible
-for the safety of the boat and her passengers, to have any difficulty
-with him. He was not afraid of him, bold and stout as Oscar appeared
-to be.</p>
-
-<p>Putting the helm up a little, he allowed the schooner to fall off
-until the strong wind heeled the boat over, so that the water was
-nearly even with the top of the wash-board. This was decidedly
-startling to some of the boys, who cried out in their alarm.</p>
-
-<p>The Goldwing went over so far that Oscar was not at all secure in his
-footing; and he came very
-<!--108.png-->
-near tumbling over the heads of the fellows
-on the lee side, for they had bent forward as the schooner heeled
-over.</p>
-
-<p>“Sit down! Keep your seat, Oscar Chester!” shouted Dory. But it was no
-part of the rebel’s nature to obey an order of any kind after what had
-happened. The inside of the boat was rather crowded, except on each
-side of the tiller, where the space had been reserved for the
-helmsman.</p>
-
-<p>Making a lively spring for the open space on the lee side of the
-rudder-head, he brought up on the seat, just as the skipper put the
-helm down to bring the boat back to her former course. The Goldwing
-was jumping on the waves; and the rebel did not fetch up just as he
-intended, for the motion of the boat interfered with his calculations.
-He grasped the main-sheet, and finally came down on the bit of deck
-astern of the standing-room.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar evidently wanted to prove that he “always came down-stairs that
-way;” for he let go the sheet, and tried to stand up straight. His
-pride was still in the ascendency. Dory had put the helm over so far
-that the sails were spilled, and this set the schooner to pitching.
-Oscar had
-<!--109.png-->
-hardly let go the sheet, when he lost his balance,
-and pitched into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface. Dory
-tried to catch him before he went over, but failed to do so.</p>
-
-<p>“He has fallen over into the water!” screamed some of the boys,
-terribly frightened by this time.</p>
-
-<p>“He will be drowned!” yelled others.</p>
-
-<p>The only one who had not entirely lost his head was the skipper. Dory
-was as cool as though he had been up to his neck in ice-water. He had
-been in all sorts of scrapes, though he had never encountered a bully
-under such unfavorable circumstances. He had put the helm down before,
-and the Goldwing had lost her headway. Of course she would not answer
-her helm when she had lost her steerage-way.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar Chester came to the top of the water, and all the boys shouted.
-Dory did not even look at him, for he was busy with the boat. He
-filled away, and came about as soon as he got steerage-way. Oscar was
-floundering about in the most unreasonable manner, with a better
-chance of being drowned than of being saved.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--110.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch10"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="ten">X.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE BATTLE NEAR GARDEN ISLAND.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Oscar Chester had disappeared a second time, and most of the boys in
-the boat were paralyzed with terror. Dory saw him as he rose, and knew
-just where he was. The Goldwing worked lively in that breeze. The
-skipper handled his sheets with extraordinary celerity. Going free,
-the schooner dashed down to the spot, and reached it just as the
-victim of his own folly rose again to the surface.</p>
-
-<p>Dory saw him just as the bow of the Goldwing was about to strike his
-head. Keeping her off a little, he leaned over the side, and grasped
-the drowning bully by the hair of the head, though not till he had put
-the helm hard down.</p>
-
-<p>It was but a meagre hold that he had upon the sufferer, but he clung
-to him till the boat came up into the wind. Oscar had not lost his
-senses, though his mouth was too full of water to permit any
-utterance, if he had any thing to say. Dory
-<!--111.png-->
-held on, though the
-aimless struggles of the victim rendered it very difficult for him to
-do so.</p>
-
-<p>“Grab him by the collar!” shouted Dory to the next fellow in the boat.
-Lew Shoreham, who was the largest boy in the crowd, obeyed the order;
-though it was a difficult matter for an inexperienced hand to do any
-thing while the boat was flopping about in the heavy sea. But Lew got
-hold with one hand, and Dory shifted his grasp from the hair to the
-collar.</p>
-
-<p>After a lively struggle, with the assistance of two other boys, they
-succeeded in hauling Oscar into the boat. He was exhausted by his
-struggles in the water, and he dropped upon the floor of the
-standing-room as limpsy as a wet rag. Dory gave no further attention
-to him, but grasped the helm, and soon got the Goldwing upon her
-course again, so that she was steady.</p>
-
-<p>“Turn him over on his stomach, and let the water run out of him,” said
-the skipper. “Here, Bolly! Come aft! You can stand up in a boat.”</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px">
- <img src="images/108fp.jpg"
- width="auto" height="100%"
- alt="Illustration: The Battle off Garden Island"
- />
- <p class="caption">THE BATTLE OFF GARDEN ISLAND.&emsp;Page 113.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-<p>Bolingbroke obeyed the order, and the victim poured out a considerable
-quantity of water from his mouth. Dory then directed his companions to
-convey the sufferer to the cabin, and put him
-<!--112.png-->
-<!--113.png-->
-<!--114.png-->
-in one of the berths,
-covering him with the blankets. But Oscar was not insensible, for he
-had only exhausted himself by his violent struggles. In half an hour
-he had recovered from the shock. The fresh wind made it cool on the
-lake, and it took all the blankets on board to warm him.</p>
-
-<p>“That was a narrow escape. He had been down twice; and if he had gone
-down again we should not have seen him again,” said Bolingbroke, as he
-came out of the cabin. “I think that fellow will obey orders next
-time.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, he won’t!” cried Oscar, sticking his head out at the door. “It
-isn’t the first time I have been under water, and I’m not killed yet.
-Dory did it on purpose to pitch me overboard, and I will get even with
-him!”</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps all but Dory and Bolingbroke knew Oscar well enough not to be
-greatly surprised at this demonstration. It looked as though the
-lesson, which Dory hoped would cure him of his desire to handle a boat
-before he had learned how to do it, had been wholly lost upon the
-pupil. None of the party said any thing in reply to the speech, and it
-was plain that they stood in fear of the rebel.</p>
-<!--115.png-->
-
-<p>In another hour, when the Goldwing was approaching Thompson’s Point,
-Oscar was sufficiently warmed up to leave the cabin. He went aft, and
-seated himself quite near the skipper. He looked decidedly ugly, and
-Dory thought that half-drowning was not enough for him. He wondered
-what his uncle expected to do with such a fellow. He would be equal to
-a whole nest of hornets from the time the school was opened.</p>
-
-<p>“I heard some one call you Dory Dornwood,” said Oscar, fixing his gaze
-upon the skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“My name is Theodore Dornwood; but they call me Dory for short,”
-replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“The name is all right, Dory. You have insulted me, and you have
-pitched me into the lake,” continued Oscar, frowning like an untamed
-savage. “You got ahead of me before all these boys; and I am not the
-fellow to swallow an insult, or to pass over an injury.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory looked at the bully once, and then took a leisure survey of the
-lake ahead, and of the sails of the schooner.</p>
-
-<p>“I spoke to you, Dory Dornwood: didn’t you hear me?” demanded Oscar in
-savage tones.</p>
-<!--116.png-->
-
-<p>“I heard all you said. I have nothing to say in reply,” answered the
-cool skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“I spoke to you, and you will answer me, or take the consequences,”
-added Oscar. “I am not a spring chicken, as you took me to be. I said
-that you had insulted me, and pitched me into the lake. Do you confess
-that you have done so?”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t confess any thing. I am in charge of this boat, and
-responsible for the lives of those in her,” replied Dory quietly. “I
-don’t care to talk about the matter you have brought up, just now.
-When we get to Beech Hill I will answer your questions, and we will
-settle the matter if there is any thing to settle; though I would
-rather have you fix it up with Captain Gildrock.”</p>
-
-<p>“That won’t do! I settle for an insult on the spot!” stormed Oscar. He
-rose from his seat, and with clinched fists approached the skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“We are close to the land!” shouted one of the boys forward.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care where we are! We settle this matter here and now,” said
-Oscar, making a slight movement forward.</p>
-
-<p>“Come, come!” interposed Bolingbroke. “This thing has gone far enough,
-Oscar. Don’t you see
-<!--117.png-->
-that Dory is the skipper of the boat, and that we
-can’t do any thing without him? Let him alone, and he says he will
-make it right with you when we get ashore.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here and now!” repeated the bully.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had been running for Garden Island, where he brought up on his
-long tack. He understood the situation, and feared that some of the
-party might be drowned if Oscar Chester got the control of the boat.
-He heard the centre-board scraping on the sands at the bottom, though
-the water was nearly two hundred feet deep only a short distance from
-the shore of the island.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper realized that his rebel passenger was about to make an
-assault of some kind upon him, and he put the helm hard down. The boat
-came up into the wind with every thing shaking. Oscar sprang upon him
-as he did so, but Dory was on his feet at the same instant. The waves
-beat smartly upon the shore of the island, and the centre-board was
-still grating upon the bottom.</p>
-
-<p>“Do you confess that you insulted me?” demanded the bully, as he
-seized Dory by the collar.</p>
-
-<p>“I do not confess,” replied Dory. At the same instant he sprang like a
-tiger upon his assailant.</p>
-<!--118.png-->
-
-<p>The skipper was accustomed to the motion of the boat, while Oscar was
-not. The assailant had evidently not expected so vigorous a defence.
-Dory shook off the grasp of Oscar, a sharp struggle ensued, and it
-ended almost the instant it began in a heavy splash in the water.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had tumbled the bully over the stern of the boat into the lake.
-Those who looked on could hardly tell how it was done, for the defeat
-of Oscar had been accomplished almost like a flash. On the land it
-might have been different in the result, but in the uneasy boat the
-experienced hand won a quick victory.</p>
-
-<p>“He is in the water again!” shouted the boys.</p>
-
-<p>But he was in the water not more than half a minute, for there was not
-ten feet between the stern of the schooner and the island. Oscar
-scrambled to the shore, and made his way to the level of the island.
-The wind had filled the sails on the other tack, and the boat began to
-move ahead.</p>
-
-<p>Dory saw that Oscar had made a landing on the island. Attending to the
-sheets, he filled away on the port tack. The Goldwing dashed ahead as
-though she was glad to be rid of the
-<!--119.png-->
-bully who had made so much trouble
-on board of her.</p>
-
-<p>“Are you going to leave him there, Dory?” asked Lew Shoreham.</p>
-
-<p>“Of course I am going to leave him there. He can’t drown on the
-island; and, if I take him on board again, he may destroy the whole of
-us,” replied Dory rather warmly. “He is the most unreasonable fellow I
-ever met in my life.”</p>
-
-<p>“But what will he do on that island?” asked Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“Repent of his folly the first thing he does, I hope,” answered Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Does any one live on the island?” inquired Jim Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“No one lives there. If any one did, that fellow would get up a
-quarrel with him in fifteen minutes. Captain Gildrock may settle his
-case, though I fancy he will go for me the first chance he gets.”</p>
-
-<p>“He is sure to do that,” added Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“He may get a thrashing if he does,” replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t be too sure of that, Dory. He is a fighting character, and has
-been turned out of
-<!--120.png-->
-three academies, to say nothing of half a dozen
-other schools. He rules the roost wherever he goes,” continued Bob.</p>
-
-<p>“He won’t do it at Beech Hill,” said Dory confidently.</p>
-
-<p>“If he don’t he will run away.”</p>
-
-<p>“He won’t run a great ways before my uncle gets his paw upon him. I am
-going down to Burlington this afternoon, in the steamer, after my
-uncle. We shall pass the island, and he can do what he pleases with
-the fellow. I don’t think I am any more afraid of him than he is of
-me.”</p>
-
-<p>During the rest of the passage the events we have narrated were fully
-discussed, and Dory learned more about the antecedents of Oscar
-Chester. Doubtless he was the worst fellow in the party; but, if the
-truth had been known, Dory would have understood that some of the
-others were not much better. In three hours from Burlington the
-Goldwing arrived at the little lake on which Beech Hill was located.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brookbine, a very intelligent carpenter, who had been engaged as
-an instructor in this department, was on the wharf; and the new pupils
-were handed over to him. He marched them to
-<!--121.png-->
-the dormitory, where the
-boys deposited what little baggage they brought. The Sylph lay at the
-wharf, and the smoke was pouring out of her smoke-stack; for Jepson
-had received a telegraph-message from Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>The boys were more interested in the <a name="yacht"></a>steam-yacht
-than in any thing else; and they immediately asked permission of Mr.
-Brookbine, as they had before of Dory, to go to Burlington in her. The
-master-carpenter was willing; but he decided to go with them, after
-the experience which Dory had had with them on the passage up.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was the pilot, and he took his place in the pilot-house. He was
-perfectly at home there; and the Sylph was really under his command,
-for the carpenter knew nothing about boats or navigation. In a
-discussion in regard to Oscar Chester, Mr. Brookbine thought he had
-better be taken on board, for it would be late before they returned
-from Burlington. A boat was sent for him, and he was brought on board.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--122.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch11"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="eleven">XI.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE MASTER-CARPENTER DISPOSES OF HIS PRISONER.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Oscar Chester had been on Garden Island over two hours, and had had
-time enough to cool off. It was plain that he did not like the looks
-of Mr. Brookbine, who was a stalwart Vermonter, over six feet in
-height. He had gone on shore with one of the men from the estate, who
-acted as a deck-hand, to bring off the rebel.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar said nothing when he went on board of the steamer, and the other
-boys were not inclined to make any talk with him. He walked from one
-end of the Sylph to the other, taking a hasty survey of the
-steam-yacht. He did not appear to be looking for any thing in
-particular.</p>
-
-<p>When he was on the forward deck he discovered Dory in the pilot-house.
-He did not even bestow a second glance upon him, and went aft in a few
-minutes. He looked sullen and obstinate, and it was clear that he was
-disgusted with his experience on the lake.</p>
-<!--123.png-->
-
-<p>“No use, Oscar,” said Williston Orwell, as the rebel approached him at
-the stern of the boat. “You haven’t made out any thing, and I don’t
-believe you will.”</p>
-
-<p>“The end of the world hasn’t come yet,” replied Oscar with a heavy
-sneer. “There is time enough yet, and you know I never back down.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you might as well. You began too soon,” added Will Orwell.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t begin at all: I was civil enough to Dory till he began to
-put on airs. He talked to me just as though I were a little child, and
-he were the Grand Mogul. I told him I wanted to steer the boat, and he
-told me to sit down. He insulted me.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think he did, Oscar. None of us were ever in a sailboat
-before; and I think he did just right in not letting you steer, for it
-wouldn’t have taken much to upset that boat with so many in her.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then you think I am a spring chicken, do you, Will?” demanded Oscar
-with a curl of the lip.</p>
-
-<p>“You know I don’t think any such thing; but you don’t know how to
-steer a sailboat any more
-<!--124.png-->
-than I do. You were a little too fast to
-think of doing it so soon,” reasoned Orwell with proper deference,
-though he ventured to speak the truth as he understood it.</p>
-
-<p>“If the fellow hadn’t put on airs, and ordered me about as though I
-had been his servant, I wouldn’t say a word,” continued Oscar. “As it
-is, he insulted me, and pitched me into the lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“He didn’t pitch you into the lake, Oscar. You are not used to a boat
-tossed about by the waves, and you fell overboard.”</p>
-
-<p>“Didn’t he make the boat tip more when I stood up on purpose to pitch
-me into the lake?” demanded Oscar angrily.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know whether he did or not. I don’t understand a boat.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know he did! And then he tumbled me into the water at the island.”</p>
-
-<p>“But you pitched into him then; and, as he could stand up better than
-you could in the boat, he threw you overboard.”</p>
-
-<p>“I shall get even with him; and if I don’t throw him into the lake, it
-will be because I can’t do it,” blustered the rebel. “I see you are on
-his side.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am not on his side; but I don’t expect a
-<!--125.png-->
-fellow to stand still,
-and let you thrash him. I advise you to let him alone for a while, and
-your time will come before many days have gone by. Don’t touch him
-while he is handling the boat,” added the politic companion.</p>
-
-<p>“I shall go for him the first moment I can get at him, and I know
-where he is now,” said the intemperate rebel.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t do it: Dory is the pilot of the steamer, and the engineer just
-told me that they can do nothing without him. Didn’t you hear Captain
-Gildrock read the telegraph-message, that Dory was away, and for that
-reason he could not go down to Burlington to convey us to Beech Hill?”
-reasoned Will very earnestly.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care what he is: I shall not feel easy for a moment until I
-get even with him. I will pull him out of that cubby-house where he
-is, and pitch him into the lake, before I am half an hour older,”
-persisted the rebel.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t do it! You will only make trouble for yourself. Captain
-Gildrock will come on board as soon as we get to Burlington, and if I
-mistake not you will find a Tartar in him.”</p>
-
-<p>“I’m not afraid of him. But I don’t think I
-<!--126.png-->
-shall wait for him,”
-replied Oscar. “I have not been to Beech Hill yet, but I have had
-about enough already to satisfy me what it is going to be. If I am to
-be ordered about by a boy younger than I am, and insulted by him,
-because I happen to be in a boat with him, I don’t want any more of
-it. My uncle gave me money enough to pay my fare to New York, and you
-have more than I have, Will. What do you say: will you go with me?”</p>
-
-<p>“What shall we do when we get there? I don’t believe in jumping out of
-the frying-pan into the fire,” replied Will.</p>
-
-<p>“Both of us want to go to sea, and all we have to do is to find places
-in a ship going to some foreign country. We can take care of
-ourselves,” said Oscar confidently.</p>
-
-<p>“I am not ready to go anywhere yet: I want to see what this Industrial
-School is. We are to learn how to handle an engine, and how to manage
-ships and boats. I think we had better wait a while before we go to
-New York. We haven’t money enough to pay our way till we find a place
-in a ship.”</p>
-
-<p>“You can do as you like, Will, but I have had enough of this thing;
-and when you miss me you
-<!--127.png-->
-will know where I have gone. If you blow on
-<span style="white-space:nowrap;">me”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“You know very well I won’t do that,” protested Will.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar did not wait to hear any more. He went forward, and then
-ascended to the hurricane deck. He and Will Orwell had been cronies,
-so far as the character of Oscar would permit such a relation.</p>
-
-<p>The rebel reached the hurricane deck, and went forward to the
-pilot-house. He surveyed the situation carefully. Dory stood before an
-open window, with the spokes of the wheel in his hands. The doors of
-the apartment, one on each side, were open. The young helmsman had no
-more thought of being assaulted than he had of jumping overboard.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was delighted with his occupation, for he had not steered the
-Sylph enough to make it an old story to him. From Garden Island he had
-run out into the lake until the steamer was in range between Split
-Rock and Juniper Island lights, when he headed for the latter. This
-course would carry him clear of Quaker Smith Reef.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the boys, after looking over the Sylph
-<!--128.png-->
-with wonder and
-astonishment at the elegance of her appointments, had gathered on the
-main deck forward, where they could see the lake and the course of the
-steamer. But a few of them were on the hurricane-deck, and three of
-them were in the pilot-house with Dory. The pilot kept his eye on
-Juniper Island lighthouse, the top of which could be seen seventeen
-miles. The flag-pole in the bow was kept in range with the object for
-which he was steering. He had just explained to the boys in the room
-how he kept off the rocks and shoals, and found his way to any part of
-the lake.</p>
-
-<p>He had hardly finished this explanation before Oscar Chester rushed
-into the pilot-house. He rudely knocked aside a couple of the pilot’s
-auditors, and laid violent hands upon Dory. The helmsman was
-unconscious of the presence of an enemy until the rebel had seized him
-by the collar of his coat. He pulled him over on his back upon the
-floor.</p>
-
-<p>“Your time has come now, Dory Dornwood!” said Oscar fiercely, as he
-began to drag Dory out of the pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>“So has yours!” added Mr. Brookbine, as he
-<!--129.png-->
-stepped forward from behind
-the pilot-house, where he had been reading the morning paper brought
-up by the Goldwing.</p>
-
-<p>The master-carpenter took the rebel by the nape of the neck, and
-snapped him off his feet before he could wink twice. He pitched him
-half-way across the hurricane deck. Oscar was nothing but a “spring
-chicken” in the hands of the burly mechanic.</p>
-
-<p>“It’s a pity I took you off that island!” exclaimed Mr. Brookbine, as
-he bestowed a glance of contempt upon the rebel. “Did he hurt you,
-Dory?”</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all. He came up behind me when I was not thinking of any thing
-of that kind, or I should have taken care of myself,” replied the
-young pilot, as he rushed back to the wheel.</p>
-
-<p>The pilot got his range again, and the Sylph went ahead as though
-nothing had happened. The master-carpenter walked up to the fallen
-rebel, who appeared to have been hurt when he struck the deck, though
-he was in the act of getting up. Mr. Brookbine did not wait for him to
-finish the act, but seized him by the nape of the neck again, and bore
-him to the pilot-house.</p>
-<!--130.png-->
-
-<p>“It is a pity we took this fellow from the island, Dory, for we can’t
-trust him loose about the steamer,” said the stout Vermonter. “Is
-there any place on board where I can lock him up?”</p>
-
-<p>“Put him in the ice-house,” replied Dory, who was entirely willing to
-have his assailant placed where he could do no more mischief.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me alone!” growled Oscar, attempting to break away from the grip
-of the master-carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“I will let you alone when I have locked you in the ice-house,” added
-Mr. Brookbine, giving his patient several sharp twists and shakes,
-which certainly did not improve his temper.</p>
-
-<p>“He sneaked up behind me, or I should not have needed any help,” said
-Dory, who felt that he had suffered a partial defeat in being taken by
-surprise. “I am sorry I did not see him, for I think I should have
-made it hot for him.”</p>
-
-<p>“I shall make it hot for you before you have seen the end of this
-affair. I will teach you what it is to insult your betters,” replied
-Oscar. “If I don’t pitch you into the lake before I have done with
-you, it will be because I can’t.”</p>
-
-<p>“Any time when you are ready, let the fun
-<!--131.png-->
-begin,” added Dory, when he
-had better have held his tongue.</p>
-
-<p>“You will cool off in the ice-house; and we will see what you can do
-in there,” continued Mr. Brookbine, as he dragged the rebel out of the
-pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me alone! I don’t let anybody put his hands upon me,” yelled
-Oscar, struggling to escape from the grasp of the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“But you will be a good boy, and let me put my hands upon you, won’t
-you?” added the big mechanic.</p>
-
-<p>“No, I won’t! I will be the death of you if you don’t let go!”</p>
-
-<p>“Steady, my boy: you are getting excited. You are wasting a great deal
-of bad breath on nothing.”</p>
-
-<p>The carpenter slapped his victim over a few times on the deck before
-he reached the stairs to the main deck. Oscar could not stand this: he
-said it hurt, and he became comparatively quiet. His tyrant walked him
-down the steps. The boys on both decks gathered to witness the
-exciting scene; but no one offered to interfere, and no one spoke a
-word of comfort for the rebel.</p>
-<!--132.png-->
-
-<p>“Will Orwell!” called the victim, when he saw his crony among the
-spectators to his humiliation. “Come here, and help me!”</p>
-
-<p>“No, I thank you! I don’t believe in butting your head against a
-stonewall, and I told you not to do it beforehand.”</p>
-
-<p>The carpenter opened the door of the ice-house, and thrust his
-prisoner into the dark hole, as it was when the door was closed.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--133.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch12"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twelve">XII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>CAPTAIN GILDROCK’S FIRST LESSON IN NAVIGATION.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Mr. Brookbine secured the door of the ice-house, and put the key into
-his pocket. The interior was ventilated for the benefit of the
-provisions that were kept on the ice when the steamer was on a long
-cruise, but there was no window or other opening which would admit a
-particle of light.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the trouble, Mr. Brookbine?” asked Jepson the engineer, who
-was the master-machinist and an instructor of the school.</p>
-
-<p>“That is the most desperate young cub I ever happened to encounter,”
-replied the carpenter, as he proceeded to relate what had happened in
-the Goldwing and on board of the steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“Captain Gildrock will bring him to his senses,” added the engineer,
-laughing; for he believed the captain could do any thing that was
-within the scope of mortal man.</p>
-<!--134.png-->
-
-<p>“I am ready to have him begin where I leave off; but there won’t be
-much left of the young rascal when I get through with him if I have to
-deal with him,” replied the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“We are likely to have a sweet time with these young fellows if many
-of them are like that one,” added Mr. Jepson. “He wants to get even
-with Dory, does he? I reckon Dory will be willing to give him a
-chance, though I never knew of the skipper’s getting into a fight on
-his own account.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory had already become a great favorite at Beech Hill. He was a smart
-boy, but he was not perfect by any means. He had a great deal to
-learn, but he was willing to learn it. The instructors in the
-scholastic department had not yet arrived, but the mechanical
-directors were already his fast friends. Even the servants, of whom
-there was a small army on the estate, always smiled when he went among
-them; for he was invariably kind and obliging to them, and willing to
-assist them by all the means in his power. Besides, he was regarded as
-the heir of the magnate of Beech Hill; and it was prudent to “keep on
-the right side of him.”</p>
-
-<p>Of course the nine other boys who had arrived
-<!--135.png-->
-that day all talked
-about the exciting events which had transpired since they left
-Burlington in the forenoon. Still, no one belonging to the steamer
-heard them say any thing. They made no comments on the conduct of
-Oscar: possibly they were afraid they might be reported to him. But
-they had learned to feel a great admiration for Dory; first, because
-he was not afraid of the rebel, and, second, because he could handle a
-sailboat and manage a steamer.</p>
-
-<p>It was about dark when the Sylph arrived at the landing in Burlington.
-Captain Gildrock was on the wharf, waiting her coming. As soon as he
-went on board, Mr. Brookbine reported the case of discipline to him,
-and informed him that the prisoner was confined in the ice-house.</p>
-
-<p>“All right: let him stay there,” replied the captain, when he had
-listened to the account of the doings of the new scholar. “Then Dory
-has had a hard time of it. I was afraid he might have some
-difficulty.”</p>
-
-<p>“No fear for Dory,” replied the carpenter, laughing. “He can take care
-of himself. He fought his own battle in the Goldwing, and won the day
-every time.”</p>
-<!--136.png-->
-
-<p>“I knew that Chester was the worst fellow in the party, but I did not
-expect him to break out so soon. I am glad to hear that the others
-have behaved well,” said Captain Gildrock, as he walked forward where
-the boys were assembled. “How are you getting on, boys?”</p>
-
-<p>“First-rate, sir,” replied several of them in the same breath.</p>
-
-<p>“I am glad to hear it; and none of us will have any trouble as long as
-we mean well. What you mean is more than half the battle in morals. I
-did not expect you so soon, and I am afraid Dory has not looked out
-for your stomachs.”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, he has, sir,” said Ben Ludlow. “He had a basket of provisions on
-the boat, and we fed out of that.”</p>
-
-<p>This was the lunch he had taken the night before, and it had served
-over a dozen instead of two. But the boys had been so much excited by
-the novel event of a sail in a fresh breeze that they were not in
-condition to do justice to the rations.</p>
-
-<p>When the captain learned that the scholars had eaten only the supply
-of food intended for two, he took the whole party to the hotel to
-supper.
-<!--137.png-->
-After Captain Gildrock and Dory returned, the engineer and
-carpenter went. The latter suggested that the prisoner in the
-ice-house had been forgotten.</p>
-
-<p>“I shall not forget him, but he may go without his supper to-night. A
-little fasting will do him good. His father and mother are both dead,
-and his uncle is one of the richest men in the State. He told me that
-nothing but the sharpest discipline would do him any good. He will run
-away as soon as he gets a chance; and this must be prevented,” replied
-the captain.</p>
-
-<p>Jepson and Brookbine returned in less than half an hour. The captain
-had quite a chat with the boys while they were waiting. He told them
-something about his plans, and was so kind and familiar with them that
-they began to like him.</p>
-
-<p>“I am told that some of you have been wild boys, and have been turned
-out of school,” said he. “Except in one instance, I don’t know who
-they are. I prevented your parents and others from telling me any
-thing about your misconduct. You are all alike to me so far, and every
-boy has his own reputation to make.</p>
-
-<p>“You will not be judged at all by the past, but
-<!--138.png-->
-by what you do in the
-future. I want you to remember this, boys. All of you will have to
-work in the shops, and wherever there is any thing to do. You will
-have to learn your book-lessons as well as how to work in wood and
-metal. But there will be lots of fun as well as hard work. In a few
-days we shall man this steamer, and every one of you will have a
-station on board of her.”</p>
-
-<p>“Hurrah!” shouted one of the new pupils in his enthusiasm; and the
-cheer was taken up by the entire party.</p>
-
-<p>“Before winter I hope some of you will be as competent to handle a
-sailboat or a steamer as Dory is. But bear in mind that it is not all
-play. I am going to make useful men of you, and I hope you will second
-all my endeavors.”</p>
-
-<p>The arrival of the carpenter and engineer interrupted the
-conversation, and in a few minutes more the Sylph was standing up the
-lake. It was dark now; and the boys gathered around Captain Gildrock
-again, for he could not talk without interesting them.</p>
-
-<p>“Who is steering this steamer now, Captain Gildrock?” asked Jim
-Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory is steering her,” replied the captain.</p>
-<!--139.png-->
-
-<p>“But it is dark: how can he find his way back to Beech Hill?”</p>
-
-<p>“Did you suppose that ships that cross the ocean, being out of sight
-of land for weeks at a time, stopped in the night?” asked the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“I didn’t think any thing at all about it,” replied Jim. “I don’t know
-any thing about it. It is as dark as a pocket, and I should not think
-Dory could see the land on either side of the lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“He has no need to see it. Do you see that lighthouse on the island?”
-asked the captain, pointing at Juniper Island.</p>
-
-<p>“But that does not give light enough to enable the pilot to see the
-shore on either side,” replied Jim.</p>
-
-<p>“That is not what a lighthouse is for. The light it gives don’t amount
-to any thing half a mile from it. The light only marks certain
-localities. Now look up the lake all of you,” continued Captain
-Gildrock, pointing in the direction of Split-Rock light. “Do you see
-that light?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir!” shouted Lick Milton. His name was T. Licking Milton, but
-he had a nickname.</p>
-
-<p>The rest of the boys soon made out the light, and some of them shouted
-as loudly as the first speaker.</p>
-<!--140.png-->
-
-<p>“Juniper Island light is on our right now. Dory will run on till the
-steamer is in range with this light and Split Rock, which is twelve
-miles and a half from here. Then he will head for the Split-Rock
-light, keeping Juniper exactly astern of him,” continued the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“Why don’t he run for Split Rock now?” asked Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“He would run upon Quaker-Smith’s Reef, about four miles from here, if
-he did. Now, my boy, can you walk straight from where you stand to the
-flag-pole at the stem of the steamer?”</p>
-
-<p>“No, sir, I cannot. That thing is in the way,” replied Ben, after he
-had looked the matter over.</p>
-
-<p>“Precisely so: the capstan is in your way. Now go over to the side of
-the steamer.” Ben obeyed, and the boys watched the demonstration with
-interest. “Can you walk straight to the stem of the boat now?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir, I can. There is nothing in my way.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, if you keep in range with the port gangway and the stem, there
-will be nothing in your way, will there?”</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is exactly the principle on which we
-<!--141.png-->
-pilot a steamer or any other
-vessel. But sometimes the matter is much more complicated, and we have
-to take a dozen different ranges in going a dozen miles. Pilots learn
-all these ranges, and get their bearings from various objects on the
-shore. You can see the capstan; but we cannot see the obstructions in
-our way in sailing a vessel, for they are under water. They are all
-laid down on the chart, and we can learn our courses from that.”</p>
-
-<p>“But isn’t there any thing on that reef to let you know where it is?”
-asked Dave Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“There is nothing on Quaker-Smith’s Reef, for it is out of the usual
-track of vessels. It is about a mile from the eastern shore of the
-lake. When the water is as low as it is now, this steamer would get
-aground on it. But at the entrance to harbors they put buoys, and also
-on rocks and shoal places in or near the usual track of vessels.”</p>
-
-<p>“What sort of things are buoys?” asked Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“Generally they are logs of wood, anchored to the bottom. These are
-called spar-buoys. Others are made of metal, hollow, and shaped like a
-couple of frustrums of cones joined at the big end.
-<!--142.png-->
-These are can-buoys.
-There are other kinds, but you won’t find them in this lake.”</p>
-
-<p>“Spar and can buoys. We can remember them,” added John Brattle.</p>
-
-<p>“The spars are all painted red, black, or striped. When going into a
-harbor, red buoys must be left on the starboard hand; that is, on your
-right. Black buoys must be left on the port, or left, hand. When you
-see a buoy painted with black and red stripes, it is a danger buoy;
-and you may go on either side of it. When you see one painted up and
-down with black and white stripes, you must go close to it. Sometimes
-the buoys are numbered: then the even numbers are on the red buoys,
-and the odd ones on the black buoys. But you must learn all these
-things by seeing them.”</p>
-
-<p>“What are the colored lights on the sides of this steamer for?” asked
-Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“The red light is on the port side, and the green on the starboard.
-They are to show any vessel approaching us which way we are going,”
-replied the captain. “But I can explain this better when we see the
-lights of another vessel.”</p>
-
-<p>All hands were on the lookout for another vessel at once.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--143.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch13"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="thirteen">XIII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>HANDLING A STEAMER IN A FOG.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Half an hour later a steamer came out of Essex, on the west shore of
-the lake. Captain Gildrock was promptly notified by the boys that a
-red light was to be seen.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose you have all seen port wine, and know it is red; though it
-is not as red in Portugal as it is here,” added the captain. “This
-will help you to remember that the red light is on the port, or
-left-hand, side. When I see the red, I know at once that the port side
-of the vessel is towards me, and therefore, if I am to the northward
-of her, that she is going in an easterly direction. If I were south of
-her, she would be going the other way.”</p>
-
-<p>“But now we can see the green light too,” said Dave Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“That shows that she is coming towards us, and we must look out that
-she don’t run into us.”</p>
-
-<p>“How can you help it, if she keeps on, and you keep on?” asked Ned
-Bellows.</p>
-<!--144.png-->
-
-<p>“We will wait and see what Dory will do,” replied Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>After going a mile farther, the boys heard a single sharp whistle over
-their heads. It was immediately followed by the same signal from the
-approaching steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“That will make it all right. Dory has blown one whistle, which means
-that he will pass the other steamer to starboard. The other steamer,
-as she indicates by her one whistle, will pass at the starboard of
-us,” continued the captain. “If Dory had blown two whistles, he would
-have gone to port of the approaching vessel. You see that we are going
-by her all right.”</p>
-
-<p>“Suppose there had been a fog when we came out of Burlington, Captain
-Gildrock: what should we have done?” asked Ben Ludlow. “Could Dory
-have run the boat down to Beech Hill?”</p>
-
-<p>“He could do it, but I should rather he would not. It is not safe to
-run in a fog; and it is best not to do it, unless your business is
-very urgent,” replied Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“But suppose you could not even see Juniper-Island light: what would
-you do if you had to run to Beech Hill?” persisted the inquirer.</p>
-<!--145.png-->
-
-<p>“Juniper light is west-south-west from the wharf, as I have ruled it
-off from the chart. The distance is three and a quarter miles. The
-speed of the Sylph is twelve miles an hour, and it will take her
-sixteen minutes and a quarter to reach the light. But we don’t start
-at full speed, and we must allow for that.</p>
-
-<p>“At the end of sixteen minutes, by the clock in the pilot-house, we
-begin to look out for the light. If we don’t find it, we don’t go
-ahead, if we stay there all day and all night. We whistle, and that
-lets the people at the light know that a steamer is trying to find her
-way up the lake; and they will blow a horn. When we hear it, we know
-by the direction where the light is. They will keep blowing the horn
-for a while.</p>
-
-<p>“Split-Rock light is south-south-west from Juniper, and we steer this
-course by compass for one hour and two minutes. At the end of that
-time, if we are all right, we hear the horn at Split Rock. When we
-have got the bearing of the light, we head her south by west, and run
-two and three-quarters miles to the mouth of Beaver River; which we do
-in thirteen and three-quarters minutes.</p>
-
-<p>“Then Dory will strike the bell for the deckhand
-<!--146.png-->
-to heave the lead,
-or, in other words, see how deep the water is. If we get ten feet at
-this stage of the water, we are in the channel. We steer
-east-south-east, and keep sounding all the time. If the leadsman
-should report a less depth, we stop the steamer, and find where the
-channel is. We may have to get out a boat to ascertain. When we get
-fairly into the river, we can see the shores through the fog. If we
-can’t, we have to feel our way up.”</p>
-
-<p>The evening was quite chilly on the lake; and Captain Gildrock had
-taken the boys into the forward cabin, as they were not provided with
-overcoats. He had hardly finished his explanation before a long
-whistle above them excited their interest.</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps you will have a chance to see how we work the steamer in a
-fog,” said Captain Gildrock, looking at his watch. “It is about time
-we were up with Split Rock, and very likely Dory cannot find the
-light.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain left the cabin, followed by all the boys. As soon as they
-reached the forecastle, Dory rang the bell to stop her. The fog had
-blown up from the southward; and the Sylph was
-<!--147.png-->
-completely enveloped
-in it, so that nothing could be seen from her deck.</p>
-
-<p>“Here we are,” said Captain Gildrock, as he led the way to the
-hurricane-deck. “You can’t see half a ship’s-length ahead. I was
-afraid this southerly wind might blow up a fog.”</p>
-
-<p>The deck-hand was standing on the rail at the forward flag-pole,
-trying to penetrate the thick mist that shrouded the shore. Dory gave
-another long whistle. By this time the steamer had come to a
-standstill, and nothing more was to be done until the pilot found out
-where he was. The boys gathered on the hurricane-deck around Captain
-Gildrock, who did not say any thing to the young pilot, or even go
-near him.</p>
-
-<p>“Can you see any thing, Bates?” called Dory to the deck-hand.</p>
-
-<p>“Not a thing, sir,” replied Bates.</p>
-
-<p>“There! I hear the horn!” exclaimed Dave Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“Horn on the starboard bow, sir!” shouted Bates.</p>
-
-<p>“I hear it,” added Dory. The gong-bell in the engine-room rang, and
-the Sylph began to move again.</p>
-<!--148.png-->
-
-<p>“Horn again, sir. We are not ten fathoms from the point, sir,” called
-Bates. “I see the light now, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“All right: so do I. Keep a sharp lookout ahead, Bates,” replied Dory,
-as the sound of a jingling bell was heard from the engine-room; and
-the steamer increased her speed very rapidly.</p>
-
-<p>“Bates seems to be a very polite man,” said Ned Bellows, laughing. “He
-puts in a ‘sir’ every time he says any thing to Dory.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is second nature for a seaman to say ‘sir’ to an officer,” added
-the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“But to a boy not more than fourteen or fifteen years old!”</p>
-
-<p>“No matter how young or how old he is, if he is an officer. Discipline
-is very strict at sea, as it will be on board of the Sylph after we
-have organized the ship’s company. You must all say ‘sir’ to your
-officers, even if they are boys.”</p>
-
-<p>“The last bell that rung was different from the other,” suggested Ben
-Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“The jingling bell is the speed-bell,” replied the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“It means ‘Go faster,’ don’t it?”</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all. If Dory should ring it now, it would mean ‘Go slower.’”</p>
-<!--149.png-->
-
-<p>“It can’t mean both slower and faster,” reasoned Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Why not? If the boat is going full speed it means ‘Slow down:’ if she
-is going at half speed it means ‘Full speed.’ The gong-bell, one
-stroke, means ‘Start her’ if she is not turning her screw, or ‘Stop
-her’ if she is going ahead. Two strokes of the gong means ‘Back her.’”</p>
-
-<p>At equal intervals the whistle of the Sylph sounded, and this fact
-soon excited the attention of the curious pupils. They wanted to know
-what it was for. The captain explained that it was to warn any vessel
-of the presence of the steamer, so that neither craft should run into
-the other. Steamers used their whistles, and sailing-vessels a horn.
-But no horn or whistle was heard during the rest of the trip.</p>
-
-<p>The next sound that attracted the attention of the pupils was the
-speed-bell, which was quickly followed by the gong; and the screw
-ceased to turn. At a single stroke of the large ship’s bell, Bates,
-standing upon the rail, at the forward gangway, heaved the lead.</p>
-
-<p>“No bottom!” shouted the leadsman. Dory rang the gong, and the steamer
-went ahead at half speed.</p>
-<!--150.png-->
-
-<p>“Does he mean to say there is no bottom to the lake in this place,
-Captain Gildrock?” asked Dave Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: we don’t usually sound below fifty feet; and any greater
-depth than that is called ‘no bottom,’” replied the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“By the deep, eight!” said Bates.</p>
-
-<p>“By the deep, eight,” repeated Dave Windsor. “That means eight feet
-deep, I suppose.”</p>
-
-<p>“No, it don’t: it means about forty-eight feet. The depth is measured
-in fathoms of six feet each. The lead-line is marked with two strips
-of leather at two fathoms, with three strips at three, with a white
-rag at five fathoms, and with a red rag at seven; at ten fathoms is a
-leather with a hole in it, and so on. There are no marks at four, six,
-eight, and nine fathoms. When the leadsman said ‘By the deep, eight,’
-the line was under water about six feet below the red rag, or seven
-fathoms.”</p>
-
-<p>“By the mark, five!” called Bates.</p>
-
-<p>“Just thirty feet,” the captain explained.</p>
-
-<p>“And a half two!”</p>
-
-<p>“Two fathoms and a half. We are shoaling rapidly.”</p>
-<!--151.png-->
-
-<p>“Mark under water, two!”</p>
-
-<p>“A little over two fathoms.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ten feet!” shouted Bates with more energy than before.</p>
-
-<p>The gong rang at this report, and two strokes followed instantly. The
-screw began to turn backwards; and, when her headway was checked, a
-single stroke stopped her.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory is doing it all right,” said Captain Gildrock. “When he backed
-her he put the helm to port, so as to get her head pointed
-east-south-east. If he had not stopped the boat when he did, she would
-have been aground in a couple of minutes; for there is a shoal south
-of the mouth of the river on which the water is only from one to six
-feet deep.”</p>
-
-<p>“What harm would it have done if we had got aground?” asked Bob
-Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“It would have done no harm, as we were going slowly; though we might
-have had to stay here all night. If there had been a rock there, it
-would probably have stove a hole in the bottom of the boat.”</p>
-
-<p>“Ten feet!” reported Bates again.</p>
-
-<p>The gong rang to go ahead, but the steamer
-<!--152.png-->
-hardly moved through the
-water. The captain said the pilot had told the engineer, through the
-speaking-tube, to go very slowly. Bates continued to sound, reporting
-the same water as before.</p>
-
-<p>“I see the point, sir,” said Bates a little later.</p>
-
-<p>“All right! I have it,” replied Dory. The boat began to move a little
-faster, but she did not get above half speed.</p>
-
-<p>In the river the fog was not so dense as on the lake, and the pilot
-could make out the objects on the banks of the stream. She went into
-the creek leading from the river to the lake, and in a few minutes
-more she was at the temporary wharf which had been built for her.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, boys, you have had both the theory and the practice of handling
-a steamer in a fog. It is an easy matter on this lake compared with
-the bays and harbors on the seacoast, for there the pilot has to make
-allowances for the tide.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys landed, and were directed to go to the study-room in a
-building adjoining the dormitory. The captain called Mr. Brookbine,
-and they went together to the ice-house.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--153.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch14"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="fourteen">XIV.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE STRONG-ROOM AT THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The trip was finished, and Dory was relieved from further duty in the
-pilot-house. He came down upon the main deck just as the carpenter was
-unlocking the door of Oscar Chester’s prison. Mr. Brookbine had a
-lantern in one hand, which threw its light into the room when the door
-was opened.</p>
-
-<p>The rebel was lying on the floor, which was quite dry, for the room
-had not been used for several weeks. He seemed to be making himself
-quite at home in his prison; and possibly he had been asleep, for he
-gaped and yawned when he was discovered. But this was affectation. He
-wanted to make his persecutors, as he regarded them, think that he was
-not at all disturbed by his confinement.</p>
-
-<p>“You may came out now, Chester,” said Captain Gildrock.</p>
-<!--154.png-->
-
-<p>“I don’t want to go out: I am very comfortable here, I want you to
-understand,” replied Oscar with plentiful display of bravado.</p>
-
-<p>“It is my order that you come out!” added the captain sternly.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know that I care for your orders. I have made up my mind to
-stay in this place only long enough to get even with that Dory
-Dornwood. When I have thrashed him within an inch of his life, I shall
-be ready to leave; and I shall leave, I want you to understand,”
-answered Oscar. “I don’t intend to be bossed by any little boy you may
-see fit to place over me.”</p>
-
-<p>“I shall not argue the question with you: I told you to come out,”
-continued Captain Gildrock in very decided, though gentle, tones.</p>
-
-<p>“And I told you I wouldn’t go out!” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“You may bring him out, Mr. Brookbine, and take him up to the brig,”
-said the captain, as he took the lantern from the hand of the
-carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“You have brought that big bully, have you?” demanded the rebel,
-rising from his reclining position.</p>
-
-<p>No one replied to this demand, but the carpenter
-<!--155.png-->
-walked into the
-prison. Oscar was disposed to show fight. He retreated to a corner,
-and put himself in the attitude of defence. Suddenly, as if by
-impulse, the prisoner began to feel in his pockets; but the stout
-mechanic did not give him time enough to produce any thing. He took
-him by the collar of his coat, and lifted him off the floor. With his
-other hand, he jerked the hands of the prisoner out of his pockets. As
-he did so, a two-bladed knife dropped from one of them.</p>
-
-<p>Possibly the sight of this article kindled the anger of the carpenter,
-for he began to bang the captive about in a manner that threatened
-serious bodily injury to the victim.</p>
-
-<p>“Hold on to him, but don’t hurt him any more than may be necessary,”
-interposed Captain Gildrock. “We can cure him of his infirmity in a
-few days.”</p>
-
-<p>“The rascal wants to knife me, and I am inclined to shake the bad
-blood out of him,” replied the mechanic.</p>
-
-<p>“He is a lunatic: he is boiling over with bad passions. A few days in
-the brig will cool him off. We will treat him as a sick boy; and, when
-he gets better, we will talk with him. Possibly
-<!--156.png-->
-there may be some
-reason in him when he is himself, if he ever is himself. If we can’t
-manage him, we will send him to the lunatic-asylum,” said the captain,
-as the carpenter dragged his prisoner out upon the deck.</p>
-
-<p>Dory picked up the knife, and followed his uncle to the
-school-buildings in the rear of the mansion. Oscar could not stand the
-discipline of the burly Vermonter. He soon found, if he had not
-learned it before, that he was powerless in the hands of his
-persecutor; and he walked quietly in the direction he was led.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock had expected to have some just such boys as Oscar
-Chester. In fact, he knew of this very one; for his uncle had applied
-to him to take him, as soon as he knew that he intended to open a
-mechanical institution. Mr. Chester was an old friend of the captain,
-to whom the latter had described his educational plan. This was the
-reason he happened to know all about Oscar, while he had taken pains
-not to be informed in regard to the antecedents of all his other
-pupils.</p>
-
-<p>The founder of the new school understood men and boys thoroughly. Some
-of his scholars must
-<!--157.png-->
-inevitably be rebellious and troublesome, and he
-had fully provided for the treatment of such cases. He had erected two
-temporary buildings, one of which was the dormitory and the other the
-workshop and schoolroom, the latter occupying the story over the
-former. The students were to take their meals in the large dining-room
-of the mansion.</p>
-
-<p>The dormitory consisted of twenty-four sleeping-rooms, each of which
-had been furnished with an iron bedstead and such simple furniture as
-might be required. Nothing was extravagant, or even elegant; for the
-school was an experiment which might succeed or fail.</p>
-
-<p>In a small brick building close to the shop, a steam-engine had
-already been set up, from which a belt extending into the shop was to
-run the lathes, circular-saws, planers, boring-machines, and other
-machinery. One part of the shop was for woodwork, and the other for
-iron. But most of the tools and apparatus had not yet been put in
-their places.</p>
-
-<p>At one end of the dormitory was the “brig.” Captain Gildrock’s
-earliest experience at sea had been in the navy, where he had obtained
-his first
-<!--158.png-->
-ideas of discipline. The ship’s prison on board a man-of-war
-is called the “brig.” The captain had already given this name to his
-place of discipline.</p>
-
-<p>It was one of the rooms of the dormitory, fitted up for the purpose
-intended. The walls and ceiling, as well as the floor, had been
-constructed of thick spruce plank. All the wood had been covered with
-sheet-iron. The two windows were grated with iron bars. It contained a
-narrow iron bedstead, an iron stand for a table, and one chair of the
-same material. The locks on the door were strong enough for any
-prison. But not even the door could be seen from the hall of the
-dormitory, for it was concealed by a wooden partition in front of it.</p>
-
-<p>No boy was to be allowed to visit this strong-room unless he was
-condemned to become an occupant of it for his misconduct. He had not
-mentioned it to the boys, and the instructors were requested not to do
-so. The iron in the room was all painted black, so that it was an
-exceedingly gloomy-looking apartment. The captain hoped he should
-never have occasion to make any use of the brig; and certainly he had
-not
-<!--159.png-->
-expected to have an occupant for it on the day the first of the
-boys arrived.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brookbine took his prisoner to the brig, attended by the captain.
-He was hurried up the stairs, and thrust into the prison, without any
-ceremony. The lantern lighted up the gloomy den when the door was
-opened; and, if Oscar did not shrink from his fate, he had more nerve
-than ninety-nine in a hundred boys.</p>
-
-<p>He did give a start when he looked into the brig, and it required some
-effort on the part of the mechanic to force him into it. In the
-dungeon he looked about him with something like an expression of
-disgust on his face. Then he seemed to feel that he was yielding
-somewhat to the circumstances; and he straightened up, and made an
-effort to “stiffen his back.” His persecutors were retiring from the
-entrance, and the captain was about to close the door.</p>
-
-<p>“I have eaten nothing since I had my breakfast, early this morning,”
-said Oscar stiffly, when he saw that he was about to be locked into
-the cell for the night.</p>
-
-<p>“It is your own fault. All the rest of the boys had supper at the
-hotel in Burlington,” replied the captain.</p>
-<!--160.png-->
-
-<p>“Do you mean to starve me?” demanded the prisoner.</p>
-
-<p>“No, I don’t mean to starve you.&mdash;Dory,” called the captain at the
-open window in the hall: “go into the house and get a loaf of bread, a
-case-knife, and a pitcher of water.”</p>
-
-<p>In a few minutes the skipper of the Goldwing returned with the
-articles named, and Captain Gildrock placed them on the iron table.</p>
-
-<p>“Am I to be fed on dry bread?” asked Oscar, as he looked with contempt
-upon the provision on the table.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t answer questions at the present time. There is food: you can
-eat it or let it alone. You can stay in this place a day, a week, a
-month, or a year: the time depends upon yourself,” said the captain,
-as he withdrew from the brig.</p>
-
-<p>He closed the door, and secured it with the great lock. He also
-fastened the door in the plank partition, so that no student could get
-within six feet of the strong-room.</p>
-
-<p>“That fellow will think better of it in a few days, perhaps by
-to-morrow,” said Captain Gildrock, as they left the dormitory.</p>
-
-<p>“For a boy, he is the hardest customer I ever
-<!--161.png-->
-had to deal with,”
-replied Brookbine. “There is no more reason in him than there is in a
-brickbat.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain led the way to the schoolroom, where the boys had
-assembled. They were behaving themselves very well, and they all
-applauded when the captain entered the room.</p>
-
-<p>“Boys, there is nothing more to be done to-night. To-morrow will be
-Saturday; and we shall organize the ship’s company for the Sylph, and
-take a little trip in her down the lake, perhaps as far as
-Plattsburgh. Your rooms are all ready for you, and you can retire as
-soon as possible. We have breakfast at seven in the morning.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain stood upon the platform, and made this little speech,
-which was applauded by the students. Mr. Brookbine was left to look
-after the pupils, and the captain and Dory went into the house. Though
-it was after nine o’clock in the evening, they found Mr. Bolingbroke
-Millweed and his mother in the sitting-room. Her son had related to
-her his adventures on the lake and in Burlington. She was very
-grateful to Dory for what he had done, and expressed herself to that
-effect in very high-flown speech.</p>
-<!--162.png-->
-
-<p>“My son Bolingbroke informs me that you have manifested some interest
-in his future welfare, for which I am extremely grateful to you,
-Captain Gildrock. I hope you will be able to do something for him; for
-a word from you would secure for him a good place in a store,” said
-Mrs. Millweed, after she had succeeded in introducing the subject.</p>
-
-<p>“I offered your son a place in my school for a year. If he is going to
-accept the offer I made him, I want him here at seven to-morrow
-morning,” replied the captain bruskly. “I don’t know any thing about
-him, and I can’t recommend him for a place in a store.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t wish to make a mechanic of him,” protested Mrs. Millweed. “I
-am looking for something higher than that for him.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you think that being a counter-jumper is something higher?”
-demanded the captain, laughing heartily at the idea.</p>
-
-<p>“I wish him to be a merchant; and I am sure that is higher and more
-respectable than a greasy mechanic,” added the lady with a sneer.</p>
-
-<p>“Very well, madam: I cannot do any thing for your son,” added the
-captain decidedly. “There
-<!--163.png-->
-are ten times as many clerks as can find
-places now.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have never allowed my boys to work on the farm; and they haven’t
-acquired any low ideas,” continued Mrs. Millweed as she moved to the
-door, closely attended by Bolingbroke.</p>
-
-<p>The visitors departed, and it was not probable that they would again
-darken the captain’s door.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--164.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch15"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="fifteen">XV.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>SOMETHING ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Long before breakfast-time the new boys were roaming about the estate,
-with Dory as their guide. He showed them the place, and treated them
-as handsomely as he knew how. They were not in a boat, with a fresh
-wind blowing; and he had no occasion to use a single sharp word, and
-he had not on board of the Goldwing, except to Oscar Chester. By this
-time he had become quite popular with the students.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory,” called Captain Gildrock, as the skipper and his party came to
-the shop: “what was the name of the man that stole the money at the
-store?”</p>
-
-<p>“Tim Lingerwell: he was the head man of Mr. Longbrook,” replied Dory.
-“He came from this place.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know all about him,” said a stranger who had been talking with the
-captain. “He never
-<!--165.png-->
-was any too good to do such a thing; and my son
-was lucky to get out of the scrape as well as he did.”</p>
-
-<p>This man was the father of Bolingbroke Millweed. For the first time he
-had heard about the Beech-Hill Industrial School that morning. His
-wife had told him about the captain’s offer to take Bolingbroke into
-the school. He had been telling the shipmaster his troubles, and he
-wanted his son to accept the offer.</p>
-
-<p>“I am a peaceable man, Captain Gildrock, and my wife has always had
-her own way,” continued Farmer Millweed. “I don’t like to have any
-trouble in the family, but I have gone just about as far as I can go.”</p>
-
-<p>The early visitor looked very sad, and choked a little, as though a
-few tears would relieve him. He stood looking upon the ground, trying
-to check his emotions.</p>
-
-<p>“Things have gone hard with you, have they?” said Captain Gildrock in
-a sympathizing tone.</p>
-
-<p>“Very hard, captain; and I don’t know what is going to become of me
-and my family. I expect we shall fetch up in the poorhouse; as we
-certainly shall if things keep on as they have
-<!--166.png-->
-been,” replied the
-farmer with a suppressed groan.</p>
-
-<p>“I am sorry for you,” added the captain. “I will take your son, and he
-shall be of no expense to you for a year; and at the end of that time,
-I will guarantee that he will be able to do something for you, and
-take care of himself besides.”</p>
-
-<p>“Just as soon as I heard of your offer, I came right over here; for I
-want to have Bolly learn a trade,” said the farmer. “He will be
-provided for, whatever becomes of the rest of us. When my oldest girl
-was a dozen years old, I owned my farm free and clear; and I didn’t
-owe any man on earth a single cent. Now there is a mortgage of two
-thousand dollars on my place, and I owe over a thousand dollars
-besides.”</p>
-
-<p>“You have been making bad speculations then,” suggested Captain
-Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“I never went into a speculation of any kind, captain; and I never
-lost any money in any way. Ten years ago I used to get a good living
-off my farm. We had plenty to eat, drink, and to wear. Now we don’t
-have any thing.” And, in spite of his struggles to restrain them, a
-flood of tears poured down his wan cheek.</p>
-<!--167.png-->
-
-<p>“If you have had no misfortunes, I don’t understand why things have
-gone so badly with you. But it is best to look into the matter, and
-find out what the trouble is, so that you can correct the errors of
-the past. You are not a very old man, and you may get out of the
-trouble yet.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know what the difficulty is well enough; and I have known it for
-two or three years, if not for ten. I have to take care of my family,
-consisting of my wife, two sons, and two daughters. The oldest is
-twenty-two, and the youngest is sixteen. My wife has high notions for
-a farmer’s wife, and I have given in to her. She would not let the
-boys work on the farm; and, when I wanted any help, I had to hire. I
-suppose the girls helped their mother, but all of them had to dress
-like ladies. And that is where all the money I could get went to,”
-said Millweed bitterly.</p>
-
-<p>“The first thing is to stop the leak,” suggested the captain in
-nautical terms. “If you don’t stop it, the ship will go to the
-bottom.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know that very well, but I don’t see how I’m going to stop the
-leak. All the children had to go to the high-school, and dress as
-smartly as the sons and daughters of rich men; though it was
-<!--168.png-->
-more than
-I could do to get the money to pay for it.”</p>
-
-<p>“But couldn’t your wife see how things were going?” asked the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“I talked with her, and told her seven years ago that I was running
-behindhand. I have talked with her twenty times since, and told her we
-should all fetch up in the poorhouse if we kept on. She said the boys
-would soon find places in stores, and help me. The girls could have
-had plenty of work at good wages, but their notions were as high as
-their mother’s.”</p>
-
-<p>“I see how it is,” said Captain Gildrock, nodding his head, as much as
-to declare that it was the old story.</p>
-
-<p>“The girls are too proud to marry a farmer or a mechanic, and rich
-men’s sons don’t seem to want them. They are good girls enough, but
-they have got high notions. The boys never did do any thing, and I
-don’t know whether they can or not. I want Bolly to try. Pemberton is
-eighteen, and I suppose he is too old for your new school.”</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: I will take them both, but they will have to work.”</p>
-<!--169.png-->
-
-<p>“That’s what they need. If I could get the boys into your school, I
-should like it first-rate, and I should have some hopes that I might
-get along; though I have got to lose my farm, and it won’t fetch any
-thing over the mortgage,” added the farmer very gloomily.</p>
-
-<p>“I will take the two boys into my school; and, if the girls will go to
-work, I will find places for them in a store or factory.”</p>
-
-<p>“You are very kind, Captain Gildrock; but I am afraid my wife won’t
-allow the boys to go to your school, or the girls to do any thing to
-help support themselves,” added Farmer Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“I shall not meddle with the affairs of your family; but, if it was my
-case, I should set the boys and girls to work,” added Captain
-Gildrock. “You must take the helm in your own hands.”</p>
-
-<p>“It will make trouble,” said Farmer Millweed, shaking his head.</p>
-
-<p>“You are very sure to have trouble if you don’t do it.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s so!” exclaimed the unhappy man. “I have always had to work
-hard, and I never drank a drop of liquor in my life. I’m not as smart
-as some, but I’ve done my best to get along. Next
-<!--170.png-->
-month the mortgage
-and interest are due, and I have not a dollar to pay either. I am
-behindhand on my interest now. Of course Stubbs will take possession,
-and my family will be turned out of the house. I have no place to go,
-and the best I can do will be to go to work on wages; for all I have
-got will not pay my debts. I shall have to take the helm, as you call
-it, captain.”</p>
-
-<p>“If I can do any thing for you, I shall be glad to do it,” added the
-captain.</p>
-
-<p>“I haven’t any claims on you, Captain Gildrock, and it is very kind of
-you to offer to take my boys. I will go home, and see what can be
-done,” replied Farmer Millweed, as he left the captain.</p>
-
-<p>There was an expression of resolution on his face as he passed out of
-the yard, and it was evident to the captain that he meant to do
-something in the emergency. The captain wondered if his pluck would
-hold out long enough to enable him to do it.</p>
-
-<p>“If the boys are going to join the school, I want them here by nine
-this forenoon; for we are about to organize a ship’s company for the
-steam-yacht,” he called to the discouraged farmer, as he was passing
-through the gate.</p>
-<!--171.png-->
-
-<p>“I intend to have them both here,” answered Mr. Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“If they come, I shall do them more good than the high-school ever
-did,” said the captain to himself, as he went into the house.</p>
-
-<p>The captain insisted, at the breakfast-table, that the high-school had
-spoiled the Millweed boys and girls. Mr. Brookbine dissented, and was
-sure it was the mother who had made the mischief.</p>
-
-<p>“It was she who sent them to the high-school; and the matter is about
-as broad as it is long,” added the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“But the mother could have spoiled them just as fully if they had not
-gone to the high-school,” persisted the master-carpenter, who had
-opinions of his own. “I believe the high-school is a good thing; and,
-if these boys and girls had gone to work when they got through, it
-would have been all right with the family. It was the high notions,
-and not the high-school, that did the mischief; and the children got
-them from the mother. The father is a man of no great force.”</p>
-
-<p>“But he had force enough to take care of his family, and lay up
-something, until he was broken
-<!--172.png-->
-down by the demands of his family upon
-him. There was a screw loose somewhere, and the children ought never
-to have gone to the high-school.”</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps not: I think myself that the high-school business is
-sometimes overdone,” replied the mechanic. “I never went to a
-high-school or an academy, but I don’t think I should have been any
-the worse off for a great deal more learning than I ever got.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am willing to admit that the high-school is a necessity in an
-American community, but I think it ought to be combined with something
-of an industrial character. The occupation of the mechanic should be
-redeemed from the odium which has attached to it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I agree with you there,” added Mr. Brookbine heartily. “The Millweed
-boys must have been good scholars to get through when they were only
-sixteen. Most of the scholars that graduate are eighteen and
-nineteen.”</p>
-
-<p>“And those who are not going into the learned professions have wasted
-three years which ought to have been spent in the shop, or in learning
-the business of life. The graduates come out, a year
-<!--173.png-->
-or two before
-they are of age, with too high notions to do any thing but measure
-tape; and that they call being merchants.”</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock was very radical in his notions, and he continued the
-conversation until the meal was over. The boys were directed to take
-their overcoats, and go on board of the Sylph.</p>
-
-<p>“The prisoner in the brig wants to see you, Captain Gildrock,” said
-Mr. Brookbine, just as the captain was going on board of the steamer.</p>
-
-<p>“He must be attended to at once, for he needs more care than all the
-others,” replied the captain, as he went back to the dormitory with
-the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>The mechanic unlocked the doors, and the captain presented himself
-before the rebel. Oscar looked very pale, and his chest heaved with
-emotion. It was evident, from the appearance of his eyes, that he had
-not slept well in his new quarters. A small portion of the bread on
-the table had been eaten, but not enough to indicate that he had been
-very hungry.</p>
-
-<p>“I am told that you wish to see me,” said the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t care to stay any longer in this place;
-<!--174.png-->
-and I
-should like to have you send me back to my uncle,” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“If that is all you want, nothing more need be said. You will not be
-sent back to your uncle under any circumstances.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then I will do the best I can if you will let me out,” added the
-rebel.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar was promptly released without a question.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--175.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch16"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="sixteen">XVI.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP’S COMPANY.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Oscar Chester was taken to the house, and provided with a good
-breakfast. His appetite was not spoiled, though dry bread had no
-attractions for him. He ate heartily, and then walked down to the
-landing on the lake where the steamer lay.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock had gone down before. He had called the boys together
-on the forward deck, where, as usual, they had greeted him with a
-cheer, which assured him so far that every thing was satisfactory to
-the pupils.</p>
-
-<p>“Hereafter, my lads, I think we had better dispense with the cheers,
-except on extraordinary occasions. By and by something will occur that
-will not meet your approbation; and then you will want to make a
-demonstration of another kind,” said the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t we make it?” asked Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“If what I do, and what the instructors do, is
-<!--176.png-->
-not right, I should
-like to have you express your opinions in a proper manner,” replied
-the principal of the school. “But, if any thing don’t suit you, I
-don’t wish you to manifest your disapprobation by hissing. Don’t
-pretend to like what you don’t like. Don’t be hypocrites. But, if you
-are dissatisfied with any thing about the school, come to me, and
-express your minds in a proper manner; and we will calmly discuss the
-matter. If I am wrong, I shall make haste to set myself right; and I
-hope you will do the same.”</p>
-
-<p>This remark was greeted with a rousing cheer, for the boys were
-delighted with the discipline so far.</p>
-
-<p>“I thought we were to dispense with the cheering,” said the captain
-with a pleasant smile.</p>
-
-<p>“That was an extraordinary occasion, Captain Gildrock,” added Bob
-Swanton. “We never heard of a schoolmaster before who believed it
-possible for anybody to be right but himself.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys laughed and clapped their hands at this reply, and were ready
-to give Bob Swanton a medal for hitting the nail on the head at the
-right moment.</p>
-
-<p>“The instructors here will try to be in the right.
-<!--177.png-->
-If they don’t, they
-won’t be here long. But you and I may not always be able to agree, and
-I may have to insist on my own way. Then you must submit. But here
-comes Chester. I wish you all to refrain from saying any thing about
-what happened yesterday to him. We will all treat him handsomely, and
-it will be his own fault if he don’t get along without any trouble.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar came on board with the carpenter. He seemed to be much agitated,
-and probably he expected some sort of a greeting from his
-fellow-pupils. As they were not to say any thing to him about the
-past, they avoided even glancing at him, lest he might put a wrong
-construction upon their looks. Captain Gildrock appeared not to see
-him, and he took his place in the rear of the other boys. Possibly he
-was astonished to find that he had become a person of so little
-consequence.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, we are to organize the ship’s company,” said the
-captain.</p>
-
-<p>“Is this a ship?” asked Dave Windsor.</p>
-
-<p>“This is simply a steamer; properly, a steam-yacht, being used mainly
-as a pleasure-craft. She is not a ship; but it is customary to speak
-of the ship’s company, whatever the size or rig of the
-<!--178.png-->
-vessel. You read
-in the New Testament, speaking of Jesus, that he ‘entered into a
-ship.’ Have you an idea that the craft was a vessel with three masts,
-square rigged?”</p>
-
-<p>“I did not know any thing about it,” replied Will Orwell.</p>
-
-<p>“That ship was nothing but a boat, not as big as the Goldwing
-probably. I repeat, that we are to organize the ship’s company; and I
-assure you that the expression is quite correct.”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course it is,” added Dave Windsor. “I only wanted to know about
-it.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s right: ask all the sensible things you can think of, and I
-shall be glad to answer you. You can’t all be captains or even
-officers.”</p>
-
-<p>“We don’t expect to be,” added Ben Ludlow, when the captain paused to
-note the effect of his statement.</p>
-
-<p>“It is necessary to have some privates on board; but one position is
-just as honorable as another if it is well filled,” continued the
-captain. “There is to be no favoritism on board or in the school. Now,
-we must have firemen, deck-hands, cooks, and waiters; and it is just
-as important for you to learn the duties of these positions as those
-of officers.”</p>
-<!--179.png-->
-
-<p>“Are we to learn to cook?” asked Jim Alburgh, laughing.</p>
-
-<p>“You are; and I consider this one of the most important parts to
-learn. I served as cook on board of a brig during one voyage to the
-West Indies; and I took as much pride in performing my duties
-correctly, as ever I did when commanding an East Indiaman,” replied
-the principal with energy.</p>
-
-<p>“I know something about cooking, and I like the business,” added Jim
-Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“Ah, here comes two recruits!” exclaimed Captain Gildrock, as
-Pemberton and Bolingbroke Millweed came on board. “I am particularly
-glad to see you, boys.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, sir,” replied Pemberton politely; and the principal was
-delighted to see that there was no appearance of compulsion in their
-coming.</p>
-
-<p>“We have twenty-two of the pupils I want: four of them will join us at
-Burlington, and two more at Plattsburgh. I hope the other two will
-arrive before we begin the school.”</p>
-
-<p>“Are we going to Plattsburgh to-day, sir?” asked Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“We are; and it is time we were moving,
-<!--180.png-->
-though we have considerable
-to do before we can leave. I have concluded to be captain myself for
-the present, until I find a pupil who is competent to fill the place.”</p>
-
-<p>“Dory!” exclaimed several of the boys.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory will not be captain, though I think he is competent. I want him
-in another place. He is my nephew, but he shall not be favored on that
-account. I have places for the twenty-four pupils of the school, and I
-will name them to you. Next to the captain will be the first and
-second officers, sometimes called mates, and, in men-of-war,
-lieutenants.”</p>
-
-<p>“But none of our crowd know any thing about steamers or boats, and are
-not fit for officers.”</p>
-
-<p>“The officers will learn their duties; and after a while, when you
-have all had a chance to know what is required of you, these positions
-will be given to those who are the most competent to fill them. The
-next in rank will be the first and second pilot. As Dory is the only
-one of you who is fitted to pilot a steamer, I shall appoint him first
-pilot. This is the only one I shall select for any place. All the
-others will be drawn by lot as soon as we leave Burlington.”</p>
-<!--181.png-->
-
-<p>A few of the pupils were disposed to applaud the appointment; but
-others hushed them up, and there was no demonstration.</p>
-
-<p>“The third in rank are the engineers. As I am captain, Mr. Jepson will
-be the chief-engineer. We shall have a first and second
-assistant-engineer. Next come the first and second cook. Following
-this department is the steward’s. The first, or chief, steward, the
-second, third, and fourth stewards, are the names of the places. Then
-come the firemen, of whom there will be four, and lastly the crew, or
-deck-hands as they are sometimes called. When we have twenty-four
-scholars, there will be eight of them.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys then asked a score of questions, which the captain answered
-with great good-nature, though some of them were trivial.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, you wear the clothes in which you came from your homes.
-I have provided uniforms for you, which you will put on before we get
-under way.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Sheers, a tailor from the town, was in attendance to assist the
-boys in fitting themselves to the uniforms. This dress consisted of
-woollen shirts, blue sailor-pants, and short jackets. A
-<!--182.png-->
-white cap was
-given to each, and in half an hour all hands were on deck in their new
-rig. They looked very salt for a fresh-water lake, but the uniform was
-very neat and appropriate.</p>
-
-<p>While the captain was talking to the pupils, Bates had brought on
-board a quantity of provisions and stores, which he had put in their
-proper places. The ice-house had received a supply, and every thing
-was ready for a start. Dory was directed to get under way, and he went
-to the pilot-house. Bates was on duty, and cast off the fasts when the
-signal was given. The bells rang, and the Sylph was soon moving out of
-the lake. In an hour and forty minutes she touched the wharf at
-Burlington. The Goldwing Club were on the pier, as they had been
-notified to be by Dory. Additional provisions were taken on board, and
-again the steamer was under way.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock called all the students to the hurricane deck, where
-Dory could see what was going on. The boys were greatly excited, for
-they were curious to know what positions they would obtain. Captain
-Gildrock produced a number of white cards, and then stood up before
-the scholars. Taking a box which Bates brought to
-<!--183.png-->
-him, he dropped the
-cards into it, and then shook them up.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, you will soon know who is cook and who is first
-officer,” said the captain, as he placed the box on the shelf in the
-pilot-house, where the boys could reach it through one of the windows.
-“On each of the cards is written one of the positions of which I spoke
-to you. You will walk up to this window, reach into the box, and draw
-out one of the cards. You will not look into the box.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain drew the curtain over the window, so that it was
-impossible for any boy to see the interior of the box, as he had to
-thrust his arm through the folds of the curtain.</p>
-
-<p>“If there is any thing unfair about this method of assigning the
-places, I want you to say so now,” added the captain, when the
-preparations were completed.</p>
-
-<p>“It is all as fair as any thing can be,” added Dave Windsor; and all
-the others expressed their satisfaction.</p>
-
-<p>“As fast as you draw your cards you will go down to the main deck. As
-you take the card from the box, you will give me your name; and I
-<!--184.png-->
-shall
-write it down in a book I have prepared for the purpose, against the
-name of the position. Now, one at a time.”</p>
-
-<p>Bob Swanton was the first to come forward. He drew a card, and held it
-up so that the captain could read what was on it.</p>
-
-<p>“First steward,” said the captain, reading it, and writing the
-position against the name in his book.</p>
-
-<p>The next one was Tom Ridley, one of the Genverres boys. He drew
-“fourth fireman.”</p>
-
-<p>Dick Short was “starboard watch, No. 1.”</p>
-
-<p>“All the starboard watch have odd numbers, and the port even numbers,”
-explained the captain.</p>
-
-<p>Thad Glovering, of the Goldwing Club, drew “first officer.” Corny
-Minkfield was first assistant-engineer. Pemberton Millweed was first
-cook. When Oscar Chester walked up to the pilot-house, there was a
-sensation among the boys that could not be wholly concealed. When he
-drew “second pilot” the sensation was more decided, though no one
-spoke; but all knew that he was to be associated intimately with Dory
-Dornwood.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--185.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch17"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="seventeen">XVII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE SYLPH.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">“Who is first pilot, sir?” asked Oscar Chester while the captain was
-writing his name against his position.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory Dornwood,” replied Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar made no reply; but, taking his card, he went to the main deck
-without a word of comment. It was not at all likely that the rebel
-would agree with the first pilot.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock’s book, when all had drawn their cards, and Dory had
-drawn one each for the two Plattsburgh pupils, gave the places <span style="white-space:nowrap;">as
-follows:&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<table summary="assignment of pupils">
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First officer</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Thad Glovering</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second officer</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Will Orwell</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First pilot</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Dory Dornwood</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second pilot</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Oscar Chester</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Engineer</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">George Jepson</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First assistant-engineer</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Corny Minkfield</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second assistant-engineer</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">John Brattle</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First fireman</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Nat Long</span>.</td></tr>
-<!--186.png-->
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second fireman</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Dave Windsor</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Third fireman</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Bolly Millweed</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Fourth fireman</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Tom Ridley</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First cook</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Pemberton Millweed</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second cook</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Jim Alburgh</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>First steward</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Bob Swanton</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Second steward</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Steve Baxter</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Third steward</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">George Duane</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Fourth steward</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Lick Milton</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Starboard watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Dick Short</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Starboard watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Phil Gawner</span><a name="period"></a>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Starboard watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Ben Ludlow</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Port watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Harry Franklin</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Port watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Ned Bellows</span>.</td></tr>
-<tr><td class="left"><i>Port watch</i></td><td class="leftwide"><span class="sc">Lew Shoreham</span>.</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p>“First and second officers, pilots, and engineers will return to the
-hurricane deck; the others will remain on the forecastle,” said
-Captain Gildrock, when the cards had all been drawn.</p>
-
-<p>The wheel had been given to Bates, and Dory had gone to the main deck
-with the others. The boys seemed to be in good humor, and those who
-had drawn inferior positions were apparently the jolliest of the
-crowd. Very likely they were disappointed: if they were, they did not
-complain.</p>
-
-<p>The principal brought from the pilot-house a pile of coats and half a
-dozen badges, which he
-<!--187.png-->
-laid on a bench. As soon as the half-dozen he
-had called up had assembled near him, he spoke again.</p>
-
-<p>“I told you there would be some changes in the uniform after we left
-Burlington,” said he. “Those whom I have called up are to be regarded
-as officers. Instead of wearing the short jackets you have on, you
-will put on sack-coats. On his cap each of you will wear one of these
-badges, which indicates the position the wearer holds.”</p>
-
-<p>The officers put on the badges, and exchanged the short jackets for
-the more dignified garments handed to them by the captain. Certainly
-they looked more like officers than before. There was some
-good-natured chaffing among them, for they could not well help making
-fun of each other. As there was no appearance of ill-feeling among
-them, the principal did not object.</p>
-
-<p>“What are we to do now, Captain Gildrock?” John Brattle asked.</p>
-
-<p>“The first thing to do is to learn your duties,” replied the captain.
-“You and Minkfield will go to the engine-room, and Mr. Jepson will
-instruct you.”</p>
-<!--188.png-->
-
-<p>The two engineers hastened below, full of enthusiasm, and very anxious
-to learn the duties of their new positions. The captain proceeded to
-instruct the first and second officers in regard to their offices, but
-all the time he was thinking about the second pilot. He was not
-prepared to send Oscar Chester into the pilot-house with Dory. But
-Bates knew how to steer, and knew the way to Plattsburgh; though he
-was not a pilot for the lake. Finally he concluded to send the second
-pilot to learn how to handle the wheel, while he kept Dory with him to
-assist in organizing the crew.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock then went down to the main deck. The four firemen
-were immediately sent to the engineer. It happened that the two cooks
-had had some experience in their new department; and they were ordered
-to the galley, with instructions to learn all they could about the
-cooking arrangements, so that they could find any thing they wanted.</p>
-
-<p>Pemberton Millweed had learned to cook a little, while with parties on
-the lake; and Jim Alburgh had spent one winter in a logging-camp in
-the woods, where he had learned the rudiments
-<!--189.png-->
-of the art. Both of
-them had a taste for this sort of thing; and, as soon as they had
-installed themselves in the galley, they were as happy as though they
-had drawn the cards bearing the titles of first and second officer.</p>
-
-<p>The galley, or kitchen, was in the house on deck, with a glazed door
-on each side. The galley, or stove, from which the apartment takes its
-name, was forward of the doors. The after-end of the room was fitted
-up with a table, and a great number of lockers to contain every
-article needed in the art of cooking, except the meats and vegetables,
-which were in the ice-house, next to the galley. The two cooks, though
-strangers to each other until they met on board, were soon on
-excellent terms, and proceeded to make an examination of their new
-quarters.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock next called out the three stewards, and conducted
-them to the forward cabin. The general duties of the stewards were to
-take care of the cabins, set the table, wait upon it at meals. One had
-not yet come on board.</p>
-
-<p>“Then, we are to be sort of servants, are we?” said Lick Milton.</p>
-
-<p>“We are all equal on board of the Sylph,”
-<!--190.png-->
-replied the captain with a
-smile. “You are no more servants than all the others on the steamer.
-The first duty of officers and seamen is to obey orders; and the first
-officer is as much bound to do this as the stewards and deck-hands. It
-is as necessary to have our food good and well served as it is to
-navigate the vessel. You have as fair an opportunity to distinguish
-yourselves in this department as in any other. The officers may be
-waiters or stewards next month. In the course of time all the pupils
-will be required to discharge the duties of every department.”</p>
-
-<p>“How long do we have to serve as stewards?” asked Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“I am not fully decided as to that: it will depend somewhat upon what
-progress you make. Probably we shall make some changes in a month. But
-this yacht is not the principal thing in the Beech-Hill Industrial
-School. We shall not go out in her every day in the week, perhaps not
-more than once a week after you have learned your duties.”</p>
-
-<p>“We are not to sail in her every day!” exclaimed Steve Baxter.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly not: after you have obtained a few
-<!--191.png-->
-lessons in discipline on
-board of her, she will be a sort of plaything. But we shall make a
-trip every Saturday in her. On Monday morning we shall begin to put
-the shop in order, and go to work there as soon as we are ready.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, we are not to have much fun,” added Lick Milton.</p>
-
-<p>“I hope you will all be pleased with your work in the shop and in the
-schoolroom,” replied the captain. “On board of large vessels the chief
-steward is a person of no little consequence. He purchases the
-provisions and stores, and, in consultation with the first cook, makes
-out the bill of fare for each meal. All the other stewards obey his
-orders, and he is responsible for the condition of the cabin and the
-table. But I intended to put a sack-coat on you, Swanton, and give you
-a badge.”</p>
-
-<p>The chief steward went to the pilot-house with the captain, where he
-was provided with the sack and badge. He was directed to return to the
-cabin, and see that his department was in order, and all the stewards
-familiar with their work. Swanton was required to arrange with the
-cooks for a dinner for all on board, and to set the table
-<!--192.png-->
-for twelve
-persons. The principal gave them no minute instructions, preferring
-first to see what the chief steward would do without them.</p>
-
-<p>Repairing to the forward deck with Dory, the captain found the six
-seamen, or deck-hands, waiting to be informed in regard to their
-duties. The first and second officers were called, for the work of the
-crew was to be supervised by them. They were to wash down the decks,
-and keep every thing outside of the cabins and engine and fire rooms
-in order. They were to learn to row the boats, heave the lead, to
-attend to the fasts in making a landing, to hoist and lower the boats,
-and to take their trick at the wheel.</p>
-
-<p>They were divided into two watches, each being distinguished by a star
-on the right or left arm. Captain Gildrock was a practical man; and,
-as soon as he had explained the general duties of the crew, he
-required the decks to be washed down for the sake of the practice. By
-the aid of the steam-pump the planks were soon covered with water.
-They were scrubbed with brooms, and dried with swabs, the first and
-second officers superintending the work.</p>
-
-<p>The boys worked as though they enjoyed it.
-<!--193.png-->
-The sun soon dried the deck,
-and it looked as white as though it had been holystoned. The next
-lesson was in heaving the lead; and one by one the boys were mounted
-on the rail, and exercised till they could do it to the satisfaction
-of the principal.</p>
-
-<p>It was now eleven o’clock, and the Sylph was half-way to Plattsburgh.
-It was necessary to see what had been done about dinner, and the
-captain went into the forward cabin. He found the three stewards on
-board very busy setting the table. They had found every thing they
-needed, and the table looked well. The principal encouraged the boys
-with some words of praise, and then went to the galley. There was a
-good fire in the range, and Pemberton Millweed was frying “chips.”</p>
-
-<p>The principal tasted the potatoes, and pronounced them excellent. The
-second cook was busy at the table preparing the vegetables. As both of
-them appeared to know what they were about, the captain asked no
-questions, and allowed the cooks and stewards to proceed with the
-dinner in their own way.</p>
-
-<p>A visit to the engine-room revealed the fact that
-<!--194.png-->
-Corny Minkfield, the
-first assistant-engineer, was in charge there, the chief-engineer
-being engaged in instructing the firemen in their duties. But Corny
-had been on steamers a great deal, and had some ideas in regard to
-machinery. He sat upon the sofa abaft the engine, and looked as
-dignified as though he had served in this department a dozen years.</p>
-
-<p>In the fire-room Mr. Jepson was doing his duty faithfully. The firemen
-asked a great many questions, all of which were carefully answered.
-The second engineer was one of the party, for it was necessary that
-the engineers should fully understand the duties of the firemen. There
-was nothing for the principal to do, and he returned to the deck.</p>
-
-<p>Dory was directed to take the wheel. When he went to the pilot-house,
-he found that Oscar Chester was steering the steamer. He was doing
-very well for a beginner, and the first pilot did not interfere.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--195.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch18"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="eighteen">XVIII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>ANOTHER BATTLE AT PLATTSBURGH.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Dory, without saying a word to Oscar, relieved Bates, and took his
-place at the starboard window in front. Captain Gildrock was pacing
-the hurricane deck, and the first pilot did not fear an attack from
-the rebel. But Oscar looked ugly, and bestowed savage glances upon his
-associate in the pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>“We shall get to Plattsburgh just at dinner-time,” said Captain
-Gildrock, stopping at the door of the pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose we can take dinner at the wharf as well as anywhere else,”
-replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“We shall not go up to the wharf; but we will keep the boat going till
-after dinner,” added the captain. “What is your course, second pilot?”</p>
-
-<p>“I am steering for that lighthouse ahead,” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“All right; but you may go to the eastward of it.”</p>
-<!--196.png-->
-
-<p>“What shall I steer for, sir?” inquired the second pilot.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know of any object near enough to guide you; but you can
-steer by compass, and make the course north by east,” added the
-principal in a matter-of-fact way.</p>
-
-<p>“I never steered by compass, sir, and I don’t know how,” said Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“That is one of the things a pilot ought to learn very early in his
-course. There is a compass in front of you on the shelf.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have seen it, but Bates told me to steer for that lighthouse.”</p>
-
-<p>“You did quite right. That is Cumberland Head light. You are steering
-just north by the compass, but there is a variation of the needle of
-about eleven and a half degrees. Now, port the helm until the point
-‘N. by E.’ comes to the mark on the front of the case. Steer small,”
-continued Captain Gildrock, placing himself by the side of the second
-pilot.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar had learned enough of Bates to enable him to do this. He even
-knew that “steering small” was to move the wheel but a little at a
-time.</p>
-<!--197.png-->
-
-<p>“That’s right: now you have the steamer on her course. Remember, that,
-so far as any turning is concerned, the compass is stationary. It is
-the steamer, and not the compass, that turns, the needle always
-pointing to the north.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think I understand it, sir,” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>But he did not, for the very first time he moved the wheel he turned
-it the wrong way.</p>
-
-<p>“The other way, Chester,” interposed the principal very gently. “You
-are doing first-rate, and you will soon get the hang of the new
-schoolhouse.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar reversed the movement of the wheel, and soon got the course
-again. He was wholly absorbed in his duty, and at that moment he had
-forgotten that Dory stood within a few feet of him. In a few minutes
-the second pilot got the nack of keeping the point for which he was
-steering on the mark.</p>
-
-<p>“You are all right now, Chester,” said the captain. “You will make a
-good pilot in due time.”</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you, sir,” replied Oscar, who certainly appeared to have been
-greatly humanized by his experience on board.</p>
-
-<p>The Sylph went along on her new course very
-<!--198.png-->
-well. The second pilot
-had learned the art of steering small, and the steamer hardly wabbled
-at all. He kept his eyes fixed steadily on the compass, and the danger
-was that he would see nothing else. A small steamer was directly
-ahead, bound up the lake. Oscar did not appear to see her. Presently
-she blew one whistle. Dory waited for the second pilot to respond to
-the signal, but he did not appear to understand it. He had been shut
-up in the ice-house the night before when these signals were
-explained. Bates had had no occasion to instruct him in the manner of
-passing other steamers.</p>
-
-<p>Dory pulled the line, and gave the required signal. Oscar looked at
-him with a scowl on his face, but neither of the pilots spoke. The
-little steamer sheered off, but hardly enough to pass the Sylph in
-safety. Dory did not like to interfere, lest he should give offence to
-the waspish associate in the pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>“Excuse me, Oscar Chester, but you must port the helm a little in
-order to pass that steamer,” said Dory, when he found that his
-companion was likely to shave a hair off the approaching vessel.</p>
-<!--199.png-->
-
-<p>“You are the first pilot, and I will obey whatever order you give me,”
-replied Oscar in snappish tones, as he put the wheel to port.</p>
-
-<p>“When a steamer blows one whistle, it is a signal that she intends to
-go to the starboard of us; and we have to reply with the one whistle,”
-added Dory, glad to find that the second pilot could speak to him even
-in waspish tones.</p>
-
-<p>“All right,” growled Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>At this moment one of the hands struck eight strokes, in couples, on
-the bell on the bitts. Bates had been explaining the bells to the
-crew.</p>
-
-<p>“All the starboard watch will go to dinner now!” shouted Captain
-Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>The first officer and the second pilot were in the starboard watch.
-The engineer had arranged the watches to suit himself.</p>
-
-<p>“I will relieve you while you are at dinner, Oscar Chester,” said
-Dory, taking hold of the wheel.</p>
-
-<p>“Thank you,” replied Oscar gruffly, as he left the pilot-house.</p>
-
-<p>Dinner was on the table in the forward cabin. The three stewards stood
-behind the chairs. The table looked as neat as that of a first-class
-hotel.
-<!--200.png-->
-The linen was clean and white, the articles were arranged with
-good taste, and the dishes were neatly disposed in their proper
-places.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock took his place at the head of the table, with the
-chief steward behind his chair. The first officer was directed to take
-the seat at the opposite end of the table. Mr. Jepson and Mr.
-Brookbine sat on the right and left of the captain, and the rest took
-such places as they chose.</p>
-
-<p>The dinner was not an elaborate one, and both of the cooks were equal
-to such a meal every day in the week. In front of the captain was a
-dish of beefsteak, and before the first officer a platter of
-veal-cutlets. There were several kinds of vegetables, besides boiled
-potatoes and chips.</p>
-
-<p>Every thing was well cooked; and the occupants of the galley declared
-that it ought to be, for both of them had done this thing times enough
-to learn how. The captain declared that Pemberton Millweed was good
-for something; and, if he would devote himself to the art of cooking,
-he could make more money in one year than he could in six as a
-counter-jumper. The captain said as much as this to him after dinner.</p>
-<!--201.png-->
-
-<p>“But it is not quite so genteel,” replied Pemberton with a smile.</p>
-
-<p>“Genteel!” exclaimed the captain in a most contemptuous tone. “I will
-venture to say, that the cook of a first-class hotel in New York, not
-to mention many private families, is more genteel than any
-counter-jumper in Burlington. The most genteel man I ever saw was a
-journeyman barber. The bartenders cut the biggest swell in some
-cities. I can’t see why a cook should not be as genteel as a
-counter-jumper, if he is so disposed. Male cooks get anywhere from six
-hundred to three thousand dollars a year, and they can better afford
-to be genteel than clerks on five to ten dollars a week.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain was rather curious to know what had happened at the house
-of Farmer Millweed after the poor man went home that morning, but he
-was not willing to ask either of the boys about it. The sons had both
-joined the school, and both were discharging their duties manfully.
-Doubtless there had been a stormy scene at the house of the farmer,
-and Mr. Millweed had risen somewhat in the estimation of the
-shipmaster.</p>
-<!--202.png-->
-
-<p>The tables were set a second time at half-past twelve; and the port
-watch fared as well as the starboard, for, as far as practicable, a
-fresh meal had been cooked for its members. Mr. Jepson reported
-Bolingbroke as both willing and intelligent. He knew all about a
-steam-engine, and not a little about chemistry and the mathematics;
-for which the captain was willing to give the credit to the Genverres
-high-school.</p>
-
-<p>Obeying the instructions of the captain, Dory had come about, and the
-steamer was headed up the lake. At Cumberland Head she changed her
-course again, and ran for Plattsburgh. At the north beacon on the
-breakwater, he rang to stop her. The second officer, prompted by the
-captain, had the anchor all ready to let go. The pilot gave the order
-when he was ready.</p>
-
-<p>“Let go the anchor!” shouted Will Orwell.</p>
-
-<p>Splash it went into the water: the Sylph swung around, and all hands
-were called. Captain Gildrock made a little speech to the boys,
-praised them for what they had done during the forenoon, and then gave
-them two hours’ liberty to go on shore. He expected them to behave
-like gentlemen, and not disgrace the uniform they wore.
-<!--203.png-->
-They were to
-be on the wharf at three o’clock, in readiness to return to the
-steamer.</p>
-
-<p>The dummy exercise of lowering the boats was made real; and, with the
-exception of Jepson and Bates, all hands went on shore. No restraint
-was put upon them as to where they should go. Dory thought he would
-call upon some of his old friends in the place; and he started for the
-town, which is about three-quarters of a mile from the lake-shore.
-After he had passed the railroad-station, Oscar Chester suddenly
-presented himself before him. He had evidently been lying in wait for
-him.</p>
-
-<p>“Dory Dornwood, we meet now on an equal footing; and I think I can
-keep my feet on the solid land as well as you can,” said the second
-pilot savagely. “I promised to get even with you, and my time has
-come.”</p>
-
-<p>“If your time has come, Oscar Chester, my time has not gone,” replied
-Dory calmly; and therein he had the advantage of the rebel. “I don’t
-want to quarrel with you, and I won’t if I can help it. I should like
-to talk the matter over with you, for I think you will be fair when
-you look on both sides of the question.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t want to talk it over. You insulted
-<!--204.png-->
-me last night, and then
-you caused me to be tumbled into the lake. I am going to have
-satisfaction; for I never forgive an insult,” added Oscar, waxing
-fierce as his anger boiled within him.</p>
-
-<p>“I did not intend to insult you; and I only did what any skipper would
-have done under the same circumstances,” continued Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“No more talk. I intend to thrash you here and now, till you say you
-have had enough of it, and are willing to beg my pardon,” stormed
-Oscar, as he threw off his uniform sack, and tossed his badged cap
-upon the grass at the side of the road.</p>
-
-<p>By this time a party of the ship’s company came up. The second officer
-was in it; and, as soon as he understood what was going on, he
-hastened to the scene. He spoke to Oscar, and tried to induce him not
-to meddle with Dory. The others were not disposed to interfere with
-such a fellow as the second pilot. Will Orwell was his crony; and he
-persisted, taking his friend by the arm, and trying to lead him away.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t talk to me, Will Orwell! You are half a traitor to me,” said
-Oscar, shaking off his crony.</p>
-<!--205.png-->
-
-<p>Without waiting for another word, the rebel leaped upon Dory. An
-instant later Oscar went over backwards, with the blood spurting from
-his nose. He sprang to his feet, and renewed the attack. In two
-minutes more he lay upon the ground, unable to rise.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--206.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch19"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="nineteen">XIX.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON SHORE.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Oscar Chester was not killed, or even very seriously injured. The last
-blow of Dory had been planted in a sensitive place, and he had been
-stunned by it. His companions gathered around him, lifted him up, and
-procured some water from the Fouquet Hotel, with which they washed his
-head. In a few minutes his senses came back to him, and he was able to
-comprehend the situation.</p>
-
-<p>Dory had been hit several times; but he was a tough youngster, and
-seemed to be none the worse for the battle. As he viewed the matter,
-he had simply defended himself, according to the first law of nature.
-He had done his best beforehand to avoid the fight, and had proposed
-to talk the matter over in order to ascertain who was to blame.</p>
-
-<p>“That was an awful crack you gave him at the end,” said Fireman
-Bolingbroke Millweed, joining
-<!--207.png-->
-Dory, who stood alone on the grass. “I
-didn’t know that you were such a hard hitter.”</p>
-
-<p>“I did not know it myself,” replied Dory, wiping the perspiration from
-his brow. “I am not a fighting character, and I never struck a blow in
-my life except in self-defence.”</p>
-
-<p>“I think Chester has got enough of it,” added the fireman.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know about that. He acts to me as though he was crazy. It
-would be just like him to pitch into me again as soon as he feels able
-to do so. I am sure I don’t want to quarrel with him, especially as he
-is to be in the pilot-house with me. If I have done any thing out of
-the way, I am willing to beg his pardon; but he wouldn’t even talk
-with me about his grudge against me.”</p>
-
-<p>“I saw the whole of it, and heard all that was said. I am sure you are
-not to blame,” added Bolingbroke. “But I was glad to see you knock him
-out after he was so unreasonable.”</p>
-
-<p>“You were in the boat last night when the trouble began, and I hope
-you will be able to remember what passed between Oscar and me; for,
-after this, my uncle will be very likely to investigate the case.”</p>
-<!--208.png-->
-
-<p>“I remember all about it. Oscar wanted to steer the boat, and you
-objected. When he got up from his seat,&mdash;to take the helm, I
-suppose,&mdash;you told him to sit down; and you spoke rather sharply. Then
-the boat gave a lurch, and he went overboard. If it hadn’t been for
-you, Dory, he would have been drowned as sure as fate,” replied
-Bolingbroke, rehearsing the facts precisely as they were.</p>
-
-<p>“I am ready to face the music, and if I have done any thing wrong I
-shall be glad to apologize for it. In this fight, I only defended
-myself, as I think every fellow ought to do.”</p>
-
-<p>“How are you, Dory?”</p>
-
-<p>The pilot looked around, and saw Mr. Peppers, a constable of
-Plattsburgh, who sometimes did detective work. He had sailed down the
-lake with Dory in the Goldwing a few weeks before, and Peppers had a
-strong regard for the skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“I am glad to see you, Mr. Peppers,” replied Dory, shaking hands with
-the detective.</p>
-
-<p>“You have settled that fellow so that he won’t want any more of your
-love-pats,” replied Peppers, laughing. “I saw the whole of it, and it
-was handsomely done.”</p>
-
-<p>“I merely defended myself. He pitched into
-<!--209.png-->
-me, and I could not help
-myself,” answered the pilot in the language and tone of apology; for
-he did not want any one to think that he ever engaged in a voluntary
-fight.</p>
-
-<p>“I know it: I saw the whole of it. You were trying to talk with him
-when he rushed upon you,” added Peppers.</p>
-
-<p>By this time Oscar Chester appeared to have recovered from the heavy
-blows of his brother pilot. He and Will Orwell walked up the street
-towards the town. The excitement was all over, and the other pupils
-scattered. Peppers followed Chester. Dory was doubtful what to do. At
-first he thought of going on board of the Sylph, and reporting the
-battle to his uncle.</p>
-
-<p>After a little consideration, and some talk with Bolingbroke about it,
-he decided not to do so. He was ready to answer to any charge that
-might be brought against him, and it would be time enough to defend
-himself when he was accused. He called at the Witherill House, had a
-chat with the landlord and the clerk, and then returned to the wharf.
-By this time most of the boys had seen all they wanted to of the town,
-and were ready to go on board. Captain Gildrock had
-<!--210.png-->
-come on shore, and
-had just gone on board with the two Plattsburgh boys who were to join
-the school.</p>
-
-<p>Bates was in charge of the boats; and, as soon as the crew of one of
-them appeared, he sent one load on board. The principal was
-instructing the two new hands, who had already put on the uniform. One
-was a steward, and the other belonged to the port watch.</p>
-
-<p>At a little after three o’clock the other boat came off, and the
-students rushed up the accommodation steps as though they enjoyed the
-steamer and the lake more than the town. George Duane, the new
-steward, was handed over to Bob Swanton, after a proper introduction;
-and they retired to the forward cabin.</p>
-
-<p>“Have all hands come on board?” asked Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>The boys looked about them, as though they were unable to answer the
-question.</p>
-
-<p>“You don’t know: well, we can soon ascertain by calling the roll,”
-added the principal, as he took the list of students from his pocket.
-“Mr. Glovering.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here sir,” replied the first officer in the midst
-<!--211.png-->
-of the laughter of
-the boys when they heard the handle applied to his name.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Orwell.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Dornwood.”</p>
-
-<p>“Here, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Chester.”</p>
-
-<p>There was no response to this name, and it was repeated. There was no
-answer.</p>
-
-<p>“Is the second pilot on board?” asked Captain Gildrock; and Dory
-wondered if he knew any thing about the second battle of Plattsburgh.</p>
-
-<p>The first and second officers looked about the deck and into the
-cabins for the missing pilot, but he could not be found. A more
-thorough search was made by all hands, and it was soon evident that
-“Mr. Chester” was not on board. The captain finished the call of the
-roll, and made no remark in regard to the disappearance of the second
-pilot. He directed the first officer to get up the anchor.</p>
-
-<p>It looked as though Oscar Chester had absconded, notwithstanding his
-good conduct during the forenoon. Possibly some of the boys,
-especially Will Orwell, knew something about
-<!--212.png-->
-the matter; but they did
-not volunteer to give any information, and the principal did not ask
-for any. He said nothing at all, in fact, about the missing student.
-The captain did not appear to be in the least degree disturbed by the
-absence of the refractory pupil.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock looked on while the crew walked around the capstan.
-The officers had learned their lesson well; and, for a first trial,
-the operation of getting up the anchor was handsomely done.</p>
-
-<p>The first pilot was at his post; and, as soon as “anchor aweigh” was
-reported to him, he rang the gong. Mr. Jepson stood on deck, near the
-door of the engine-room, having stationed his first assistant at the
-machine. He opened the valve slowly, and the thumping of the screw was
-immediately heard.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock had gone to the hurricane deck, where he could see
-all that was done in the pilot-house and on the forecastle. He cast
-occasional glances at the wharf, and he directed Dory to run in that
-direction. Then he called the first officer, and told him to get ready
-to make a landing.</p>
-<!--213.png-->
-
-<p>Dory ran the Sylph up to the wharf, where she was secured by the
-enthusiastic crew. The portion of the bulwark at the starboard gangway
-was removed, and the plank run out. While Mr. Glovering was wondering
-who was going on shore, Oscar Chester stepped out of the building on
-the wharf, and walked on board as coolly as though nothing had
-happened to disturb his equanimity.</p>
-
-<p>“Haul in the plank!” called the captain. “Cast off, Dory.”</p>
-
-<p>The pilot on duty blew a sharp whistle, which was the signal to cast
-off the fasts; and the officers below attended to this duty. The Sylph
-backed out from the wharf, and then went ahead, the engine being
-wholly managed by Corny Minkfield. Oscar Chester went directly to the
-hurricane deck, and was about to enter the pilot-house, when he was
-confronted by Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“You are late, Mr. Chester,” said the principal.</p>
-
-<p>“I came on board against my will, sir. In fact, I was brought down to
-the wharf,” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“Indeed? Who brought you to the wharf?” asked the captain with a
-half-suppressed chuckle.</p>
-
-<p>“I wasn’t introduced to him, but he said he was a constable.”</p>
-<!--214.png-->
-
-<p>“You ought to have been introduced to him,” laughed the captain. “I
-can’t go through the ceremony now, because the constable is not here;
-but his name is Peppers. Dory knows him, and he will introduce you if
-I don’t happen to be present when you meet again. Am I to understand
-from what you say that you did not intend to return to the steamer?”</p>
-
-<p>“I did not intend to return: on the contrary, I meant to run away; for
-I suppose that is what you would call it,” replied Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“If I remember rightly, you promised this morning to behave as well as
-you knew how, if I released you from the brig,” added the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“I meant what I said at the time, and intended to keep my promise; but
-something happened on shore that prevented me from doing so,” replied
-Oscar rather sheepishly for him.</p>
-
-<p>“What is the matter with your face, Mr. Chester? Your nose is swelled,
-and you have a mouse under each eye. I should say that both of your
-eyes would be in mourning for the next week,” added Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“The black eyes are in consequence of something
-<!--215.png-->
-that happened on shore,”
-answered the second pilot.</p>
-
-<p>“What was that?”</p>
-
-<p>“Excuse me, sir: if you will ask Dory, he can tell the story better
-than I can,” replied Oscar, glancing at the pilot at the wheel.</p>
-
-<p>This conversation took place at the door of the pilot-house, and Dory
-could not help hearing all that was said; and if he looked behind him
-he could see the parties.</p>
-
-<p>“I prefer that you should tell your own story,” added the principal
-rather sternly. “My business just now is with you and not with Dory.”</p>
-
-<p>“To make a short story of it, sir, I attempted to thrash Dory, and I
-got thrashed myself,” answered the culprit.</p>
-
-<p>“Served you right!” exclaimed the captain. “Have you settled the
-matter finally?”</p>
-
-<p>“It seems to have settled itself, sir. I had no doubt I could whip
-Dory as easily as I could turn my hand. I never met one of these
-proper fellows before that I could not whip, and without the least
-difficulty. I am satisfied now that he can whip me every time, and
-that settles the matter.”</p>
-<!--216.png-->
-
-<p>“I should say that you judge yourself and Dory by a very mean and
-cowardly standard. But if you are satisfied, nobody else need complain
-this time. Return to your duty, Mr. Chester.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar went to the wheel, and did not seem to have any delicacy about
-meeting Dory.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--217.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch20"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty">XX.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE NEW HEAD OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Captain Gildrock judged, from the appearance of Oscar Chester’s face,
-that he had been severely punished for his assault upon his superior
-officer. He had not heard a word about the second battle at
-Plattsburg. Though Bates knew all about it, he never meddled with what
-did not concern him.</p>
-
-<p>He walked away from the pilot-house, satisfied that Dory could take
-care of himself if the second pilot wanted any thing more of him. Mr.
-Jepson had divided the firemen into watches, and two of them were now
-off duty. The principal saw Bolingbroke walking the hurricane deck,
-and called him. In answer to his question, Bolingbroke told him all
-the particulars of the fight on shore. Of course the statement was
-highly favorable to Dory.</p>
-
-<p>If no one else knew it, the principal did, that Will Orwell was a
-crony of the second pilot. From him he could get the other side of the
-<!--218.png-->
-story, if there was any other side to it; and he called the second
-officer. Orwell’s story did not differ materially from that of the
-fireman, and the captain was satisfied that the assault upon his
-nephew had been entirely unprovoked. He knew all about the difficulty
-in the boat, and on board of the steamer the night before.</p>
-
-<p>The captain was satisfied that Chester had been sufficiently punished,
-especially when he considered what a shock the pride of the wilful boy
-had received in his failure to thrash Dory. Doubtless his attempt to
-run away had been caused by his defeat. He was humiliated and
-mortified at the result.</p>
-
-<p>Of course Peppers did not act without instructions. The principal
-expected a demonstration on the part of the rebel. He had written to
-the officer the day before, requesting him to be on the wharf when the
-Sylph arrived, and instructing him to watch Oscar all the time the
-latter was on shore. He was to bring him off if he attempted to run
-away.</p>
-
-<p>Peppers soon ascertained which of the boys he was to “shadow,” and
-followed him wherever he went. Orwell remained in his company till it
-<!--219.png-->
-was time to return to the wharf. Oscar declared that he would not go
-on board again, and tried to induce his crony to join him in his
-flight into the country.</p>
-
-<p>Orwell was second officer, and was delighted with his experience in
-the Beech-Hill Industrial School so far. It was better than a play to
-him, and nothing could have induced him to run away from the agreeable
-life which had just opened upon him. He had reasoned with his friend
-very earnestly, and even had the pluck to tell him flatly that Dory
-was altogether in the right, and he was altogether in the wrong.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar admitted that he was pleased with the school, but he could not
-endure the humiliation of playing “second fiddle” to Dory after what
-had happened. They parted, and Orwell went on board with the other
-pupils; and he was utterly astonished when he saw his crony come on
-board at the wharf.</p>
-
-<p>“If you wish to steer, I will give you the wheel, Oscar Chester,” said
-Dory, when the second pilot had been in the room a few minutes. “It is
-not a new thing to me; and I am not anxious to steer, though I like to
-do it well enough.”</p>
-<!--220.png-->
-
-<p>“Thank you, Dory Dornwood: you are very kind. You can whip me every
-time; and, of course, you can bully me if you have a mind to do so,”
-replied Oscar, beginning very stiffly.</p>
-
-<p>“I have no wish to bully you or any other fellow. I don’t want to
-quarrel with any person; and, as we are to be in the pilot-house
-together, I hope we shall be able to agree,” added Dory in the most
-conciliatory tones.</p>
-
-<p>“We shall agree after this,” said Oscar, letting himself down a few
-pegs. “You can whip me, and that is enough. I can’t quarrel with you
-without getting the worst of it. I must submit, and I may as well make
-the best of it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe in fighting, and I don’t care a straw who is the best
-man. I don’t mean to bully even the weakest fellow in the school. I
-know I speak quick sometimes, but I don’t mean any thing by it. I am
-told that I spoke rather sharply to you in the boat last night. I am
-sorry for it, and I beg your pardon,” said Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“You don’t owe me any apology after you have whipped me; and you are
-generous to let me down as easily as you can,” added Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“It was since we came on board, after the affair,
-<!--221.png-->
-that I was told I
-spoke sharply to you. If you had told me so before hitting me, I
-should have begged your pardon. I mean to do the right thing.”</p>
-
-<p>“Your hand, Dory!” exclaimed Oscar, extending his own. “You are a good
-fellow, even if you are so frightfully proper.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory gave the rebel his right hand, and his companion shook it
-heartily. There was some good left in Oscar Chester.</p>
-
-<p>“I always thrashed every fellow in the school that didn’t fag to me,
-and I suppose I have been spoiled. But I will try to do better. If I
-don’t do well, you must thrash me again, Dory,” added the second
-pilot, smiling blandly. “I hope we shall be friends; and I will take
-the wheel now, if you will show me how to handle it.”</p>
-
-<p>“You handle it very well already, though there are a great many things
-you will have to learn, as every wheelman must,” replied Dory
-cordially, and without putting on any airs.</p>
-
-<p>There was peace in the pilot-house now, as there was in every part of
-the steamer. Captain Gildrock looked into the room after a while, and
-found that the two pilots were apparently excellent
-<!--222.png-->
-friends. He did
-not say any thing, or even enter the apartment; for he thought the
-boys would get along better without any help.</p>
-
-<p>The Sylph went up the lake as far as Ticonderoga. The instruction was
-continued in all the departments; and as the students were required to
-do the work themselves, as well as listen to the theory, they made
-rapid progress, and enjoyed themselves to the end of the trip. They
-were sorry when it was finished.</p>
-
-<p>The steamer was secured at the temporary wharf in Beech Lake. Supper
-had been served on board as arranged in the morning; and the cooks and
-stewards had to put things in order before they went on shore. The
-engineers and firemen were taught in what shape to leave the engine
-and boilers. The first and second officers put the decks in order. But
-the pilots had nothing to do when the boat touched the wharf.</p>
-
-<p>“Is Captain Gildrock on board?” asked Mr. Millweed, who was on the
-wharf when Dory landed.</p>
-
-<p>“He is in the after cabin,” replied the first pilot; and he would have
-been very glad to hear what passed between the principal and the
-farmer.</p>
-<!--223.png-->
-
-<p>But he had been taught to mind his own business; and he walked up to
-the dormitory with Oscar, who had not yet visited the room
-appropriated to his use. Mr. Millweed went on board of the Sylph, and
-found the captain at the desk in his room.</p>
-
-<p>“I will wait till you are ready to see me, Captain Gildrock,” said he.</p>
-
-<p>“I am ready to see you now, and anxious to hear what you have to say,”
-replied the principal, as he led the way out of the state-room into
-the main cabin. “Both of the boys came on board before nine, and have
-done well. Pemberton is first cook, and Bolingbroke is third fireman.”</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose they don’t like these places,” added Farmer Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“Both of them seem to be very well satisfied. Pemberton is an
-excellent cook,” answered the captain. “He thinks his position is not
-particularly genteel, but he will get over that in a short time. Did
-Mrs. Millweed consent to their joining the school?”</p>
-
-<p>“She did not: she objected with all her might. But I saw that the boys
-were inclined to go to the school. We had a regular row, but I stuck to
-<!--224.png-->
-my text; and finally I told the boys I could not support them another
-day in idleness.</p>
-
-<p>“My wife cried; but I told her it was no use, for we should all be
-turned out of the house, and all that I had would be sold to pay my
-debts. I told the boys to hurry down here before the boat started; and
-they minded me, in spite of the screams of my wife. It made me feel
-bad, but I couldn’t help it.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am sorry you had any trouble, but I think you have done right,”
-added Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“When the boys had gone, I had a talk with the girls. I told them the
-plain truth, and insisted that they should go to work. Both of them
-said they were willing; but their mother declared they should not go
-into a store or factory, or any thing of that sort, to work. They had
-been finely educated, and were fit to adorn the drawing-room of a rich
-man.”</p>
-
-<p>“Very likely they are; but the next thing is to find the
-drawing-room,” suggested the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“That is the very thing I said to Matilda&mdash;that’s my wife. I told the
-girls I would try to find places, and they both said they would take
-<!--225.png-->
-any places I could get for them. Matilda said they should not. I told
-them I had not money enough to buy a meal of victuals, and the
-storekeepers and the butchers won’t trust me. I found a place in a
-store for Elinora myself; and she went to it, after dinner, to-day.”</p>
-
-<p>“Excellent! You are doing bravely!” exclaimed the captain. “I will see
-what can be done for the other girl as soon as I go ashore. By the
-way, I was thinking of getting a young man to keep the records of the
-school, and do some of my writing for me. A woman will do just as
-well. I will give your other daughter five dollars a week, and raise
-her wages as fast as she learns to do the work.”</p>
-
-<p>“God bless you, Captain Gildrock!” ejaculated the discouraged father.
-“If the children can support themselves, I can take care of my wife
-after we have lost the farm and every thing else. I can get work at
-day wages.”</p>
-
-<p>“I hope you won’t lose your farm,” added the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“There is no help for it. The mortgage note will be due in a short
-time; and I can’t pay the interest, let alone any part of the
-principal.”</p>
-<!--226.png-->
-
-<p>Farmer Millweed groaned in spirit, when he thought of the final blow
-that was about to fall upon him. He had been an honest, temperate,
-hard-working man all his life, though he was a person of but little
-force of character. His wife’s aspirations after gentility had
-actually ruined him. As things were going on the day before, the
-family were only a few steps from the poorhouse.</p>
-
-<p>“I think you are an honest man, and I am very sorry to see you brought
-to the verge of ruin in this way,” said Captain Gildrock after a few
-minutes’ reflection. “I will let you have the money to pay your
-interest when it is due, and I will take the mortgage on your place
-myself.”</p>
-
-<p>“I did not expect any thing of this sort from you, captain; and I am
-<span style="white-space:nowrap;">sure”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Never mind that, Mr. Millweed. If any of your creditors trouble you,
-come to me. You have got rid of the principal trouble; and there is no
-reason why you should not do well,&mdash;pay all your debts, and clear off
-the mortgage on your farm.”</p>
-
-<p>The farmer was profuse in his expressions of gratitude; but the
-captain cut them short by
-<!--227.png-->
-inquiring still further into his affairs,
-and giving him much good advice. Mr. Millweed went home with hope in
-his soul. There was a new head to the Millweed family.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--228.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch21"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-one">XXI.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>CAPTAIN GILDROCK ARGUES AGAINST HIGH-SCHOOLS.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The next day was Sunday; and Captain Gildrock insisted that all the
-students should attend church, and refrain from all work and play.
-Those who lived in Genverres were allowed to spend the day at home. No
-excursions on the river or the lake were permitted, and no scholar was
-allowed even to get into any of the boats.</p>
-
-<p>On Monday morning the actual work of the school was begun. The
-study-hours were from nine till twelve in the forenoon. The two
-gentlemen who were to teach in the scholastic department had arrived,
-and promptly at the hour the school was called to order.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, we are ready for work,” said the captain on the
-platform. “I am told that you can all read, write, and cipher. You
-have some knowledge of geography and history. I dare say, some of you
-have studied Greek, Latin,
-<!--229.png-->
-French, and German, which are all very well
-in their place; but we shall have nothing to do with them here. We are
-to make good mechanics of you, and not good scholars.”</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t good scholars be good mechanics?” asked Bolingbroke Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly they can: I don’t object to any amount of scholarship,”
-replied Captain Gildrock rather warmly. “You have been to the
-high-school, Bolingbroke; but all that you have learned will not
-prevent you from becoming a first-class mechanic. On the contrary,
-your education will be a great help to you.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is just what I thought,” added the graduate of the high-school.</p>
-
-<p>“For two or three years an exciting question has been under discussion
-here in Genverres,” continued the principal, turning to the two
-instructors. “I have taken the practical side of the subject, and I
-don’t believe in sending all the boys and girls to the high-school.
-When our fathers here in New England planted the schoolhouse by the
-side of the church, I don’t believe they meant a high-school.”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course not: such an institution was unknown
-<!--230.png-->
-in their day,&mdash;at
-least, as we understand it,” replied Mr. Bentnick. “They simply meant
-an ordinary common-school education, as we call it now.”</p>
-
-<p>“That must be all they meant; but there has been progress in
-education, as in every thing else, since their time,” added Mr.
-Darlingby.</p>
-
-<p>“I rejoice in the progress as much as any one can,” retorted the
-captain vigorously. “But I believe there is intemperance in the matter
-of education as well as in eating and drinking. The first business of
-life, in an enlightened or a savage state, is bread and butter. In
-other words, a man must get his living before he does any thing beyond
-that; and the greater part of our population can do nothing more than
-get a living. Do you believe that, boys?”</p>
-
-<p>The boys did believe it, though none of them had ever given much
-attention to social and political economy. It was plain enough that
-the first duty of existence for every person was to support himself.</p>
-
-<p>“But some are born rich,” suggested Corny Minkfield.</p>
-
-<p>“Then their means of support are provided,
-<!--231.png-->
-but this is not the case
-with one in a hundred. The great body of our people have to earn their
-own living. The only real objections I have to the high-school are,
-first, that it unfits boys and girls for the humble labors of life;
-and, second, that it uses up so many of the years of the young in
-learning what does not directly help them in earning their own
-livelihood,” continued the captain.</p>
-
-<p>“But what they learn in the high-school is a direct help to them in
-all the business of life,” suggested Mr. Darlingby.</p>
-
-<p>“Boys and girls spend their time from fourteen or sixteen years of
-age, till they are eighteen or twenty, in learning Latin, French,
-German, literature, the higher mathematics, and such branches, when
-they might learn a trade, or obtain a knowledge of business. When they
-graduate, they don’t want to learn a trade, work on a farm, or do
-manual labor of any kind. They look down upon such occupations. They
-want to be clerks, if they are boys, or marry wealthy men, if they are
-girls. They must do something, if any thing at all, that is genteel.”</p>
-
-<p>“There is a great deal of truth in that statement,” added Mr.
-Bentnick. “Boys don’t stay in
-<!--232.png-->
-the country, and work on the farm, now
-as they did fifty years ago.”</p>
-
-<p>“I had a curiosity, when I was in New York last spring, to inquire
-into the salaries paid to clerks and salesmen in dry-goods stores,”
-continued the captain. “So far as I could obtain the information, the
-average was not above ten dollars a week. Of course, some got two or
-three thousand dollars a year, or even double these sums; but I found
-that a great many young men worked for five or six dollars a week, and
-some for even less. Good mechanics earned from ten to thirty dollars a
-week.</p>
-
-<p>“Why, a common laborer got from six to twelve dollars a week. While
-mechanics and laborers were in demand, there were multitudes of
-counter-jumpers, and other persons who wanted what they called genteel
-occupations, who could get nothing to do. In a word, our institutions
-of learning have fitted too many for the so-called higher grades of
-employment.”</p>
-
-<p>“But sometimes the mechanics and laborers are out of work?” said
-Bolingbroke.</p>
-
-<p>“They are, for it sometimes happens that overproduction shuts up the
-shops and manufactories.
-<!--233.png-->
-But these men have been taught to work with
-their hands, and their bodies have been fitted for such service. When
-they can’t get work at their trades, they do something else. Thousands
-upon thousands of them go to the great West, and become farmers. They
-can always get a living out of the earth, if they can’t any other way.
-But I did not intend to argue this question; though I desire every
-young man to think for himself, and form his own opinions. You can
-think as you please; and if you believe that high-schools, as managed
-at the present time, promote the best interests of the whole people,
-you are entirely welcome to your opinion.”</p>
-
-<p>“My father don’t believe in high-schools, and would not send me to
-one,” said Phil Gawner.</p>
-
-<p>“Never mind what your father believes: make up your mind yourself, and
-have your own opinions, my lad. Now, boys, the studies you are to
-pursue here are those which will fit you to become good mechanics. But
-I hope you will read and study as long as you live. What I intend to
-do is to fit you out with a business that will enable you to earn your
-own living.”</p>
-
-<p>Miss Fatima Millweed was present with the
-<!--234.png-->
-record-books with which she
-had been provided; and the name, age, and residence of each pupil were
-taken. The average age of the scholars was found to be fourteen and a
-half. A few were only twelve, but several were eighteen and nineteen.
-All of them were graduates of grammar-schools, and some had attended
-high-schools and academies. Of course, the schools they had attended
-did not fairly gauge their attainments; for some of the oldest, who
-had been to the higher schools of learning, were weak in knowledge and
-mental power when compared with the ones who had only been to the
-lower grades of schools.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, a few words more, and I shall leave you to your
-instructors. The studies you will pursue are all practical ones,” said
-the captain, taking the platform again. “The principal branches will
-be drawing, natural philosophy, chemistry, geometry, and book-keeping.
-Geography, history, arithmetic, and grammar will be taught
-incidentally. Before you graduate, there will be a course in botany,
-geology, and zoölogy. At one o’clock you will all assemble in the
-shop, and make a beginning in the mechanical part of your education.”</p>
-<!--235.png-->
-
-<p>The captain left the platform, and left the schoolroom. Mr. Bentnick
-was the chief instructor, Mr. Darlingby being his assistant. He
-proceeded to organize the classes in the studies the principal had
-mentioned. He made such rules as he considered necessary, but they
-were not very stringent.</p>
-
-<p>The boys were divided into two classes, according to their
-attainments. Ten were found who had made considerable progress in the
-four principal studies, and these were the first class. Mr. Bentnick
-proceeded to give them a lecture in chemistry. It was conversational,
-and the instructor soon found where to make a beginning in the
-science.</p>
-
-<p>At the same time Mr. Darlingby began with the rudiments in the second
-class. The pupils were provided with text-books, and lessons assigned
-for the next day. A start was made in geometry in the same manner, and
-by that time it was noon. At quarter past twelve the dinner-bell rang;
-and all hands, including the family, the instructors, the pupils, and
-Miss Millweed, seated themselves at the long table. It was a sociable
-meal; and no one seemed to be under any restraint, though the boys
-behaved very well.</p>
-<!--236.png-->
-
-<p>Mr. Darlingby had something more to say in favor of high-schools, in
-which he had been a teacher for several years. He wanted to know if
-Captain Gildrock believed that the higher branches should be taught at
-the public expense.</p>
-
-<p>“I think the expense is the least important part of the subject,”
-replied the principal; “but I will answer the question. I do not
-believe that high-schools should be supported, as a rule, out of the
-public taxes.”</p>
-
-<p>“You are very radical in your opinions, Captain Gildrock,” added the
-instructor.</p>
-
-<p>“Let us look at it a moment. There are two thousand scholars of all
-ages in the public schools of Genverres. Not more than one in five of
-them will ever reach the highest class in the grammar-school. The
-other four will leave school, and go to work: their parents need them,
-or what they can earn. But the parents of all those who fall out of
-the schools by the way are tax-payers. Some are only poll-taxes, but a
-few of them pay on their little lots of land and houses. It costs
-about five times as much to educate a pupil in the high-school as in
-the elementary schools. The parents of four-fifths of the scholars
-can’t afford
-<!--237.png-->
-even to send their children through the grammar-school
-course, to say nothing of the high-school; but they have to pay their
-share of the expenses of the high-school, which I contend is not
-just.”</p>
-
-<p>“But the safety of our institutions depends upon the education of the
-people,” replied Mr. Darlingby.</p>
-
-<p>“Does it depend upon a college education? Why not insist that every
-person should be a graduate of a college, and that no person could be
-moral and upright without having a college degree?” added the
-principal.</p>
-
-<p>“There is reason in all things.”</p>
-
-<p>“You draw the line after the high-school, and I before: that is the
-only difference. It would be as just to support the colleges at the
-public expense as the high-schools. The education that preserves the
-State is not French and German, Latin and Greek, chemistry and
-physics; but it is the education that distinguishes the immigrant who
-cannot read and write from the farmers and mechanics of this country.
-It does not include a high-school training.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, if a poor man’s son or daughter, with a taste for learning,
-wants an education, he shall
-<!--238.png-->
-not have it because his father cannot
-pay for it,” added Mr. Darlingby warmly and indignantly.</p>
-
-<p>“You have struck the weak point of my argument, sir,” replied the
-principal. “I would have scholarships provided by the State for such
-pupils.”</p>
-
-<p>Dinner was over, and the company left the table.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--239.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch22"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-two">XXII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS IN THE SHOP.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The boys had listened with interest to the discussion at the
-dinner-table; and, when they gathered in front of the shop, they were
-talking about the subject themselves. But they were hardly ready to
-settle their opinions in the matter. The principal’s views sounded
-very much like heresy to some of them, who had been taught that it was
-the most praiseworthy thing in the world to attend the high-school.
-They were in doubt; and, in this respect, they were like thousands of
-full-grown women and men.</p>
-
-<p>When Mr. Jepson unlocked the doors of the shop, there was a general
-rush for the inside of it. High-school education was forgotten, and
-everybody’s curiosity was excited to know what the mechanical school
-was to be.</p>
-
-<p>The master-carpenter and the engineer, assisted by Bates and other men
-who worked on the estate, had placed all the boxes of carpenter’s
-<!--240.png-->
-tools in the shop; but not one of them had yet been opened. The
-benches were all that looked like furniture. Of these there were half
-a dozen for wood-work, and a dozen for iron. Overhead were the shafts,
-drums, and pulleys by which various machines were to be operated.</p>
-
-<p>“Here we are again, my lads,” said Captain Gildrock, standing upon one
-of the boxes. “The first thing to be done is to put the shop in order.
-Your instructors are here; and you must heed what they say, and obey
-their orders. Like the session of the forenoon, the afternoon will
-last three hours. At four o’clock you will be dismissed for the rest
-of the day. The time will be your own then, but you must learn the
-lessons which have been assigned. Now, Mr. Brookbine and Mr. Jepson, I
-turn the pupils over to you. They have already been divided into
-classes. Mr. Jepson will take the first, and Mr. Brookbine the
-second.”</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock stepped down from the box, and seated himself on one
-of the benches to witness the proceedings. He was quite as much
-interested as any of the pupils.</p>
-
-<p>“I am to teach you the use of carpenter’s tools,”
-<!--241.png-->
-said Mr. Brookbine.
-“It will be an easy and pleasant job if you give attention and try to
-do the best you can. The tools we have here are of the latest fashion,
-and some of them are quite different from those with which I learned
-my trade.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me say, that every one of them must be handled with the utmost
-care, and be kept in good order. You will be shown how to grind upon
-the grindstone, and sharpen on the oil-stone, the chisels and
-plane-irons. None but a bad workman ever uses dull tools. It is easier
-to avoid running your tools against a nail than it is to grind out the
-gaps the nail will make.”</p>
-
-<p>“But where are the tools? I don’t see any,” asked Tom Ridley.</p>
-
-<p>“They are in these boxes, and we will now open them. I will put two of
-you to each box, for there are just six of these large boxes. Dory and
-Thad Glovering may begin with the first one: the others will look on,
-and see how it is done. You may learn how to do it, or how not to do
-it.”</p>
-
-<p>The carpenter handed Dory and Thad a wooden mallet, a chisel, and a
-hatchet. Thad was full of enthusiasm. He thought he knew just
-<!--242.png-->
-how to
-do it. He had the hatchet and chisel in his hands. Inserting the
-latter under the lid of the box at one end, he struck the handle of
-the chisel with the hatchet.</p>
-
-<p>“Stop there, if you please,” interposed Mr. Brookbine.</p>
-
-<p>Thad looked at the carpenter with astonishment, for he had no
-suspicion that there was any thing wrong in what he had done.</p>
-
-<p>“What I say to Thad I say to the whole class,” continued the
-carpenter. “He has done just what most of you would if you had been in
-his place. What is that mallet for, Thad?”</p>
-
-<p>“To hit with, just as your fist is,” replied the amateur workman,
-laughing.</p>
-
-<p>“To strike with, and that is just what your fist is not for. You are
-never to strike a wooden tool, or the wooden handle of a tool, with a
-hammer or a hatchet. Can you all remember that, my lads?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir!” shouted all the boys.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t do it, then. A mallet is used in striking a chisel.”</p>
-
-<p>Thad took the mallet, and hit the chisel a tremendous crack with it.
-The tool happened to be in a rather loose place in the opening, and it
-went
-<!--243.png-->
-in to the handle. Thad tried to draw it out. He pulled and tugged
-and wrenched at the chisel, but it was in firm enough to resist all
-his efforts. He was so much in earnest, that his attempts amused the
-rest of the boys; and they were soon laughing with all their might.
-The machinists at the other end of the shop were interested, and some
-of them went over to see what the excitement was. But they were called
-back by Mr. Jepson before they could see inside of the ring that
-surrounded Thad.</p>
-
-<p>“Pull away, my lad,” laughed the master-carpenter. “But when you get
-tired of the work, let me know, if you please.”</p>
-
-<p>“I can’t get it out,” replied Thad, when he discovered that he was the
-laughing-stock of the class.</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps you can, if you keep on wrenching for a day or two longer.”</p>
-
-<p>“I have done my best, and it won’t come out.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think it will under any such treatment,” added Mr. Brookbine.
-“You laugh, boys, because it is funny; but I doubt if the majority of
-you would have done any better. Here is a lesson to learn. Skill is
-better than strength, but skill and strength win the battle.”</p>
-<!--244.png-->
-
-<p>“Good!” shouted Steve Baxter. “I will remember that as long as I live:
-skill and strength win the battle.”</p>
-
-<p>“I hope you will all remember it, for it is just the motto for a
-carpenter. The ‘improvement,’ as the minister would say, upon the
-text, is this: When things don’t work right, and won’t do as you want
-and expect them to do, don’t yank, twist, jerk, and wrench at them.
-Something is the matter, and you must see what it is. That chisel
-would not come out. Why not?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is in too tight,” replied Dick Short.</p>
-
-<p>“Right, Dick: what is to be done?”</p>
-
-<p>“Loosen it, if you can.”</p>
-
-<p>“Dory, you may try your hand at it, taking the chisel as you find it.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory had been studying the situation, and had made up his mind what to
-do. Taking the hatchet, he inserted the edge of it in the crack, near
-the chisel, and drove it in with the mallet. The chisel dropped out of
-itself. But the hatchet stuck as hard as the chisel had.</p>
-
-<p>“Good, so far, Dory; but your chisel is in chancery,” said the
-carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“What is sauce for goose is sauce for gander,”
-<!--245.png-->
-replied Dory as he picked
-up the chisel, and inserted it in the opening made by the hatchet.
-Twisting the hatchet a little, he started the nails with which the
-cover of the box was secured.</p>
-
-<p>In the manner described, Dory alternately used the tools till he had
-gone half-way round the box, when he and Thad took hold of the board
-with their hands, and pulled it off.</p>
-
-<p>“That was very well done,” said the carpenter. “But the board could
-have been taken off without pulling it off with the hands.”</p>
-
-<p>“I know it, Mr. Brookbine; but that was the quicker way to do it,”
-replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“So it was. It is quicker to pick up a rock, if you can, than to hoist
-it with a machine,” added Mr. Brookbine. “Now, Corny Minkfield, you
-and Nat Long may open the next one.”</p>
-
-<p>These operators had closely observed the method of Dory, and they
-opened the box without any difficulty. The others were disposed of in
-the same manner. The boys turned to the instructor for the next step
-in the interesting proceedings.</p>
-
-<p>“These boxes contain six sets of carpenter’s tools,” said Mr.
-Brookbine. “I shall describe them to you as they are taken from the
-cases.
-<!--246.png-->
-The tools are all packed in the same order. Dory will pass me
-the first package, and those who have opened the boxes will take the
-same bundle from each of them.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory took a thin package from the top of the box. Removing the paper
-from it, he handed the tool to the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“I needn’t tell you what this is, for you all know,” continued Mr.
-Brookbine.</p>
-
-<p>“It looks very much like a saw,” said Thad. “I know what it is, and
-what it is for.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am glad you do, Thad, though I have my doubts. Will you look at it,
-and tell me what kind of a saw it is?”</p>
-
-<p>Thad took the implement; and, putting on a very wise expression, he
-examined it carefully.</p>
-
-<p>“I should say that this was a hand-saw,” said he at last.</p>
-
-<p>“Quite right: it is a hand-saw. Why is that name given to it&mdash;to
-distinguish it from what?”</p>
-
-<p>“From the saw in a saw-mill, or a circular-saw, which is not a
-hand-saw,” answered Thad.</p>
-
-<p>“You have answered as well as could be expected. There is no
-particular meaning to the name, and the term is seldom used. There are
-<!--247.png-->
-not a few words that lose their original meaning. I suppose if I
-should ask you to go for a wood-saw, you would know what I meant.”</p>
-
-<p>“I should say you meant the one used to saw fire-wood,” replied Thad.</p>
-
-<p>“Precisely so; but all the saws in these boxes are wood-saws. Mr.
-Jepson has saws for sawing brass and iron; but the term ‘wood-saw,’ or
-‘buck-saw,’ was not given to distinguish it from them. If I asked you
-to saw off the end of the board you have taken off the box, do you
-think you could do it with this saw, Thad?”</p>
-
-<p>“I think I could: in fact, I have no doubt of it,” replied Thad
-confidently.</p>
-
-<p>“Suppose you try it; but don’t saw through any of the nails.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory assisted him to place the board in a proper position on the box.
-The amateur commenced operations, but the saw did not work as well as
-he expected. In spite of all his efforts, it would jump out of its
-place; and it would not cut at all well.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think this saw has ever been filed,” said Thad, disgusted
-with the ill success of his efforts.</p>
-<!--248.png-->
-
-<p>“The saw is sharp, well set, and in good order,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine. “Can any one of you tell me what kind of a saw this is?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is a slitting-saw,” answered Dory and two or three others, who had
-been examining the saws taken from the other boxes.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s what’s the matter,” laughed the carpenter. “It was not made to
-cut across the grain, and it will not do it very well. With this saw
-you work <em>with</em> the grain of the wood, and it is never used for
-any other purpose. You will all have a chance to try it in a day or
-two.&mdash;The next package, Dory.&mdash;Another saw,” added the instructor, as
-he took the tool in his hand. “Can any of you tell me what kind of a
-saw this is?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is a cutting-off saw,” said Nat Long.</p>
-
-<p>“Right. It is also called a panel-saw, when it has fine teeth. If you
-compare the filing and setting of the two saws, you will see that the
-teeth of the last are of a different angle from the other, and that it
-has more set than the slitting-saw; that is, the teeth are thrown out
-more.&mdash;What next, Dory?”</p>
-
-<p>Just then there was a roar of laughter from the machine-shop.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--249.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch23"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-three">XXIII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>SOMETHING ABOUT TOOLS AND WORK.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">If there was any thing funny, the boys all wanted to know what it was;
-and some of them were inclined to run over to ascertain why the young
-machinists were laughing. Mr. Brookbine suspended his instructions,
-and seated himself on one of the benches.</p>
-
-<p>“Shall we appoint a committee to ascertain what is going on at the
-other end of the shop, or shall we all go over and see for ourselves?”
-said the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“We must have a partition between the two shops,” added Captain
-Gildrock. “Just now half the machinists started to come over here.”</p>
-
-<p>“The partition would be a nuisance; and, after a while, the boys will
-probably get tired of laughing at each other’s blunders,” added the
-carpenter: and by this time the class were all giving attention. “What
-next, Dory?”</p>
-
-<p>Dory unfolded another package, which was
-<!--250.png-->
-found to contain another saw.
-Mr. Brookbine took it, and held it up before the pupils.</p>
-
-<p>“You all know that this is a saw, but what is the name of it?” he
-asked.</p>
-
-<p>“I have always heard it called a fine saw,” answered Jim Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“It is often called so, but I have shown you that names don’t always
-describe the object to which they are applied. Some saws made like the
-cutting-off saw have finer teeth than this one,&mdash;the panel-saw, for
-instance. There is another and better name, which applies to all saws
-of this kind; and, if you please, we will call it the back-saw. You
-see that it has a steel back to prevent it from bending, as all
-without it will do.&mdash;The next article.”</p>
-
-<p>This proved to be another back-saw, but not more than half as long or
-wide as the first one. It was for finer work, and could very properly
-be called a fine saw. The carpenter required the next four packages to
-be opened before he said any thing about their contents.</p>
-
-<p>“These are planes,” said he, when he had placed them on a bench where
-all the class could see them. “These four are the ones in common use,
-<!--251.png-->
-but you cannot fully understand them until you have
-used them a while. We will examine the one that is used first, and
-here it is;” and Mr. Brookbine took up one of the tools. “What should
-you call this?”</p>
-
-<p>“A fore-plane,” replied Dick Short.</p>
-
-<p>“That is as good a name for it as any other, but this is a jack-plane.
-It is used to take off the rough side or edge of the board. It is
-fifteen inches long. What the manufacturers call a fore-plane is
-eighteen or twenty inches long. In this country very few carpenters
-use both: and, whichever one it may be, some call it a jack-plane, and
-some a fore-plane; the latter being the most common name in this part
-of the country.</p>
-
-<p>“When I learned my trade, boards were brought into the shop just as
-they came from the saw-mill. Now they are generally planed by
-machinery, so that the hardest part of your work will be done before
-you get the board. Here is a short plane, only eight and a half inches
-long. What do you call it?”</p>
-
-<p>“A smoothing-plane. It is used to polish off the board after you have
-taken off the rough,” replied Corny Minkfield.</p>
-<!--252.png-->
-
-<p>“Hardly to polish it, though I understand what you mean. We don’t
-polish wood with a plane: we simply smooth it.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is what I meant,” added Corny.</p>
-
-<p>“If polishing various kinds of wood were not a part of the
-cabinet-maker’s business, I should have said nothing; but we must
-learn to use words that correctly convey our meaning, when we can just
-as well as not. The smoothing-plane is used after the rough has been
-taken off the board. This is the next plane in the series,” continued
-Mr. Brookbine, taking up the longest of the three.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s a short jointer,” said Jim Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“You are rather old-fashioned as well as myself. We call it, in modern
-times, simply a jointer. When I was a boy, we had a long and a short
-jointer; but the former is seldom seen in a shop at the present time.
-This jointer is twenty-two inches long, and they are made up to thirty
-inches. The long jointer was three feet and a half and even four feet
-long. Have you any idea what the use of this plane is?”</p>
-
-<p>“It is used in making joints,” answered Thad at a venture.</p>
-<!--253.png-->
-
-<p>“Not very definite. Carpenters are sometimes called joiners, and the
-reason is plain enough. If you were going to lay a floor, it would be
-necessary to joint the edges of the boards; and this plane would be
-used for that purpose. In a word, the jointer is needed to get a
-straight edge on pieces of wood more than a foot or two in length. If
-two boards are exactly straight on the edges, they will make a good
-job.</p>
-
-<p>“Here is the last plane we shall consider now. It is the shortest of
-the four, and it is made of steel or iron. It is called a block-plane,
-and can be used only in planing across the grain of the wood. When you
-have sawed off a piece of work, this plane would be used to smooth off
-the end of the wood. It is quite different from the others. The first
-three have double irons, while this one has only a single iron.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brookbine took up the block-plane, and removed the iron from it.
-“This is called the iron, though it is always made of the best of
-steel,” he continued. “The slant made by grinding off the end of the
-iron, so it will be sharp, is called the bevel. In the first three
-planes, the bevel is on the under side when the implement is
-<!--254.png-->
-used. In
-the block-plane, the bevel is on the upper side.”</p>
-
-<p>“But what are the double irons for in the other planes?” asked Thad.
-“I have seen them, but I never knew what the extra one was for.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is a sensible question, Thad. If the grain of the wood were
-always straight,&mdash;that is, parallel with the length of the board,&mdash;a
-single iron would answer very well. But wood, like some men and women,
-is sometimes cross-grained; The tendency of the iron in the plane is
-to follow the grain as far as the face of the plane will permit. The
-edge of the upper iron is curved a little, so that it prevents the
-cutter from going in too deep; and it turns the shaving up in such a
-manner that it don’t choke up the opening. The upper iron also
-stiffens the lower one, which is now made very thin compared with the
-custom made years ago.</p>
-
-<p>“I judge that some of you have used a plane, or tried to do so. If so,
-you have found great difficulty in getting your tool set right. These
-planes are of the latest pattern. In old planes the iron is set with a
-wooden wedge. You have to drive in the wedge with a hammer; and, when
-<!--255.png-->
-you take it out, you have to strike several smart blows on the top or
-the back end. To get the iron just right bothers the beginner more
-than any thing else.</p>
-
-<p>“In these planes there are no wedges. A little lever is moved, and the
-iron is fast; as you may see by trying it. Under the iron you notice a
-screw, which may be turned by the thumb without taking the hand from
-the plane. By turning this screw to the left, you force the iron down
-so that it cuts a thicker shaving. Turn it to the right, and you get a
-thinner shaving. You have no use for a hammer, unless it be to knock
-the iron to one side or the other; for the edge of the cutter must be
-exactly parallel to the surface of the plane. That will do for
-planes.&mdash;What next, Dory?”</p>
-
-<p>A patent bitstock, very beautifully made, with the metal parts
-nickel-plated, was handed to the carpenter. The boys knew what it was,
-though most of them had never seen one of that kind.</p>
-
-<p>“This is sometimes called a brace, though bitstock is the more common
-name in this country. It has some peculiarities,&mdash;the first, that the
-socket will hold a bit of any common shape, the
-<!--256.png-->
-holder adapting itself
-to the form as it is screwed up.</p>
-
-<p>“The second is a ratchet-arrangement, by which a hole may be bored
-close to a partition. With an ordinary bitstock, you cannot bore a
-hole within three inches of a wall, or any other fixed body. After
-adjusting the ratchet, you may turn the crank half around, or as far
-as you can; then you can carry the crank back without turning the bit,
-and repeat the movement as long as may be necessary.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory next handed up a large bundle of bits. “This is an augur-bit,”
-the carpenter continued, holding up one of this kind. “This is a
-pod-bit, and this a centre-bit. Here is a reamer, used to enlarge a
-hole in a piece of metal, as a hinge. This is a countersink, to fit
-the opening of a hole in wood or iron to the head of a screw.</p>
-
-<p>“This is an iron square, to be used mainly in heavy work, such as
-framing a house. These are try-squares, very handy for bench-work.
-This is a bevel, with which you get the slant of any thing, and
-reproduce it in your work. Here is a package of two-foot rules. I
-shall give one to each of you, for a mechanic should always have
-<!--257.png-->
-his
-rule about him. Carry it in your pocket. A level: in putting up a
-shelf, for example, you will ascertain when the board is horizontal by
-applying this implement.”</p>
-
-<p>Many other tools were taken from the box, but the master-carpenter’s
-method of describing such things has been sufficiently shown.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, the next thing is to dispose these tools where you can
-get at them,” Mr. Brookbine proceeded. “We have six benches, and more
-will be put up when they are needed. Each of them is provided with a
-bench-hook and a wooden vise, or bench-screw.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is a bench-hook?” asked Phil Gawner.</p>
-
-<p>“This iron with half a dozen teeth like a saw. Under it is a lever, so
-that it may be raised or lowered, according to the thickness of the
-board you are planing, which it holds in place. Behind each bench we
-shall put a shelf, on which the planes are to be kept.”</p>
-
-<p>“Can’t we keep them on the bench, as most carpenters do?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“You can, but I don’t think that is the best way. You see that each
-bench is provided with a dust-brush, to be used in removing the
-shavings;
-<!--258.png-->
-and a neat workman will keep his bench as free as possible
-of rubbish. If you want to brush off your bench, you must move your
-planes twice, or put them on the floor. On the shelf they are always
-out of the way when not in use. We will make this shelf at once. We
-will have it four feet long, and six inches wide. It will be large
-enough to accommodate some other tools.”</p>
-
-<p>“Are we to make them of these old box-covers?” asked Ned Bellows.</p>
-
-<p>“The shelves are to be permanent, and we will make them of new lumber.
-You need just twelve superficial feet of board, with a sufficient
-allowance for waste. The latter item is one of great importance to the
-carpenter; for a man may waste more lumber than would suffice to pay
-his wages, by being careless, or using bad judgment. We will go to the
-lumber-shed, and see what we can find.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brookbine led the way. Captain Gildrock had provided a large
-supply of boards, plank, joist, and small stuff, which had been “stuck
-up” in the building provided for the purpose.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, boys, see if you can find the right material for the shelves,”
-said the carpenter. “You
-<!--259.png-->
-have your rules, and you can measure as much
-as you please.”</p>
-
-<p>The pupils fell to pulling over and measuring the boards. All of them
-figured up what shape the board must be to furnish what would be
-needed.</p>
-
-<p>“I have it!” exclaimed Ben Ludlow. “Here is just the board to make the
-whole of them. It is just a foot wide.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, it won’t do,” replied the carpenter. “It is neither long enough
-nor wide enough.”</p>
-
-<p>But Thad found one that was twelve feet and a half long by thirteen
-inches at one end and fourteen at the other. Mr. Brookbine said it
-would do, and it was carried to the shop.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--260.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch24"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-four">XXIV.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>WORK FOR THE HEAD AND THE HANDS.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The boys were given to skylarking. Lick Milton and Phil Gawner were
-carrying the board. It rested on the right shoulder of one and the
-left shoulder of the other, with the arm above the elbow raised to
-keep it in place. Just before they reached the shop, Dick Short, who
-was half monkey in his movements, made a sudden spring, leaping upon
-the top of the board.</p>
-
-<p>Down went the board, and down went the two boys under it. Dick turned
-a somerset, and came down upon his feet. Phil Gawner was not at all
-pleased with the incident; and, picking himself up, he rushed upon the
-assailant, evidently determined to thrash him for his trouble. But
-Dick Short had no idea of getting into a fight, and ran away as fast
-as his legs would carry him.</p>
-
-<p>Phil chased him till they approached a tall maple whose lower limbs
-were at least ten feet above the ground. Dick seized hold of the tree,
-and went
-<!--261.png-->
-up it like a monkey. Phil attempted to grasp his feet, but
-the boy-ape kicked until he was out of reach of his pursuer.</p>
-
-<p>“Let me get hold of you!” exclaimed Phil, rubbing his elbows, which
-had suffered in his fall.</p>
-
-<p>“I’ll let you get hold of me if you can,” laughed Dick.</p>
-
-<p>“What are you about here? Don’t you know it is school-time?” demanded
-Mr. Brookbine, who was indignantly following the skylarker. “Come down
-out of that tree!”</p>
-
-<p>“Send Phil back to the shop, and I will,” replied Dick.</p>
-
-<p>“Will you come down, or shall I fetch you down?” added the carpenter
-very decidedly.</p>
-
-<p>“Fetch me down, if you please,” answered Dick with a chuckle.</p>
-
-<p>Possibly the runaway thought he should like to see the
-master-carpenter climb the tree. Captain Gildrock had come out of the
-shop, but he did not interfere with the instructor in mechanics. Very
-likely he desired to see how he would manage the case.</p>
-
-<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px">
- <img src="images/256fp.jpg"
- width="auto" height="100%"
- alt="Illustration: Dick Short under guard"
- />
- <p class="caption">DICK SHORT UNDER GUARD.&emsp;Page 257.</p>
-</div>
-
-<p>“Here, Tom!” said Mr. Brookbine after a whistle. He addressed the call
-to a tremendous
-<!--262.png-->
-<!--263.png-->
-<!--264.png-->
-<abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Bernard dog, which had come to Beech Hill with him.</p>
-
-<p>Tom promptly obeyed the summons. His master pointed up the tree, and
-soon got the eyes of the canine fixed on the culprit. Then he directed
-him to lie down at the foot of the maple. The dog appeared to
-understand his mission. The principal was glad to find the carpenter
-did not display any thing like anger.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, Phil, we will go back to the shop, and attend to those shelves,”
-said Mr. Brookbine.</p>
-
-<p>Phil wanted very much to get hold of Dick Short. He looked up at him,
-and then at the dog. He said nothing; for he realized that the
-instructor intended to punish his assailant in his own way, and he was
-rather curious to see what the result would be.</p>
-
-<p>Phil and the rest of the boys followed the carpenter. The board was
-taken into the shop, and not a word said about the incident which had
-just occurred.</p>
-
-<p>“We have no saw-horses, or trestles as some call them. But we can use
-a couple of these boxes, and in a few days we shall be able to make
-all the furniture we need in the shop,” said the
-<!--265.png-->
-carpenter as pleasantly
-as though no breach of discipline had occurred.</p>
-
-<p>The pupils expected him to say something on the subject of skylarking
-in general, and the late case in particular. He directed a couple of
-the boys to place the boxes where he wanted them, and then to put the
-board upon them.</p>
-
-<p>“There will be waste in that board: I think the one I picked out would
-have done better. It was just the right length,” said Ben Ludlow, who
-was rather displeased because his board had been rejected.</p>
-
-<p>“How wide was your board, Ben?” asked the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“Just one foot to a hair. It was exactly wide enough to make two
-shelves,” answered Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“You think you were right, Ben, and I am glad to see that you are
-ready to argue your side of the question. If I don’t prove that you
-were wrong, I hope you will stick to your opinion,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine, as he took one of the slitting-saws from the bench.</p>
-
-<p>He sawed about three inches into one of the lids of the boxes. Calling
-Ben close to him, he applied his rule, where the sixteenths were
-marked,
-<!--266.png-->
-and asked the doubtful student how wide the slit was.</p>
-
-<p>“Just a sixteenth, as near as I can make it out,” replied Ben.</p>
-
-<p>The boys began to laugh, for they saw the result of the argument.</p>
-
-<p>“There will be four edges to the two strips of six inches in width,
-when the board is sawed through its length, will there not, Ben?”</p>
-
-<p>“Yes, sir,” answered the other side of the question.</p>
-
-<p>“Will those edges be perfectly smooth?”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course they will not: they will be just as the saw left them.”</p>
-
-<p>“They are not likely to be sawed perfectly straight, even if the job
-were done by an experienced workman. How much shall we have to plane
-off in order to get the edges straight and smooth?”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know,&mdash;half an inch from each, perhaps. I give it up. I was
-wrong, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Not half an inch, with such clear, finish-lumber as this board: that
-would be shameful. Call it an eighth of an inch; and from the four
-sides you will take off half an inch, besides the sixteenth
-<!--267.png-->
-cut out by
-the saw. Your shelves would be less than five and three-quarters wide,
-which is not six inches. When we want any stock to be of a certain
-width, it won’t do to make it a quarter of an inch less than that. You
-might waste the whole board in that way.”</p>
-
-<p>“I give it up, and it was stupid on my part,” added Ben.</p>
-
-<p>“Such mistakes are to be expected from beginners. Now let us look at
-the board we have. In the length we have six inches to spare, which is
-abundant. Now let us see if the ends of the board are sound. Are there
-any checks or splits in it?”</p>
-
-<p>None of any consequence were found.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, boys, laying out the work is quite as important as doing it. If
-you make blunders in your calculations, the job will not come out as
-you expect. We must first cut the board into six lengths.”</p>
-
-<p>“We are to take out six-sixteenths of an inch for the saw-cuts,”
-suggested Steve Baxter.</p>
-
-<p>“Why six?”</p>
-
-<p>“Because the board is to be sawed into six lengths.”</p>
-<!--268.png-->
-
-<p>“How many cuts do you make in order to get six pieces?”</p>
-
-<p>“Six, sir.”</p>
-
-<p>“Do you think so? Look it over a little more.”</p>
-
-<p>The rest of the boys, or most of them, looked upon the problem as a
-puzzle; and they were interested in it, though none appeared to have
-made up their minds.</p>
-
-<p>“Of course you have to cut six times to get six pieces,” said Phil
-Gawner. “I think Steve Baxter is right.”</p>
-
-<p>“Let us look at it, and see. When I have made one cut with the saw,
-how many pieces do I get?” asked Mr. Brookbine.</p>
-
-<p>“One,” shouted half a dozen of the pupils.</p>
-
-<p>“The second cut?”</p>
-
-<p>“Two pieces.”</p>
-
-<p>“Right; and the third, three, and the fourth, four,” continued the
-instructor. “When I cut the fifth time, how many have I?”</p>
-
-<p>“Five!” shouted the boys triumphantly.</p>
-
-<p>“But what is there left?” asked the instructor, astonished at the
-answer.</p>
-
-<p>“The rest of the board,” answered Steve Baxter.</p>
-<!--269.png-->
-
-<p>“Isn’t the rest of the board the sixth piece?” demanded the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>The students looked rather blankly at each other; and Mr. Brookbine
-saw that they were not convinced, simple as the problem was.</p>
-
-<p>He took a stick, and cut it so that it was twenty-four inches long.
-Using his rule, he marked it off into pieces four inches in length.
-Sawing off the piece on the right of the first mark, he handed it to
-Steve. He asked the students to count as he cut off the lengths.</p>
-
-<p>“Five!” screamed the boys when he had made the fifth cut.</p>
-
-<p>“Here is the sixth piece. It is just four inches long. Now, where
-shall I put in the sixth cut?” asked Mr. Brookbine, as he handed the
-rest of the stick to Steve. “You have six pieces, though I have cut
-but five times.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s so; but I can’t see why it should be so,” replied Steve
-vacantly.</p>
-
-<p>“The first four cuts each gave me one piece, or four pieces in all.
-The fifth cut gave me two pieces, did it not? for the rest of the
-board is a piece as well as the others.”</p>
-
-<p>All of them could see it then; and the principal
-<!--270.png-->
-applied the result
-to other numbers, and the students were willing to admit that an equal
-division into ten parts was made with nine cuts.</p>
-
-<p>“It is surprising how little things bother us sometimes,” continued
-Mr. Brookbine. “But we shall never get our shelves made at this rate.
-As we have leeway enough in the length of this board, we will cut the
-pieces four feet and one inch in length. Nat Long, you may measure it
-off on one side, and, Ned Bellows, you may do the same on the other
-side.”</p>
-
-<p>Both of them made mistakes, which were detected by the others; but at
-last the board was marked off into equal lengths. The same boys were
-required to take the steel square, and rule off the lengths. They were
-not inclined to do it accurately, as the instructor insisted they
-should. The cutting-off saws were then given to a couple of the boys.</p>
-
-<p>“You must not saw on the mark, but at the right-hand side of it, and
-close to it. Hold on! you are a quarter of an inch off the mark, Tom
-Ridley. That won’t do! You must cut the board at just the thickness of
-the saw-blade from the
-<!--271.png-->
-mark, so that you can see it all the time. When
-the sawdust covers it, blow it off.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I can’t make the saw start where I want it to,” replied Tom.</p>
-
-<p>“Catch hold of the board with your hand, and let the end of your thumb
-rest against the saw-blade to keep it in place,” replied the
-carpenter, taking another saw, and showing the pupils how to do it.
-“That’s it! Now you have got a start. Put three fingers through the
-handle, and keep the forefinger out straight, and pressed against it.
-Let the saw run lightly; don’t bear on, but rather lift up at the
-start. When you bear on at all, do it on the downward stroke.”</p>
-
-<p>“I am running away from the mark,” said Corny Minkfield, at the other
-end of the board.</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t do it: saw close to the mark all the way. Don’t grasp the
-handle of the saw so tightly. Hold it rather loosely, and take as long
-strokes as you can,” interposed Mr. Brookbine, as he applied a small
-try-square to the angle made by the saw-blade and the board. “Your cut
-through the board is not plumb.”</p>
-
-<p>The five cuts were finally made, and they had six pieces about four
-feet and an inch long. An
-<!--272.png-->
-opportunity had been given to all the class
-to try the saw, and some of them did very well.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, we want a little calculation again in regard to the width of the
-board. The time spent in making sure that you are right before you cut
-is never wasted. This piece of lumber is thirteen inches wide at the
-narrow end. We will cut each of these boards into two pieces
-lengthwise. But we will first reduce each to a uniform width of
-thirteen inches.”</p>
-
-<p>In the course of half an hour all this was done, and the six shelves
-were ready to go upon the bench.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--273.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch25"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-five">XXV.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE SECOND CLASS AT THE CARPENTER’S BENCH.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">Mr. Brookbine directed one piece of the board to be taken to each of
-the benches. He then stationed two of the class at a bench, intimating
-they were to work together, and divide the labor. When not actually
-employed, either one of the couple was to observe the other; but he
-was not to criticise him, for this might lead to quarrels. Every one
-could improve by noticing the mistakes of others.</p>
-
-<p>“The first thing is to get one straight and square edge on each
-board,” said the carpenter. “You will put one end of the board in the
-vise, and place one of the pins in the front of the bench, so that it
-will support the other end.”</p>
-
-<p>One of each pair of workmen adjusted the vise, while the other put the
-pin in the right place. The edge of the board was to be parallel with
-the top of the bench, and several of the boys had to make changes in
-its position. The instructor
-<!--274.png-->
-found it necessary to number the benches,
-and then to designate the workmen at each as No. 1 and No. 2.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, No. 2 will take the fore-plane. Place the end of it on the
-bench, and hold it so that you can sight along the face. Put the
-fingers of your left hand on the screw under the iron. Now turn the
-screw till the edge of the cutter is just a very little below the
-face.”</p>
-
-<p>Of course, half the students turned the wrong way; and it required
-some time to adjust the iron. The carpenter explained again that the
-screw must be turned towards the left to send the cutter down. At last
-the boys were all ready.</p>
-
-<p>“Probably not many of you have got it just right. I want you to take
-off a very thin shaving at first. After one stroke with the plane, you
-will see how to alter it,” continued the instructor, as the boys made
-their first attempt. Some of the planes took off no shaving at all,
-and some dug deep into the wood.</p>
-
-<p>“What do you call a thin shaving, Mr. Brookbine?” asked Jim Alburgh.</p>
-
-<p>“One not thicker than a piece of ordinary writing-paper to begin with.
-By and by you can
-<!--275.png-->
-take a thick shaving, when you have learned how.
-We must feel our way, and not spoil the board,” replied the carpenter,
-as he walked along by the boys, and looked at each plane.</p>
-
-<p>After a second or third stroke of the tool, the shaving was right all
-along the line. The workmen were required to plane till they had a
-smooth surface. Some of them were nicer and more particular than
-others, and the latter were told to do theirs over again. This
-discipline soon made them all careful.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, lift the end of the board, and sight along the edge of it,” said
-Mr. Brookbine, doing as he described with the board nearest to him.
-“This piece slants, or bevels, on the edge; and very likely all the
-rest of them have the same fault.”</p>
-
-<p>“Mine does,” added Phil Gawner. “I could slide down hill on it.”</p>
-
-<p>“Is that what the squinting is for?” asked Tom Ridley. “I have often
-seen carpenters do it.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is what it is for. You are to educate your eye so that you can
-tell at a glance whether a piece of work is straight, or not. I dare
-say, you can’t tell now whether the edge of the board
-<!--276.png-->
-is true, or not,” added
-Mr. Brookbine, as he passed along the benches, and examined the work
-of each boy.</p>
-
-<p>“Not a single one is right,” continued he. “As is apt to be the case
-with beginners, you all lean your plane to the right, just as you do
-with the saw. Most of you have got it so far out of the way that you
-can’t help seeing it with your eye.”</p>
-
-<p>The students admitted that they could see it. The carpenter told them
-to try again, and be sure to keep the plane perfectly level on the
-edge of the board. He directed them to take hold of the tool with the
-left hand, so that the middle finger would touch the perpendicular
-part of the board. After they had taken a few strokes more, they were
-told to sight their work again. Several of them declared that it was
-right now. Two of them had to use the plane again.</p>
-
-<p>“Take the small try-square, each of you. Place the handle against the
-perpendicular of the board, and the blade across the edge.” The
-carpenter took one of the squares, and showed them how to do it. “If
-you have it nearly square, it will do for our present purpose. Now
-take the jointer. Be sure that the cutter strikes the board at
-<!--277.png-->
-the end
-where you begin. Put the left hand on the plane as before, and be sure
-that you keep the jointer perfectly level.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys made the first stroke with the long plane. The carpenter had
-set the irons so that they took off a very thin shaving.</p>
-
-<p>“Mine will cut only in the middle,” said Tom Ridley.</p>
-
-<p>“Mine will take hold only at the ends,” added Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“That’s all right,” replied the instructor. “Some of you have gouged
-out the middle of the board, and others have taken off the ends, with
-the fore-plane. The jointer is long enough to correct all these
-faults; only don’t lean the plane over either way.”</p>
-
-<p>After a few strokes the pupils were required to sight along their
-work. Under the constant admonitions of the carpenter, the edge was so
-nearly square that they could detect no fault. They were told to use
-the square. This trial proved that not one was exactly square. The
-plane was used again.</p>
-
-<p>When the boys had satisfied themselves, Mr. Brookbine inspected the
-work, and was able to
-<!--278.png-->
-find something out of the way with every piece.
-But at last the boards were all right. The students were required to
-measure the width of the pieces in the narrowest place. They varied
-considerably, but all had over a quarter of an inch to spare.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we will use a new tool, that I have not mentioned,” continued the
-carpenter, taking a bundle of gauges from one of the boxes, and
-putting one on each bench. “Take your rule, and set this gauge at just
-six inches.” He showed them how to do it, and then looked at each one
-to see that it was right.</p>
-
-<p>After telling the class to do as he did, he placed one end of the
-board against the bench-hook, and ran the gauge the entire length of
-it. Turning it over, but still keeping the straight edge on the right,
-he gauged the other side. Hardly one of the boys succeeded in carrying
-the gauge the whole length of the board. It slipped out of place
-because it was not held right. But at last all the pieces were gauged
-on both sides.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we are to plane the other edge of the board down to the
-gauge-mark. As you are to plane down about a quarter of an inch, you
-can
-<!--279.png-->
-take off a thicker shaving. You must keep watch of the mark, for
-you are not to go the breadth of a hair below it.”</p>
-
-<p>The pupils were exceedingly cautious, and after every shaving they
-looked at the mark. When they were pretty near it, the carpenter told
-them to take the jointer. All of them applied the try-square,
-correcting the faults as they discovered them; and they made very good
-progress. They were directed to plane out the gauge-mark, which they
-could see on the planed surface. Mr. Brookbine kept inspecting the
-work until it was satisfactory to him.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, we want to make these shelves four feet long,&mdash;just four feet,
-not a little more or a little less. Lay the board flat on the bench,
-and take the larger try-square, for the blade of the small one is only
-four inches and a half long. We will now square one of the ends of the
-shelf, but we don’t want to take off more than a quarter of an inch.
-In marking this, the lead-pencil won’t do, and you must use the point
-of your pocket-knife.”</p>
-
-<p>The carpenter saw that it was done properly. Then each pupil was
-required to take the larger of the two back-saws, and cut off the
-board on the
-<!--280.png-->
-mark. In using this saw, they were to touch very lightly,
-rather lifting it up than bearing on with it.</p>
-
-<p>After the utmost watchfulness on the part of the instructor, the cut
-was passably well done. Most of the workmen had used the small square
-in their efforts to keep the saw at right angles with the face of the
-board. Of course, there were some twists in the cut; and half of them
-had made the end slightly bevelling, in spite of all their efforts to
-avoid this fault.</p>
-
-<p>“It is very well for beginners. You can only do this thing off-hand
-after considerable practice, and I don’t think any six apprentices
-ever did any better than you have. Now put the end you have just cut
-off into the vise, so that you can smooth off the work with the
-block-plane. With this tool you can correct the error of the saw, and
-take out the bevel. Use the square constantly, both along the width
-and thickness of the shelf. The chances are, that you will take off
-too much if you are not very careful.”</p>
-
-<p>Most of the block-planes cut too rankly, and it was some time before
-they were properly adjusted. The boys were very careful, for each one
-felt that it would be a disaster to spoil the board. When
-<!--281.png-->
-the end was
-made smooth and square, Captain Gildrock passed along the benches, and
-he was generous of his praise. The students were encouraged.</p>
-
-<p>“Now measure off four feet from the square end, and use your
-pocket-knife to mark with. You must learn to do this accurately, and
-there must not be the variation of a shaving in the length of the
-shelves.”</p>
-
-<p>After the students had measured the boards, the carpenter went over
-all of them. Only two were inaccurate, and the instructor showed the
-delinquents where their fault was. The larger square was then called
-for.</p>
-
-<p>“Put the point of your knife on the mark you have made to indicate
-four feet, and bring the blade of the square against it. See that the
-handle is against the wood. Press down the square, so that it will not
-slip while you are ruling it off. Hold it tight all the time. Now mark
-it. When we want to be very correct, we use a knife to mark with,
-because the line thus made has no essential thickness.</p>
-
-<p>“Very well,” continued Mr. Brookbine, after he had inspected the
-marking. “We are to saw
-<!--282.png-->
-the end off outside of this line. We must keep
-the saw against the mark, but not cut it out. Remember that you have
-no leeway,&mdash;at least, only the thickness of the mark, which you will
-use up in smoothing off this end of the board.”</p>
-
-<p>The students sawed the end off with the utmost caution, using the
-square to keep the tool plumb. Mr. Brookbine pronounced it well done.
-With the experience they had obtained with the block-plane, they
-smoothed off the end without any difficulty; and the boards were ready
-for the next operation.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we must round off the outside corners of the shelf,” said the
-carpenter. “At this point you need a little geometry, and this is
-where the high-school comes in. This board is six inches wide. Rule
-off six inches from the length at each end. What sort of a figure will
-that make?”</p>
-
-<p>“This class never studied geometry,” interposed Captain Gildrock.</p>
-
-<p>“But they know this figure,” replied the carpenter.</p>
-
-<p>“It is a square,” said Thad Glovering.</p>
-
-<p>“Right. The diagonal of a square is a line connecting the opposite
-corners: rule in a diagonal.
-<!--283.png-->
-Now rule another from the other corners.
-I dare say Mr. Bentnick will not find my geometry as scientific as his
-own. Where the diagonals cross each other is the centre of the square.
-Take the compasses, and set the points three inches apart. The problem
-is to inscribe a circle inside of a square, though it is necessary to
-mark only a quarter of the square.”</p>
-
-<p>The quarter of a circle was inscribed, and formed the round corner of
-the shelf. It was repeated on the other end.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--284.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch26"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-six">XXVI.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE END OF THE FIRST SCHOOL-DAY AT BEECH HILL.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The next operation for the class was to round off the ends of the
-shelves. Mr. Brookbine asked the boys how they would do it. One said
-he would plane it off, another would saw it off, and a third would
-chop it off with the hatchet.</p>
-
-<p>“There are three ways, neither of which is practicable,” continued the
-carpenter. “You can’t plane off a circular face, and the saw or the
-hatchet would leave the work in a rough state. We will use all three
-of the methods named. First we will saw off the corner; then we will
-cut away a little more with the hatchet or shave; and finally we will
-plane it off smoothly, though we shall not use a plane, but another
-tool for the purpose. Mark off the part you will saw from the board,
-and saw it off.”</p>
-
-<p>This was done without any aid from the teacher.
-<!--285.png-->
-Then shingling-hatchets
-were used to take off the two corners left by the saw.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we will introduce you to the spokeshave, an exceedingly useful
-tool for many purposes. It does the same work as a plane, and in the
-same manner; but as it has no appreciable length, compared with a
-plane, we can follow curves with it. Put the corner of the board in
-the vise, and then with the spokeshave work down to the circular line.
-Don’t cut the mark off; never do that. It will take you some time to
-do this job.”</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Brookbine showed the workmen how to use the new tool; and they
-went to work with it in earnest, being greatly interested in their
-occupation. While they were thus engaged, the carpenter went to the
-door to ascertain the state of things at the tree where one of the
-class was taking a vacation. Tom lay at the foot of the tree, and Dick
-Short was seated on a limb twenty feet from the ground. If the
-prisoner moved, the dog looked up at him; and Dick could think of no
-strategy by which he could outwit the faithful sentinel. The
-instructor only looked, and then returned to the bench. Dick was
-likely to stay where he was until the <abbr title="Saint">St.</abbr> Bernard changed his quarters.</p>
-<!--286.png-->
-
-<p>“Use the try-square when you get near the mark,” said the carpenter,
-as he resumed his place. “Every part of the quarter circle must be
-true.”</p>
-
-<p>One after another the students carried the shelf to Mr. Brookbine, as
-they finished it. Some criticisms were made on the work, and some of
-it had to be corrected. In due time they were all completed and
-approved. The sides of the shelves were just as they came from the
-planing-machine; and the boys were directed to lay them on the bench,
-and use the smoothing-plane upon them. These planes were adjusted so
-they cut the thinnest possible shaving. The shelves were made as
-smooth as glass.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t see how we are to put the shelves up,” said Ben Ludlow when
-the boards were finished.</p>
-
-<p>“That is just the river we are to cross next,” replied Mr. Brookbine.
-“I believe we have no iron brackets, though I dare say the machinists
-at the other end of the shop could make them for us if we are willing
-to wait for them. For the want of them we will make a couple of ogee
-brackets of pine for each shelf.”</p>
-<!--287.png-->
-
-<p>“Ogee!” exclaimed Steve Baxter. “Is that Latin?”</p>
-
-<p>“It may be: I don’t know. My Greek and Latin were neglected. The ogee
-form is very common, and there is an ogee arch in architecture.&mdash;We
-need a blackboard in the shop as well as in the schoolroom,” said the
-carpenter, turning to Captain Gildrock. “But I can chalk it out on one
-of these box-tops.”</p>
-
-<p>He made a drawing of half a square, connecting the ends of the two
-sides by a diagonal. In other words, it was a right-angled triangle,
-resting on one of the points, with the side perpendicular to the top.</p>
-
-<p>“This is the shape of the board we shall get out. I divide the
-diagonal into two equal lengths. Each half will be the chord of the
-arc of a circle. The upper arc is outside of the chord, and the lower
-one inside of the chord;” and Mr. Brookbine drew the arcs with his
-chalk.</p>
-
-<p>“But you can’t get that figure out of that piece of board,” interposed
-Thad, who was thinking with all his might.</p>
-
-<p>“Very true, my lad; and I am glad to see that you have your eyes open.
-I want you to correct
-<!--288.png-->
-all my blunders. In order to get the ogee out of
-this piece of wood, I must draw a line parallel to the diagonal, far
-enough inside of it to permit me to get the arc out of the piece.”</p>
-
-<p>“Isn’t there any other way to do it?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“There is another way, and perhaps it is a better one,” replied Mr.
-Brookbine, as he drew another square on the board. “On the diagonal I
-draw the two arcs” (suiting the action to the words). “With a
-keyhole-saw, I follow this curved line, and cut the board in two
-pieces. Perhaps this will be the better way to do it, as it will give
-a little different practice.”</p>
-
-<p>“That is the way I was thinking of,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“I am glad you thought of it. You and Thad may go to the lumber-room,
-and get the board to make these brackets of. We want six pairs of
-them, and we are to get out six pieces six inches square.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys soon returned with a board about twenty inches long and a
-little over a foot wide. It was sawed into six pieces, planed and
-squared to the exact size required. While the boys were
-<!--289.png-->
-thus employed,
-the carpenter made a pattern of a single bracket out of a piece of
-quarter-inch board. As soon as one of the square boards was ready, he
-applied the pattern to it, and marked the ogee line with a
-sharp-pointed pencil.</p>
-
-<p>The instructor then distributed the keyhole-saws, and explained how to
-use them. The square boards were put into the vises, after they had
-been marked from the pattern. The saws were narrowest near the points.
-If the pupils found any difficulty in turning the saw, they were
-required to take short strokes, using the tip end, until they got over
-the difficulty. The narrower the saw, the more easily it could be
-turned from a straight line.</p>
-
-<p>“Turn the bottom piece up-side-down, and it will exactly correspond
-with the upper piece, if you have sawed all the way on the line,” said
-the carpenter, when some of the boys had finished the first piece.</p>
-
-<p>“Mine don’t,” added Lick Milton. “I kept close to the line all the
-way.”</p>
-
-<p>“Another blunder of mine!” exclaimed Mr. Brookbine, “for which I
-tender my apology. I told you to saw on the right of the mark. This
-<!--290.png-->
-is always to be done when practicable; but I neglected to say that it
-is not always convenient, or even possible, to do it in that way. In
-this instance the line ought to have been sawed out, and then the cut
-would have been precisely in the middle of the piece. Sometimes, too,
-when you cannot shift the work end to end, it becomes necessary to saw
-on the left of the line. In cutting the next one, saw out the line,
-and see how it comes out then.”</p>
-
-<p>The result verified the statement of the teacher, for the two pieces
-almost coincided. The workmen were directed to apply the spokeshave to
-the curves on the bracket, and they were soon ready.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we will proceed to put the shelves up,” continued Mr. Brookbine.</p>
-
-<p>“Not this afternoon,” interposed Captain Gildrock. “It is four o’clock
-now, and we must be as punctual in closing the sessions of the school
-as in beginning them. I must say, my lads, that I have been very much
-pleased with your attention and general good conduct on the first day
-of the Beech-Hill Industrial School.”</p>
-
-<p>“For one, I should like to go on with the work until supper-time,”
-said Ben Ludlow.</p>
-<!--291.png-->
-
-<p>“So would I!” shouted about all the rest of them.</p>
-
-<p>“I think not, boys,” replied the captain. “I am glad to find you so
-much interested in your work, but we must not overdo it. We shall keep
-to our regular hours. The rest of the day, and the morning until nine
-o’clock, belongs to you; but you must not forget the lessons assigned
-to you for to-morrow. You may use the boats for a couple of hours now,
-if you choose. There are enough of the small craft to accommodate the
-whole school.”</p>
-
-<p>The boys put on their coats, and left the shop. Some of them were
-curious to know what had become of Dick Short, and they walked to the
-maple-tree. But Mr. Brookbine ordered them off, saying that they were
-to have no communication with Dick. Tom still kept his position at the
-foot of the tree.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Brookbine,” called Dick, when he saw the instructor come out of
-the shop.</p>
-
-<p>“Well, my lad, what is it?” asked the carpenter. “Do you want to jump
-on another board, and kill a couple more boys?”</p>
-
-<p>“I haven’t killed any boys,” replied Dick.</p>
-<!--292.png-->
-
-<p>“If you haven’t, it isn’t your fault. You went to work in the right
-way to do it, or, at least, to hurt them badly. What do you want now?”</p>
-
-<p>“Don’t you think I have been up this tree about long enough, Mr.
-Brookbine?” continued Dick in the meekest of tones.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know: you know better than I do. If you haven’t been up there
-long enough to keep you from skylarking in school-hours, you had
-better stay there a week or two longer; and Tom will see that you
-don’t come down.”</p>
-
-<p>“I will be as sober as a judge in school-hours after this. I didn’t
-think what I was about when I jumped on that board, and I am sorry I
-did it,” pleaded Dick, who was heartily disgusted with being watched
-by the big dog.</p>
-
-<p>“Very well: I am satisfied; but I don’t know whether Phil Gawner is,
-or not,” added the instructor.</p>
-
-<p>“I will beg his pardon, or let him thrash me, just as he chooses,”
-suggested Dick.</p>
-
-<p>The instructor called Phil as he was going down to the lake. As soon
-as Phil came within hailing-distance of the tree, Dick made his
-apology, which was promptly accepted; and the culprit was
-<!--293.png-->
-permitted to
-descend the tree. His punishment was so odd that it puzzled him. He
-had often been whipped in school for his pranks; but to be imprisoned
-over two hours up in a tree, with a dog to keep guard over him, was
-more than he could stand.</p>
-
-<p>Most of the students were at the lake by this time. Dory had already
-invited Oscar Chester to take a sail in the Goldwing, and he had
-accepted. The four members of the Goldwing Club had been in the
-schooner so much that they preferred to take a four-oar boat that was
-moored on the lake.</p>
-
-<p>In fifteen minutes the Goldwing was out on Lake Champlain. The wind
-was fresh from the south-west, and the lake is not the best place in
-the world for a sailboat. Puffs of wind, and even pretty smart
-squalls, sometimes come from the hills that surround this beautiful
-sheet of water, so that the skipper has to be on the alert.</p>
-
-<p>“I should be very glad to have you steer her now, Oscar, if you wish,”
-said Dory to his passenger as soon as the boat was well out in the
-lake.</p>
-<!--294.png-->
-
-<p>“Thank you, Dory,” replied Oscar. “I think we shall be the best of
-friends, after all.”</p>
-
-<p>“It will not be my fault if we are not,” added Dory.</p>
-
-<p>Just then the Monkey, which Sim Green had brought up from Burlington
-on Saturday, came out off the river in charge of Bolingbroke Millweed.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--295.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch27"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-seven">XXVII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>OSCAR CHESTER TAKES A LESSON IN BOATING.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">“I don’t know why it is, but every fellow I ever knew took to boats,”
-said Oscar Chester, who had just gone to the helm of the Goldwing.
-“The fellows here are just like all the rest of them, and about every
-one of them is in the boats. There come three rowboats out of the
-river.”</p>
-
-<p>“In Burlington all the boys were anxious to get out on the lake. I was
-like all the rest of them; and, as my father was a pilot on a steamer,
-I had a better chance than most of them. There is the Goldwing Club,”
-added Dory, as the four-oar boat came out of the river.</p>
-
-<p>“What’s the Goldwing Club?” asked Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“We used to have a flat-bottom boat in Burlington, and we formed a
-club. The craft was smashed; and, after I bought the Goldwing, we used
-to sail in her. We learned to row, but the club are not doing very
-well with their oars,” added Dory, as one of the party “caught a crab.”</p>
-<!--296.png-->
-
-<p>“Who is managing that sailboat, Dory?” asked Oscar, as he pointed at
-the Monkey.</p>
-
-<p>“Bolly Millweed; but he don’t know how to do it, and he ought not to
-come out on the lake without a skipper.”</p>
-
-<p>“That’s just my case, but I am very anxious to learn how to do it.”</p>
-
-<p>“You will soon learn. One sails a boat as he drives a horse: it is
-done more by the feeling than by the sight. All you need is practice,
-for the science is very simple. But I think we had better come about,
-for I am afraid some of those fellows will get into trouble. Bolly has
-trimmed his sail in a very careless manner; and, if a puff of wind
-should come upon him, he don’t know what to do any more than a baby.
-His sheet is made fast too.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t know any better than he does what to do.”</p>
-
-<p>“Bolly has the wind on the beam, but he has his sail trimmed to go as
-close to the wind as his boat will lie. Now put the helm down, if you
-please, and we will come about.”</p>
-
-<p>“Which way is ‘down’?” asked Oscar blankly. “Do you mean down the
-lake?”</p>
-<!--297.png-->
-
-<p>“It happens to be so in this instance, but that is not what we mean by
-‘down.’ ‘Down’ is to leeward. ‘Up’ is the way from which the wind
-comes, and ‘down’ the way towards which it blows.”</p>
-
-<p>“Nothing was said about ‘up’ and ‘down’ on the steamer the other day.”</p>
-
-<p>“In a steamer it makes no difference which way the wind blows, and the
-terms don’t mean any thing in particular. But, in a sailboat, we
-manage her altogether by the wind. Now put the helm down,” added Dory,
-as he stood by the sheets.</p>
-
-<p>Oscar did as he was directed; and, as soon as he shifted the tiller,
-all the sails began to shake.</p>
-
-<p>“There is some mistake about that,” said Oscar, as he began to restore
-the tiller to its former position. “That knocks all the wind out of
-the sails.”</p>
-
-<p>“You did just right! keep the helm down!” exclaimed Dory with energy.
-“She is doing just as she should.”</p>
-
-<p>“But I don’t see how you are going to sail with the canvas flapping
-like this,” added Oscar, as he put the helm hard down again.</p>
-<!--298.png-->
-
-<p>“She is in stays now. Wait a moment, and you will see what she does,”
-replied Dory.</p>
-
-<p>At that instant the wind caught the jib, and the schooner began to
-swing very rapidly. The other sails filled at the same time.</p>
-
-<p>“Now right the helm and meet her,” continued Dory. “Be lively about
-it. Carry the tiller over till you feel a strong resistance. Over with
-it, before she falls off too far.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar obeyed, but he had been hardly prompt enough in his movements.
-The sails were brought too nearly at right angles with the wind, which
-caused her to careen till the new skipper’s nerves were badly shaken.
-A bucket of water poured in over the wash-board.</p>
-
-<p>“Down with the helm, Oscar!” said Dory sharply. “The other way!” he
-added, springing to the tiller, and putting it hard down.</p>
-
-<p>“You said ‘down’ was the other way,” retorted Oscar in a tone that
-indicated anger on his part.</p>
-
-<p>“Now we are all right,” said Dory, laughing, as the boat came up so
-that the pressure was eased off the sails.</p>
-
-<p>“‘Down’ can’t be both ways,” growled Oscar.</p>
-<!--299.png-->
-
-<p>“But sometimes it is one side of the boat, and sometimes the other,”
-replied Dory very gently, for he saw that a storm was gathering in the
-breast of his companion. “Sometimes it is port, and sometimes it is
-starboard.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t see how any one is to know which way is ‘down,’” muttered
-Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“I can tell which is ‘down’ every time, and without fail; and so can
-you, after you have sailed a boat a little longer. ‘Up’ is the way the
-wind comes from, and ‘down’ is the other way. Before you tacked, you
-had the wind on the port side of you, and ‘down’ was to starboard. Now
-you have the wind on the starboard, and ‘down’ is on the port side.”</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think I understand it very well, and you had better take the
-helm. I am afraid I shall upset her,” said Oscar, somewhat disgusted
-with his experience so far.</p>
-
-<p>“I think the wind is rather too fresh for a first lesson to-day,”
-replied Dory, as he took the tiller. “It would be better for you to
-try it when there isn’t wind enough to upset her if you make a
-mistake. You must excuse me if I spoke too quick to you just now, for
-the Goldwing would
-<!--300.png-->
-have gone over in another second if she had had
-her own way.”</p>
-
-<p>“I was just beginning to get a little mad,” replied Oscar. “It don’t
-take much of a breeze to put me into a passion. But it is all right
-now, and I won’t get mad if I can help it. It comes upon me before I
-know it. Do you think I shall ever be able to sail a boat?”</p>
-
-<p>“I know you will. I will tack the boat several times, so that you can
-see just how it is done. I suppose you know how to drive a horse,
-Oscar?”</p>
-
-<p>“Of course I do.”</p>
-
-<p>“If you let your horse run off a steep bank, you will upset the
-carriage. A boat won’t do it a bit better. If you let the wind blow
-square against the sails, she won’t go ahead; and there is nothing
-under the canopy to prevent her from going over, even with less wind
-than there is to-day. You should never let her get into such a pickle,
-any more than you would drive your horse off a precipice.”</p>
-
-<p>“I can see what you mean. There is nothing to prevent her from tipping
-over.”</p>
-
-<p>“On the wind, as the Goldwing is now, we keep her so that the sails
-will fill. Just a little
-<!--301.png-->
-movement of the tiller will spill them all:
-see if it don’t,” continued Dory, as he put the helm down a very
-little. “All the sails are shaking. I keep her so that she bears on
-the helm all the time. When the pressure is too little, I know that
-she is coming up into the wind, and I shift the tiller.”</p>
-
-<p>“I begin to see through it.”</p>
-
-<p>When he had a good full, Dory put the helm down, explaining his
-action. When the jib began to draw, he began to right the helm. Oscar
-got the idea; and, after a few more tacks, he understood it perfectly,
-and was permitted to do it himself.</p>
-
-<p>“Suppose you get caught with the wind blowing square against the
-sails, and are in danger of going, over, what do you do&mdash;put the helm
-down?” asked Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“If the wind was fresh I should not wait for her to come up, for she
-might go over before she came up to a safe position. Let me take the
-helm again, and I will show you.”</p>
-
-<p>The skipper put the helm up, and in a moment the water began to pour
-in over the wash-board. Oscar thought she was going over, and he
-convulsively grasped the seat with both hands. Dory
-<!--302.png-->
-gave the end of
-the fore and main sheets a twitch, in the twinkling of an eye, which
-cast them off. The two principal sails ran out instantly, the pressure
-was removed, and the boat came up to an even keel.</p>
-
-<p>“That is the way to save yourself when you get into a tight place,
-Oscar; but you ought never to get into such a tight place as that. A
-boat can’t possibly upset unless she is in that position. But, before
-she falls off enough to put you into chancery in that style, she will
-bear very hard on the tiller, which will give you warning enough. If
-you let go the tiller, she will come into the wind herself. The
-Goldwing, or any boat properly rigged and ballasted, would never get
-you into such a scrape: you must force her into the dangerous
-position. Now you may take the helm.”</p>
-
-<p>In half an hour Oscar could beat to windward as well as an old salt,
-though his education as a boatman was by no means completed. The
-Monkey, which had been moving at the rate of less than a mile an hour,
-had by this time got out into the middle of the lake, where she felt
-the full force of the wind.</p>
-<!--303.png-->
-
-<p>Like all monkeys, the sloop was behaving very badly indeed; but it was
-solely because she was badly handled. Dory was confident she would
-meet with an accident; and he required Oscar to come about off Scotch
-Bonnet, about three miles below the mouth of the river. After some
-manœuvring, he got the foresail on the port side, with the mainsail on
-the starboard; and the Goldwing began to fly, wing-and-wing, before
-the wind.</p>
-
-<p>The wind had a reach of several miles from the head of North-west Bay,
-and there was considerable sea. The schooner rolled, pitched, plunged,
-and yawed about at a fearful rate. Oscar found that he had his hands
-more than full. He wanted to give it up, but the skipper assured him
-he was doing as well as any one could; that all vessels knocked about
-like that when running exactly before a fresh wind.</p>
-
-<p>“But isn’t there any danger in staving along like this, Dory?” asked
-Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“None at all if the boat is well handled. If you vary your present
-course too much, one or the other of the sails would bang over to the
-other side. It would do no harm even then, unless it
-<!--304.png-->
-was the mainsail,
-and the boom hit you on the head.</p>
-
-<p>“Then, if you should let her come a quarter way around, you would have
-her in that ugly position with the wind at right angles with the
-sails, and she would upset. With as much wind as there is to-day, she
-will go over every time you put her into chancery; and it won’t be her
-fault either.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar soon got used to the motion and the erratic gyrations of the
-boat, and then he enjoyed it. He had been told to steer for a tree on
-a hill, and he kept the course remarkably well for a beginner. The
-Goldwing had gone two miles in a little over ten minutes, and the
-shoal-water of Field’s Bay was ahead of her.</p>
-
-<p>“We must haul up a little, or we shall get aground,” said Dory. “As we
-are going squarely before the wind, there is no up or down about it;
-and you must put the helm to starboard. But we will do it without
-making any sensation,” he added, as he cast off the main-sheet. “The
-foresail will pop over to the other side, and do it with a rush. Now,
-starboard, very slowly.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory let out the main-sheet, so that the sail did not draw full. Over
-went the foresail with a rush.</p>
-<!--305.png-->
-
-<p>“Steady! That is, keep her as she is.” Relieved of a portion of the
-pressure on the mainsail, she did not heel over much under the shock.
-Dory was about to ask Oscar how he would come about, when a tremendous
-yell came up the lake from the other students.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--306.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch28"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-eight">XXVIII.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>THE UPSETTING OF THE MONKEY, AND ITS LESSON.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">“The Monkey has upset!” exclaimed Dory, considerably excited by the
-catastrophe.</p>
-
-<p>“You had better take the helm, Dory, for we can’t wait to make any
-mistakes,” added Oscar, as he gave the tiller to the skipper.</p>
-
-<p>“Bolly is determined to drown himself, and he will do it if he keeps
-on trying. I did not think he had pluck enough to go out in a sailboat
-again without a skipper.”</p>
-
-<p>“But the rowboats are all around him, and they are all pulling towards
-the Monkey,” continued Oscar. “But that sailboat don’t sink, as you
-say the other did.”</p>
-
-<p>“Perhaps she has not ballast enough to carry her down. She is lying
-flat on her side, and the fellows that were in her are clinging to
-her. They are safe for a while if they will only hold on,” said the
-skipper of the Goldwing when he had taken in the situation.</p>
-<!--307.png-->
-
-<p>The Goldwing was within five hundred feet of the Monkey when the
-latter went over; and, before any of the rowboats reached the wreck,
-the schooner was alongside of her. The skipper had taken in the
-foresail; and, as she rounded-to, Oscar let go the jib-halyard, and
-Dory lowered the mainsail. With the boat-hook Oscar got hold of the
-wreck, and the schooner was hauled alongside.</p>
-
-<p>Bolly, Steve Baxter, and Phil Gawner were helped into the Goldwing.
-All three of them were thoroughly frightened, but were not otherwise
-damaged.</p>
-
-<p>“Who was the skipper of this boat?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Bolly; and he said he knew how to sail a boat, or we should not have
-come out with him,” replied Phil.</p>
-
-<p>“Can you skipper a boat, Bolly?” said Dory, turning to Bolly.</p>
-
-<p>“I thought I could,” answered Bolly sheepishly.</p>
-
-<p>“You thought so last Friday, when you let that steam-launch run into
-you.”</p>
-
-<p>“But since that I have watched you, and I was sure I could do it,”
-pleaded Bolly.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t think you know any more about it now
-<!--308.png-->
-than you did then. I
-told Oscar you would upset the boat when I first saw her come out of
-the river. I don’t believe you will ever be hanged. If you are going
-to keep doing this thing, you had better learn to swim,” added the
-skipper of the Goldwing.</p>
-
-<p>“I won’t try it again: there is something about sailing a boat that I
-don’t understand,” replied Bolly.</p>
-
-<p>“A good deal that you don’t understand; and, if you want to commit
-suicide, you had better keep on sailing a boat. You will finish the
-job one of these days. It is lucky this boat did not sink, like the
-other. If she had, some of you might have been drowned. As it is, we
-must get her up, and bail her out.”</p>
-
-<p>“If you will tell us how, we will do all the work,” added Bolly.</p>
-
-<p>By this time the four-oar boat came up. Corny Minkfield was acting as
-coxswain, in the absence of Dory. Dick Short was not in the boat, and
-Dave Windsor and John Brattle pulled the two after-oars.</p>
-
-<p>“Where is Dick Short?” asked Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Mr. Brookbine would not let him come. He
-<!--309.png-->
-said he must learn the lesson
-he lost while he was up a tree,” replied Corny. “We have got two
-greenhorns in the boat, and we can’t row worth a cent.”</p>
-
-<p>“No need of telling of it, for any one could see it a mile off,”
-laughed Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“Corny wants to do all the ordering while we do all the work,” added
-Dave Windsor. “When he is appointed boss we will mind him.”</p>
-
-<p>“Just as you like. There is Captain Gildrock on the point watching us,
-and I don’t believe he will let any of you fellows out in a boat again
-till you learn how to handle one. But we must put the Monkey in shape,
-and take her up the river: Sim Green don’t want to lose another boat
-just yet.”</p>
-
-<p>Dory fastened a line to the mast-head of the Monkey. As the boat had
-gone over on the port side, he moved the Goldwing to the opposite
-side. But pulling on this line would only move the boat in the water
-without righting her.</p>
-
-<p>Making another line fast to the middle of the inside of the wreck, he
-passed it over the side out of the water, and then drew it under the
-keel, carrying the rope out beyond the mast-head. The
-<!--310.png-->
-end of the line
-was then made fast to the stern of Corny’s boat, whose crew were
-directed to pull with all their might when the word was given.</p>
-
-<p>Dory then climbed to the foremast-head of the Goldwing, with the other
-line tied around his body. From this elevated position he could pull
-up from the fallen mast of the Monkey. He gave the word to Corny to
-pull, and the boat yanked away at the line; but the crew pulled so
-badly that they did not exert any great force.</p>
-
-<p>The skipper passed his line over the spring-stay of the schooner, so
-that Oscar could keep what he got. When he pulled at the rope, greatly
-to his delight, and somewhat to his astonishment, the mast of the
-wreck began to rise, and the hull began to right. After it had been
-elevated a few feet, it was easy work; and the Monkey was soon right
-side up. The rowers gave a smart cheer when the work was accomplished.</p>
-
-<p>Bolly and his companions timidly returned to the Monkey. All the
-buckets and dippers that both boats contained were in demand, and she
-was soon free of water. The lines were cast off, and both sailboats
-were ready to return to Beech Lake. Phil and John Brattle positively
-refused to sail
-<!--311.png-->
-with Bolly again, and the late skipper of the Monkey
-had his doubts about attempting to get the boat into the river without
-upsetting her.</p>
-
-<p>“I can do it,” suggested Oscar.</p>
-
-<p>“I have no doubt you can, Oscar, and you may do it,” replied Dory.
-“You will have the wind fair all the way.”</p>
-
-<p>Oscar took his place in the Monkey, which he soon found was not such a
-craft as the Goldwing. He trimmed the sail, and got under way without
-making any mistakes. He had the wind on the beam, and he let out the
-sheet of the sloop until the sail would just draw full. The craft made
-double the speed she had attained at any time since she came out with
-her incompetent skipper.</p>
-
-<p>Dory followed her in the Goldwing when he got his sails up. He watched
-the work of his pupil with close attention as he passed the Monkey,
-and shouted his approval to Oscar. When he reached the point, Captain
-Gildrock made a signal that he would like to be taken on board the
-schooner; and Dory made a landing.</p>
-
-<p>“No more boating for these boys at present,” said the principal, as he
-stepped into the Goldwing. “They can neither sail a boat nor row
-<!--312.png-->
-one.
-Who is sailing that boat now, Dory? He is doing better than has been
-done with her before this afternoon.”</p>
-
-<p>“Oscar Chester is in charge of her. He has been sailing with me in the
-schooner; and, as far as he has gone, he knows how to do it,” replied
-Dory.</p>
-
-<p>“It will be impossible to keep them out of the boats; and the pupils
-must be taught at once how to row, and how to handle a sailboat,”
-continued the captain, as he glanced at the rowing of the party in the
-four-oar boat. “When I saw that sloop-boat go over, I thought that the
-first day of our school was to end in a disaster. I am thankful that
-no one lost his life. But no one shall go out of Beech Lake again in a
-sailboat unless there is a skipper on board.”</p>
-
-<p>Dick Short welcomed the boys back to the school-grounds. He had made
-up the lost lesson, and was as good-natured as though he had not been
-punished. Before breakfast the next morning, the boys all walked over
-to the beach in the little lake, and went into the water. In the
-evening a great deal had been said about learning to swim. It was
-found that only eight boys out of
-<!--313.png-->
-the twenty-two could swim a stroke.
-Dory and Harry Franklin were appointed instructors in this department;
-and they were to have a lesson every day, when the weather was
-suitable.</p>
-
-<p>Some pieces of plank were obtained at the lumber-shed, and conveyed to
-the beach. Holding these floats with their hands, some of the boys
-ventured out into deep water. The first thing was to obtain the
-necessary confidence. They were told how to move their feet in the
-operation, and the first trials were very satisfactory.</p>
-
-<p>The schoolroom exercises of the forenoon were about the same as the
-day before. The boys all felt that their learning was to be of the
-most practical kind, such as would help them in the business of life.
-All education does this, but all boys cannot realize it.</p>
-
-<p>The first business of the afternoon with the second class was to put
-up the shelves they had made the day before. Of course, the boys had
-to go through a great many forms that were useless to experienced
-workmen.</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, we are to nail the shelves to the brackets,” said Mr.
-Brookbine. “To do this correctly will be a nicer job than you have yet
-done;
-<!--314.png-->
-but you must work carefully, and give strict attention to the
-directions. With the larger try-square draw a light line eight inches
-from each end of the shelf, and on the top.”</p>
-
-<p>“Which is the top?” asked Dick Short, as he looked on both sides of
-the board in the hands of Phil Gawner, who was his bench-partner.</p>
-
-<p>“Either side will answer for the top, but you should take the best
-side&mdash;the one with no rough places in it&mdash;if there is any choice.
-Always put the best side out: there is no cheat in it in carpentering.
-It is not like putting all the poorest apples at the bottom of the
-barrel.”</p>
-
-<p>The students selected a side for the top, and ruled the lines.</p>
-
-<p>“Now draw another line on the other side, seven inches and a half from
-the end,&mdash;a more decided line than the other. Good! Now put one of the
-brackets in the bench-vise, and screw it up tight. Put the wide end of
-the bracket up, and about two inches above the top of the bench.&mdash;Tom
-Ridley, you have got it four inches.&mdash;Ben, you are not more than one
-inch.&mdash;You must learn to measure distances with the eye. That will do.</p>
-
-<p>“Here are several kegs of nails, which I opened
-<!--315.png-->
-this forenoon. We
-have spikes, tenpenny, eightpenny, sixpenny, shingle, and lath nails.
-There are two kinds of the same length, as a tenpenny or an eightpenny
-board-nail, or a finish-nail. Board-nails have a broader head, and are
-stouter than a finish-nail. Which kind shall we use for the shelves?”</p>
-
-<p>“Finish-nails,” shouted half a dozen boys at a venture.</p>
-
-<p>“Eightpenny finish will be about right. No. 1 will nail to the first
-bracket, and No. 2 to the second. No. 2 will take the board, and lay
-the end on the bracket, and No. 1 will nail it. Fix the shelf exactly
-against the mark on the under side. Hold the board very still; and,
-when the nailer gets it exactly right, he should put his left hand
-against the bracket, grasping the board at the same time.”</p>
-
-<p>The instructor did it himself, and all the nailers observed how he did
-it.</p>
-
-<p>“The light line on the top is to show you where the nails are to be
-driven. Now go ahead. Strike so as to hit the nail squarely with the
-face of the hammer, so that it will not bend the nail, or slip off and
-mar the board.”</p>
-<!--316.png-->
-
-<p>He had to stop half of them, and give them a little outside practice
-with the hammer. But the boards were nailed on. They were tried with
-the square, and then nailed against the wall, between the windows. The
-planes were put upon them, and the boys were proud of their first job.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--317.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch29"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="twenty-nine">XXIX.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>AN AFTERNOON IN THE MACHINE-SHOP.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">The first class of the Beech-Hill Industrial School were most of them
-older than the members of the second class. All of them had attended
-high-schools or academies, and made more or less progress in the
-studies to be pursued. But they had no better knowledge of practical
-mechanics and the use of tools.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Jepson, the instructor in the metal department, had served his
-time for seven years as a machinist in England, and had worked at his
-trade a great many years in America. He was competent to build a
-steam-engine or to run one, and had learned his trade with more
-thoroughness than most American mechanics.</p>
-
-<p>One of his specialties was drawing; and he was to teach this branch,
-which is the foundation and corner-stone of all practical mechanics.
-In his opening speech to the class, he said that the first thing in
-doing a job of any kind was to make
-<!--318.png-->
-a plan or picture of whatever was
-to be constructed.</p>
-
-<p>Unlike the carpenter, he did not begin by giving the names and uses of
-the various tools on his bench, and on the walls near it. He told the
-boys what could be done in brass, iron, and steel. He pointed out in
-what manner chemistry and geometry, as well as natural philosophy, if
-not absolutely essential, were exceedingly valuable, to the machinist.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe half the machinists know any thing about these
-branches,” said Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“I don’t believe a quarter part of them learned any thing about these
-sciences, or even drawing, in school; but they have had to learn them
-in working at their trade,” replied Mr. Jepson. “In forging iron, in
-casting any metal, in brazing, soldering, and many other operations,
-one must learn the effect of heat upon metals, and the effect of
-various substances upon them.</p>
-
-<p>“Do you think an old-fashioned blacksmith don’t know some of the uses
-of borax? Why does the tinman use resin, or some chemical preparation,
-in preparing and soldering his wares? Why does the blacksmith cool one
-piece of iron
-<!--319.png-->
-by putting it in water, and let another piece cool off
-on the floor, if he don’t know any thing about the science of
-chemistry?”</p>
-
-<p>“I meant book science,” added Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“All science is the same, whether it be in a book or in a man’s head,”
-added the instructor. “You must get it into the head to have it of any
-use to you, and it matters not where it come from. All I mean to say
-is, that a theoretical knowledge of science, such as you get in
-school, will be of very great advantage to you in the mechanic arts.”</p>
-
-<p>“We are willing to admit that,” said Lew Shoreham rather impatiently;
-for he was in a hurry to get hold of the tools, as the second class
-were.</p>
-
-<p>“Here is a bar of brass, half an inch square,” said the machinist,
-taking the piece of metal from his bench. “We can do almost any thing
-with it that we can with wood.”</p>
-
-<p>“You can’t saw it, and plane it as you can a piece of wood,” said Will
-Orwell, who had probably never been in a machine-shop in his life.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly we can: why not?” demanded the teacher.</p>
-<!--320.png-->
-
-<p>“Saw brass!” exclaimed Will. “I never saw any such thing done.”</p>
-
-<p>“Did you ever see a watch made?”</p>
-
-<p>“I never did; <span style="white-space:nowrap;">but”&mdash;</span></p>
-
-<p>“Then, you ought to believe that a watch can’t be made,” interposed
-the machinist.</p>
-
-<p>“It looks absurd to me to talk of sawing brass, and I don’t believe it
-can be done,” persisted Will.</p>
-
-<p>“Possibly I may be able to convince you that it can be done: in fact,
-I know I can, if you are not very unreasonable,” added Mr. Jepson, as
-he put the bar of brass into one of his iron vises, and screwed it up
-tight. “Now, stand by me, and see that I don’t deceive you.”</p>
-
-<p>The machinist took a hack-saw from a hook in front of him.</p>
-
-<p>“There is the brass in the vise, and here is the saw,” continued the
-instructor. “I shall saw the brass bar into two pieces, and I shall do
-it about as quick as an amateur would saw a piece of hard wood of the
-same size.”</p>
-
-<p>“That thing don’t look like a saw,” Will objected.</p>
-
-<p>The instructor took from a drawer a package of hack-saws, on which
-there was a label.</p>
-<!--321.png-->
-
-<p>“What does that say, my lad?” asked Mr. Jepson, handing the package to
-the sceptical student.</p>
-
-<p>“One dozen hack-saws,” Will read on the label.</p>
-
-<p>“Here is one from the package, and you will see that it is just like
-the one in the frame. It is a saw without a particle of doubt.”</p>
-
-<p>“It looks more like a file.”</p>
-
-<p>“It is not at all like a file.”</p>
-
-<p>“Dry up, Will! Admit that it is a saw, and don’t argue the question
-all day,” interposed Lew.</p>
-
-<p>“I will give it up: it is a saw,” added Will.</p>
-
-<p>The machinist applied the saw to the brass bar, started it carefully
-so that it need not jump about, and then worked quite lively for a few
-moments. The end of the bar soon dropped on the floor, and Will picked
-it up.</p>
-
-<p>“I grant that you have sawed brass, but I don’t see how you can plane
-it,” said Will.</p>
-
-<p>“In order to plane it, I should have to put it into a planer; but I
-can take off shavings as long as the bar itself. I must convince you,
-Will, or you will never believe it.”</p>
-
-<p>All the boys were curious to see this operation. The bar was put into
-the machine, and the interested
-<!--322.png-->
-observers picked up the long and
-tightly curled shavings of brass. Of course, Will was convinced. Mr.
-Jepson then took a rod of brass an inch in diameter, and held it up
-before the class.</p>
-
-<p>“This rod is also of brass: it is not made of cheese, though you will
-think it can be cut about as easily as though it were cheese,”
-continued he, as he fixed the rod in a turning-lathe. Running on the
-belt with the lever in front of him, the rod began to turn with
-tremendous rapidity.</p>
-
-<p>The boys gathered around the lathe, and the machinist took up a tool
-made of an old file. He applied it to the brass, and the metal
-shavings began to drop rapidly upon the frame of the lathe. In a few
-moments the end of the rod became a shining ball. The metal could
-hardly have given less apparent resistance if it had been cheese.</p>
-
-<p>With various tools the machinist soon had a cup next to the ball. Then
-he made an ogee form, and a dozen other shapes, until the boys were
-utterly astonished at the results. It seemed incredible to them that
-brass could be cut as easily as soft pine.</p>
-
-<p>“I suppose that can only be done with brass,” said Oscar Chester.</p>
-<!--323.png-->
-
-<p>“It can be done with iron just as well, though the operation will be
-slower; or with steel, and then it is still slower,” replied the
-machinist, as he adjusted a rod of iron in the lathe.</p>
-
-<p>With no more difficulty than before, though not so rapidly, he cut the
-same form as in brass. With another lathe, he cut a screw on an iron
-rod. Taking a blank nut, he put it into the vise, and applied the
-proper tap to it, cut the female screw, and then put it on the rod.
-Then he cut a screw with a stock and die on a piece of brass wire, and
-tapped a nut to fit it.</p>
-
-<p>He went to the forge, and welded a couple of pieces of iron together,
-and had something to say about tempering metals. Taking an old brass
-candlestick, he sawed the pedestal into two pieces, which he held up
-before the boys, and then allowed them to examine the parts. He then
-brazed them together so nicely that the boys could hardly see the
-place where it had been sawed.</p>
-
-<p>“Are we to learn to do all these things, Mr. Jepson?” asked Pemberton
-Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“That is what you are here for,” replied the instructor. “But you will
-not begin with the
-<!--324.png-->
-lathe and the plane; and there is a great deal of
-hard work to be done at this trade.”</p>
-
-<p>“What is the first thing we are to learn?” inquired Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“Filing.”</p>
-
-<p>“Filing! We can do that now!” exclaimed Lew Shoreham.</p>
-
-<p>“Not one of you can do it properly. Any one thinks he can do it, but a
-nice piece of filing is one of the most artistic things in the trade.
-It cultivates the eye and the hands, and you could spend months at it
-without exhausting the subject. But I dare say we are not to go into
-the extreme niceties of the art. I can tell you this, my lads: if you
-should work at the trade of a machinist for fifty years, there would
-still be something to be learned, and greater skill to be obtained.”</p>
-
-<p>“Then, we are not likely to become full-fledged machinists in six
-months,” added Pemberton Millweed.</p>
-
-<p>“Certainly not, but you can learn a great deal in that time; and, if
-you follow the trade for a living, you will have to keep learning all
-the time you work at it. In America, apprentices, if there
-<!--325.png-->
-are any
-now, only work six months or a year, and really learn the trade, if
-they learn it at all, after they go to work as journeymen. Labor is
-too valuable in this country for a man to spend seven years in
-learning a trade: besides, one who has worked six months at a trade
-becomes valuable to his employer.”</p>
-
-<p>“But we are to learn a lot of trades in six months or a year,”
-suggested Harry Franklin.</p>
-
-<p>“Not at all: the only trades you are to learn are those of machinist
-and carpenter. Incidentally you are to learn a score of other things.
-When we find out what the boys are best for, we shall put them mainly
-to that. It is a good thing for a machinist to know something about
-carpentering, and for a carpenter to be able to handle a piece of iron
-as well as a piece of wood.</p>
-
-<p>“Almost every trade now is subdivided into several. Formerly a
-carpenter did every thing about a house. Now the doors are made by one
-concern, the blinds by another, the stairs by a third, the floors are
-laid by a fourth, the lathing by a fifth: all the mouldings are done
-by machinery, and so on. So it is with many trades: they are cut up
-into specialties. Now, if you please, we will go to work.”</p>
-<!--326.png-->
-
-<p>On this side of the shop there were a dozen short benches, each
-supplied with tools, which were fewer and simpler than on the
-carpenters’ side; for much of the work was to be done by machinery.
-Out in the floor were several lathes for heavy work, a planer, a
-boring-machine, a circular-saw for metals, a grindstone, several
-emery-wheels and polishers,&mdash;in fact, every thing that could be
-required for work in metals.</p>
-
-<p>Mr. Jepson gave out several blocks of iron, and required the boys to
-put them in the vises. Then he explained the large number of files
-belonging to each bench, gave each student a drawing of the form into
-which he was to file his metal, and set them at work.</p>
-
-<p>Passing from one pupil to another, he instructed him in the work
-before him. The boys soon found that they had not taken an easy job,
-but they did not complain. Some of them soon learned to handle the
-file with some degree of skill, and the instructor began to have some
-idea who would make machinists among them.</p>
-
-<p>When the school was dismissed for the day, the pupils were directed to
-go on board of the Sylph.</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--327.png-->
-
-<div class="chapter"><!--start chapter-->
-<p><span class="top"><a href="#top">[Top]</a></span></p>
-<h3 class="p4"><a name="Ch30"></a>CHAPTER <abbr title="thirty">XXX.</abbr></h3>
-
-<h4>WHAT THE STUDENTS FOUND AT THOMPSON’S POINT.</h4>
-
-<p class="p2">At the scholastic session, in the morning, the scholars had been
-forbidden to take any of the boats without special permission, which
-would not be granted to those who were not qualified to manage them.
-The Goldwing, and a sloop called the Emma, were the only sailboats
-belonging to Beech Hill.</p>
-
-<p>Besides the two four-oar quarter-boats belonging to the Sylph, there
-were four other rowboats, two pulling four oars, and two pulling two
-oars, each. When the boys went on board of the steam-yacht, they
-noticed that all the rowboats were made fast to her stern. It was
-evident that the present excursion was for the purpose of drilling the
-boys in rowing and handling boats.</p>
-
-<p>Captain Gildrock had been away all the afternoon, and returned only in
-time to join the school in the steamer. Bates had got up steam, for he
-<!--328.png-->
-had learned to be a man-of-all-work, from hoeing corn, up to steering
-a steamer. Dory was sent to the pilot-house, but no one heard the
-instructions given him. Oscar went with him; but, if Dory knew the
-programme, he did not speak of it.</p>
-
-<p>The ship’s company all went to their stations, though there was
-nothing for the cooks and stewards to do. Oscar steered until the
-steamer was near Thompson’s Point, opposite Split Rock, when Dory took
-the wheel. The captain had instructed Thad Glovering, the first
-officer, to get the anchor ready. Dory ran the steamer into a bay next
-to the point; and, when she was within a quarter of a mile of the
-shore, he rang to stop her.</p>
-
-<p>“Back her, Dory,” said the captain, who did not wish to go too near
-the shore. “That will do: let go the anchor.”</p>
-
-<p>“Now, my lads, we are going to learn to handle boats before we sail
-any more,” said Captain Gildrock. “It is often as important to be able
-to handle a boat properly, as it is to be able to sail the ship. We
-are rather short of instructors in the art of rowing, but we shall do
-as well as we can. I will take the port quarter-boat, and Dory will go
-in the starboard.”</p>
-<!--329.png-->
-
-<p>“The Goldwing Club know how to row,” suggested Dory. “They can do all
-that I can, though that isn’t much.”</p>
-
-<p>The captain admitted that they could row very well, for he had seen
-them do it; and he appointed the other four members of the club as
-coxswains of the remaining boats. In a few minutes they had all
-embarked, and, as directed, had assembled around the port
-quarter-boat, from which Captain Gildrock told them all that could be
-told in regard to the art of rowing.</p>
-
-<p>“You will obey the orders of the coxswains without grumbling, or
-asking any questions,” continued the captain, when he had given the
-pupils the names of the different parts of an oar, and shown them how
-to use it. He was in favor of a man-of-war stroke, especially for
-beginners; for it was slow and measured.</p>
-
-<p>The Goldwing Club had practised it a great deal, for the skipper had
-learned it of his father. The boats separated, and each coxswain
-proceeded to tell what he knew about rowing “man-of-war fashion.” Many
-of the boys were disposed to indulge in a little skylarking, and some
-of them were not inclined to obey the orders of the several
-<!--330.png-->
-members of
-the Goldwing Club. But the captain was too near to permit any thing
-like an outbreak.</p>
-
-<p>But the boys were greatly interested in all aquatic sports, and in an
-hour’s time they could pull a very fair stroke. They learned all the
-man-of-war boat terms, and could “toss” and “let fall” with tolerable
-precision.</p>
-
-<p>“Pull to the end of the point,” shouted Captain Gildrock, as his boat
-led off in that direction.</p>
-
-<p>The other boats followed him. As they approached the shore, the
-coxswains discovered that there were several persons there; though it
-was generally an unfrequented spot, without a house within a mile of
-the point. The rowers, being back to the shore, could see nothing. The
-coxswains wondered what the sensation was to be, for they were
-satisfied that there was “something in the wind.”</p>
-
-<p>Even when the boats touched the beach they could see nothing, for the
-point was covered with trees. Captain Gildrock landed first, and the
-coxswains had hard work to prevent their crews from following him
-pell-mell. But the discipline was preserved without breaking any
-thing, till orders came for all to go on shore. The boats were all
-<!--331.png-->
-hauled up so that they should not get adrift, and the several crews
-followed the captain up the hill.</p>
-
-<p>“Hurrah!” yelled those who got to the road first.</p>
-
-<p>Doubtless this yell gave expression to their astonishment as well as
-their enthusiasm. In the road, which leads down to the end of the
-point, they found two long vehicles, the pairs of wheels on which were
-twenty feet apart.</p>
-
-<p>Standing by the side of them were two men, who were the teamsters, and
-two boys of seventeen, very genteelly dressed. On each vehicle was a
-boat, each of which was hardly less than fifty feet long. They were
-both broad for rowboats, and were finished in the most elegant style.
-The students were delighted, and could hardly find words to express
-their enthusiasm.</p>
-
-<p>“Six oars on a side! Twelve oars in one boat! Who ever heard of such a
-thing?” exclaimed Will Orwell.</p>
-
-<p>“You would not have believed there was such a boat, to say nothing of
-two of them, if you had been told about it,” said Dave Windsor
-mischievously.</p>
-<!--332.png-->
-
-<p>“I believe in them both now,” replied Will. “Do you suppose they are
-for us?”</p>
-
-<p>“I think they must be. I don’t believe there is any other concern in
-these parts that would have any use for such boats,” added Dave.</p>
-
-<p>“My lads, here are two new pupils, from the city of New York. I hope
-you will give them a cordial welcome, and make things pleasant, for
-them,” said the captain, interrupting the comments of the boys on the
-boats.</p>
-
-<p>“Hurrah for the New-Yorkers!” shouted Ben Ludlow; and three lusty
-cheers were given in response to the captain’s introduction of the new
-boys.</p>
-
-<p>“This is Luke Bennington, and his father is a shipbuilder. He knows a
-ship from a cooking-stove, and can give you all points in boating. The
-other is Matt Randolph, whose father is captain of an ocean-steamer;
-and he can do any thing in a yacht except splice the main-brace.”</p>
-
-<p>The two boys began to bow as they were introduced, and kept it up
-until the principal ceased. Then they went in among the boys, and
-began to shake hands with them, and to make themselves acquainted.</p>
-<!--333.png-->
-
-<p>“What about those boats, Captain Gildrock?” called Bob Swanton, after
-he had met the new-comers.</p>
-
-<p>“Those are twelve-oar barges such as they use in the navy. They are
-single banked, and will accommodate nine persons in the stern-sheet,”
-replied the captain. “They were built in New-York City especially for
-the Beech-Hill Industrial School. I expected to have had them a week
-ago, but they were not finished. Luke Bennington and Matt Randolph
-came up in charge of them. Now, if you are ready, we will put them
-into the water.”</p>
-
-<p>The barges were unloaded, and conveyed to the lake. As soon as they
-were in the water, the students gave the usual three cheers. Of
-course, they were not satisfied until they were seated in them; and
-there were now just students enough to man them, without any
-coxswains. They pulled off to the steamer, towing the other boats. The
-boys were sorry to get out of them so soon, but there was no more than
-time to reach the school before six o’clock.</p>
-
-<p>The new boats were the subject of much enthusiastic talk that evening,
-but they were not to be used until four the next afternoon.</p>
-<!--334.png-->
-
-<p>That night two more students arrived, and the complement intended was
-exceeded. Dory was moved into the mansion, and also Thad Glovering, so
-that the dormitory would accommodate them. Of the new boys it happened
-that three of them were qualified for the first class, while the
-fourth was admitted to the second class.</p>
-
-<p>The next day the studies, and the work in the shop, went on as before.
-It was a new thing to the boys, and the captain did not expect any
-difficulty at present; and he had none, beyond the little bits of
-mischief which were not at all serious. Dory was superlatively happy
-in the snug harbor he had found after the wanderings and trials of the
-earlier part of the year.</p>
-
-<p>The deep interest of the principal in the institution induced him to
-give his personal attention to every thing that was done. He was in
-the school-room most of the forenoon, and in the shop most of the
-afternoon. But his teaching was done mostly on board of the Sylph, and
-in the boats. When he found an opportunity to improve the minds or
-hearts of the boys, he used it, wherever it happened to be. His
-instructions were always welcome to the students.</p>
-<!--335.png-->
-
-<p>The practice in swimming was kept up every day during the rest of the
-season, unless the weather was unfavorable. In a fortnight most of the
-boys could swim very well; but half a dozen of them had not yet
-obtained the confidence to strike out, without the planks, into the
-deep water of the lake. The two New-Yorkers were fine swimmers, and
-their example and suggestions were valuable to the others.</p>
-
-<p>On the day after the arrival of the barges, the students gathered at
-the lake for the exciting exercise of rowing. They were gathered on
-the temporary wharf built for the accommodation of the Sylph.</p>
-
-<p>“We have not got things to rights here yet, my lads,” said Captain
-Gildrock. “I was thinking this summer of building a suitable wharf and
-boat-house, but I concluded to let you do it. We can have two
-boat-clubs now, and we want a hall for them to meet in during the
-winter. You are to build this house.”</p>
-
-<p>“Build a house!” exclaimed Bob Swanton.</p>
-
-<p>“That was what I said, and what I meant,” replied the captain. “It
-will be a boat-house, large enough for all the boats on the lower
-floor, and for a club-room on the second floor.”</p>
-<!--336.png-->
-
-<p>“Can we do it?” asked Ben Ludlow.</p>
-
-<p>“If you can’t do it, with Mr. Brookbine’s assistance, I might as well
-discontinue this school at once. I find that boys work best, and enjoy
-it more, when their labor is to accomplish a result. You will not only
-build the house, but you will, I hope, make the plan for it. When you
-get a little farther along with your drawing, you will be competent to
-do it.</p>
-
-<p>“I shall offer several prizes for the best plan, and build upon it
-when it is accepted. We shall also build a wharf of stone at the same
-time, and that will be a part of the plan. I want you to think how you
-would do it all as you have opportunity.</p>
-
-<p>“For the present,” continued the captain, “the first class will be
-machinists; and the second class, carpenters. I think it is better,
-therefore, to give one boat to the first class, and the other to the
-second. Each of the classes may organize a boat-club at once. I should
-like to have each one choose a coxswain now, before you get into the
-boats. Don’t do as the American people often do,&mdash;select one who don’t
-know any thing about the work he is to do. Elect one whose orders you
-will be willing to obey.</p>
-<!--337.png-->
-
-<p>“This election will be of temporary coxswains. In a week or two, when
-you have learned more about boats, you can do it more understandingly
-than now.”</p>
-
-<p>The students were delighted with the idea, and a lot of them fell to
-electioneering as naturally as the average American citizen. In the
-first class, Matt Randolph was elected; in the second class, Dory
-Dornwood received very nearly a unanimous vote. The coxswains were
-directed to take the command at once, and they proceeded to number
-their men. Then they were assigned to their places. Dory was the first
-to get his boat off, and he led the way out into Lake Champlain.</p>
-
-<p>Each coxswain exercised his crew for an hour; and, of course, they had
-to have a race. As Dory had all the Goldwing Club with him, his boat
-won it; though the boys in the first class were older and stronger
-than those of the second. Captain Gildrock had told them that each
-club might name their own boat, and every student was requested to
-propose a good name at the next meeting. They had a great deal of fun
-over this subject.</p>
-
-<p>When the name of “Leader” was first suggested,
-<!--338.png-->
-it met with favor; but
-Ned Bellows, who had proposed “Winooski,” said he would vote for
-“Leader” if the other boat would call their barge “Follower.” The joke
-was carried so far that a committee was appointed to wait on the other
-club, and suggest the name of “Follower.” Of course, the first class
-were indignant; as the suggestion was a reflection upon their position
-at the end of the first race. The names finally adopted were
-“Gildrock,” in compliment to the captain, and “Winooski,” one of the
-rivers of the State.</p>
-
-<p>Perhaps the students enjoyed themselves more in these elegant barges
-than even in the Sylph. Before the season closed, they made many
-excursions in the Gildrock and the Winooski; and with all the practice
-they had, under the best instructors, they could not well avoid
-becoming first-class oarsmen.</p>
-
-<p>As they continued their work in the shop, some of the boys developed a
-very decided taste for the mechanic arts; some preferred carpentering;
-others were fascinated with wood-turning, after the lathes were in
-use; not a few desired to be working machinists; and some desired to
-learn only
-<!--339.png-->
-enough of the latter trade to enable them to run a
-steam-engine to the best advantage.</p>
-
-<p>After finding out what trade best suited each boy’s taste and ability,
-the captain intended to allow him to work mainly at that trade, though
-not to the neglect of any other essential knowledge. To say that all
-the boys were delighted with their occupation, with their work in the
-school-room and the shop, as well as their play on land and water,
-would not be stating the truth too strongly. Even Pemberton Millweed
-was proud of his accomplishments when he could make a bolt, with a
-screw and nut: and it is even probable that he forgot the meaning of
-the word “genteel;” at any rate, he did not use it any more.</p>
-
-<p>Bolingbroke became a good mechanic as well as a good scholar,&mdash;all the
-better mechanic for being a good scholar. Both of the farmer’s boys
-were glad they failed to find places in stores; for they were
-satisfied in less than a month that they could earn more money, be
-quite as respectable, and more independent, as mechanics.</p>
-
-<p>Elinora liked her place in the store, where she had fair wages. She
-paid her board at home, and was independent of everybody. The captain
-<!--340.png-->
-found plenty for Fatima to do, and she proved to be a very valuable
-clerk to him.</p>
-
-<p>The boys look out of the corners of their eyes when they see Mr.
-Darlingby with her, as he is a great deal of the time when they are
-not about their work; and even the principal fears that he may lose
-his accomplished assistant in the care of the records and his
-correspondence.</p>
-
-<p>Farmer Millweed seemed to have become a new man, as well as the new
-head of his family. Captain Gildrock took the mortgage on his farm,
-and lent him money to pay his interest and the more pressing of his
-other debts. His daughters pay their board, and the eight dollars a
-week from this source is a godsend to him.</p>
-
-<p>Mrs. Millweed does not say much about the new order of things, but she
-cannot help seeing and appreciating the improvement in their
-circumstances; for the farmer is certain that he shall be able to pay
-all his debts in time, and own his farm free and clear.</p>
-
-<p>Affairs went on very smoothly at the Beech-Hill Industrial School for
-several weeks, though in time the institution had its trials and
-troubles; and we are content to leave the “Champlain Mechanics”
-<!--341.png-->
-in
-their “Snug Harbor,” expecting to present them again when they begin
-their promised work with the “Square and Compass,” in the practical
-work of “Building the House.”</p>
-</div><!--end of chapter-->
-<!--342.png-->
-
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-<p class="p1 shortindent">The Soldier Boy; or, Tom Somers in the Army.</p>
-<p class="mt1 althanging">The Young Lieutenant; or, The Adventures of an Army Officer.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Fighting Joe; or, The Fortunes of a Staff Officer.</p>
-<!--343.png-->
-
-<p class="p2">THE SAILOR-BOY SERIES.</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">Three volumes, in neat box. Illustrated. Per volume</p>
-<p class="right mt2">$1.50</p>
-
-<p class="p1 shortindent">The Sailor Boy; or, Jack Somers in the Navy.</p>
-<p class="mt1 althanging">The Yankee Middy; or, Adventures of a Naval Officer.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Brave Old Salt; or, Life on the Quarter-Deck.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">THE STARRY-FLAG SERIES.</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">Six volumes. Illustrated. Per volume</p>
-<p class="right mt2">1.25</p>
-
-<p class="p1 althanging">The Starry Flag; or, The Young Fisherman of Cape Ann.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Breaking Away; or, The Fortunes of a Student.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Seek and Find; or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Freaks of Fortune; or, Half Round the World.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Make or Break; or, The Rich Man’s Daughter.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Down the River; or, Buck Bradford and the Tyrants.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">THE WAY OF THE WORLD.</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">By <span class="sc">William T. Adams</span> (Oliver Optic) 12mo</p>
-<p class="right mt2">1.50</p>
-
-<p class="p2">WOODVILLE STORIES.</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">Uniform with “Library for Young People.” Six volumes. Illustrated.
-<abbr title="sextodecimo">16mo.</abbr> Per volume</p>
-<p class="right mt2">1.25</p>
-
-<p class="p1 shortindent">Rich and Humble; or, The Mission of Bertha Grant.</p>
-<p class="mt1 althanging">In School and Out; or, The Conquest of Richard Grant.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Watch and Wait; or, The Young Fugitives.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Work and Win; or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Hope and Have; or, Fanny Grant among the Indians.</p>
-<p class="mt1 althanging">Haste and Waste; or, The Young Pilot of Lake Champlain.</p>
-
-<p class="p2">YACHT-CLUB SERIES.</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">Uniform with the ever popular “Boat-Club” Series. Completed in six
-volumes. Illustrated. <abbr title="sextodecimo">16mo.</abbr> Per volume</p>
-<p class="mt2 right">1.50</p>
-
-<p class="p1 shortindent">Little Bobtail; or, The Wreck of the Penobscot.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat-Builders.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Money-Maker; or, The Victory of the Basilisk.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">The Coming Wave; or, The Treasure of High Rock.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">The Dorcas Club; or, Our Girls Afloat.</p>
-<p class="mt1 shortindent">Ocean Born; or, The Cruise of the Clubs.</p>
-
-<p class="p2 center"><i>LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS, BOSTON.</i></p>
-</div><!--end advertisements-->
-
-<div class="tnote p4">
-<h3>Transcriber’s Note:</h3>
-
-<p>Obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged.</p>
-
-<p>The following items were changed:</p>
-
-<p class="hanging">Commas were deleted at the end of chapter titles in the Table of Contents.</p>
- <p class="mt1 hanging">Missing end quote added to ‘...will have a warrant for his <a href="#arrest">arrest.”</a>...’</p>
- <p class="mt1 hanging">Missing period added in list, after name ‘Phil <a href="#period">Gawner’</a></p>
- <p class="mt1 hanging">‘Dont’ to ‘<a href="#dont">Don’t</a>’</p>
- <p class="mt1 hanging">‘yatch’ to ‘<a href="#yacht">yacht</a>’</p>
-</div><!--end of transcriber note-->
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
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