1 
 
 m~ "
 
 " Walk Billcord rushed out from the bushes." Page 19.
 
 BOSTON, 
 
 LEE^oSHEPARD
 
 THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES 
 
 STEM TO STEKN 
 
 BUILDING THE BOAT 
 
 fa^-1 La 
 OLIVER OPTiC 
 
 AUTHOR OF " YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD," " THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES," " THB 
 ARMY AND NAVY SERIES," " THE WOODVILLK SERIES," " THE STAREY- 
 FLAG SERIES," " THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES," " THE ONWARD AND 
 UPWARD SERIES," " THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES," 'VTHE 
 LAKE-SHORE SERIES," "THE RIVERDALE SE 
 RIES," "ALL ADRIFT," " SNUG HARBOR," 
 " SQUARE AND COMPASSES," 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 TOftfj Illustrations 
 
 BOSTON 
 LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS 
 
 NEW YORK CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM 
 
 1886
 
 ; 
 
 /oofa 
 AS 
 
 Copyright, iSSs, 
 BY WILLIAM T. ADAMS. 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 ELECTROTYPED BY 
 C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON.
 
 TO 
 MY ADOPTED " NEWY," 
 
 JOHN S. SHRIVEK 
 
 OF BALTIMORE, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY 
 DEDICATED.
 
 Boat-Buitoer 
 
 1. A LL ADRIFT; OR, THE GOLDWING 
 
 CLUB. 
 
 2. SNUG HARBOR; OR, THE CHAM- 
 
 PLAIN MECHANICS. 
 
 3. gQUARE AND COMPASSES; OR, 
 
 BUILDING THE HOUSE. 
 
 4. TEM TO STERN; OR, BUILDING 
 
 THE BOAT. 
 
 5. ALL TAUT; OR, RIGGING THE BOAT. 
 
 6. READY ABOUT; OR, SAILING THE 
 BOAT.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 " STEM TO STERN " is the fourth volume of the 
 " BOAT-BUILDER SERIES." Most of the characters 
 connected with the Beech Hill Industrial School 
 continue to take part in the action of the story. 
 Like its predecessors, a considerable portion of 
 the work is devoted to business and mechanical 
 information. The writer finds it quite impracti 
 cable to give as minute directions for the building 
 of a boat as a few of his young readers may de 
 sire, for the entire volume would hardly afford 
 sufficient space for all the details of planning and 
 constructing a yacht. But he has endeavored to 
 impart some information in a general way in regard 
 to shipbuilding, and has indicated in what manner 
 the ambitious young boat-builder may obtain the 
 amplest instruction in this difficult art. It is 
 necessary to assure his young friends that, with all 
 
 5
 
 b PREFACE. 
 
 the book-knowledge it is possible to obtain on the 
 subject, it will require a great deal of skill and not 
 a little scientific and technical learning to enable 
 him to construct anything more elaborate than 
 an ordinary flatboat. Nothing but assiduous prac 
 tice can procure the skill, and nothing but hard 
 study the geometrical and technical details of the 
 art. 
 
 As in the preceding volumes of the series, 
 " STEM TO STERN " is largely a story of adventure 
 on Lake Champlain and its shores. A new char 
 acter is introduced as the leading spirit of the 
 story, whose struggles with the difficulties in his 
 life-path can hardly fail to interest the young 
 reader. Though he is peaceful and submissive 
 under ordinary circumstances, with none of the 
 swellish importance of many boys of his years, 
 he is not a milk-and-water youth, and has pluck 
 and strength enough to " stand up" for those whom 
 misfortune has placed under his protection. 
 
 Although the two remaining volumes of the series 
 are especially devoted to rigging and 'sailing a boat, 
 the present and the preceding books incidentally 
 treat of these subjects. While so many young men
 
 PKEFACE. 7 
 
 on the sea, lakes and rivers seem to inherit or early 
 acquire a taste for boats and boating, it is impor 
 tant that they should understand the theory of 
 managing a sailing craft, though nothing but in 
 telligent practice can make a competent "skipper." 
 With such knowledge and skill, boat-sailing is a 
 safe, as well as a healthy and improving sport. 
 
 As in former volumes, the writer has endeav 
 ored to interest his young readers in mechanical 
 operations and pursuits ; and he hopes the series 
 will contribute its mite in influencing boys to re 
 spect manual labor and to adopt it as a pastime or 
 the business of life. 
 
 DOKCHESTEB, MASS., August 17, 1885.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 LILY BRISTOL AND HER TORMENTOR 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SON OF TOIL FIGHTS HIS OWN BATTLE .... 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FINAL MANDATE OF MAJOR BILLCORD .... 35 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ABSENCE OF THE TRUANT DRAGON 45 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE GOLDWING AT SANDY POINT 55 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A CALL FOR ALL HANDS AT BEECH HILL 65 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AN EXPEDITION BY MOONLIGHT 75 
 
 9
 
 10 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 A CHANGE OF LOCATION 85 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 THE JANITOR OF THE BOAT-HOUSE 95 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 A LECTURE ON SHIP-BUILDING 105 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 ROUGH WATER ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN 117 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SAILBOAT IN THE TROUGH OF THE SEA 126 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DISASTER TO THE SILVER MOON 135 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE WORK OF AN INCOMPETENT SKIPPER .... 145 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "ROLL ON, SILVER MOON" 155 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 DORY DORNWOOD GIVES A LESSON IN BOAT-SAILING, 167
 
 CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE MISSION OF THE Six RUFFIANS 176 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE RESULT OF AN UNEQUAL CONFLICT 186 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A DEADLOCK AT THE HEAD OF THE BAY 196 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE REBELLIOUS SKIPPER OF THE SLOOP 206 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AN OUTRAGE IN THE STANDING-ROOM OF THE SLOOP, 216 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 AN INVITATION TO SANDY POINT 226 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 THE PROCEEDINGS AT SANDY POINT 236 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE STUDENTS DECIDE "WHAT'S IN A NAME" . . 246 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 BUILDING THE BOAT . , . 256
 
 12 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THAT CUNNING TOM TOPOVER 266 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BRILLIANT STRATEGY OF THE BRUISER .... 276 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 A HARD BATTLE AT SANDY POINT 286 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE ENGINEER OF THE UNDINE 296 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 LAUNCHING THE BOAT 312
 
 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 OR, 
 
 BUILDING THE BOAT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 LILY BRISTOL AND HER TORMENTOR. 
 
 T DON'T want anybody to row for me, Mr. 
 Walker ; I came out to take a little exercise, 
 and I can do it best when I am all alone," said 
 Miss Lily Bristol to a young gentleman of about 
 eighteen who stood on the sandy beach. 
 
 "But it will be a good deal more sociable to 
 have company," replied Walk Billcord with a 
 smile and a smirk. 
 
 Lily Bristol had the reputation of being a very 
 pretty girl, and fame had not exaggerated her 
 beauty. She was very plainly dressed, but she 
 was as neat as though she had just come out of the 
 bureau-drawer. She was seated in a rude flatboat, 
 with a pair of oars in her hands, which she seemed 
 to know how to use. 
 
 13
 
 14 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 The boat was only a rod or two from the end 
 of Sandy Point, at the southern side of the entrance 
 to a bay with the same name. It was in the spring 
 of the year, and the water in Lake Champlain was 
 at its highest. 
 
 Hardly more than a rod from the point where 
 the rippling waves sported with the bright sand 
 was a small and lightly-built cottage. It contained 
 two rooms on the lower floor, with two small attic 
 chambers over them. The structure rested on 
 posts set in the sand, and looked as light and airy 
 as a bird-cage. 
 
 This cottage was the home of Peter Bristol, or, 
 rather, of his wife and two children ; for the father 
 of the family had been away for two years, seeking 
 to better his impaired fortunes. Peter had always 
 been a poor man, and was always likely to be. 
 He had been a sort of Jack-at-all-trades, not par 
 ticularly good at any. He had been a fireman on 
 a-jrallroad, a farm-hand, a general jobber ; he had 
 triedThis hand at almost everything without much 
 success. 
 
 Major Billcord owned all the land near Sandy 
 Point. Some years before, he had taken it into his 
 head that the high ground in the rear of Sandy Bay 
 would be an excellent site for a hotel. Some of
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 15 
 
 his friends did not agree with him, and assured 
 him that a hotel could not live in this location. 
 
 But the major was an obstinate man, and had his 
 own way. He erected a structure of fifty rooms, 
 with the intention of adding a hundred more after 
 the first season. But for half a dozen reasons the 
 hotel was a dreary failure. It never contained 
 more than half a score of guests at any one time. 
 
 Included in this small number was Colonel 
 Buckmill, who was then looking for a suitable site 
 for an academy. The owner of the estate would 
 not admit that the hotel was a failure, but he hinted 
 that the building might be obtained for the school. 
 It exactly suited Colonel Buckmill, and a bargain 
 was soon made for a lease of it. In this manner 
 the Sunnyside Hotel became the Chesterfield Col 
 legiate Institute in the autumn of the same year. 
 
 Of course, one of the attractions of the Sunny- 
 side was to be boating on the lake, and Major 
 Billcord provided two sailboats and some rov$t 
 boats ; and Peter Bristol, who Was a good boatSian, 
 was engaged to take care of the boats, and act as 
 skipper when required. The poor man, taking his 
 cue from his employer, believed he had fallen upon 
 a bonanza. His fortune was made, and the rest 
 of his days would be spent at Sandy Point.
 
 16 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 His wife had over three hundred dollars in her 
 own right in a savings bank, which she was willing 
 to put into a house, and the cottage on the point 
 was built. The family moved into it, and were 
 delighted with the situation, though it was a rather 
 dismal place in the winter. Peter was to have 
 half the money derived from letting the boats ; 
 but he soon found that he had nothing to do. The 
 few guests did not care to row or sail. 
 
 The boatman had no rent to pay, for the major 
 had given him permission to put his house on the 
 point without charge ; but he found it was very 
 hard work to get enough for his family to eat. 
 Lily obtained work in Westport, and Paul attended 
 to the boats while his father worked at haying, and 
 they got through the season. But the dream of 
 fortune had collapsed. 
 
 Peter Bristol was discouraged, and went to New 
 York to find work. He obtained no situation, and 
 shipped for the West Indies. A letter from him 
 informed his family that he was at work on a 
 plantation, and he hoped to do well after a while. 
 Since that, nothing had been heard from him in 
 two years. 
 
 Paul obtained a little work at the institute, and 
 Lily kept her place in Westport ; so that the fam-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 17 
 
 ily had worried along until the daughter lost her 
 situation for the want of sufficient work at the 
 store in which she was employed. Then it was 
 difficult even to obtain enough to eat. Paul did 
 his best, and allowed himself to be bullied and 
 kicked by the gentlemanly students of the institute, 
 while he could make an occasional quarter. 
 
 Major Billcord lived in Westport, and his son 
 had lately become a pupil in the institute. He 
 was older than most of the students, and was a 
 wild young fellow. In the early spring he had 
 seen Lily Bristol. He agreed with others who 
 had seen her that she was a remarkably pretty 
 girl, and he had made frequent visits to Sandy 
 Point. 
 
 tf I prefer to be in the boat alone," Lily replied 
 to the young gentleman's remark that it would be 
 more sociable to have company. 
 
 "But I want to see you, Lily, and have a talk 
 with you," persisted Walker Billcord. 
 
 "I will see you at the cottage if you desire," 
 answered Lily. 
 
 "But I wish to see you alone." 
 
 "You cannot see me alone, sir," replied the 
 pretty maiden with a great deal of spirit. 
 
 "What's the reason I can't? I shall not hurt
 
 18 STEM TO 
 
 you. I think I know how to behave like a gentle 
 man." 
 
 "Perhaps you do," added Lily rather doubt 
 fully, for Walk Billcord's reputation was none of 
 the best. 
 
 " If you will come to the shore, I will row you 
 all about the bay," Walk insisted. "I will make 
 it as pleasant for you as possible." 
 
 "No, I thank you," replied the damsel decid 
 edly. 
 
 " What 's the matter with you ? I hope you 
 don't think I mean to do you any harm." 
 
 "I am not afraid of you, but I choose to be 
 alone in the boat." 
 
 With this she pulled away from the shore, though 
 he continued to call out to her as long as she was 
 Avithin hearing. She did not like the young man 
 at all, but rather despised than feared him. He 
 had often thrown himself in her way, and exerted 
 himself to please her. She was civil to him, and 
 that was all. 
 
 Lily remained in the boat, pulling about the 
 little bay for over an hour. Walk had stood upon 
 the beach for at least half an hour, waiting for her 
 return to the shore. Then he had retired, and 
 the fair maiden supposed he had gone back to the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 19 
 
 institute. When she hud taken all the air and 
 exercise she thought she needed, she rowed back 
 to the shore. Just as she had driven the bow of 
 the flutboat as far as she could on the sand, Walk 
 Billcord rushed out from the bushes, where he 
 had concealed himself, and prevented her from 
 getting out of the boat. 
 
 She had put the oars under the thwarts, and 
 arranged everything inside of the boat, "which had 
 delayed her a few moments. But as soon as she 
 saw her tormentor running to the waterside, she 
 attempted to leap out of the boat. 
 
 "No, you don't, my pretty maiden ! " exclaimed 
 "Walk, as he seized her by the shoulders, and 
 crowded her back to her seat in the stern. 
 
 Under the impetus of the force applied to her 
 by the young man, Lily dropped into the seat, and 
 was obliged to grasp the gunwale of the boat to 
 avoid being thrown into the water. The fair face 
 of the young lady was flushed with anger, as well 
 it might have been, for she had not suspected that 
 her tormentor would resort to violence. 
 
 She was not inclined to submit quietly to the 
 will of Walk, for she immediately drew out one 
 of the oars from under the thwarts, and poised it 
 in the air, as though she intended to defeat the
 
 20 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 intentions of the reckless young gentleman even 
 by meeting force with force. 
 
 AValk Billcord stood for a moment holding on 
 at the prow of the boat, as though he was unde 
 cided as to his next step. Doubtless he felt that 
 he had already passed the bounds of propriety, 
 and appeared to be considering whether it was 
 prudent to proceed any further. A glance at the 
 glowing and indignant face of Lily increased his 
 interest in the adventure, and he was not willing to 
 leave her in the moment of her heightened beauty. 
 
 Lily was the daughter of a poor dependent of 
 his father : at least, he so regarded her, and thought 
 he had some right to subject her to his own Avhiin. 
 lie wanted to row her about the bay, and talk with 
 her ; and this was the extent of his present wishes. 
 It was only a "bit of a lark," a harmless pleas 
 antry, on his part, as he afterward explained it, 
 and he had not the slightest intention of injuring 
 her. 
 
 The fair maiden did not regard herself as a 
 proper subject for the } r oung gentleman's pleas 
 antry, and she was prepared to bring down the 
 blade of the oar upon his head if the occasion 
 should require. In the attitude of defence she 
 waited for his next demonstration. The upraised
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 21 
 
 oar rather tempted Walk to proceed, and he pushed 
 the bow of the boat from the sand, springing into 
 the foresheets as he did so. 
 
 As this was not a direct assault upon her, Lily 
 did not bring down the oar upon his head, as she 
 would under greater provocation, but she dropped 
 it into the water at the stern of the boat. The 
 water was shoal ; and, setting the blade upon the 
 sand at the bottom, she dexterously whirled the 
 craft about, bringing the stern within a few feet 
 of the dry sands on the shore. 
 
 Mr. Walk Billcord did not object to this move 
 ment, as it was necessary to head the boat away 
 from the shore ; but he deemed it prudent to 
 secure the other oar before his fair companion 
 could do so. He stooped down and got hold of 
 the blade end of it. It required a little tact to 
 remove it from its position under the thwarts ; and, 
 while he was engaged in doing it, Lily gave the 
 oar another push, forcing the boat close up to 
 the shore. 
 
 Without waiting for her tormentor to get the 
 second oar over the forward thwart, she leaped 
 lightly upon the dry sand, effecting her landing 
 without wetting the soles of her shoes. She still 
 held the oar in her hand, and stood on the shore,
 
 22 STEM TO STEEN; 
 
 waiting for the next move of her unwelcome com 
 panion. 
 
 She was too proud to run away from such a 
 contemptible being as she considered Mr. Walk 
 Billcord. She looked as though she felt abun 
 dantly able to defend herself from any attack on 
 the part of the unmanly persecutor. She evidently 
 believed that he had no serious intention to harm 
 her, but was simply making her the sport of his 
 whim. 
 
 The moment she leaped ashore, Walk realized 
 that she had got the better of him. Whatever he 
 intended, he did not like to be outdone by a feeble 
 girl. It was not pleasant for him, even in fun, to 
 be outwitted by a weak maiden. He felt that he 
 had not been smart, and he was annoyed at the 
 situation. His vanity demanded that he should do 
 something to get "even" with his intended victim. 
 
 The confident look and attitude of Lily on the 
 shore disconcerted him, and invited further action 
 on his part. He had not yet obtained possession 
 of the oar, for it had to be shoved back before it 
 could be passed over the forward thwart. But 
 he had no present need of the implement, and he 
 abandoned it to survey the position of Lily. He 
 interpreted her looks and attitude as a defiance.
 
 OF., BUILDING THE BOAT. 23 
 
 The boat, detached from the sand, was floating 
 away from the shore. With a long leap he planted 
 his feet on the land, and the effect of his move 
 ment was to drive the boat farther from the beach. 
 A gentle breeze from the westward was driving 
 it farther away, and Lily saw that it would soon 
 be out of her reach. 
 
 She rushed to the water's edge, and, reaching out 
 as far as she could, she succeeded in placing the 
 end of the blade on the prow. She began to draw 
 the truant craft toward the shore, when Walk put 
 himself at her side. He took the oar from her 
 hand, and pulled the craft up till its bottom grated 
 on the sand. 
 
 Lily took a stick, and tried to get hold of the 
 painter. As soon as she had it in her hand, Walk 
 took it from her. He not only took the rope, but 
 the hand which held it. He grasped her wrist 
 with one hand, while he tried to drag the boat 
 ashore with the other. He soon found that he had 
 his hands full, both literally and figuratively. 
 
 Lily attempted to shake him off; but Walk 
 tightened his hold upon her wrist, though he had 
 to drop the painter of the boat, which, having no 
 hold upon the land, began to float off into the open 
 lake. The fair maiden turned and twisted in her
 
 24 STEM TO STEEX. 
 
 efforts to escape, but the young ruffian held on like 
 a vise. 
 
 In a moment or two she was exhausted with the 
 violence of her exertions, and by this time she was 
 thoroughly frightened. Very likely Walk had no 
 worse intentions than at first, and was simply 
 engaged in the business of getting "even" with the 
 weak maiden who had outwitted him. 
 
 "What do you mean, you wretch? Let go of 
 me!" gasped Lily, her chest heaving with terror 
 and emotion. 
 
 " Don't make a fuss, my pretty one ; I will not 
 harm you," replied Walk. 
 
 "Let go of me, Mr. Billcord ! I thought you 
 claimed to be a gentleman ! Let go, or I will 
 scream," panted Lily. 
 
 "I only want to take a little row with you, and 
 I shall, you may depend upon that," added Walk, 
 picking up the oar which had fallen on the beach. 
 "Don't make a fuss, and I won't hurt you." 
 
 But Lily again renewed the struggle with all 
 her might. Just at that moment, Paul Bristol and 
 his mother came out of the cottage. The boy was 
 a stout youth of fifteen, and, the moment he saw 
 what was going on, he broke into a run.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE SON OF TOIL FIGHTS HIS OWN BATTLE. 
 
 T3AUL BRISTOL seemed to have made only a 
 couple of bounds before he had covered the 
 distance between the cottage and the shore. He 
 saw his sister struggling to release herself from 
 the grasp of Walk Billcord. All the indignation 
 Nature had portioned out to him was roused, and 
 he did not stop to ask any questions. He did not 
 even utter a word of warning or reproach. 
 
 His two fists were clinched in hard knots before 
 he reached the scene of the encounter, and, without 
 waiting to consider the situation, he planted a blow 
 with his right fist between the two eyes of his 
 sister's persecutor, and then did the same with the 
 left. The effect was instant and decisive. Walk 
 went over backwards upon the sand, and his hold 
 upon the fair maiden was released. 
 
 By this time Mrs. Bristol had come to the spot, 
 and, putting her arm around her panting, trem 
 bling daughter, she led her to the cottage without 
 
 25
 
 26 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 taking note of the result of the battle, though she 
 could not help seeing that the tormentor had been 
 vanquished in the first onslaught. 
 
 Walk Billcord was utterly astonished as well as 
 effectually upset. Paul Bristol had always been 
 meek and subservient in his dealings with the 
 students, and no one could have suspected that 
 there was anything like a claw in his hard paws. 
 If Mr. Walker was astonished the first moment 
 after his unexpected fall, he \vas indignant and 
 boili.ig over with wrath the second. 
 
 Though it was probable that both of the young 
 gentleman's eyes had been put into mourning for 
 the coming week, he was not otherwise damaged, 
 and he leaped to his feet as soon as he could real 
 ize what had happened. He saw that he had been 
 struck down by one whom he had always regarded 
 as a son of toil, a sort of cur about the premises 
 of the institute. His blood boiled, and, without a 
 word of any kind, he proceeded to "pitch into" 
 his late assailant with all the physical vigor he 
 could bring to bear upon him. 
 
 Paul warded off the wild blows aimed at him, 
 and soon planted one of his own on the end of the 
 young gentleman's nose, which caused the blood 
 to flow in a stream from that organ. But Walk
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 27 
 
 did not mind this little incident, though Paul was 
 rather startled to see what he had done. The 
 latter was inclined to deal as gently as he couM 
 with his gentlemanly opponent ; but he found it 
 necessary to defend himself from the impetuous 
 charges of Walk. In doing so he delivered a 
 hard hit, which carried his foe to the ground again. 
 
 The young gentleman was not yet satisfied, 
 though he realized that he was not a match for his 
 toil-hardened opponent. He sprang to his feet 
 once more, out of breath, but unwilling to yield a 
 hair to such an assailant. Grasping the stick Lily 
 had used to haul in the boat, he again rushed upon 
 Paul, and aimed a blow at his head; but Paul 
 retreated a few steps, and picked up the oar which 
 had dropped on the beach. 
 
 Paul Bristol Avas entirely cool, now that his 
 sister was no longer in peril, and he began to real 
 ize that a quarrel with the son of the proprietor of 
 the domain was a very serious matter. With the 
 oar he warded off the blows of his insane adver 
 sary, and this Avas all he wished to do. He could 
 easily have " laid him out " again, but the fear of 
 consequences kept him within bounds. 
 
 Walk exhausted himself to no purpose. He 
 could not hit his opponent, and his strength and
 
 28 STEM TO STEKN; 
 
 his wind were soon used up. He drew back a 
 little, and fixed a savage gaze upon his stalwart 
 enemy. He panted like a wild beast at bay, and 
 his blood boiled all the more because he could ac 
 complish nothing. 
 
 "I'll settle you yet, Paul Bristol!" exclaimed 
 Walk as he stepped down to the edge of the water 
 and began to wash the blood from his face. 
 
 "I'm settled now," replied Paul calmly. "I 
 have had enough of it, and I should like to stop 
 where we are." 
 
 " You won't stop where we are, not till I have 
 beaten you to a jelly. I shall break every bone in 
 your dirty carcass before I get through with you," 
 gasped Walk, struggling for an even supply of 
 breath. 
 
 "When I say I have got enough of it, that 
 ought to end the affair," added Paul with a cheer 
 ful smile on his face. 
 
 "I don't care what you say; you haven't got 
 enough. You have given me two sore eyes and a 
 bloody nose, and you haven't got anything to bal 
 ance it," growled Walk. "I mean to break your 
 head, and then I will call it square." 
 
 "But I don't want my head broken, if it is all 
 the same to }'ou," replied Paul, leaning on the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 29 
 
 oar. " My head is of some use to me, arid it 
 would not he pleasant to have it broken." 
 
 " You hegan it, and you shall have enough of it 
 before we are done," added Walk, beginning to 
 breathe a little more freely. 
 
 " I began it ? " queried Paul with the same 
 cheerful smile. " I don't think so, and I should 
 like to argue the question with you." 
 
 "Didn't you hit me first, you nunkhead?" de 
 manded Walk. 
 
 " Did n't you lay hold of my sister first, and 
 frighten her half out of her wits ? " 
 
 "I didn't hurt her, and I was only fooling with 
 her." 
 
 " Fooling with her ! That's just what I was 
 doing with you. I was only fooling with you, Mr. 
 Walker." 
 
 " I don't like that sort of fooling, you speckled 
 cur ! " 
 
 "My sister didn't like your sort of fooling any 
 better than you like mine. But, if you want to 
 stop fooling, now is a good time to begin." 
 
 "I will stop when I get even with you, and not 
 before," snapped Walk. "You struck the first 
 blow, and I mean to strike the last." 
 
 By this time the young gentleman had fairly
 
 30 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 recovered his wind, but nothing like coolness had 
 come over his temper. Dropping the stick, he 
 rushed upon Paul again with his nuked tists. He 
 was savage, and the boatman's son soon found 
 that he could not passively defend himself, and the 
 result was that Walk soon went under again. 
 
 This disaster made him madder than ever, and 
 when he rose from the beach he seized the stick 
 again, which Paul met with the oar. Paul liked 
 this way of carrying on the combat better than 
 the other, for he could defend himself without in 
 flicting any injury on his furious opponent. 
 
 While Walk was thus wearing himself out, a 
 gentleman with a riding-whip in his hand came out 
 of the path through the woods. As soon as he 
 discovered what was going on upon the beach, he 
 quickened his pace, and reached the scene of the 
 conflict at a sharp run. It was Major Billcord, 
 the father of Paul's wrathy opponent. 
 
 "What does all this mean?" demanded the 
 major when he had come within speaking dis 
 tance of the combatants. " How dare you strike 
 my son with that oar?" 
 
 "I haven't struck him once with it," replied 
 Paul, aghast at the presence of the mighty propri 
 etor of the domain. " I am only defending myself,
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 31 
 
 "You have no business to defend yourself 
 against my son, you dirty puppy. How dare you 
 lift a weapon against him?" stormed Major Bill- 
 cord ; and to him there was only one side to the 
 controversy, whatever it was. 
 
 Walk had dropped his stick as soon as he heard 
 the voice of his father, and Paul had done the same 
 with the oar. The latter felt that he had got into 
 a very bad scrape. The major was a magnate of the 
 first order, and he was supreme on his own do 
 main. His mother was a tenant at will at the cot 
 tage. All the money she had inherited from her 
 father's estate, and all she had in the world, was 
 invested in that cottage. The mighty major could 
 turn them out of house and home at a moment's 
 notice, as they paid no rent. 
 
 " What does all this mean, my son ? I am 
 sorry to see you fighting with such a cur as that," 
 said Major Billcord when the battle was sus 
 pended for the moment. 
 
 " It means that he struck me first, and I intend 
 to get even with him if I fight till Lake Cham- 
 plain dries up," blustered Walk, as he clinched 
 his fists again ; and doubtless he had a clear idea 
 of his father's views on the subject of pugilism. 
 
 " He struck first ! You did quite right, my son.
 
 32 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Never take a blow from any one," added the 
 major. 
 
 "But he insulted my sister, sir! lie had seized 
 hold of her, and held her when I hit him, sir," 
 pleaded Paul with proper deference ; and he felt 
 that he had a good defence. 
 
 "A fight begins with the first blow, and we 
 need n't ask what happened before it was struck. 
 You admit that you struck the first blow, Bristol?" 
 continued Major Billcord, sitting in judgment on 
 the case. 
 
 " I did strike the first blow, sir ; and a fellow 
 that would n't hit hard when his sister was insulted, 
 and held as a prisoner, don't amount to much," Paul 
 replied rather warmly. 
 
 " You struck the first blow ; and that 's all I 
 want to hear about it," added the major sharply. 
 "My son has done quite right to resent a blow 
 with another blow ; and if he is not satisfied with 
 the punishment he has given you, you vagabond, 
 I will stand by and see fair play till he is sat 
 isfied." 
 
 Mr. Walker did not quite approve the ground 
 taken by his father, and wanted him to do some 
 thing more than stand by and see fair play. But 
 the major had spoken, and the son realized that
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 33 
 
 he had nothing to do but to take the broad hint 
 the patriarch had given him. Clinching his fists 
 again, he rushed upon Paul for the third time. 
 Paul was indignant at the decision of the magnate, 
 and felt as though he had been commanded by the 
 great man to permit his son to insult his sister. 
 
 Walk rushed upon him, but Paul's back was up 
 for the first time since he had relieved his sister 
 from the grasp of her assailant. His paws were 
 not velvet : they were all fangs. At the first on 
 slaught of Walk, that young gentleman went over 
 on his back with the blood gushing from his nos 
 trils. Twice more he renewed the attack, with 
 about the same result. 
 
 Mr. Walker was so full of wrath that he could 
 no longer control himself, and he laid hold of the 
 stick again. Paul picked up the oar once more. 
 The son of toil knocked the stick out of the hands 
 of his opponent, and it flew into the lake. Walk 
 could not find another, and Paul dropped the oar. 
 It was naked fists again, with the same effect as 
 before. 
 
 By this time Major Billcord was as full of wrath 
 as his son, and without regard to fair play, of 
 which he stood as champion, he rushed to the as 
 sistance of his defeated son. Paul picked up the 
 oar and retreated before the two.
 
 34 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 " Stop a moment, if you please, Major Billcord," 
 shouted Paul. " I don't want to hit you sir, and 
 I won't if I can help it." 
 
 " But I am going to flog you within an inch of 
 your life ! " yelled the major. 
 
 Paul had gone as far as he could without retreat 
 ing into the cottage, and he was unwilling to carry 
 the battle into the presence of his mother and sis 
 ter. He halted ; the major wrenched the oar from 
 his grasp. He struck the son of toil with it. 
 Paul's blood was up ; he gave the magnate a blow 
 between the eyes, under which he went down-. 
 Walk " pitched in " again, and was planted by the 
 side of his father.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FINAL MANDATE OF MAJOR BILLCORD. 
 
 "TV/TAJOR BILLCORD was a short, puffy man, 
 " inclined to corpulency. The blow of the 
 son of toil, and his fall upon the sand, proved to 
 be enough for him. He was all foam and fury in 
 consequence of his signal defeat. Possibly he had 
 thought that a poor dependent upon his bounty 
 would not dare to strike him ; and, in truth, Paul 
 felt that it was something like treading upon the 
 Bible. 
 
 He had attempted to take the stalwart youth by 
 the collar, and had struck him with his riding-whip 
 in a tender place. The pain was nothing, but the 
 indignity was great ; and Paul's impulse had led 
 him farther than he would have gone if he had 
 considered what he was doing. 
 
 The major and his son picked themselves up, 
 and for a moment they gazed with something like 
 wonder upon the victor in the unequal contest. 
 But all three of them had been beside themselves 
 
 35
 
 36 STFM TO STEHN; 
 
 for the moment. Paul realized what he had done ; 
 and so did his mother and sister, for they came 
 out of the cottage while father and son were get 
 ting up from the ground. 
 
 rt Woman , do you see what your son has done ? " 
 demanded Major Billcord, who was the first to 
 break the impressive silence. 
 
 " I am very sorry, sir," pleaded the poor woman, 
 stepping between Paul and his victims, in order to 
 prevent him from doing them any further mischief 
 if he should be disposed to renew the combat. 
 
 " Sorry for it ! " exclaimed the magnate, as if 
 simple regret could atone for a blow given by a 
 plebeian to a patrician. "Is this the way you 
 bring up your son?" 
 
 " I am very sorry, Major Billcord, but he has 
 been greatly provoked. By your leave, sir, it 
 was Mr. Walker that began it." 
 
 " It is false, marm ! Your brute of a son struck 
 the first blow ; he has confessed it to me," puffed 
 the magnate. 
 
 " But Mr. Walker had first insulted my daugh 
 ter ; he had seized hold of her, and was trying 
 to force her into the boat when Paul interfered," 
 Mrs. Bristol explained with as much meekness as 
 the subject would permit.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 37 
 
 "Nonsense, woman ! Seized hold of your 
 daughter ! Don't talk such stuff to me. Walker 
 
 O 
 
 did not mean to do her any harm," added Major 
 Billcord with the utmost contempt. 
 
 " I only asked her to let me row her about the 
 bay in the boat," the young gentleman explained. 
 
 "It was impertinent in her to refuse when iny 
 son honored her with his notice," continued the 
 major. 
 
 " I thought she had a right to choose her own 
 company," said Mrs. Bristol with proper humil- 
 
 ity. 
 
 "I have allowed you to live on my land for two 
 years without a penny of rent, woman ; and this 
 is the return I get for it," replied the great man, 
 in whose heart the poor woman's ingratitude was 
 beginning to make havoc. 
 
 " You have been very kind to us, Major Billcord, 
 and we are very grateful for all you have done for 
 us. I am so sorry that this sad thing has hap 
 pened ! " pleaded Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 "And still you try to fasten the blame on my 
 son," retorted the proprietor of Sandy Point and 
 its surroundings. 
 
 " I am very sorry he meddled with Lily ; if he 
 had n't done it, there would have been no trouble,
 
 38 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 x 
 
 for Paul has always treated Mr. Walker with 
 respect." 
 
 " At it again ! " exclaimed the major. " You will 
 insist that my son was to blame, simply because he 
 was polite enough to invite your daughter to take 
 a row with him in the boat." 
 
 " She was not willing to go ; and I did n't know 
 that she was obliged to go out on the lake with 
 him. She declined his invitation, and Mr. Walker 
 tried to force her into the boat." 
 
 " It was not civil in her to decline the invitation, 
 and I don't wonder that Walker was a little vexed 
 at her refusal. She is a pert minx, marm, and 
 has not been well brought up, or she would have 
 known better than to decline," added the magnate, 
 bestowing a look of severity upon the fair maiden. 
 
 Mrs. Bristol and Paul saw that it was useless to 
 attempt to reason with such a man, and they were 
 silent. The major took out his handkerchief, and 
 wiped the perspiration from his face. Then he felt 
 of his nose and the region about his two eyes, be 
 tween which the son of toil had planted his hard 
 fist. Doubtless there was a soreness in those parts, 
 and perhaps the visual organs of the father would 
 be clothed in sable wreaths by the next day. 
 
 " That boy must be punished, severely punished,
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 39 
 
 for what he has done," the major resumed. " He 
 has had the audacity to strike me in the face, me, 
 the benefactor of the whole family ! " 
 
 " Did n't you catch me by the throat, and hit me 
 with your riding- whip, sir?" asked Paul calmly 
 and meekly. 
 
 " What if I did ! Do you mean to put yourself 
 on a level with me, you young reprobate?" de 
 manded the magnate, his wrath beginning to boil 
 again. " Woman, I say that boy must be severely 
 punished for this," he continued, turning to Mrs. 
 Bristol again. " He must be whipped till he can't 
 stand up ! " 
 
 "Who will whip him, sir?" asked the poor 
 woman innocently. 
 
 "I will do it, if you don't, inarm," replied the 
 major savagely. 
 
 " I could not whip him, sir ; he is a great deal 
 stronger than I am ; and, if he is whipped at all, you 
 must do it, sir ; " but Mrs. Bristol seemed to think 
 there was something a little satirical in what she 
 said. 
 
 "Then I will doit!" said the magnate, raising 
 his riding-whip. 
 
 " Perhaps he will not allow you to whip him, 
 sir," suggested Mrs. Bristol ; and even her anger 
 appeared to be approaching the boiling-point.
 
 40 STEM TO STEPtN; 
 
 tf The boy deserves to be severely punished. If 
 he submits to the whipping which Walker and I 
 will give him, we may be willing to let the matter 
 drop where it is." 
 
 "You had better arrange it with Paul, sir. I 
 should as soon think of whipping Colonel Buckmill 
 as my son," replied the poor woman with a de 
 cided touch of satire in her tones and manner. 
 
 "If the young villain submits, very well." 
 
 "If you should begin to punish him, I have no 
 doubt he will speak or act for himself," she added. 
 
 " Bristol, you hear what has been said. AVill you 
 submit to the punishment you deserve ? " demanded 
 the major severely, turning to the culprit. 
 
 "No, sir, I will not." 
 
 " Do you hear him, inarm?" 
 
 "I do, sir; and he answers just as I supposed 
 he would." 
 
 t( Then you uphold him in his treacherous treat 
 ment of my son? Then you countenance him in 
 biting the hand that feeds him ? " 
 
 Mrs. Bristol made no reply, for she did not 
 wish to irritate the powerful man unnecessarily. 
 She looked at her son, and she was proud of him. 
 
 " Bristol, you refuse to submit to the whipping 
 you deserve ? " demanded Major Billcord, approach-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 41 
 
 ing the stout youth with the riding-whip up 
 raised. 
 
 "If you hit me with that whip, sir, I will knock 
 you as far beyond the middle of next week us I 
 can," replied Paul firmly and quietly. " Your son 
 insulted my sister, and I treated him as he de 
 served, and just as I would another time if he did 
 the same thing. My sister is a poor girl, but she 
 is just as good as you are, and just as good as Mr. 
 Walker is. If she is insulted, sir, I will stand up 
 against five hundred Billcords as long as there is 
 anything left of me." 
 
 " Is this your gratitude for what I have done for 
 the family?" asked the major, knitting his brow 
 into a knot of wrinkles. 
 
 "Yes, sir; this is my gratitude. Do you think, 
 because you allowed my father to put his cottage 
 on your land, that you and your son have the 
 right to insult my sister?" demanded Paul with 
 considerable energy. 
 
 " No one insulted her, you young reprobate ! " 
 interposed the father. " Is a civil and gentlemanly 
 invitation an insult?" 
 
 " If he had stopped there, we should have had no 
 trouble." 
 
 " But she refused the invitation."
 
 42 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " She had as much right to decline it as any lady 
 in Westport would have." 
 
 " Was it treating a member of my family pro 
 perly, after all I have done for you ? " demanded 
 the major more calmly, hut with a terrible havoc 
 in his tender feelings. 
 
 " You have had a good deal to say about what 
 you have done for us, Major Billcord. The land 
 on which that cottage stands," continued Paul, 
 pointing to it, "is not worth ten dollars. At ten 
 per cent, the ground rent would be one dollar a 
 year, or two dollars for the two years it has stood 
 there. I have done work enough for you in the 
 shape of errands, taking care of your boat, and in 
 other ways, to pay for the land twice over. I have 
 carried the first black bass of the season to your 
 house, when I could have sold the fish for a dollar 
 apiece, for two years. As I look at the question 
 of gratitude, there is a balance of at least twenty 
 dollars in my favor; but I give it to you with all 
 my heart, and I don't claim the privilege of in 
 sulting your daughter for what I have done." 
 
 "You are a glib-talking puppy, and there is no 
 more reason or common sense in you than there is 
 in a heifer calf. I have had enough of you, and so 
 has my son," responded the major, choking with
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 43 
 
 wrath over the unanswerable argument of the poor 
 dependent. 
 
 "If you have had enough of me, you and Mr. 
 Walker, I am satisfied to let the matter drop where 
 it is ; but if Mr. Walker, or any other student of 
 the Chesterfield Collegiate Institute, insults my 
 sister, I shall hit him as hard as I can," replied 
 Paul coolly. 
 
 " Woman, you have heard the insulting words of 
 your son, and you uphold him in his wickedness. 
 I must take the next step. I will not have such a 
 vile reprobate on my land. I will not have you or 
 your ungrateful daughter on my territory. You 
 are a tenant at will. That cottage must not re 
 main another day on my premises. Remove it at 
 once. If it is here at three o'clock to-morrow after 
 noon, I will give, the students permission to tumble 
 it into the lake. Do you hear me, woman?" 
 stormed the major fiercely. 
 
 "I hear you, sir," replied Mrs. Bristol, covering 
 her face with her handkerchief, and beginning to 
 weep bitterly. 
 
 " You need n't cry about it, marm. You and that 
 graceless son of yours have brought it on your 
 selves ; and I think the students will enjoy the fun 
 of pitching the shanty into the lake."
 
 44 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 "It is all the property I have in the world, 
 Major Billcord," pleaded the poor woman. " Give 
 me a little time to remove the cottage, I implore 
 you ! " 
 
 " Don't implore me, marm ! Thank your wretch 
 of a son for it. By three o'clock to-morrow after 
 noon, if you have n't removed it in the mean time, 
 the shanty shall be rolled into the lake." 
 
 " I cannot get it through the woods to remove 
 it," groaned Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 tf That 's your lookout, marm," said the major as 
 he and AValk departed. 
 
 Mrs. Bristol seated herself on the lower step of 
 the cottage, and continued to weep bitterly.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ABSENCE OF THE TRUANT DRAGON. 
 
 cottae of the Bristols had been framed in 
 
 Burlington, and brought down to Sandy Point 
 on a schooner. As it stood, it was estimated to be 
 worth about three hundred and fifty dollars, which 
 was the cost of it to the poor woman when she 
 invested her all in what was to be a home for the 
 family. 
 
 It was a small sum the cottage cost, but to the 
 poor Avoman it was as big as a million to a million- 
 naire. She had been Avell brought up in her father's 
 house, and she could not exist like a Chinaman or 
 a Hottentot, and it had cost the family a struggle 
 to live during the absence of the father. 
 
 Now all that she had was to be taken from her. 
 As they had paid no ground rent for the site, the 
 law could do nothing for her. She was a tenant 
 on suff ranee rather than a tenant at will, and had 
 no rights whatever. The magnate could tumble 
 the cottage into the lake, and the wind would carry 
 
 45
 
 46 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 it where it listed. It would probably be broken 
 up on the rocks or shoals, and the major might as 
 well set it on fire as turn it adrift on the lake. 
 
 The rich man intended to execute his mandate 
 in the cruelest manner possible. The students 
 were to have a frolic in tumbling it into the lake. 
 
 O 
 
 The humble structure contained all their household 
 goods, all the little articles they valued far beyond 
 the money they cost. It was hardly possible to 
 remove them in the time allowed for the purpose, 
 for everything would have to be carried by hand 
 or transported in the flatboat. 
 
 No team could be driven down to the point, for 
 the major would not allow a tree to be felled to 
 make a road, and the owner had been compelled 
 to leave his saddle-horse at a considerable distance 
 from the lake when he visited it. Of course, the 
 cruel magnate understood all this, and realized 
 that his final mandate doomed the cottage and all 
 it contained to certain destruction, for neither he 
 nor his persecuted tenants could see any means 
 of relief. 
 
 Even if they could carry away their goods, they 
 had no place to put them. The brief period of 
 probation given them was not more than enough to 
 enable the poor woman to find another tenement.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 47 
 
 It was two miles to Westport, and five to Gen- 
 verres, by water. The situation looked entirely 
 hopeless to Mrs. Bristol ; and the more she thought 
 of it, the more bitterly she wept. 
 
 "I don't know what will become of us," said she 
 when she had vented her grief for a time. 
 
 " Don't cry, mother : we shall get out of the 
 scrape in some way," replied Paul in as soothing 
 tones as he could command, for the situation was 
 hardly more hopeful to him than to his mother. 
 
 " I don't see that we can do anything but submit 
 to the loss of everything we have," moaned Mrs. 
 Bristol. " We can't stay here any longer, and we 
 have no place to go to in the wide world. The 
 students will take a wicked delight in breaking up 
 everything we have. I cannot stay here to see 
 them revel in the destruction of our home, which 
 has been as dear to me as though it had been a 
 palace. But where can I go?" 
 
 "We had better go to Westport, mother," said 
 Lily, wiping the tears from her eyes. " We can 
 take a few things with us in the boat." 
 
 " The boat Avent adrift in the row, and I saw it 
 halfway over to Scotch Bonnet," interposed Paul 
 as he strained his eyes to discover the truant craft. 
 
 " Then we can walk over to Westport ; but we
 
 48 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 can't carry much of anything in our hands in a 
 walk of two miles," added Lily gloomily. 
 
 "Where shall we go in Westport when we get 
 there?" asked Mrs. Bristol. "We can't go to a 
 hotel or boarding-house, for we have n't money 
 enough to pay our wa}' for three days." 
 
 "I don't see that w T e can do a thing, mother," 
 said Paul when he had carefully looked over the 
 situation. "I would borrow a boat, if there was 
 one to be had ; but I am sure the institute boatman 
 would not lend me one now. Major Biilcord's 
 story will be all over the neighborhood in a few 
 hours. I could get one in Westport ; but it might 
 take me a whole day to find our flatboat, for it 
 must have been driven ashore on the other side 
 of the lake. Some vessel may have picked it 
 up, for I saw two or three going up the lake." 
 
 " I saw a sailboat go by while you were talking 
 to the major," said Lily. 
 
 "I noticed her; it was one of the Beech Hill 
 boats," added Paul. " One of these vessels may 
 have picked up the ' Dragon,' " as he had named 
 the flatboat, " and it may be five miles from here 
 by this time." 
 
 " We are in the hands of Providence, and as 
 helpless as babies," continued Mrs. Bristol. ft l
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 49 
 
 don't see that we can do a single thing for our 
 selves, and we must trust in a higher power than 
 man." 
 
 "We can stay in the cottage over night, at least, 
 and it will he our last in our happy home," said 
 Paul. "The students will all be at their studies 
 in the forenoon, and then you and Lily can walk 
 over to Westport." 
 
 " What are you going to do, Paul ? " inquired his 
 mother, bestowing a look of the deepest interest 
 upon him. 
 
 "I shall stay here and save what I can." 
 
 " You must not stay here ! " protested his mother 
 warmly. "The students will kill you, under the 
 lead of Walker Billcord." 
 
 " I am not afraid of them." 
 
 "You must not stay here: if you do, I shall 
 stay with you," replied the devoted mother. 
 
 "There is that sailboat, Paul," said Lily, who 
 had been gazing blankly out upon the lake. " She 
 looks as though she whs headed for the point." 
 
 " That 's the ' Goldwing,' " added Paul. " I hope 
 Dory Dornwood is on board of her. lie is a good 
 fellow 7 , and he may do something to help us. If 
 she comes near enough, I will hail her." 
 
 O ' 
 
 "But Dory Dornwood will not do anything for
 
 50 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 any one on this side of the lake," replied Mrs. 
 Bristol. " The two schools have waged the fier 
 cest war upon each other." 
 
 "I know Dory Dornwood very well, mother* I 
 had a long talk with him about the war between 
 the schools, and I know that the Beech-Hillers 
 have done all they could to keep out of trouble 
 with the Chesterfields. I am sure he will do any 
 thing he can for us. He don't like Major Billcord 
 any better than I do at this moment, for he had a 
 row with him when he was a waiter on a steamer." 
 
 " I don't see that he can do anything for us, even 
 if he does come near enough for you to hail him," 
 added Mrs. Bristol, hardly less despondent than 
 before. 
 
 " He can take some of our things on board his 
 boat, and carry them to a place where they will be 
 safe until we want them again." 
 
 Paul was quite hopeful that something would 
 come of the visit of the " Goldwing " to the point, 
 if she came there. Without stopping to argue 
 the possibilities with his mother, he hastened to 
 the shore. The "Goldwing" was headed down the 
 *lake, and, with all sail set, she was dashing over 
 the waves at a tremendous high speed. She was 
 towing a small boat astern of her, but Paul could
 
 OK, BTJILDI^ft THE BOAT. 51 
 
 not tell whether it was the " Dragon " or her usual 
 tender. 
 
 The wind was exactly west, and the schooner 
 was going free. When Paul saw her before, she 
 was on the easterly side of the lake, where she got 
 a better breeze than on the opposite side. He 
 was satisfied that she headed for the vicinity of the 
 point ; for she would have started her sheets when 
 she came up with Scotch Bonnet, if she had been 
 bound directly down the lake. 
 
 Though she was approaching the point, it was 
 by no means certain that she intended to make a 
 landing there. The boat she was towing was 
 astern of her, and Paul could not see it plainly, .as 
 the hull of the yacht obstructed his view. As on 
 all occasions, he determined to do the best he 
 could. Running back to the house, he borrowed 
 a tablecloth of reddish hue, and fastened it to the 
 oar. Elevating it as a signal to the " Goldwing," he 
 held it in position at the very apex of the point. 
 
 Lily and her mother were not inclined to join 
 him, for they did not feel in 'the mood to meet any 
 young men, however civil they might be. They 
 remained seated on the steps of the cottage ; but 
 they watched the sails of the yacht with as deep 
 an interest as Paul did, for it was at least possible
 
 52 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 that the party on board of her might help them in 
 their present dire emergency. 
 
 " She is headed for the point ! " shouted Paul, 
 when he had satisfied himself of the fact. 
 
 "I pray that a kind Providence has sent her to 
 our relief," replied Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 Paid watched her with the most intense interest. 
 When the "Goldwing" was within a quarter of a 
 mile of the point, the party on board of her waved 
 their handkerchiefs as a reply to Paul's signal. 
 The hopes of the watcher on the shore ran high, 
 but he could not yet see whether or not she had 
 the " Dragon " in tow. 
 
 Sandy Point was a kind of double cape. It was 
 shaped like a letter T. The cottage was on the 
 northeast point, inside of which was Sandy Bay, 
 where the Beech Hill students sometimes came to 
 bathe. The other arm of the point extended to 
 
 * 
 
 the southwest, and inside of it was the station of 
 the boats belonging to the institute. 
 
 "Is that you, Paul Bristol?" shouted some one 
 on board of the "Goldwing." 
 
 " Yes ! Is Dory Dorn wood on board ? " replied 
 Paul. 
 
 " He is ! Have you lost a flatboat?" called the 
 speaker from the yacht.
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 53 
 
 "I have!" 
 
 The schooner kept well off the point, and ap 
 peared now to be headed for the shore on the 
 opposite side of Sandy Point. As she came 
 abreast of the shore, Paul saw that she had the 
 r " Dragon " and her tender in tow. The return of the 
 " Dragon " was a godsend, even if nothing else re 
 sulted from the visit of the yacht. The " Gold- 
 w ing "ran over towards the opposite shore, and 
 then tacked. The wind was light inside of the bay, 
 and the schooner circled gracefully about, coming 
 up into the wind off the point where Paul stood. 
 Down went her jib in the twinkling of an eye, and 
 over went her anchor. In a moment she had come 
 up to her cable, with her mainsail fluttering in the 
 breeze. 
 
 One of the party hauled up the "Dragon," and, 
 casting off the painter, sculled her ashore with the 
 single oar that remained on board of her. 
 
 " This is your boat, I suppose," said Tucker 
 Prince, one of the new students of the Beech Hill 
 Industrial School, as he stepped on shore with the 
 painter in his hand. 
 
 " It is my boat, and I owe you a thousand 
 thanks for bringing her back to me," replied Paul. 
 
 " The skipper wants to know if any accident has
 
 54 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 happened by which she was turned adrift," con 
 tinued Tuck Prince, whom the New-Yorkers called 
 a " Bosting boy." 
 
 "No accident; but who is the skipper?" 
 
 " Dory Dornwood." 
 
 " I would give more to see him than I would to 
 meet my grandmother," added Paul. 
 
 In a few moments more Paul Bristol had Dory 
 by the hand.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE "GOLDWING" AT SANDY POINT. 
 
 ITvORY DORXWOOD had been to the point 
 before, and had met Paul Bristol there. Of 
 course, the son of toil had never associated with 
 the Chesterfields on anything like an equality, and 
 he had no especial interest in them or their aifairs. 
 In the quarrels between the two schools he had 
 been entirely neutral, for the reason that he had not 
 been called upon to take part in any of the battles, 
 and his opinion of the merits of either side was of 
 no consequence.. 
 
 Dory gave the resident of the point his hand, as 
 he came on board of the " Goldwing," and was glad 
 to see him. Possibly the skipper was willing to 
 have a friend in this particular locality, though he 
 knew that Paul had no influence with the gentle 
 manly students of the institute. 
 
 " I picked up your boat over by Scotch Bonnet," 
 said Dory. " It was just going on the rocks, and 
 I thought it would have a hard time there. I 
 
 55
 
 56 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 knew from the direction of the wind that it must 
 have come from this region, and I was afraid some 
 one had been upset in her, for there was only one 
 oar in the boat." 
 
 " Xo one Avas upset in her, though the ' Dragon ' 
 is not inclined to stay right side up when the sea 
 is heavy," replied Paul. "I am more thankful to 
 you than I can tell for bringing her back at just 
 this time. If you are willing to hear me, I should 
 like to tell you how she happened to get adrift, 
 and why I am so glad to get her back." 
 
 " I am in no hurry, and I am ready to hear any 
 thing you wish to say to me," replied Dory, as 
 he invited Paul to take a seat in the standin- 
 
 There were five other Beech Hill students in the 
 boat, and they seemed to be as willing to hear the 
 story as the skipper was. All of them judged by 
 the manner of the Sandy-Pointer that he had 
 something of interest and importance to tell. Paul 
 gave his account of the trouble between Lily and 
 Walk Billcord without exaggeration or embellish 
 ment, though he did not do justice, in his modesty, 
 to his own prowess in the battles with the magnate 
 and his son. 
 
 The narrative was excitins: enough to secure the
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 57 
 
 closest attention of his auditors ; and, when it was 
 finished, all of them had some questions to ask, 
 and most of them some comments to make. As 
 they were not prejudiced in favor of the major or 
 his son, they agreed that the son of toil had served 
 them right. Dory said he should have been very 
 sorry to strike a man of the age of Major Bill- 
 cord, but he did not see how he could have helped 
 doing so under the circumstances. 
 
 " And he has ordered you to remove the cottage 
 at less than a day's notice ? " continued the skip 
 per. 
 
 " He has, and at a time when my boat had gone 
 adrift, and I had no way to move a single thing 
 which we could not carry two miles in our hands. 
 That is the reason why I was so glad to see the 
 'Dragon' coming back to the point," replied Paul, 
 looking at the skipper of the " Goldwing" with the 
 deepest interest. " But the water is rather rough 
 this afternoon out on the lake, and I am afraid I 
 can't do much towards moving my mother and 
 sister and all the furniture in that flatboat." 
 
 " Then you mean to leave the cottage to be 
 pitched into the lake?" added Dory. 
 
 "I don't see that we can do anything else," 
 replied Paul blankly. "It is about a quarter of a
 
 58 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 mile through the woods to the road, and Major 
 Billcord will not allow a tree to be cut down. I 
 could not move it if I had a hundred men to help 
 me. I might take it to pieces, if.I had time enough 
 to do the job ; but we have little time, and not 
 much money." 
 
 " Suppose we go on shore and take a look at the 
 cottage," suggested Dory, who seemed to be doing 
 some heavy thinking, though he did not hint that 
 he knew of any remedy for the misfortunes of the 
 Bristols. The tender was brought up to the gang 
 way, and Dory went ashore in it, accompanied by 
 Tuck Prince, while Paul took the " Dragon " back. 
 
 The skipper walked up to the cottage, and Paul 
 introduced him to his mother and sister. Dory 
 had never seen Lily Bristol before, but he was 
 perfectly willing to agree with the " speech of peo 
 ple," that she was the prettiest girl in the State of 
 New York, and possibly in the State of Vermont. 
 But she looked very sad, and so did her mother, 
 nnd Dory said nothing to them about the mandate 
 of the magnate. 
 
 The visitor looked at the house, and got its ap 
 proximate dimensions in his mind. He examined 
 the foundations of the structure, and the land upon 
 which it lay. He was thinking, but he said noth 
 ing.
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 59 
 
 " Of course, Major Billcord knows very well that 
 we cannot move the cottage without making a 
 pathway for it through the grove," said Paul, who 
 had observed the expression on Dory's face with 
 the utmost interest. 
 
 But he had not expected that the skipper of 
 the " Goldwing " could do anything about moving 
 the dwelling : the most he had hoped was that the 
 visitor would volunteer to assist in the transporta 
 tion of the furniture, or a portion of it, to some 
 safe place, if such could be found. But Dory was 
 provokingly silent, and did not hint at anything. 
 When he had completed his examination of the 
 premises, he walked towards the end of the point 
 again. 
 
 "I suppose, you will agree with me that not a 
 thing can be done," said Paul as he followed the 
 skipper; and he began to be very much discour 
 aged at the prospect. 
 
 " I don't know whether anything can be done 
 or not," replied Dory, musing. "I can't do any 
 thing myself, for I don't feel at liberty to act 
 without the knowledge of my uncle, Captain 
 Gildrock," replied Dory. "If you could move the 
 cottage, have you 5>ny other place to put it? " 
 
 "Not a place. My mother owns a house, but
 
 60 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 not a foot of land in the wide universe," answered 
 Paul gloomily. 
 
 "It is not very easy to think of any plan for 
 moving the building when we have n't any idea of 
 what is to be done with it," added Dory, survey 
 ing with his eye the ground between the cottage 
 and the water of the lake. 
 
 " I did n't suppose you could do anything for 
 us in that way," continued Paul. "I thought we 
 might save some of our furniture in the ' Dragon.' " 
 
 "You could n't even get a bureau on board of 
 her," replied Dory, glancing at the flatboat. "If 
 you laid it across the gunwales, it would upset 
 her. But I have an idea, though it may not 
 amount to much. What are your mother and 
 sister going to do? I take it they will not stay 
 here to see the Chesterfields destroy your cottage 
 and its contents ? " 
 
 " No ; they will leave in the morning ; but there 
 is no place under the sun for them to go. We 
 have no relations, and hardly any friends," an 
 swered Paul very sadly. 
 
 " As I said before, I can't do anything without 
 orders in a case like this. I am very sorry for 
 you. If the situation were what my uncle defines 
 as an emergency, I should be permitted to do what
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 61 
 
 is required to save life or property. But there is 
 nearly a whole day's leeway in this case," con 
 tinued the skipper. 
 
 "I did n't know but you might carry some of our 
 things over to the other side in the 'Goldwing,' 
 Paul hinted very timidly. 
 
 " I might be able to take some of them ; but 
 the schooner would not hold one-half of the goods. 
 I hope to do something better than that, though 
 I can't promise anything. So far as the furni 
 ture is concerned, I don't think you need to worry 
 about that, for there will be time enough to re 
 move it to-morrow morning," said Dory. 
 
 " Plenty of time, if I have any help," added 
 Paul. 
 
 Dory hoped he should be able to do something 
 better than this ; and the words had given Paul a 
 strong hope, though he wished the skipper would 
 speak out plainly, and say what he thought of 
 doing. 
 
 "It is now about five o'clock," continued Dory, 
 looking at his watch. " We have plenty of time, 
 and I have something to propose. I can't do any 
 thing without my uncle's knowledge, but I should 
 like to have your mother and sister go over to 
 Beech Hill in the 'Goldwing ; ' and you too, Paul,
 
 62 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 if you don't think it necessary to remain here and 
 look out for the cottage." 
 
 "What should they go over therefor?" asked 
 the son of toil. 
 
 "To tell my uncle your story. If Captain Gild- 
 rock decides that nothing can be done for you, I 
 will bring your mother and sister back before 
 dark. Then I will take a cargo of your goods to 
 any place you say in this part of the lake. That 
 is all I feel at liberty to do under the present cir 
 cumstances," added Dory. " But I am pretty sure 
 that something more will be done for you." 
 
 "I will speak to my mother about it," replied 
 Paul. " Will you come with me, Dory?" 
 
 The skipper followed him to the cottage, and 
 Paul stated the case to his mother. She was will 
 ing to do anything her son thought best. She did 
 not think it was necessary for Lily to go if Paul 
 was to remain in charge of the house ; but Dory 
 thought she was a part of the story, and antici 
 pated some hard questions from his uncle which she 
 could answer better than any other person. Mrs. 
 Bristol yielded the point, and in a few minutes they 
 were ready for the trip. 
 
 The ladies were seated in the standing-room, and 
 the Beech-IIillers were as polite as so many dan-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 63 
 
 cing-masters, " tinkers " though they were. A 
 short distance from the shore the wind was still 
 fresh ; and in half an hour the " Gold wing" was in 
 Beech water, as the principal of the school generally 
 called the lake. 
 
 Without waiting to moor the schooner, which ho 
 left in charge of Tuck Prince, Dory pulled the 
 ladies to the new boat-house in the tender. They 
 landed at the steps, and the skipper conducted them 
 to Captain Gildrock's library. They were pleas 
 antly welcomed by the principal, though they were 
 entire strangers to him. 
 
 Dory stated that he had brought Mrs. Bristol and 
 Miss Lily from Sandy Point, and he wished his 
 uncle to hear the story they had to tell. He hinted 
 that the visitors had better confine themselves to 
 the facts in the case, without any comments ; and, 
 as Lily had been the principal and first actor in the 
 drama, he thought she had better open the narra 
 tive. 
 
 Possibly Dory thought an account of the open 
 ing proceedings from the lips of so pretty a girl as 
 Lily might have more influence with his bachelor 
 uncle. The captain smiled graciously, and bowed 
 encouragingly to the fair maiden. She began in a 
 very straightforward way with the narrative, and
 
 64 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 Dory was glad the occasion permitted him to gaze 
 at her without staring. 
 
 "When she had completed her narrative, there was 
 but little more for her mother to say. The prin 
 cipal asked a few questions, and then he was in 
 possession of all the facts. He knew all about 
 Major Billcord, and he had no difficulty in believ 
 ing the simple and unadorned statement to which 
 he had listened. Very likely he was as indignant 
 as any Christian man would have been at the out 
 rage of the magnate and his son, but he did not 
 express himself in this direction. 
 
 "When Mrs. Bristol and Lily had said all they 
 had to say, the captain looked at Dory to see if he 
 had anything to offer. Dory was not slow to take 
 a hint, and he made quite an energetic speech of 
 considerable length, setting forth his views of the 
 
 
 
 situation.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 A CALL FOIl ALL HANDS AT BEECH HILL. 
 
 T AM very sorry, Mrs. Bristol, that you should 
 have been placed in such an unpleasant situa 
 tion," said Captain Gildrock when Dory had 
 brought his speech to a square conclusion, which 
 some orators find it very difficult to do. !< Your 
 son did no more than I would have done in the 
 same circumstances. It was highly proper for him 
 to defend his sister with his fists ; and after that 
 he acted only on the defensive." 
 
 " I was very well satisfied with Paul, sir," added 
 Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 " I think you have reason to be. You have 
 heard what my nephew has said, and I fully in 
 dorse the plan he has outlined. I shall leave it to 
 him to carry it out in his own way." 
 
 "You are very kind, Captain Gildrock, and I 
 shall be grateful to you as long as I live," replied 
 Mrs. Bristol, with enthusiasm. "Paul says your 
 students were always much better behaved than 
 those of the institute. 
 
 65
 
 66 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " Unfortunately our relations with the school on 
 the other side of the lake are not as pleasant as I 
 could wish ; but I do not intend that our young 
 men shall be offensive to their neighbors." 
 
 " The Goldwing is all ready to take you back to 
 Sandy Point, Mrs. Bristol," Dory interposed. 
 
 " But why should you return, madam ? " said the 
 principal. "I think you had better remain here. 
 We have plenty of spare rooms, and we will do all 
 we can to make you comfortable." 
 
 "Thank you, sir; but I am afraid Paul will be 
 uneasy in my longer absence." 
 
 " Dory shall run over to Sandy Point, and 
 inform your son what is to be done, and can bring 
 you anything you may want," suggested Captain 
 Gildrock. 
 
 The principal gave some strong reasons why she 
 and Lily had better remain at the mansion over 
 night, and she finally consented to do so. Mrs. 
 Dornwood and Marian, Dory's mother and sister, 
 were called, and they soon made the visitors feel 
 quite at home. Dory returned to the Goldwing, 
 and was soon standing out of Beechwater. 
 
 In less than half an hour the schooner was at 
 the point. Paul was greatly astonished, and not 
 a little troubled, when he saw that his mother and
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 67 
 
 sister were not on board of her. But the skipper 
 soon explained their absence, and stated what was 
 to be done with the permission of his uncle. Paul 
 went to the cottage for a few articles which his 
 mother had desired, in a note, while the skipper 
 looked over the situation of the cottage again, and 
 arranged his plans for action. 
 
 " We shall disappoint the Chesterfields once 
 more, Paul," said Dory, when the son of toil 
 joined him. "We have spoiled some of their little 
 arrangements before." 
 
 " They will miss the fun the major has promised 
 them, but I think he will feel the loss of it more 
 than they will. Of course, all he wants is to 
 punish us," replied Paul, with a cheerful smile. 
 
 "You can go over to Beech Hill with me if you 
 like," continued Dory, when they reached the 
 tender. 
 
 " I must stay here and watch the cottage. Some 
 of the students might think it was fun to set it on 
 fire to-night, though it would not make a very 
 brilliant light in the moonshine," replied Paul. 
 
 " Do you expect any of the Chesterfields at the 
 point to-night, Paul?" asked Dory with some 
 anxiety, for their presence might interfere with his 
 plan.
 
 68 STEM TO STERN ; 
 
 " No : I hardly expect imy of them. I don't 
 know that Major Billcord has told them about the 
 fun in store for them yet, though he was so mad 
 when he left the point that he could hardly keep 
 it in," answered Paul. 
 
 " Well, if they come to-night, we can't help it," 
 added Dory, as he stepped into the tender. " We 
 shall be here all the same, and we shall do the 
 work we have laid out." 
 
 The Goldwing got up her anchor, and filled 
 away. Paul watched her till she disappeared in 
 Beaver River. The situation had changed entirely, 
 and Paul was as happy as though there had been 
 no tempest at the point that day. His mother and 
 sister were in good quarters, and he did not much 
 care if the Chesterfields came down upon him in 
 full force. As soon as the schooner was out of 
 sight he Avent into the house to get his supper. 
 
 As soon as the Goldwing was moored, and her 
 crew had eaten their supper, there was a call for 
 all hands to assemble at the new boat-house. The 
 famous structure had been finished nearly a year 
 before, for it was in the month of May that the 
 trouble at Sandy Point took place. The school 
 year began in the September preceding. 
 
 After considering the subject during the sum-
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 69 
 
 mer, Captain Gildrock had decided to increase the 
 number of pupils in the Beech Hill Industrial 
 School. But he was a prudent and practical man, 
 and he had taken only a dozen additional scholars. 
 Two had left to take good-paying situations, and 
 the whole number now was thirty-six. There was 
 room in the enlarged dormitory for a dozen more, 
 and space enough for them at the benches in the 
 shops. 
 
 A third class had been formed of the beginners ; 
 and, as they had been under instruction for eight 
 months, some of them had acquired considerable 
 skill in the use of tools. Another barge had been 
 procured, and the "green hands "had all learned 
 to row, to swim, and a few of them to handle a 
 sailboat. The school was now larger than the one 
 on the other side of the lake. But the Chester 
 fields, after having been defeated several times in 
 their assaults upon the Beech Killers, had confined 
 their attention more to their own affairs than 
 formerly. They were satisfied to give the barges 
 of the " tinkers " a wide berth on the lake ; and the 
 boating season closed without any more serious 
 quarrels on the water. 
 
 The Topovers had never accomplished anything 
 by meddling with the students on their side of the
 
 70 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 lake. A little discipline in one of the courts had 
 kept them at a distance for a time. When the 
 fruit was ripe, Mr. Brookbine's big dog became a 
 terror to them ; for the master carpenter had built 
 a house for him near the rear fence of the orchard, 
 and the animal understood his duty perfectly. 
 
 The call for the students after supper was un 
 usual, and no one but the members of the acting 
 crew of the yacht knew what it meant ; and even 
 they knew nothing of the plan they were to assist 
 in carrying out. Since the former season there 
 had been some changes in the organization of 
 the students. Captain Gildrock was no longer 
 the actual captain of the Sylph, the beautiful 
 steam yacht connected with the institution. 
 
 The position had been given to Dory Dorn wood, 
 and the students generally sailed her without the 
 interference of the principal or any of the in 
 structors. Mr. Jepson, the master-machinist, was 
 no longer the chief engineer, and was therefore at 
 no time under the orders of any of the juvenile 
 officers. Corny Minkfield, w ? ho had served one 
 season as first assistant-engineer, had been prq- 
 moted to the highest place, and the second to the 
 place thus made vacant. 
 
 Oscar Chester was the first pilot. He, had been
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 71 
 
 a diligent student in the pilot-house, and knew 
 the hike almost as well as the captain. All the 
 places had been filled after the first appointments 
 in accordance with the merits of the students, 
 though of necessity " civil service" rules prevailed, 
 for the reason that the members of the ship's com 
 pany had become more skilful in the departments 
 in which they had been employed than in any 
 other. 
 
 The only violent changes made were those which 
 gave the cooks and stewards a chance to learn 
 seamanship or the management of the engine and 
 furnaces. As waiters they learned out in a few 
 months, and even the rather limited routine of 
 cookery required on board was exhausted in the 
 same time. Old deck hands and firemen became 
 stewards, while those who had served in the fire- 
 room and cabins were transferred to the deck. 
 
 The increase in the number of students allowed 
 a very large force of seamen, and the vessel was 
 now heavily manned. Crews for the quarter 
 boats were appointed for permanent service, and 
 four quartermasters were added to the organiza 
 tion, who had regular tricks at the wheel in the 
 pilot-house under the direction of the first or sec 
 ond pilot.
 
 72 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Dory Dormvood had been in command of the 
 steamer for the three months at the close of the 
 last season of navigation, and every Saturday he 
 exercised his ship's company in as long cruises as 
 the length of Lake Champlain would permit. 
 Sometimes the principal was on board, and some 
 times he was not. If he had anything to say, he 
 said it to Captain Dory Dornvvood ; and the disci 
 pline was as perfect as though the steamer had 
 been in the navy. 
 
 In the beginning of Captain Dornwood's admin 
 istration there had been considerable difficulty. 
 Boys from the country, or even from 'the city, 
 were not very prompt to see the necessity of 
 obeying orders without asking any questions. But 
 as this was one of the principal lessons the steam 
 yacht was to impart to the pupils, there was no 
 relaxation of the discipline to accommodate those 
 who were dilatory or rebellious. 
 
 If an officer was in the slightest degree disobe 
 dient to those above him in rank, he \vas " broken " 
 as soon as the case was proved to the satisfaction 
 of the principal. If the delinquent was a seaman, 
 under-steward, or fireman, he was relieved from 
 further duty on board, and required to stay on 
 shore under the eye of the instructors, or of Bates,
 
 OE, BUILDING THE BOAT. 73 
 
 the old salt, who obeyed orders as though they 
 were all written down in the constitution of the 
 State. 
 
 As this was the severest punishment that could 
 be inflicted upon any of the students, it soon had 
 its effect. Before the season closed, the ship's 
 company Avere as obedient to the new officers as 
 they had ever been when Captain Gildrock was in 
 command. More than this, Dory was very popu 
 lar in the school ; he was not unreasonable, snob 
 bish, or tyrannical, and never did violence to the 
 self-respect of any of his shipmates. After they 
 had learned the trick of doing it, it was a pleasure 
 to obey orders. 
 
 The students assembled in the boat-house, and 
 all eyes were fixed upon Captain Dormvood, who 
 was to have command of the expedition to Sandy 
 Point, for the operations on shore as well as those 
 on board of the Sylph. 
 
 " Perhaps I ought to call for volunteers for the 
 work of to-night, for some of you may not want to 
 sit up so late as the business in hand may require," 
 the captain began, with a cheerful smile on his 
 handsome face, for his good looks had certainly 
 improved in the last two years. 
 
 "All night if you like ! " shouted Bob Swanton.
 
 74 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 "The principal instructed me to say that the 
 early bell will not be rung to-morrow morning," 
 continued Dory. "There will be a good deal of 
 hard work to be done, including some lifting, 
 though there are enough of us to make the task 
 easy. These are the hardships of the trip ; and if 
 any student prefers to stay at the school, he will 
 be permitted to do so. If there are any such they 
 will please step forward." 
 
 Of course, there was not a single one who wished 
 to be excused from duty. The captain of the 
 Sylph explained that they were to make a trip up 
 the lake by moonlight in the steamer, and do a 
 smart job on the other side. This was all he 
 would tell them at that time, and he directed them 
 to put on their uniform.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AN EXPEDITION BY MOONLIGHT. 
 
 r I ^HE Sylph lay at the new wharf, and as soon as 
 the students had put on their uniforms they 
 went on board of her. Chief-engineer Minkfield 
 was directed to get up steam at once. Captain 
 Dornwood ordered one of the quarter boats to be 
 lowered into the water and manned. Taking Thad 
 Glovering, the first officer, with him, he embarked. 
 At the order of the coxswain the bowman shoved 
 off, and the oars were dropped into the water. The 
 boat was pulled up the little lake to the stone 
 quarries. Mr. Miker, the lessee of the quarries, 
 had made good use of some of the ideas of Bolly 
 Millweed, the architect of the boat-house. The 
 caisson, on which the stone posts for the foundations 
 of the structure had been transported, had sug 
 gested to him the building of a hnseruft. or scow. 
 
 O O ^? ' 
 
 He called the craft a "gundalow," which appears 
 to be a corruption of gondola, though the affair 
 bore but little resemblance to the airy boat of the 
 
 75
 
 76 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Venetians. It was fifty feet long and sixteen feet 
 wide. It was decked over and caulked, so that it 
 was as tight as a ship on the ocean. It had a stow- 
 hole at each end ; but these compartments were 
 perfectly tight, so that if any water flowed into 
 them it could not get into the large middle chamber 
 upon which the craft depended for its power of 
 flotation. 
 
 When heavily loaded with stone, the deck was 
 only a few inches above the level of the water out 
 side. Mr. Miker's principal market for the pro 
 duction of the quarries was at Genverres, though 
 he had sold a large quantity of stone to be deliv 
 ered in Burlington. In the centre of the deck was 
 a derrick, which was used as a mast when the gun- 
 dalow went out upon Lake Champlain. She was 
 provided with a large, square sail, but it could be 
 used only when the wind was fair. 
 
 On her trips to Genverres she was poled by four 
 or six men, and made very slow progress. But 
 Captain Gildrock had offered Mr. Miker the use of 
 the Sylph to tow her when he wished, for this was 
 nothing but fun to the ship's company, and, as it 
 looked like business to them, they enjoyed it more 
 than mere sailing without a purpose. 
 
 The principal made no charge for the use of the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 77 
 
 steamer, and Mr. Miker was grateful for the ser 
 vice rendered by the yacht and the students. The 
 gundalow was just the thing Captain Dornwood 
 wanted for the operations of the night. When the 
 boat reached the quarry, the captain went on board 
 and measured it. But the derrick was in the way, 
 and unless it could be removed, the craft would be 
 useless to him. 
 
 Returning to the boat, he proceeded farther up 
 the creek, to a point near Mr. Hiker's house. 
 Landing again, he found the quarryman in his gar 
 den. He stated his business. Of course he could 
 have the use of the gundalow, and the derrick 
 could be taken out of her. The man of stone was en 
 thusiastic to serve the students, and he did not even 
 ask to what use the craft was to be applied, though 
 Dory volunteered the information that the plan he 
 was to carry out was approved by the principal. 
 
 Mr. Miker hastened to summon all his men, who 
 lived near the quarries, and by eight o'clock they 
 were on the deck of the gundalow. But it was no 
 small undertaking to remove the derrick, for the 
 mast was a very heavy spar, and was stepped in 
 the bottom of the scow. 
 
 The rigging and the long arm were taken from 
 it, and then one of the movable derricks used in the
 
 78 STEM TO STEEN; 
 
 quarries was brought on deck, and guyed up for 
 work. With the aid of this machinery the mast 
 was taken out, and deposited on the shore. The 
 mast-hole was covered with a tight scuttle made 
 for the purpose, and the gundalow was adapted to 
 the business for which she was to be used in the 
 expedition to Sandy Point. 
 
 By this time it was nine o'clock, and the moon 
 was just beginning to cast its silvery light upon 
 the still waters of the little lake. Captain Dorn- 
 wood promised to return the scow to the quarries 
 before morning ; but Mr. Miker said he should 
 not use her for a week, and the captain could keep 
 her as long as he wished. 
 
 " We shall want a lot of blocks, planks, and tim 
 bers, but we have plenty of them on the school 
 grounds, though we shall have to lug them a con 
 siderable distance to put them on board of the 
 gundalow," said Captain Dornwood, as he was 
 about to step into the boat. 
 
 " Hold on then, Dory ! I have everything you 
 can possibly want in that line," interposed Mr. 
 Miker. tf The students have saved my men a vast 
 deal of hard work in towing the gundalow, and 
 they will be glad to put all the lumber you need 
 on board of the scow."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 79 
 
 " That we will ! " exclaimed several of the men 
 in the same breath. 
 
 " I don't want to give you and your men, who 
 have been at work all day, any unnecessary 
 trouble," added Dory. 
 
 " No trouble at all ! " protested the men, as they 
 began to put the timbers on board. 
 
 Dory was very grateful to them, and pointed out 
 the kind of stuff he wanted, including a large pile 
 of rollers used in moving heavy blocks of stone. 
 In half an hour the gundalow was loaded with the 
 materials Dory had indicated. In the little time 
 at his disposal, the energetic leader of the enter 
 prise had made a list of the material he was likely 
 to require. He had been at work, while the men 
 were loading the blocks and planks, with his pencil 
 and paper, and had thought of several things that 
 were of prime importance. 
 
 " I am very much obliged to you, Mr. Miker, 
 and I shall be still more so, if you will lend us 
 eight jack-screws, for we have not enough of them 
 at the shops," continued Dory. 
 
 ff Are you going to move a meeting-house, 
 Dory?" asked the quarry man, laughing. 
 
 " We are going to do something of that sort," 
 replied the leader of the enterprise. " But I don't 
 let on just yet."
 
 80 STEM TO STEKN; 
 
 \ 
 " All right ; you know what you are about every 
 
 time, and it is best to keep your mouth shut, in 
 case you should not succeed as well as you expect. 
 I have a dozen rather small jack-screws, and I will 
 have all of them put on the deck of the gunda- 
 low," added Mr. Miker, as he ordered his men to 
 bring them from a shanty where they were kept 
 under lock and key. 
 
 " I will see that everything is brought back again 
 before morning," said Dory, as he stepped into his 
 boat, and gave the order to return to the Sylph. 
 
 It was now nearly ten o'clock on as beautiful an 
 evening as ever gladdened the heart of any night 
 wanderers. The full moon gave an abundance of 
 light, and the operations of the students could be 
 as readily conducted as in the day-time. Every 
 thing that would be needed, with the exception of 
 a few coils of rope, was on board of the gundalow. 
 A party was sent to the shops for them ; and when 
 these necessary articles were obtained, the fasts 
 were cast oft', and the steamer stood up to the 
 quarries. 
 
 The gundalow had been so often towed by the 
 Sylph, that the business was perfectly understood 
 In a few moments more she was made fast to the 
 steamer by the double tow-lines, so that the awkward
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 81 
 
 craft could be steered even around a corner without 
 any difficulty. Will Orwell, the second officer, was 
 detailed to take charge of a party of six on board 
 of the tow. But before the steamer got under way 
 again, Captain Dornwood called all hands together 
 on the forward deck. 
 
 "Now we shall know what sort of a racket this 
 is going to be," said Dick Halifax, as they hastened 
 to the place of meeting. 
 
 "No, you won't," replied Dick Short, to whom 
 the remark was addressed. "You won't know any 
 thing at all about it until we come to the work to 
 be done." 
 
 "Why don't he tell us what we are to do?" 
 asked Dick. " I should like to know something 
 about it." 
 
 " It was a trick of Captain Gildrock to keep his 
 business to himself, and Dory takes after him. The 
 principal thinks the fellows can obey orders better 
 when they don't know what is coming than they can 
 when they understand all about it. Every fellow 
 thinks he knows best how to do almost anything." 
 
 " I don't know but he is right. I never saw a 
 horse tumble down in the street, but every one of 
 the crowd around him wanted to boss the job of 
 getting him on his feet again," added Dick.
 
 82 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " I have called you together, fellows, to say that 
 it will be necessary to keep as still as possible on 
 the expedition of to-night ; " said Captain Dorn- 
 wood, when the ship's company had all gathered 
 on the forward deck. " I don't know that a noise 
 would defeat our plans, but I am very much afraid 
 it would cause us some trouble. I don't believe 
 in any yelling when we are on duty, but I fear it 
 would make mischief to-night. Please to observe 
 this request in the strictest possible manner." 
 
 "Where are we going, Captain Dornwood?" 
 asked Bark Duxbury, one of the new students. 
 
 " Going to work now," replied the captain with 
 a smile. " All hands to their stations." 
 
 The ship's company separated, and all the offi 
 cers and seamen went to the places where they 
 belonged. Though no meals were to be served 
 during the nio'ht, so far as was known, the cooks 
 
 O O ' 
 
 went to the o-allej", and the stewards to the forward 
 cabin. The second officer, with his gang, went on 
 board of the gundalow, and at the order from 
 the captain the pilot on duty rang the bell to back 
 her. By this movement the scow was hauled out 
 from the wharf, and the bell to go ahead was given. 
 Mr. Miker and some of his men stood on the 
 shore watching the departure of the expedition,
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 83 
 
 and wondering what sort of a mission the students 
 were going upon at that time in the evening. But 
 the Sylph and her tow soon disappeared beyond 
 the trees at the lower end of Beechwater. Dory 
 was on the hurricane deck, keeping a sharp lookout 
 upon everything that was done. 
 
 At the V-point the pilot slowed down without 
 any order from the captain, and the scow was 
 switched around it without touching the mud. 
 There was now nothing to do outside of the engine- 
 room and pilot-house ; and the crew gathered into 
 companies in various parts of the deck to specu 
 late upon the nature of the expedition in which 
 they were engaged. They guessed a hundred 
 things. The crew of the Goldvving were pretty 
 sure they were going to Sandy Point. 
 
 The Sylph was approaching the mouth of the 
 river, and it would soon be necessary for Captain 
 Dornwood to say something. For, if the expedi 
 tion was bound to the northward, she would take 
 that course as soon as she came up with the point 
 on that side of the river ; if she was going to the 
 southward, she would have to keep her present 
 course half a mile farther out into the lake to avoid 
 the shoals off Field's Bay. 
 
 Oscar Chester and Dick Short, the latter of
 
 '84 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 whom had been promoted from a deck-hand to the 
 position of second pilot, -were in the pilot-house. 
 No order came to alter the course at the north 
 point, but a few minutes later the captain entered 
 the pilot-house. 
 
 " We are bound to Sandy Point," said he ; and the 
 head of the steamer was turned to the southwest. 
 
 In less than half an hour, the Sylph was close 
 in to the end of the point, and Dory discovered 
 Paul on the shore. The steamer was headed into 
 the bay, and the gundalow brought up to a point 
 directly in front of the cottage.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A CHANGE OF LOCATION. 
 
 T3OTH of the quarter boats of the Sylph were 
 lowered into the water, and a shore party 
 landed with Captain Dornwood. The steamer was 
 then left in charge of the first pilot. The hands 
 on board of the gundalow had poled her up to the 
 beach where she had grounded. 
 
 " I am glad to see you, Dory," said Paul Bristol, 
 when the captain went on shore. " It was so late 
 that I was afraid you were not coining." 
 
 " We have plenty of time to do the job, for I 
 don't think it will take us a great while. Have 
 you seen anything of the Chesterfields this even 
 ing ? " 
 
 " Not one of them has been near the point, so far 
 as I know, and I don't expect to see any of them. 
 I suppose they are dreaming of the fun they will 
 have in pitching the cottage into the lake to-mor 
 row afternoon," added Paul, with a cheerful smile. 
 " But I don't see how you are going to move the 
 building, Dory." 
 
 85
 
 86 STEM TO STERX; 
 
 " If you keep your eye on us sharp for an hour 
 or so you will see," replied the leader of the en 
 terprise, as he turned his attention to the business 
 before him. 
 
 After half an hour's hard work, the lumber, 
 blocks, and rigging on the deck of the scow were 
 landed on the beach. With thirty pairs of hands 
 the work was not very hard, and they tossed the 
 large sticks about as though they had been nothing 
 but chips. By this time they understood what 
 was to be done, and the students were full of en 
 thusiasm. They were required to work in silence ; 
 for though the Chesterfield school was all of half 
 a mile from Sandy Point, Dory was very anxious 
 lest their operations should be disturbed by the in 
 stitute people. 
 
 Two heavy timbers were placed under the cot 
 tage ; the jack-screws w r ere put in position under 
 them, and the building raised from the posts which 
 supported it. A plankway was laid on the 
 smooth sand, the posts were removed, and the cot 
 tage set on rollers. The plankway was contin 
 ued to the water. 
 
 There was a considerable descent from the site 
 of the cottage to the water. Two heavy ropes 
 were attached to the building, and passed around
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 87 
 
 a couple of large trees in the rear of it. The 
 plankway was an 'inclined plane, and it required 
 but little force to start the cottage on its journey. 
 With a couple of turns around the trees, the hands 
 stationed at the check-lines easily controlled its 
 movements, and slacked off only as the captain 
 gave the word. 
 
 In a few minutes the building was rolled down 
 almost to the water. The gundalow was aground 
 on the shore end. Two heavy timbers were ex 
 tended from the deck to the beach and supported 
 by blocks so that they would bear the weight of 
 the structure. These beams lay nearly level when 
 they were in position, and just reached the end of 
 the plankway on shore. The check-lines were eased 
 off again when smooth bearings for the rollers had 
 been prepared. 
 
 When the cottage was about half on the timber- 
 wa}'s the force of gravity was no longer available, 
 and the building refused to budge another inch. 
 While Captain Dornwood was on the front of the 
 structure, some twenty of the students in the rear 
 tried to push it toward the gundalow ; but they 
 could not start it. 
 
 "Enough of that ! " called Dory, as soon as he 
 saw what they were doing. " You are acting
 
 88 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 without orders, and wasting your strength for 
 nothing." 
 
 " But the building sticks fast where it is," said 
 Ben Ludlow. 
 
 " If you think you can push it ahead you are 
 mistaken," added the captain. "It has gone as 
 far as I expected it to go of itself." 
 
 The two check-lines were then carried on board 
 of the scow, and the Sylph was backed up to her. 
 The lines were made fast at the quarters of the 
 steamer. Dory stood on the after end of the gun- 
 dalow, and, with a boatswain's whistle, made a 
 signal agreed upon with the pilot to go ahead. 
 
 The lines stiffened and strained, and then the 
 cottage began to move again. The timber ways 
 had been continued on the deck of the scow, and 
 the building moved very slowly until the captain 
 gave a second signal with the whistle. 
 
 The rollers were instantly blocked by hands un 
 der the direction of the first officer. But the rear 
 of the cottage just reached the stern of the gun- 
 dalow. At least half of the weight of the build 
 ing rested upon the sand at the bottom. The 
 water deepened very rapidly near the shore on the 
 outside of the point, and it became necessary to 
 handle the heavy burden with the greatest care,
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 89 
 
 for the forward end of the craft would settle down 
 as soon as the structure was moved any further, 
 forming an inclined plane, on which the cottage 
 might roll overboard. 
 
 There were four iron rings at the stern of the 
 scow, and check-lines were extended from them to 
 the structure. A double turn was taken in each 
 over a cleat, and hands placed at these ropes. 
 The signal was again given for the steamer to go 
 ahead. The building moved a few feet further, 
 and the rollers were promptly chocked when the 
 captain gave the whistle to " stop her." 
 
 The cottage was not yet exactly in the middle 
 of the deck, and another movement was necessary. 
 The bow of the scow settled down, but the check- 
 lines held the house firmly in position. The sec 
 ond move was so well timed that it placed the 
 building in exactly the right place. 
 
 The check-lines were belayed under the direc 
 tion of the first officer, while the second officer 
 proceeded to fasten the cottage to the rings in the 
 bow of the scow. It was to remain on the rollers 
 during the trip to its destination, and Captain 
 Dornwood made sure that it was secured beyond 
 the possibility of any accident. 
 
 All the spare hands were then ordered to the
 
 90 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 shore, Dory leading the way. The lumber, jack- 
 screws, blocks, and other material were put on the 
 scow, for there was still abundance of space for 
 ward and abaft the house. Everything connected 
 with the cottage was put on board. 
 
 " By the big wooden spoon ! " exclaimed Paul, 
 when the burden of the work was done. " I did n't 
 believe you could do it with a hundred men." 
 
 " We haven't finished the job yet," replied Dory, 
 laughing. 
 
 " But I believe you can do all the rest of it," 
 added Paul, filled with admiration. r These stu 
 dents are good for something besides keeping bread 
 and meat from spoiling." 
 
 " They are good fellows," answered Doiy, " but 
 we have not quite finished over here yet." 
 
 " You fellows might come over here some night 
 and carry off the building of the Chesterfield Col 
 legiate Institute if you felt like it. I don't see 
 what more there is to do." 
 
 A lot of shovels, hoes, and iron rakes had been 
 brought over on the steamer, and these were now 
 carried on shore. The post-holes under the cot 
 tage were filled up, every particle of rubbish was 
 removed, and the ground raked over until every 
 thing was as smooth as though no human being had 
 ever resided within a mile of the spot.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 91 
 
 " By the big 1 wooden spoon ! " shouted Paul. "It 
 looks just as it did when we first came here." 
 
 " We will leave everything in good order and 
 condition so that Major Billcord shall have nothing 
 to complain of," replied Dory. " Now make the 
 Dragon fast to the stern of the gundalow, and we 
 will get under way. I think you had better stay 
 in the house to see that everything goes right 
 there." 
 
 " All right, Dory, I will do just as you say ; 
 but I don't believe you have started a joint in the 
 cottage. I went up to look at the chimney with a 
 lantern while you were shifting it, and there is not 
 a crack in it. " 
 
 The chimney reached only from a beam to the 
 ridge pole, and a couple of feet above it, so that 
 the brickwork had required no special considera 
 tion. But the building had been subjected to no 
 hard usage, and no damage had been done to it. 
 All the furniture remained just as it had been for 
 two years, and Mrs. Bristol might have kept house 
 in it as well as when it was stationary. 
 
 As soon as the ship's company were all on board 
 of the steamer, or the scow, the captain gave the 
 word to go ahead. The tow-lines had been ad 
 justed before. The end of the gundalow, which was
 
 92 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 aground, grated a little on the sand, but it came off 
 without difficulty, and the Sylph with her tow 
 headed down the lake. 
 
 The officers of the steamer were so well accus 
 tomed to handling the gundalow that no difficulty 
 was experienced in getting the cottage to its desti 
 nation, which was to be at Hornet Point, near the 
 outlet of the creek into Beech water. The location 
 had been suggested by Dory, and agreed to by 
 Captain Gildrock. It was quite as pleasant a spot 
 as the former site of the cottage, and was but a 
 short distance from the new boat-house. 
 
 The plank and timber ways were laid down as 
 they had been on the other side of the lake, and 
 the building was moved to the shore as readily as 
 it had been put on board of the gundalow. By 
 two o'clock in the morning it was in position on the 
 posts upon which it had rested at Sandy Point. 
 The materials were all conveyed to the quarry, and 
 the gundalow was left at its usual moorings. 
 
 By this time most of the students were gaping 
 fearfully, and were very tired. Paul remained at 
 the cottage and went to bed after the departure of 
 the Sylph. The ship's company were dismissed at 
 the wharf, and before half past two they were all 
 asleep in the dormitory. Mrs. Bristol and Lily
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 93 
 
 were up early in the morning, and went out to 
 walk by six o'clock. 
 
 After the departure of the students the night 
 before in the steamer, they had not heard a word 
 about the cottage. They walked over to the boat- 
 house, where they found the principal, who was an 
 early riser. The cottage could not be seen from 
 the boat-house, though it could from the wharf. 
 Bates was bringing up a boat in which the captain 
 w r as going out to inspect the operations of the 
 night. 
 
 " Good morning, Mrs. Bristol ; good morning, 
 Miss Lily. You are up early," said the principal. 
 
 " But I don't see anything of the cottage," 
 replied Mrs. Bristol, after they had returned the 
 pleasant salutations of the captain. " I did not 
 hear a sound in the night, and I suppose Dory was 
 not able to carry out the plans we talked about." 
 
 " They certainly did not make any noise about 
 it ; but if you and Miss Lily will take a seat in this 
 boat, we shall soon ascertain what has been done," 
 said the captain, as Bates brought one of the four- 
 oar boats to the landing steps. 
 
 The ladies seated themselves in the stern-sheets 
 of the boat, and the boatman pulled out into the 
 lake. But he kept near the shore, and the over-
 
 94 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 hanging trees obstructed the view of Hornet Point. 
 In a few minutes, however, the boat was out far 
 enough to afford its occupants a view of the mouth 
 of the creek. 
 
 " Why, there 's the cottage ! " exclaimed Lily. 
 " It looks as though it had stood there since it was 
 built." 
 
 "The boys have done their -work very well," 
 added Captain Gildrock. 
 
 The party landed and walked up to the cottage. 
 Not a particle of rubbish had been left on the 
 premises ; not a plank or a block. Where the 
 sand on the beach had been disturbed it had been 
 raked over, and everything looked as neat as 
 though the family had lived there for a year. 
 They went to the front door and the back door, 
 but both were locked. Paul was still fast asleep 
 in his chamber, and they did not disturb him.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE JANITOR OF THE BOAT-HOUSE. 
 
 /CAPTAIN GILDROCK was delighted with the 
 skill and the industry which the students had 
 displayed in the removal of the cottage. It was 
 not the difficulty of the feat they had accom 
 plished so much as the neat and orderly as well as 
 quiet manner in which the work had heen done. 
 Usually boys cannot do anything without a great 
 noise and not a little bluster. But the Beach 
 Hillers had not disturbed any one on either side 
 of the lake. 
 
 With the machinery at their command it was 
 not a great achievement to move a building no 
 larger than the home of the Bristols across the 
 lake. The principal had as yet no report of the 
 work, but, taking the appearance of the cottage at 
 Hornet Point as a specimen of the labor done, 
 nothing could be better. 
 
 " Everything seems to be in good order here, 
 Mrs. Bristol," said Captain Gildrock, when he had 
 examined the cottage and its surroundings. 
 
 95
 
 96 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "I can't see for the life of me how the students 
 brought the cottage over here and put it on the 
 posts just as it was before, and in the night, too," 
 added Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 " And everything is just as neat as wax-work," 
 said Lily. 
 
 " Just beyond the quarries is what we call the 
 lake road, which is the boundary of my hind on 
 the east side. There is a driveway from it through 
 the quarries, near the shore of the creek. I sh: 11 
 continue this road to Beechwater, which will carry 
 it by the end of the cottage," continued Captain 
 Gildrock, pointing out the locality. " By this road 
 you can go to the town without passing through 
 the school-grounds, though you are entirely wel 
 come to Use the latter." 
 
 "You ard very kind, sir," replied Mrs. Bristol; 
 " I am sure I have not the slightest claim upon you 
 for anything, and you have done more for me 
 already than all others. We shall be grateful to 
 you as long as we live." 
 
 " I think you are a very worthy woman, and I 
 am very glad to be able to serve you," replied the 
 captain. "But I have come to the conclusion that 
 my mission in the world is to help others to help 
 themselves. You have a sou and a daughter."
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 97 
 
 " And they arc both able and willing to work," 
 added the woman. 
 
 " So I have heard from my nephew ; and I ex 
 pect to put you in the way of earning your living. 
 In the first place what is to be done with your 
 son ? " 
 
 " He will do any kind of work he can get to 
 do work in a store or on a farm." 
 
 tf If he goes into a store, he has about one 
 chance in ten of becoming something more than a 
 counter-jumper on five dollars a week. But he 
 ought to learn a trade." 
 
 " I should be very glad to have him do so, but 
 we are dependent upon him just now for the means 
 of living. When Lily had a place in Westport, 
 she received, only a dollar a week besides her 
 board ; and sometimes Paul could not make any 
 more than that." 
 
 r l have a place for Paul. I want a janitor for 
 the boat-house, for Bates is getting rather too old 
 to do such work. I will give your son a salary of 
 twenty dollars a month for the service." 
 
 "You are very kind, sir; that is more than we 
 ever had to live on," replied Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 " But I think he had better join the school at 
 the same time. We can make a carpenter or a ma-
 
 98 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 chinist of him ; and if he prefers some other trade, 
 what he learns here will not come amiss. He can 
 do his work in the boat-house and be a member of 
 the school at the same time, though he will have 
 to work some part of the day while the students 
 are at play." 
 
 " Paul will be very glad to work and never play, 
 for he has always been a very good boy," added 
 the devoted mother. 
 
 rt Your daughter, you said, had worked at the 
 millinery business, and perhaps a place can be 
 found for her in Genverres," continued the captain, 
 as he led the way back to the boat. "We will go 
 to breakfast now." 
 
 The family took their morning meal at the usual 
 hour ; but not a single student had yet appeared on 
 the grounds. The principal would not allow them 
 to be disturbed until nine o'clock, when the bell 
 was rung in the dormitory, though a few of the 
 boys had turned out at this hour. At half-past 
 nine breakfast was served to them ; and they all 
 appeared to be in as good condition as usual. 
 
 Paul was invited to join them, though he was 
 to board at home as .soon as his mother was estab 
 lished in the cottage. By this time he was pretty 
 well acquainted with the students, and w r as very
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 99 
 
 popular among them. The story of his fight with 
 Walk Billcord and his father had been told on 
 board of the Sylph on the passage to Sandy Point, 
 and his prowess made him a hero among the boys. 
 
 " Paul, did you take the tin box from the hollow 
 of the tree?" asked Mrs. Bristol, as her son was 
 leaving the mansion with the rest of the students, 
 for Fatima Millweed had already entered his name 
 on the roll. 
 
 "I never thought a word about it, mother," 
 replied Paul, not a little mortified at the neglect. 
 "I was so busy and so anxious that it never came 
 into my head. But I will go over in the Dragon 
 and get it right off." 
 
 " But Captain Gildrock has a place for you as 
 janitor of the boat-house, and perhaps he cannot 
 spare you," added Mrs. Bristol. 
 
 " Janitor of the boat-house ! " exclaimed Paul, 
 opening his eyes very wide. 
 
 " And your salary is to be twenty dollars a 
 month," continued Mrs. Bristol. " The captain 
 says his mission is to help those who are willing 
 to help themselves. Besides this, you are to be 
 one of the students, and learn to be a carpenter 
 or a machinist." 
 
 " One of the students ! " almost screamed Paul.
 
 100 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "But you will have to work while the other stu 
 dents play, my son." 
 
 " By the big wooden spoon ! I shall be willing 
 to. work all night if I can learn what the other fel 
 lows learn," replied Paul. 
 
 His mother explained to him more fully the in 
 tentions of the principal, and the son of toil was 
 more delighted than if a fortune had suddenly 
 dropped into his lap. He knew all about the 
 course of study at Beech Hill, and thought it was 
 the finest school in the world. He had long wished 
 that he might learn a trade, and he would have 
 sought a place with a carpenter before, but he 
 would have to work for nothing at first, and his 
 mother needed the dollar or two a week he could 
 earn . 
 
 "When will Paul begin his work as janitor?" 
 asked Mrs. Bristol, as the principal was passing 
 them in the hall. 
 
 "At once, Mrs. Bristol. His wages shall begin 
 to-day," replied Captain Gildrock. " But if you 
 want him at the cottage till you get settled we can 
 spare him, "though he had better join his class 
 to-day." 
 
 " I wanted him to go over to Sandy Point," 
 continued Mrs. Bristol, who then explained the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 101 
 
 errand upon which she proposed to send Paul. 
 " The tin box contains my wedding ring, my 
 mother's gold ring, and a two-dollar bill. I was 
 afraid to keep them in the house, for rough char 
 acters sometimes land at the point. I did n't think 
 of the box till I wanted the money to buy some 
 provisions." 
 
 ft But Paul would have to row ten miles to get 
 the box," added the principal. " This is a broken 
 day, and we shall not do much in the school or the 
 shops, and he can go over in the Goldwing after 
 the students are dismissed. I will pay Paul's 
 first month's wages in advance, for I am sure you 
 will want some money." 
 
 The good woman took the money under protest, 
 though it was true that she needed it. The srold 
 
 C O 
 
 rings were of more value to her than any sum of 
 money, and she hoped they would not be lost. 
 
 At ten o'clock the bell rung for the forenoon 
 studies. Paul took a desk assigned to him, and no 
 other boy was ever more interested in a circus 
 than he was in the exercises of the school-room. 
 As soon as the school was assembled, Captain 
 Gilclrock took the platform and called upon the 
 leader of the moonlight expedition to report upon 
 the action he had taken.
 
 102 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Dory modestly related all the particulars of the 
 trip to Sandy Point, and the removal of the cot 
 tage, and warmly commended the ship's company 
 for the good order they had maintained, the 
 promptness with which his orders had been 
 obeyed, and the quietness with which all had done 
 their duty. 
 
 The principal believed in giving reasonable com 
 mendation when it was deserved, and he bestowed 
 handsome praise upon them on this occasion. 
 
 When the boys came into the school- room, they 
 ^noticed upon the wall in the rear of the platform 
 a large drawing which they had never seen before. 
 It consisted of three plans of a vessel. On a table 
 was a model of the hull of a craft of some sort, 
 resting in a cradle. The students had kept their 
 eyes fixed on the drawings and the model most of 
 the time while they listened to the commendation 
 of the principal and the report of their leader. 
 
 They manifested a very strong interest in these 
 things, and they were likely soon to forget the 
 operations of the night before. For six months 
 there had been a great deal of talk among them 
 about building a boat, and the project was a very 
 attractive one to them. But up to the present 
 time nothing had officially been said or done about
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 103 
 
 it. As soon as the spring opened, they had been 
 required to erect a sort of shop on the very bank 
 of the little lake, near the old wharf of the 
 steamer. 
 
 This structure was seventy-five feet long, with 
 plenty of windows, and was entirely open on the 
 water side. In accordance with the general policy 
 of the principal, its use had not been explained ; 
 but all the students believed it was to contain the 
 ways on which the boat was to be built. It looked 
 now as though the desired information in regard 
 to the building of the boat was to be communi 
 cated to them. 
 
 " I need not ask you if you have noticed these 
 drawings, and this model of a vessel," said Captain 
 Gildrock, after he had finished what he had to say 
 about the moving of the cottage ; " for you have 
 been looking at these things most of the time since 
 you came into the school-room." 
 
 "Are we to begin on the boat to-day?" Lon" 
 Dorset asked ; and he was one of the new students, 
 not yet thoroughly broken in with the customs of 
 the school. 
 
 " When I set you at work you will begin ; not 
 before. It always affords me very great pleasure 
 to answer sensible questions, boys, and I shall do
 
 104 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 everything I can to encourage you to ask them ; 
 but I don't believe in foolish questions. Such is 
 the character of all questions relating to what we 
 are going to do. You are never required to do 
 anything until an order is given. Foolish ques 
 tions take up as much time as sensible ones." 
 
 Lon Dorset was somewhat abashed at the man 
 ner in which his inquiry had been treated ; but 
 the principal knew that some of the boys would 
 talk all day about nothing, if permitted to do so ; 
 and the questions he tolerated and encouraged 
 were those which brought out real information, 
 and revealed the condition of the inquirer's mind. 
 
 " The building of the boat has been somewhat 
 delayed on account of the difficulty of obtaining 
 suitable lumber," continued the principal. " A 
 load which came from Boston yesterday will 
 enable us to make a beginning." 
 
 Some of the new pupils were disposed to give 
 three cheers.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 A LECTURE ON SHIP-BUILDING. 
 
 TTTE are not ship-builders, boys ; in fact, there 
 is not a ship-builder connected with the 
 school, and I do not intend to engage one even as 
 an instructor," said the principal, continuing his 
 remarks on the platform. " In the present de 
 pressed state of this important industry, perhaps it 
 is not advisable to devote much time to the study 
 of scientific construction in ship-building. It 
 looks now as though the ships of the future were 
 to be of iron ; and many vessels of this material 
 are built in this country at the present time. 
 
 " But perhaps ship-building is rather too ambi 
 tious a term to apply to our intended operations. 
 We shall build a boat of considerable size, and 
 while we are doing the work we shall learn what 
 we can about ship-building. Many years ago I 
 built a ship for m} 7 self, and superintended its 
 construction from the keel to the trucks. In 
 building our boat we hall not put in every stick 
 used in a ship. 
 
 105
 
 106 STEM TO STEKN; 
 
 "Did any of you ever tow a log in the water?' 
 asked the principal, pausing for a reply. 
 
 " I have," answered Leo Pownall, whose father 
 owned a saw-mill. " I have towed lots of them on 
 the mill-pond." 
 
 "To which end of the log did you make fast?" 
 inquired the captain. 
 
 " To either end ; just as it came handy," replied 
 the student. 
 
 " Then you sometimes did more work than was 
 necessary with your oars. A log tows easier when 
 you make fast to the big end," continued the prin 
 cipal, waiting for the pupils to digest the idea. 
 
 ft I don't see what difference it can make," added 
 Leo. " If anything, I should say that the small 
 end would open a passage through the water more 
 readily than the big end." 
 
 "I suppose none of you ever saw a whale, but 
 most of you have caught horn-pouts, or bull 
 heads." 
 
 "I have seen a whale on exhibition in New 
 York," interposed Luke Bennington. 
 
 " What was the shape of his head ? " 
 
 " The one I saw was round ; but I have seen 
 pictures of whales in which the head was nearly 
 square."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 107 
 
 " How is it with the pout ! " 
 
 "His mouth is about the widest part of him," 
 laughed Alick Hartford. 
 
 "Take fishes in general, in what part of the 
 body do you find the greatest girt?" asked the 
 principal. 
 
 "Just astern of the head," replied Kit Bur 
 lington. 
 
 " In some fishes, about one third of the length 
 from the mouth," added Bark Duxbury. 
 
 " Very good ; you are about right, though some 
 fishes vary from the general rule. Now don't 
 you think Nature made a mistake, Leo Pownall, 
 and that fishes ought to swim tail first instead 
 of head first, as you would tow a log?" 
 
 " I suppose God made the fishes all right ; but 
 He gave some of them very sharp noses," returned 
 the saw-mill owner's son. 
 
 " Corresponding to the shape of the butt of a 
 log after it has been felled ; but the greatest girt 
 is still near the head. This is the general shape 
 of the hull of a vessel." 
 
 " But the head of a sperm whale is almost 
 square ; and no other fish is like him," added Phil 
 Gawner. 
 
 " The whale is not a fish, Gawner. I have seen
 
 108 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 a school of porpoises alongside an ocean steamer. 
 Their greatest girt is one third of the length from 
 the head end ; but they will swim past a fast 
 steamer, and make something like twenty knots 
 an hour," said Captain Gildrock. 
 
 "I was trying to find the porpoise in Wood's 
 Natural History the other day ; but there is no 
 such fish in the book," added Sol Guilford. 
 
 "Where did you look?" 
 
 "In the volume about fishes." 
 
 "The porpoise is not a fish, and 3*ou would have 
 found it in the volume marked ' Mammalia,' " re 
 plied the principal with a smile. 
 
 "But is n't the porpoise a fish? He lives in the 
 water." 
 
 " So do hippopotami ; but they are not fishes. 
 Whales, porpoises, dolphins, seals, and some oth 
 ers, are mammals ; that is, they suckle their young 
 as a cow does a calf. Properly they are not fishes, 
 though they are very often called so." 
 
 These were the kind of questions the captain 
 believed in encouraging, though they sometimes 
 led the conversation out of the legitimate channel. 
 They elicited useful information ; and he was 
 careful not to let the students wander too wide of 
 the subject under discussion.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 109 
 
 " I don't know now why a log or a fish goes 
 best with the big end ahead," said Leo Pownall. 
 
 "After the passage for a moving body in the 
 water is opened, this fluid follows its own laws, 
 and seeks an equilibrium. As it moves back to its 
 natural level, it crowds in upon the after part of 
 the body, whether it be a log, a fish, or a ship, 
 and thus pushes it ahead. Under the stern of a 
 vessel, the hull is curved, or hollowed out, just as 
 the size of a fish diminishes at the tail, which is 
 the fish's rudder. 
 
 "But the shape of the hull is varied according 
 to the use to which the vessel is to be put ; but 
 the rule will hold good in the main. In build 
 ing a ship the beginning of the work is done on 
 paper. As in erecting a house, the first thing is to 
 obtain the plans, which are made by the naval 
 architect. In fact, the entire shape of the vessel 
 is laid down on the drawing-board. From these 
 the builder gets his dimensions, all the curves, and 
 the form of every timber and piece of wood used. 
 
 " On the drawing on the wall," continued the 
 principal, taking the pointer and indicating the 
 plans, " everything is put down that can be needed 
 in the construction of the boat we intend to build. 
 There are three plans, you will observe. I had
 
 110 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 them drawn by a naval architect in New York. 
 This," and the principal pointed to the highest one 
 on the paper, " is the sheer plan. It shows the 
 side or profile of the hull on a flat surface. It 
 looks just as the broadside of the Sylph would, if 
 she were too far off for you to get any idea of the 
 curves in her sides. 
 
 " This plan gives the exact curve of the bow, 
 and the exact slant of the stern-post. The three 
 straight lines extending the whole length of the 
 hull are the levels to which the water would stand 
 if the vessel were submerged to three different 
 depths. This drawing is made on a scale of one 
 inch to a foot. The sheer plan is a vertical plane 
 through the keel. From it we get the length and 
 height. The red lines which extend from certain 
 points at the bow to the lower part of the stern 
 post indicate the various curves of the hull at 
 different distances from the vertical plane of the 
 keel. In other words, they are three vertical 
 planes, parallel with the central plane. 
 
 "The next plan, of the same length as the first, 
 shows you one half of the deck of the boat, and 
 is called the half-breadth plan. All the plans are 
 on the same scale. The straight lines on the deck 
 are the curved lines of the sheer plan, or the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. Ill 
 
 tops of the several vertical planes. This plan re 
 versed would show the other side of the vessel. 
 
 "The third is the body plan, and exhibits a ver 
 tical section of the hull, looking at it end-on, at 
 the point where it has the greatest breadth. The 
 right-hand half of it shows the bows, and the left 
 the stern. The curved lines are the same as those 
 on the sheer plan, though, of course, they are shown 
 only at the bow and stern, for you cannot see a 
 line when you look end-on. 
 
 " With the making of these plans the task of the 
 naval architect conies to an end, unless he is em 
 ployed to superintend the construction of the 
 vessel. From the plans the builder gets the exact 
 size and shape of the craft he is to build. From 
 it the moulds, or patterns, of all parts of the hull 
 are made. In an apartment called the mouldiiiLT- 
 room, with which every ship-yard is provided, 
 full-sized plans of the vessel are drawn on the 
 floor. I do not mean that the entire ship is drawn 
 at the same time. 
 
 " If the bow or stern was accurately trans 
 ferred to the floor, enlarged to the actual size of 
 the hull , the exact form of the stem or stern post 
 could be marked off. From this, a mould or pat 
 tern could be made of board or plank. As a
 
 112 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 matter of fact, a mould is made for every part used 
 in the construction of the ship, not every piece of 
 wood, for what is used for one side may do just 
 as well for the other side. For example, a timber 
 on one side is exactly like the one on the opposite 
 side. 
 
 " In ship-building, the word timber has two 
 meanings. As in general use, it may be any 
 large stick of wood. In the technical sense, it is 
 one of the ribs of the vessel. The means of 
 understanding which is meant will be given you 
 as you proceed with the work. The keel is the 
 backbone of the vessel, and the strength of the 
 hull depends largely upon it. 
 
 "The keel corresponds with the backbone of 
 your bodies. At the forward end of it is the 
 stem, shaped as you see in the sheer plan. At 
 the after end is the stern-post ; and these three 
 parts form the profile of the vessel. Between 
 them are the timbers, or ribs, curved as required 
 by the shape of the hull. To the timbers, the 
 stem and stern-post, the planking, or outer skin 
 of the ship, is fastened. If you were to build a 
 canvas canoe, you would make a frame such as I 
 have described. The cloth part would correspond 
 to the planking.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 113 
 
 "But, besides the principal parts I have men 
 tioned, of course there is a vast number of other 
 parts, whose names you could not remember if I 
 gave them to you. I shall add only a fe\v of the 
 principal ones. The timbers I use the word in 
 its technical sense are set up about three feet 
 apart, sometimes a little more, and sometimes a 
 little less. The lower end of each is fastened to 
 the keel, and of course each timber has to be 
 shored up, and carefully secured in its proper 
 position. 
 
 " The timbers are at right angles with the keel, 
 and in large vessels are formed of several pieces. 
 Across the keel is laid the floor timber, which is 
 the connecting link between the pair of ribs. In 
 the middle of the ship, the floor is nearly flat ; 
 but near the stern-post the timbers strike the keel 
 at an acute angle, and in the same manner at a less 
 angle at the bows. 
 
 " Above the floor timbers is laid the keelson, 
 which is a large and strong timber a foot square 
 or more in large vessels. These pieces are fitted 
 together, and bolted to the keel through the tim 
 bers. The sharp angle at the stern is filled with 
 solid wood. As you have seen, the floor timbers 
 are parts of the ribs," continued the principal,
 
 114 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 pointing to a diagram of a full rib. " The next two 
 sticks, forming the sharpest bend in the timber, 
 are the futtocks, above which are the top timbers 
 and the lengthening pieces. The plankshear is 
 placed on the top of the timbers, extending from 
 bow to stern, even with the upper deck, if there 
 is more than one. 
 
 "Large ships have two, three, and even four 
 decks. Fastened to the timbers are pieces called 
 shelves, upon which rest the beams or timbers 
 extending across the ship, upon which the decks 
 are laid. In the corners, where the beams join the 
 ribs, are placed the knees (timbers like brackets) 
 in which the angle is formed by the natural growth 
 .of the wood. Of course all these pieces are 
 bolted together in the strongest manner. 
 
 "The timbers next to the stem are the knight- 
 heads. They extend upwards higher than the tops 
 of the other ribs, and assist in the support of the 
 bowsprit. In the keel, stem, and stern-post, a 
 rabbet, or triangular groove, is cut out, into which 
 the planks are extended. The first course of the 
 planking, next to the keel, whether composed of 
 one or many pieces, is called the garboard streak. 
 This word is often written straJce. The other 
 word is more commonly used in this country.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 115 
 
 " The next course above the garboard streak is 
 the bilge streak, which may consist of several 
 widths of plank. Above there are the wales, and 
 still higher the shear streaks. Some of these 
 terms are applied to the parts of the ship as 
 localities. The bilge is where the sharpest bend 
 comes in the hull ; . the wales are the sides near the 
 load line. 
 
 " I have tried to give you a general view of 
 ship-building, with a few of the more important 
 technical terms, some of which most of you have 
 learned before. As I have said, we shall not use 
 all these pieces in building the boat. For ex 
 ample, a false keel is put under the true keel of a 
 ship. It is a timber of the toughest wood, from 
 four to six inches thick, which is bolted to the keel 
 after the keelson is secured. It is but lightly 
 fastened, for it is intended to come oft", if the ves 
 sel strikes a shoal, and thus allow the true keel to 
 slide off. \Ve shall not need this addition, unless 
 we require it to increase the depth of the keel. 
 In that case, it would be better to have the part 
 corresponding to the false keel made of lead or 
 iron, and then it will serve as so much ballast. 
 
 " On the table you see a wooden model of the 
 boat we are to build. Its form and size are ex-
 
 116 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 actly indicated by the three plans I have explained. 
 We are not ship-builders, only amateurs ; and, 
 while I shall take pains to have you understand 
 the theory and practice of the art, I do not feel 
 obliged to follow all the methods in use. So far 
 as I know, no such model as the one on the table 
 was ever made before. As I shall direct the con 
 struction of the boat, I shall do it in my own way, 
 though it may not be according to the accepted 
 rules. 
 
 " I have kept you now longer than I intended, 
 for, after the hard work you did last night, and the 
 very quiet and business-like way in which you did 
 it, I shall make the rest of the day a holiday. The 
 Beech Hill fleet is at your service, and you may 
 spend the day in any proper manner that you 
 please. To-morrow afternoon we will dissect this 
 model, and give out the work of building the 
 boat. Tn the meantime I shall be glad to receive 
 suggestions as to her name ; but no student must 
 send in more than one name, for I wish you to 
 have decided opinions."
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ROUGH AVATER ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. 
 
 wind was very fresh from the northwest 
 on the lake, and its surface was covered with 
 Avhite-caps. Above Split Rock Point the lake 
 looked like a sea of foam, and heavy waves rolled 
 in upon the beach in Porter's Bay. Even Beech- 
 water was considerably agitated. Prudent moth 
 ers would have thought it dangerous to go out 
 upon the lake at such a time. 
 
 Apparently for the reason that the water was 
 rough on Lake Champlain, the students elected to 
 have an excursion in the barges. The principal 
 did not object, for the boys had been trained to 
 rough weather, and they knew how to handle the 
 boats in any sea that ever was stirred up on fresh 
 water, albeit the waves are often more perilous on 
 large lakes than on the ocean. 
 
 Oscar Chester was the coxswain of the Gildrock, 
 and Thad Glovering of the Winooski. The former 
 was still used by the first class, and the latter by 
 
 117
 
 118 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 the second. But the classes had been considerably 
 changed, and vacancies in the first had been filled 
 from the second and from the most advanced of 
 the new pupils. The third class consisted mainly 
 of new scholars. 
 
 The twelve-oar barges each had a crew of thir 
 teen, including the coxswains. Nine of the third 
 class were detailed for service in the new eight-oar 
 barge, and there was one who had no station in 
 any boat. One of the thirty-six students to which 
 the school was now limited had been taken sick, 
 and returned to his home in the winter. He was 
 from the far South, and the climate was too severe 
 for him. His place had not been filled before the 
 coming of Paul Bristol. He was to be a spare 
 hand for the present, and was to take the place of 
 any one who was absent. 
 
 The eight-oar barge was the Marian, in honor of 
 Dory's sister, and the name had been given by the 
 students. Paul had spoken to Dory about the tin 
 box in the hollow of the tree, and it had been 
 arranged to visit Sandy Point in the Gold wing ; 
 but when the students decided to go out in the 
 barges, the plan had been changed. Dick Short, 
 though a first-rate mechanic, and one of the best 
 boatmen in the fleet, had been transferred to the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 119 
 
 third class because he was deficient in some of his 
 book studies, and could not keep up with his 
 class-mates. 
 
 Dick had been elected coxswain in the Marian. 
 Dory had trained the new crew, but he declined 
 to be the chief in the boat. He pulled the stroke 
 oar, though he exchanged places with the coxswain 
 when the boys were in training. The crew of the 
 Marian generally manned the Goldwing, though 
 the schooner was often used by other parties. 
 
 A lunch had been put up for each of the crews 
 of the barges, and they were expected to be absent 
 all the rest of the day. Sometimes Captain Gild- 
 rock was called by business or pleasure to visit 
 Burlington, Plattsburgh, or other places on the 
 lake, when the students were at their studies, or 
 off in the barges. At such times he was his own 
 pilot, Mr. Jepson was the engineer when not in 
 structing in the shop or drawing-room, Bates was 
 deck-hand, and Collins, the gardener, was the fire 
 man. 
 
 Before the students were dismissed from the 
 school-room, steam was up on the Sylph, and the 
 barges had hardly departed before she left the 
 wharf. If she had any particular destination, it 
 was unknown to most of the students ; and possi-
 
 120 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 bly the principal desired to take a view of Sandy 
 Point after the event of the preceding night. 
 
 It was half-past eleven when the barges backed 
 out of the boat-house. Paul was seated in the 
 stern-sheets of the Marian. He had not yet been 
 trained to pull with the crew, though he would 
 have gladly taken an oar. On the present occa 
 sion his mission related to business. While they 
 were at breakfast, Lily had spoken to him about a 
 valise she had been obliged to leave at the house 
 of her former employer in Westport. Paul had 
 promised to get it when he could. 
 
 The Marian led the way down the creek into 
 the river, and then out into the lake. The other 
 barges followed at a respectful distance, and their 
 crews did not seem to be inclined to engage in any 
 scrub races. The speed of the eight-oar boat had 
 not yet been tested, and it had always been taken 
 for granted that either of the other barges could 
 beat her without half trying. But it was no time 
 to indulge in a race when the water was so rough. 
 
 The waves were dashing smartly over the point 
 at the mouth of Beaver River, and the bow of the 
 Marian was lifted up in the air as she plunged in 
 among the white-caps. Dick Short got the hang 
 of the waves as soon as they struck the boat. Paul
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 121 
 
 thought it was about as rough a time as he had 
 
 O O 
 
 ever seen on the lake during the season of naviga 
 tion ; but he had never been in the barge before, 
 and everything was new to him. 
 
 " By the big wooden spoon ! " exclaimed the 
 passenger, when the Marian was in the thickest of 
 the miniature billows, and the water was occasion 
 ally slopping in over the bow. " Don't you expect 
 you will all get drowned ? " 
 
 "You can't tell about that," replied the cox 
 swain, who felt as much at home in the boat as he 
 would in the school-room.* " We are not prophets, 
 and we can't tell what is going to happen." 
 
 "Don't you think it is dangerous to come out 
 here when the lake is boiling after this sort?" 
 asked Paul, as he looked at the angry waves 
 around him. 
 
 " I suppose it is. There is always water enough 
 in the lake to drown the whole of us," answered 
 Dick Short, who was rather inclined to work upon 
 the fears of a timid voyager. 
 
 "Then what do you come out here for?" 
 
 " For fun." 
 
 " Is there any fun in being drowned, Dick 
 Short?" asked Paul seriously, as he glanced at 
 Dory, whose face was as calm as the minister's on 
 Sunday.
 
 122 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " Any fun in being drowned? How should I 
 know? I never tried it." returned the coxswain. 
 
 " But don't you think it is dangerous to be out 
 here in such a blow ?" Paul insisted ; and he really 
 believed he was in peril. 
 
 " Of course it is." 
 
 " Then don't you think you had better put back 
 into the river?" 
 
 " But it is dangerous in there," added Dick. 
 " Suppose a tree should blow down and kill every 
 fellow in the boat? Suppose the sea-serpent 
 should be having a vacation up Beaver River, and 
 take it into his head to swallow us all, one at a 
 time? Suppose the river should catch fire and 
 burn us all up? Suppose the sky should fall, as 
 Chicken Little said it would, and smash us all to 
 jelly?" 
 
 "You are making fun of me, Dick," said Paul, 
 laughing. 
 
 " The principal says it is useless to worry about 
 anything. We do the best we can with the boat ; 
 and if she spills us into the fluid, all we have to do 
 is to get out if we can." 
 
 " I think I can stand it as well as any of the 
 rest of the fellows can, and I don't mean to 
 worry," returned Paul. "I never was out on the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 123 
 
 lake when it was anything near as rough as it is 
 to-day, and it looks dangerous to me." 
 
 "If you don't feel right about it, we will put 
 you ashore," added the coxswain. 
 
 " I am not scared ; I can stand it as well as- the 
 rest of you. I was only asking about it for infor 
 mation," continued Paul. 
 
 "I don't believe you are scared; if you had 
 pluck enough to stand up against Walk Billcord 
 and his father, I don't believe you will mind a 
 little ripple on the lake like this," replied Dick, 
 laughing. 
 
 "You said it was dangerous." 
 
 "Well, an ox-team is dangerous if you let the 
 beasts run off a precipice. It is dangerous to go 
 to bed, for the house may burn up before morn 
 ing." 
 
 " We don't think we are in any more danger 
 here, Paul, than we are every hour of the day on 
 shore," added Dory. "Dick could upset the boat, 
 and spill us all into the drink, if he did not under 
 stand his business and attend to it." 
 
 " All right ; I am satisfied," replied the son of 
 toil. "But I thought you were going up to Sandy 
 Point." 
 
 " So we are ; but the direct course would be
 
 124 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 about southwest, and that would put us into the 
 trough of the sea and keep us rolling the gunwale 
 under all the time," replied Dick. " The princi 
 pal don't allow the fellows to be reckless. There 
 comes the Sylph out of the river, and Captain 
 Gildrock is on board of her. If he should see 
 me letting the barge wallow about in the trough 
 of the sea, when there is no need of it, he would 
 give me fits." 
 
 " We could go direct to Sandy Point, though 
 at a little risk. We should take in a good deal 
 of water, and it would be uncomfortable," said 
 Dory. " In a small boat in a blow, or in a squall, 
 the safe way is to keep her head up to the sea." 
 
 "The other boats are following us." 
 
 M The coxswain of each can do as he pleases ; 
 but the fellows all know there is no fun in being 
 knocked about in the trough of a smart sea," 
 added the coxswain. " Do you expect to find any 
 one at the point when we get there, Paul? " 
 
 " No ; it is n't twelve o'clock yet. The Chester 
 fields are in school from eight to one, and then go 
 to dinner. They won't get away from the house 
 before two," replied Paul. "I don't believe any 
 one at the school has any idea of what was done at 
 the point last night."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 125 
 
 " I should like to be where I could see them 
 when they get to the point, and find that the cot 
 tage is missing," added Dick, chuckling. " Major 
 Billcord will be the maddest man in the State of 
 New York when he finds it is gone." 
 
 " Of course he will be. He don't care anything 
 about the land over there, and all he wanted was 
 to punish us for resisting his saintly son." 
 
 "I don't believe it will be safe for you to show 
 your head in Westport again, Paul, or let any of 
 the Chesterfields see you." 
 
 "Land me in Westport and see," laughed Paul. 
 
 Dick agreed to do so.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SAILBOAT IN THE TROUGH OF THE SEA. 
 
 "VTTHEN the Marian was half-way across the 
 lake, the Avaves began to diminish in force ; 
 and within an eighth of a mile of the high shore 
 the water was comparatively smooth. The barge 
 was then headed to the southwest, and had a quiet 
 time of it till she reached Sandy Point. The Gild- 
 rock and the Winooski had followed her, and were 
 now about an eighth of a mile astern of her. 
 
 Dory Dornwood was very popular with all the 
 students, not because he was the nephew of the 
 principal, but on account of his fairness, his pluck, 
 and his good judgment. Though Captain Gild- 
 rock believed and trusted in him, no one could ac 
 cuse him of partiality. Perhaps the coxswains of 
 the two twe~. e-oar barges, who knew that Dory 
 was on board of the Marian, considered it wise 
 and prudent to follow the lead of the eight-oar 
 barge for this reason. 
 
 On shore everything was as silent as the tomb. 
 126
 
 STEM TO STERN; 127 
 
 At Sandy Point, Paul looked with deep interest 
 for the appearance of any person in the vicinity 
 of the site where the cottage had stood. It was 
 possible that Major Billcord had sent one of his 
 men from Westport to ascertain what the Bristol 
 family intended to do about the removal of the 
 cottage or the furniture which it contained ; but 
 Paul could see no one. 
 
 " It looks as though the coast was clear," said he, 
 when he had completed his survey of the point 
 and the Avoods in the rear. " I don't believe any 
 one has been here since we left last night." 
 
 "Major Billcord must have regarded it as utter 
 ly impossible for your mother or you to do any 
 thing more than remove some of your furniture," 
 added Dory. " I am sure he did not think of 
 such a thing as your taking the cottage away ; 
 and I don't believe he would have considered it 
 possible for the Beech Killers to do such a job. 
 Probably he did not count us in, or think of us 
 at all." 
 
 "It was lucky for my mother that you came 
 along in the Goldwing as you did, for you have 
 saved her all she had in the world," said Paul, with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 " Now, where is the tin box in the hollow of a
 
 128 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 tree ? " asked Dick Short, as the barge approached 
 the entrance to Sandy Bay. 
 
 "The tree is near the neck, and I had to climb 
 up about ten feet to reach the hollow in which the 
 tin box was put," replied Paul. " As the Chester 
 fields are expecting to have a big time in dumping 
 the cottage into the lake, this afternoon, they may 
 come up early. I have no doubt they will pull 
 around here in their boats." 
 
 "Then I think we had better get away from the 
 point as soon as possible," replied the coxswain. 
 " AVe don't want to get into any row with them." 
 
 "I suppose you are not afraid of them," added 
 Paul, laughing. 
 
 " I don't think we are, and most of the fellows 
 wouldn't enjoy anything better than a skirmish 
 with them, "replied Dick Short. "But the student 
 that does anything to bring on a row with thorn 
 would be out of favor with the principal, and 
 might have to spend a few days in the brig for 
 it." 
 
 Paul had never heard of the brig, and Dick 
 described the strong-room, or black hole, to him. 
 The brig is the place of confinement, or prison, on 
 board ships of war, and the principal had such an 
 apartment in the dormitory. But there had been
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 129 
 
 very little use for it since the earlier days of the 
 school, and not half a dozen of the students had 
 ever. seen the inside of it. 
 
 "I don't see any of the Chesterfield boats," 
 added Paul, as he looked along the shore. "By 
 the big wooden spoon ! Isn't the lake stirred up 
 ahead of us ! " 
 
 "The wind has full sweep across North West 
 Bay, where the lake is four miles wide. It looks 
 decidedly foamy over in Button Bay," replied 
 Dick Short. 
 
 " By the big wooden spoon ! " repeated Paul, 
 as he rose in his seat in the stern-sheets. 
 
 "Sit down, Paul," said the coxswain, rather 
 sharply. " We don't allow any fellow to stand up 
 in this boat when he gets excited. What is the 
 matter now ? " 
 
 " There is a sailboat over there, and she looks 
 as though she was tipping over ! " exclaimed Paul, 
 dropping into his seat. 
 
 " She is over, as true as you live," added Dick, 
 rather louder than he usually spoke, but with 
 hardly more excitement, so thoroughly had the 
 students been trained to keep cool in emergencies. 
 
 At the same time he glanced at his crew ; but 
 not one of them had turned around to obtain a
 
 130 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 view of the event described by Paul find the cox 
 swain, for they had been schooled to keep their 
 eyes on the officer of the boat. The crew took 
 more pride in observing this general order than 
 almost any other. 
 
 Dick Short gazed with all his might at the 
 struggling sailboat, for a moment, but he seemed 
 to be in doubt, for the craft was at least a mile 
 distant. Besides himself, no one but Paul, whose 
 judgment in regard to the management of a sail 
 boat was not to be relied upon, had even glanced 
 in the direction indicated. 
 
 " Stan<i by to toss ! " called Dick. "Toss ! '' 
 
 At the last word the crew brought their oars to 
 a perpendicular. 
 
 " Now you can look, and I wish you would do 
 so," continued the, coxswain, as he fixed his own 
 gaze upon the sail, which was dead to leeward, 
 and some distance south of Button Island. 
 
 The students were glad enough of the permis 
 sion, for they had as much curiosity, and were as 
 much disposed to get excited, as the average of 
 boys. They gazed with all their eyes at the sail 
 in the distance. 
 
 " What do you think of it, Dory ? " asked Dick 
 Short.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 131 
 
 " I should say that sailboat is half full of water, 
 and that the skipper has lost his head," replied 
 Dory, after he had taken in the situation. "She 
 is rolling in the trough of the sea, and they seem 
 to be trying to take in sail." 
 
 All the crew gazed in silence at the sailboat ; but 
 no one of them ventured to give an opinion, if he 
 had any, in relation to the disaster. Dory had 
 more experience in sailing a boat than any other 
 student, and perhaps they were not inclined to 
 speak in the presence of an expert. But Dick 
 Short was an excellent boatman, and he deferred 
 only to the skipper of the Goldwing. 
 
 " She must be rolling the water into her all the 
 time, and she may go to the bottom at any mo 
 ment," added the coxswain, whose opinion coin 
 cided with that of Dory. " We must go to their 
 
 
 
 assistance at once." 
 
 Dory indicated his assent to this proposition 
 only by a nod of his head, for he did not like to 
 appear before the crew to be even an adviser of the 
 coxswain. 
 
 " Ready ! " called Dick ; at which every member 
 of the crew at the oars fixed his eyes upon the 
 officer. 
 
 " Let fall ! " and all the blades dropped into the
 
 132 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 water. " Give way ! " and the rowers bent to their 
 oars. 
 
 The Marian was headed towards the disabled 
 sailboat, and in a few moments she was going at 
 full speed. The coxswain did not hurry the oars 
 men, for he knew better than to exhaust them 
 before the hard work came on. The lake was 
 comparatively smooth under the lae of the land, 
 but in a few minutes they would be in the boiling 
 waves of the broad bay. 
 
 "Have you seen anything of the Sylph?" asked 
 Dory of the coxswain. 
 
 w She went up the lake when we crossed to the 
 west shore," replied Dick. " The last I saw of 
 her she was off Scotch Bonnet. I think the prin 
 cipal has gone up to Port Henry to order a barge- 
 load of coal, for I heard him tell Mr. Jepson he 
 should do so soon." 
 
 " Then by this time he is too far off to see that 
 sailboat," added Dory. 
 
 " He could n't do much if he did see it, for he 
 has not hands enough to handle the steamer and 
 man a boat," said Dick. 
 
 " He would manage to render all the assistance 
 needed if he saw the boat," replied Dory, with a 
 smile ; for he could not conceive of such a thing as
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 133 
 
 his uncle failing in any duty in an emergency. 
 " He could put the sailboat under the lee of the 
 Sylph, and take every person out of her." 
 
 " Of course he would do all he could, and he 
 would save the people at all hazards," continued 
 Dick, still straining his vision to get a better idea 
 of the situation of the sailboat. " But how about 
 the tin box in the hollow of the tree, Paul?" 
 
 '" I shall have time enough to get that before the 
 fellows go to the point to tip the cottage over into 
 the lake," replied Paul. "This boat begins to leap 
 like a orevhound chasing a rabbit." 
 
 O v O 
 
 " The boat will do very well as long as we can 
 keep her end-on to the sea," added Dory, who 
 thought the new pupil might be alarmed when the 
 barge got into the worst of it. " But remember 
 that you are to do nothing without orders from the 
 coxswain. Simply keep your seat and look out 
 for yourself." 
 
 "I think I can stand it as long as the rest of 
 you," replied Paul, with a cheerful smile. "I won't 
 meddle with anything till I am told to do so." 
 
 " The Gildrock and the Winooski are following 
 us, and the fellows are putting in the heavy 
 strokes," said Dory. 
 
 " Are they gaining on us ? " asked Dick.
 
 134 STEM TO STEKN. 
 
 "I think not." 
 
 The sea was very heavy ahead of the Marian, 
 but the waves were not like those of the ocean. 
 The}' were shorter and more " choppy." But the 
 boats made tolerably good weather among them. 
 In a smart sea, speed is desirable ; and it is the 
 element in the progress of the boat which insures 
 safety. At such a time there are two forces 
 acting, the propelling power of the boat and the 
 action of the waves. In heavy weather there is a 
 struggle between the two forces. In the case of 
 the sailing craft, the waves had got the better of 
 the boat. 
 
 With the three barges, the advantage was on the 
 side of the boats. They went ahead fast enough 
 to keep the upper hand of the waves.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE DISASTER TO THE SILVER MOON. 
 
 ri^HE stout students at the oars of the Marian 
 drove the barge ahead, helped somewhat by 
 the wind, so that the great billows seemed to have 
 no effect upon her. In a few minutes she was in the 
 midst of the heaviest of the waves. Sometimes 
 she trembled and shook, but she did not yield sen 
 sibly to the power which was opposed to her 
 
 " I think that is Tom BisselPs boat," said Paul 
 Bristol, who was watching the craft in trouble 
 very attentively. w When I went to see my sister 
 in Westport, about a month ago, she was sewing a 
 full moon into a blue flag." 
 
 " A full moon ? " queried Dick. 
 
 "It was a round piece of white stuff, and it 
 looked like a full moon." 
 
 " She has a burgee with a white circle on a blue 
 ground," added Dick. " Then that must be Tom 
 Bissell'sboat?" 
 
 " She is a sloop as big as the Goldwing," con 
 tinued Paul. 
 
 135
 
 136 STEM TO STERX; 
 
 " "Who is Tom Bissell? " asked the coxswain. 
 
 " He runs a store in AVestport, and his wife 
 keeps a millinery shop in the same building. My 
 sister worked for them," replied Paul. 
 
 " Does he know how to handle a sailboat? " 
 
 " He thinks he does, and most people believe he 
 does." 
 
 " Perhaps he does, and has met with some acci 
 dent to his sail or rigging," added Dick. " I be 
 lieve there are some ladies in the boat." 
 
 "I shouldn't wonder, for his wife is as fond of 
 sailing as he is ; and sometimes he takes out the 
 girls that work for them," said Paul. 
 
 "The sloop is in the trough of the sea, rolling 
 very badly. She is having a rough time of it," 
 continued Dick, as the- Marian came near enough 
 for him to see the position of the craft. 
 
 " I am very sure that is the Silver Moon," added 
 Paul. 
 
 " If it is, it looks like a wet moon, as Bates calls 
 it, when he looks to the silvery orb for the state of 
 the weather," said Dick. 
 
 The waves were certainly having it all their own 
 way so far as the Silver Moon was concerned. The 
 peak of the mainsail had been dropped, and the 
 main sheet had run out so that the boom stood at
 
 The craft contained six ladies and one man." Page 137.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 137 
 
 right angles with the keel. Either the halyards 
 were foul, or the rudder had given out, or she was 
 suffering from both of these mishaps. As the sloop 
 rolled with a heavy jerk in the violent seas, the 
 ladies screamed as though they expected each 
 movement would send them to the bottom. 
 
 The craft contained six ladies and one man. The 
 latter was baling out the boat with a bucket, and 
 was working with all his might. He had pluck 
 enough ; but the sloop seemed to be dipping up 
 more water than ho could possibly throw out, 
 though he had doubtless delayed a little the catas 
 trophe which awaited him. 
 
 Dick looked back at the other barges, and he 
 was confident that they had not gained even a 
 length upon the Marian since they all started for 
 the craft in peril. He had not driven his crew, 
 though he had kept them at work briskly. In the 
 barge fleet, Oscar Chester, as coxswain of the 
 senior boat, as the Gildrock was ranked, was the 
 acting commodore. When the barges were within 
 hail of each other, he w r as in command of the fleet. 
 If the Winooski and Marian were within hail, the 
 command devolved upon Thad Glovering. 
 
 As long as the other barges were as far off as at 
 present, Dick Short was in full command. He could
 
 138 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 use such measures as he thought best, but the cox 
 swain of either of the other boats could take the 
 management of the affair into his own hands, if he 
 chose to do so. As the Marian approached the 
 sloop, Dick quickened the movements of his crew, 
 for he desired to take some action before he was 
 superseded in the command. 
 
 The Silver Moon was headed to the northeast, 
 and lay in the trough of the sea. She was rolling 
 like a round log in the heavy waves. She had 
 settled down deep in the water, and behaved like 
 a stick of wood. The skipper was doing nothing 
 at all to combat with the waves. As there was no 
 power exerted to force the boat ahead, she had no 
 steerage w r ay, and the rudder was as useless as the 
 spare tiller. 
 
 The Marian went as closely astern of the Silver 
 Moon as she could without fouling the port oars. 
 The moment they were clear of the hull of the 
 sloop it was time to execute the difficult manoeuvre 
 of the occasion. In coming entirely about it was 
 necessary to put the barge in the trough of the sea 
 for an instant, and this was the dangerous point. 
 
 But Dick Short had decided to pass this point of 
 danger as nearly under the lee of the Silver Moon 
 as he could. The water on the starboard of the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 139 
 
 sloop was a trifle smoother for a couple of fathoms. 
 It required a nice measurement of distances with' 
 the eye to handle the boat, and a prompt obedience 
 of orders on the prt of the crew. 
 
 " Port side ! Stand by to lay on your oars ! " 
 called the coxswain, when the Marian was astern 
 of the sloop. "Oars!" he added, as soon as the 
 last blade on the port was clear of the hull. " On 
 the starboard, give way lively ! " 
 
 The effect of the first stroke of the starboard 
 oars, after the order was given, was to throw the 
 head of the barge to port. A few more pulls 
 brought the boat into the trough of the sea; but it 
 remained in that position only an instant. 
 
 " Port oars ! " continued Dick. " Hold water ! 
 Stern all ! " 
 
 The port oarsmen backed water as the starboard 
 rowers gathered up their blades, so that no con 
 fusion occurred, and in less than half a minute the 
 Marian was headed up to the sea, with her stem 
 within a few feet of the sloop. 
 
 " On the port, oars ! " At this command, the 
 oarsmen indicated lay upon their oars again, and 
 seemed as unmoved as though they had been in the 
 school-room, and not one of them looked behind 
 him.
 
 140 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 All the crew had obtained a single glance at the 
 interior of the Silver Moon the moment before the 
 barge began to swing around ; but this was all they 
 knew about the sloop, except what they had heard 
 the coxswain say. 
 
 "Stand by, all, to lay on your oars ! " called Dick, 
 as coolly as though nothing was the matter with the 
 Silver Moon, and her passengers were in a frolic 
 rather than in mortal peril. "Oars ! " And every 
 blade was poised and. feathered on a level above 
 the water. 
 
 " Bowman, stand by with the boat-hook ! " con 
 tinued Dick. " One stroke ! Give way ! " 
 
 This single stroke brought the bow up near 
 enough to the sloop to enable the bowman to fasten 
 the boat-hook to the gunwale of the helpless craft. 
 The crew lay upon their oars, ready to obey the next 
 order, but not one of them manifested the slightest 
 interest in the Silver Moon, so far as any look or 
 movement was concerned. Paul Bristol was ex 
 cited and uneasy, and once he was on the point of 
 standing up to get a better view of the interior of 
 the sloop. But he remembered the order of the 
 coxswain in season to restrain himself. 
 
 " On board the Silver Moon ! " shouted the cox 
 swain, but not louder than was necessary to make
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 141 
 
 the skipper hear him above the noise of the wind 
 and the water. ;c What is the matter?" 
 
 "I miss-stayed in going about, and shipped a 
 sea. The boat is half full of water, and I can't 
 do anything with her," replied Bissell, in tones 
 Avhich indicated that he was in utter despair. 
 " The girls are frightened out of their wits, and 
 the water comes in faster than I can get it out." 
 
 "Do you want assistance?" asked the coxswain. 
 
 " Of course I do ! " exclaimed the skipper. 
 " We shall all go to the bottom in a few minutes, 
 for there is a good deal of ballast in the boat." 
 
 " All right ! AVe will stand by you," replied 
 Dick. 
 
 "Can't you do something more than that?" de 
 manded Bissell, in shaky tones. 
 
 " I will send two hands on board to assist you," 
 added Dick. "Dory, you will go on board of the 
 Silver Moon. Take any one you please with you, 
 and report what you think should be done." 
 
 " As Paul Bristol is of the least use in the barge, 
 I will take him," replied Dory, as he unshipped 
 his oar. 
 
 " He is not the best boatman on board," added 
 the coxswain. 
 
 " If he will only obey orders, that is all I want
 
 142 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 of him," answered Dory, as he made his way to 
 the bow of the barge. 
 
 A standing order to all hands was never to 
 stand up in a boat when it could possibly be avoid 
 ed, and Dory crawled on all fours, from thwart to 
 thwart, between the oarsmen. He Avas followed 
 by Paul, in the same safe though undignified man 
 ner, for he thought it was not derogatory to follow 
 the example of the skipper of the Goldwing. The 
 bowman hauled the boat up so that the two hands 
 could get on board of her. 
 
 Just at that moment all the girls screamed, or, 
 as Paul expressed it, " squealed," and the lee side 
 of the Silver Moon rolled under, taking in a bar 
 rel or two of water. 
 
 " We shall all be drowned ! " shrieked one of 
 the ladies, as they all sprang out of their seats and 
 rushed over to the weather side, throwing the boat 
 out of trim so that she took -in another barrel of 
 water over the port side. 
 
 " She won't sink yet, ladies, unless you sink 
 her," said Dory, rather sharply. !f Three of you 
 on each side, and don't move for your lives. You 
 will certainly swamp the boat if you don't keep 
 still. Don't one of you move again without 
 orders."
 
 OE, BUILDING THE BOAT. 143 
 
 "That's what's the matter," said the skipper. 
 "I can't keep them still." 
 
 "They must keep still," added Dory with em 
 phasis. 
 
 Just at that moment came another roll, and 
 Dory told Paul to stand in the middle of the boat, 
 and allow none of the passengers to move. He 
 took position near him, and together they kept the 
 ladies quiet, and very little water was taken 
 aboard. 
 
 "I am about used up," said Bissell, who was 
 still baling with all his might, though he was 
 nearly exhausted. "I have been throwing out 
 the water for more than an hour." 
 
 "You might as well try to bail out Lake Cham- 
 plain as this boat, while she lies in her present 
 position. The water comes in faster than you can 
 throw it out," said Dory. " Here come our other 
 barges. Don't be alarmed, ladies. Even if the 
 boat sinks, we can save every one of you. Do as 
 you are told, and you shall be made comfortable 
 in a few minutes." 
 
 Oscar Chester put the Gildrock about with con 
 summate skill, though the barge shipped some water 
 during the manoeuvre. Thad Glovering did quite 
 as well in the Winooski. In a few moments, the
 
 144 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 three barges had brought their bows up to the 
 water-logged sloop. The oars were trailed, and 
 bunters put over the sides to prevent the boats 
 from grinding against each other. The Silver 
 Moon smoothed the water for them a little, and 
 they rode very easily on the swell. 
 
 Dick Short reported to the acting commodore 
 what he had done, and Oscar said he should not 
 interfere. At this time, Dory reported the condi 
 tion of the sloop, and advised that two of the six 
 ladies be taken into each barge. With great diffi 
 culty, on account of the uneasy motion of the 
 boats, the passengers were transferred to the stern- 
 sheets of the barges. They were all wet through, 
 but the commodore would not allow the boats to 
 leave the scene of the disaster until the safety of 
 the Silver Moon was assured.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE WORK OF AN INCOMPETENT SKIPPER. 
 
 r I THE removal of the six ladies made the Silver 
 Moon a little more buoyant ; but she was in 
 hardly less peril than before, for she rolled even 
 worse than when her passengers were on board. 
 Dory formed a very unfavorable opinion of the 
 seamanship of Bissell almost as soon as he had put 
 his foot over the gunwale of the sloop. Nothing at 
 all was the matter with the Silver Moon. Her 
 rudder was not disabled, and the halyards on tho 
 mainsail were in working condition. The craft had 
 lost nothing, but the skipper had lost his head. 
 
 But the Beech Ililler did not utter a word of re 
 buke, or even a critical comment on the manage 
 ment of the sloop. He saw how it was, and under 
 stood the situation perfectly, but he did not feel 
 called upon to censure the action which had been 
 taken, or the steps which had been neglected. The 
 craft was in the trough of the sea, and half full of 
 water. He looked about him, and discovered a 
 
 145
 
 146 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 pair of oars stowed away under the seats in the 
 large room. 
 
 "As you are tired out, Mr. Bissell, Paul will 
 bale for a while till you get rested," suid Dory, as 
 soon as the passengers had been transferred to the 
 barges, and without any of the delay indicated by 
 the printed page. 
 
 "I can do that first-rate," replied Paul, who had 
 wondered what he could do in a sailboat, in the 
 management of which he was comparatively igno 
 rant. 
 
 Paul took the bucket ; and it is safe to say that 
 he threw out more water than the skipper could 
 have done in his exhausted condition. But the 
 baling appeared to have little or no eifect on the 
 large quantity of water in the standing room. 
 
 " I am about tuckered out, but what do you 
 think I had better do?" asked the skipper, as he 
 gave up the bucket to the fresh hand. 
 
 "I think you had better rest yourself," replied 
 Dory, as he drew out the oars from under the 
 seats. " I will look out for the boat, and I think 
 she will come out of the scrape all right." 
 
 . " What are you going to do ? Do you mean to 
 row her over to Westport? " asked Bissell, panting 
 with his last exertions.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 147 
 
 " No ; I don't think we should make much trying 
 to row this boat nearly four miles against a head 
 sea," answered Dory. 
 
 " But you can't land over on this side of the lake. 
 .Tust see the waves breaking on the shore in Button 
 Bay. The Silver Moon would be smashed into a 
 thousand pieces," protested the skipper. 
 
 " Of course we can't make a landing on a lee 
 shore in this weather," answered Dory, as he went 
 forward. 
 
 Bissell could not make anything of Dory, and he 
 looked at him only to wonder what he was going 
 to do. The skipper had always believed that he 
 knew all about sailing a boat ; and in a moderate, 
 or even a fresh breeze, he could do very well when 
 everything went along smoothly. But he had 
 never been trained, as the students at Beech Hill 
 had, for seasons of emergency. 
 
 The Silver Moon miss-stayed probably because 
 she had not a "good full," had fallen off into the 
 trough of the sea, and rolled herself half full of 
 water before the skipper thought of doing anything 
 to overcome the difficulty. Under these trying 
 circumstances, he was not instructed either by pre 
 cept or actual trial what to do. 
 
 The throat halyard of the sail, Dory found when
 
 148 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 he went forward, had not been cast off. He got 
 hold of the peak halyard and hauled on it till he 
 got a good set on the mainsail. 
 
 "What are you about? "cried Bissell. "You 
 will upset her as sure as you live ! I let that part 
 of the sail down because it blowed so hard. I was 
 going to lower the whole sail, but I had n't time. 
 I was afraid the boat would sink if I did n't bale 
 with all my might." 
 
 Dory secured the peak halyard without paying 
 any attention to the shout of the skipper. When 
 he had put on the half hitch, he went aft again. 
 
 "Let the sail down just as quick as you can ! " 
 yelled Bissell. 
 
 "I think not," replied Dory quietly. 
 
 " If you don't, I shall lower it myself. I can't 
 stand this ! " added the frightened skipper. 
 
 " This boat belongs to you, Mr. Bissell, and you 
 can do what you please with her, and I shall not 
 quarrel with you about it. If you don't want any 
 assistance, Paul and I will return to the barge." 
 
 " But I don't want anybody to sink her," pro 
 tested the skipper. 
 
 " I shall not sink her ; but it is all nonsense to 
 think of baling her out while she is in the trough 
 
 O C? 
 
 of the sea, shipping water as fast or faster than you
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 149 
 
 can throw it out. I am not willing that Paul should 
 wear himself out for nothing." 
 
 " That 's the only way to keep her from sinking." 
 
 " You have a perfect right to your own opinion, 
 as I have to mine. I am confident that I can get 
 the sloop out of this scrape, if you will allow me to 
 do it ; if not, Paul and I will return to the barges." 
 
 " But I want you to help bale out the boat. She 
 will sink if the water rises any higher in her," the 
 skipper insisted. 
 
 At that moment, a heavier wave than usual struck 
 her, and rolled the boat over till she took in at least 
 a barrel of water. Bissell sprang from his seat as 
 though he expected the Silver Moon to go to the 
 bottom at that instant. But she did not sink, 
 though her floating power seemed to be very nearly 
 exhausted. 
 
 "Do you see that?" demanded the skipper, as 
 though he regarded the water just shipped as a 
 triumphant vindication of his opinion. 
 
 " I see it ; and I should say she will go down 
 after she has done that thing once or twice more," 
 replied Dory calmly. " Say quick whether I am 
 to get the sloop under way, or whether I am to 
 leave her ! Do as you please about it. The 
 barges will save you when she sinks."
 
 150 STEM TO STEKN; 
 
 " I Avill see what you are going to do," replied 
 Bissell doggedly ; and he was by no means con 
 vinced, though he was satisfied that he could do 
 nothing alone to save the craft. 
 
 Dory made no reply, for he was rather disgusted 
 with the obstinacy and nautical ignorance of the 
 skipper. Taking one of the oars in his hand, he 
 went to the side of the boat and hailed the commo 
 dore of the barge-fleet. 
 
 " I am going to get under way now, for there is 
 nothing the matter with the boat," said Dory. 
 
 "All right, Dory," replied Oscar, as he looked 
 about him to determine the best w r ay to separate 
 the barges, and get them clear of the Silver Moon. 
 
 They were all lying close together, the Gildrock 
 being nearest to the bow of the sloop. The com 
 modore ordered the Winooski to cast off first. 
 With her port oars she kept her head up to the sea 
 till those on the other side of the boat were clear 
 of the Marian, which was next to her. When her 
 twelve oars were in the water, the boys backed her 
 clear of the other boats, and then the crew were 
 ordered to lay on their oars. In the same manner 
 the other two boats backed into safe positions. The 
 barges pitched tremendously, and the ladies Avere 
 inclined to " squeal." When any of them attempted
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 151 
 
 to stand up, the gallant coxswains pulled them back 
 into their seats. 
 
 "Are they going to quit us?" asked Bissell, as 
 he looked with something like dismay upon the 
 movements of the barges. 
 
 " We could not get the sloop under way with all 
 those boats hanging to her," replied Dory. " They 
 will be here quick enough if they are wanted. 
 But we are not going to ship any more water ; we 
 shall leave the rest of it in the lake." 
 
 " I don't see how you are going to help taking in 
 all the water that rolls in," growled the skipper. 
 
 " If you keep your eyes wide open tight for one 
 minute more, I will show you that the Silver Moon 
 is the mistress of the situation, and Lake Cham- 
 plain will have to stay out in the cold," replied 
 Dory, as he shipped his oar between a couple of 
 thole-pins on the quarter. 
 
 " There is another oar under the seats," added 
 Bissell. 
 
 "One is enough to do the business," said Dory, 
 as he began to pull with all his might. 
 
 The water-logged craft moved as though it had 
 been fastened to the bottom. The boom was still 
 hanging out at right angles with the keel, and the 
 main sheet was flopping about in the water.
 
 152 STEM TO STERN ; 
 
 " Can't I help you ? " asked Bissell. 
 
 "You may take the other oar, if you please." 
 
 The skipper pulled out the oars, and was about 
 to ship it on the weather side when Dory inter 
 posed, and, shifting his own blade to the fore rig 
 ging, directed his companion to ship his between 
 the thole-pins he had left. 
 
 "On this side? Who ever heard of rowing in 
 that way?" blustered Bissell. " Both oars on the 
 same side ! " 
 
 tf We have no time to argue the question now, if 
 you want to keep your boat on the top of the water 
 instead of the bottom," said Dory sharply. 
 
 Bissell did as he was told, though he had no 
 faith in rowing with two oars on one side of the 
 boat. The united strength of the two was imme 
 diately seen in the motion of the boat. Her bow 
 was soon thrown up to the wind, and then the boom 
 swung in over the standing room. This was the 
 acting skipper's object, and as soon as he could 
 reach the main sheet, he dropped his oar. Grasp 
 ing the rope, he carried it aft, and got a turn with 
 it over the cleat above the rudder head. 
 
 The sail filled as soon as he hauled in the sheet, 
 and Dory got hold of the tiller. The sloop heeled 
 over till Bissell declared that the new skipper
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 153 
 
 woukl upset her. Paul continued to bale with all 
 his might. Dory trimmed the sail down as flat as 
 he could, and soon had perfect control of the craft, 
 heavy as her movements were in her water-logged 
 condition. Pie was obliged to touch her up in the 
 fierce blasts which struck her, but he had her 
 well balanced, and she did not realize any of the 
 evil predictions of her incompetent skipper. On 
 the other hand, she did not dip up any more water 
 over her gunwale, and all that came into her was in 
 the form of spray. 
 
 At Dory's suggestion, Bissell got out a firkin in 
 which the lunch for the party had been brought 
 on board, and assisted Paul in the work of baling. 
 But there were hogsheads of water in her, and the 
 process of relieving her was very slow. The 
 three barges were still laying on their oars, watch 
 ing the movements of the Silver Moon. Dory ran 
 for Button Island, which was separated from the 
 main land only by a narrow channel. Slacking 
 off the sheet, he ran her aground in the sand be 
 hind the point, where the water was as smooth as 
 the lake in a calm. 
 
 "She is aground!" exclaimed Bissell, as the 
 keel grated on the bottom. 
 
 "I know it ; and that is where I intended to 
 have her," replied Dory, as he left the tiller.
 
 154 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 Bissell began to protest that he would not have 
 the boat aground ; but the new skipper paid no 
 attention to him. Taking the bucket from Paul, 
 he told him to rest. Dory worked hard at baling 
 for half an hour, and Bissell did his part as soon 
 as he found that his protest was not heeded. By 
 this time the water had dropped so it had to be 
 dipped out of the well. It was all out at last, and 
 the well sponged dry. To the stupid astonish 
 ment of Bissell, the Silver Moon was again afloat.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 "ROLL ON, SILVER MOON." 
 
 Ij^OR about three-quarters of an hour the three 
 barges had waited, pulling just enough to 
 keep their heads up to the sea. By this time, the 
 ladies had become accustomed to the motion of 
 the boats ; and, in spite of their wet and bedrag 
 gled condition, they began to be very jolly. The 
 long boats rose and fell with the waves, and oc 
 casionally the spray was dashed over the bows, 
 and carried the whole length of the craft. At 
 last, they began to sing, and the students joined 
 them. It was getting to be a very merry time on 
 the rough waters, but the confidence of the crews 
 inspired the ladies with courage. 
 
 As soon as the Silver Moon was free from her 
 burden of water, Dory examined the sail, and, 
 finding it all right, he shoved off. As Paul Bris 
 tol had said, the Silver Moon was about the size 
 of the Goldwing, and was a very good boat. 
 
 " I have not the least idea that you can sail this 
 155
 
 156 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 boat over to "Westport in this blow," said Bissell, 
 as Dory shoved the sloop out of the shoal water. 
 
 "What's to prevent?" asked the new skipper 
 coldly. 
 
 " It blows too hard, and the sea is too heavy for 
 any boat, I don't care how good she is," answered 
 the owner of the Silver Moon. " I think this 
 boat is as good as any of them, but I had rather 
 walk twenty miles than cross Lake Chatnplain in 
 her in this blow." 
 
 " The sloop belongs to you, sir, and you can do 
 as you please about crossing," answered Dory. 
 " You can anchor and stay here till to-morrow if 
 you like." 
 
 " Do you think it is safe to cross the lake m a 
 sailboat when the wind blows as it does now, and 
 has since ten o'clock?" asked Bissell. 
 
 " I have been off Burlington, where the lake is 
 twelve miles wide, when the sea was a good deal 
 worse than it is here, and I did not think I was in 
 any greater danger than if I had been on shore." 
 
 " If you are not afraid, I ought not to be," added 
 the owner of the craft, evidently laboring to stimu 
 late his courage. " I guess I will risk it, as those 
 barges will be near enough to pick us up if any 
 thing happens."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 157 
 
 "All right," answered Dory, as he hauled down 
 the sheet, and let the boat go ahead. "Why did 
 you come out in such a blow, if you don't think it 
 is safe?" 
 
 "The girls hadn't anything to do to-day, and 
 wanted to go down to Port Henry. We started 
 at six o'clock this morning, and got there at eight. 
 It began to blow pretty hard by nine, and we 
 started back, though we intended to stay at the 
 Port all day. I got along very well, though the 
 girls were scared, till we got down to Barber's 
 Point ; and after that it blew like tophet." 
 
 rr You had the full rake of the wind across 
 North West Bay then," added Dory. 
 
 " Yes ; and I had to beat all the way home right 
 against it," continued the skipper. " I thought 
 we should tip over every minute. If I let her 
 oft' enough to make her go ahead, she tipped so 
 that the girls all screamed. When I was half 
 way over to Button Island I tacked, but the boat 
 would not come about. She lay there with her 
 sail banging. Then the wind caught the sail 
 again, and tipped her so she took in some hogs 
 heads of water. She got in between the waves, 
 and began to roll like a chip. I thought it was 
 time to haul down the sail, and I went forward
 
 158 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 to do so. Then the main sheet run out, and I 
 couldn't get it again." 
 
 " It was a bad situation/' added Dory, as Bissell 
 paused and looked at him, apparently as if to ascer 
 tain what he thought of the skipper's management ; 
 but Dory expressed no opinion. 
 
 " I let go the peak halyard, and did the best I 
 could to get the boom in, but I could n't do a thing 
 with it. The boat kept rolling in the water all 
 the time, anJ. I had to take the bucket and bale 
 with all my might. I was afraid to haul the sail 
 down then, for it would have gone into the water, 
 and helped drag her over on one side." 
 
 Dory, as an expert, had a very decided opinion 
 in regard to the skipper's management ; but he did 
 not feel called upon to express it, for Bissell was an 
 obstinate man, and he did not care to dispute with 
 him. The Silver Moon was running out close- 
 hauled from the lee of Button Island, which car 
 ried her to windward of the fleet of barges. Dory 
 had taken the helm when she got under way ; and as 
 long as the skipper did not object, he retained it. 
 
 " The boat don't work very well without the 
 jib, and that was what made all the trouble," con 
 tinued the skipper. " But it blowed so like all 
 possessed, that I could n't carry it."
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 159 
 
 Dory doubted whether this was all, or even the 
 principal trouble, but he made no remark. He 
 was not satisfied with the working of the boat, 
 and without saying anything to the skipper, he 
 put her about, and ran back to the lee of the 
 island. Getting her forefoot on the sand far 
 enough to hold her, he let go the halyards, and 
 lowered the mainsail a few feet. 
 
 " What are you going to do now ? " asked Bis- 
 sell, who had watched the movements of the act 
 ing skipper with interest and anxiety. 
 
 " I am going to put a single reef in the main 
 sail. Where do you keep the reef pendant?" 
 replied Dory. 
 
 The skipper had no reef pendant, and probably 
 did not know Avhat it was. But Dory found a 
 couple of ropes which answered his purpose. 
 Having lashed down the clew and tack, with 
 the assistance of Paul, he tied the reef-points. 
 Hoisting the sail up to a good set, he shoved off 
 with the boat-hook, and was soon standing out 
 from the shore again. Keeping his place at the 
 helm, Dory stood out to the fleet of barges. The 
 wind had not abated a particle of its force, and 
 even with the reef in the mainsail, she was inclined 
 to bury herself in the waves. Dory was not yet
 
 160 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 satisfied, and under his direction Paul pulled up 
 a couple of loose boards in the floor of the stand 
 ing-room, and lifted out a couple of cast-iron 
 blocks of ballast. These were placed in the stern, 
 and the bow was lifted a little more out of the 
 water. 
 
 "What's all that for?" asked Bissell. 
 
 '' To change her trim a little," replied Dory. 
 " She was ballasted too much by the head. She 
 works better now." 
 
 The sloop was less inclined than before to bury 
 her bow in the waves, and w r as more buoyant for 
 ward. She dashed ahead at a gallant speed, and 
 in a few minutes she was approaching the barges. 
 The passengers in the stern sheets of the boats 
 were very merry by this time, and seemed to be 
 actually enjoying the motion of the boats. As 
 the sloop came within hail of the barges, the 
 ladies struck up "Roll on, silver moon," in which 
 all the students who could sing joined, and it 
 made a very effective chorus. 
 
 "Very appropriate," said Dory, laughing; "but 
 she don't do that now. She has done rolling for 
 the present." 
 
 tf The girls are jolly enough now ; and they 
 don't seem to be a bit scared," added Bissell.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 161 
 
 " Will you take them on board again ? " asked 
 the acting skipper. 
 
 " I don't know ; what do you think ? " 
 
 "If you don't know, you had better leave it to 
 them," replied Dory. " Hail them, and ask them 
 what they will do." 
 
 "I say, girls, are you ready to come on board 
 of the Silver Moon?" called Bissell, in a loud 
 voice, as the sloop passed astern of them. 
 
 "No!" screamed the whole of them, almost 
 with one voice. " We are going back to West- 
 port in the barges," added one of them. 
 
 " Just as you like," returned Bissell. 
 
 "Roll on, silver moon," the girls struck up 
 again, and the boys took up the chorus with 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 " That settles it," added Bissell. 
 
 "Then we may as well return to the Marian, 
 Paul," said Dory. 
 
 " I am ready to do just as you say," replied the 
 spare hand. 
 
 "You don't mean to leave me, do you? "de 
 manded Bissell, aghast at the proposition. "I 
 don't want you to go." 
 
 " I thought you might prefer to handle your 
 own boat," suggested Dory.
 
 162 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "I guess I'd rather have you take her over 
 to Westport, if you will," replied the skipper, 
 anxiously. 
 
 "Even if we remain on board of the sloop, 
 you had better take the helm," added Dory, who 
 had some curiosity to see how Bissell worked the 
 boat. 
 
 " I 'd rather have you steer her. I don't know 
 but you can manage her better than I can." 
 
 " You ought to be able to handle your own boat 
 better than any one else can. You have sailed 
 her more than any other person, and a boat is 
 something like a horse, and does better in the 
 hands of one who is used to her." 
 
 " I bought the Silver Moon last year, and got 
 a man to show me how to manage her. I was out 
 in her every day last summer, but I never went 
 out when it blew very hard. Folks say it is 
 dangerous sailing on Lake Champlain, there are 
 so many currents and flaws from the hills." 
 
 "There is no doubt about the flaws and cur 
 rents, but I look upon them as bugbears. A 
 skipper must keep his craft in hand all the time, 
 and then he is ready for flaws and squalls." 
 
 " One of the girls has taken your place at the 
 stroke oar, Dory," said Paul, who was watching
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 163 
 
 the barges as they began to move over the savage 
 waves. 
 
 ''Sol see," replied Dory. "Dick is coaching 
 her, and I have no doubt she will make good my 
 absence." 
 
 " It is Susy Wellington ; and she knows how 
 to row better than most of the men," added Paul. 
 
 At this moment, the acting skipper went in 
 stays, and though he had given her a good full, 
 he had some doubts about her ; but she came up 
 to the wind handsomely, and went on the port 
 tack as promptly as the Goldwing could have 
 done it. As she filled away, she heeled over 
 till her washboard was almost buried ; but she 
 righted a little in a moment, and dashed off on 
 her course like a racehorse. She rose and fell 
 on the waves, with her gunwale under all the 
 time, but with eight inches of washboard above 
 the water. 
 
 The wind was rather flawy, and, of course, the 
 boat heeled over more when the puffs struck her, 
 so that most of the washboard w r as sometimes 
 under water. But the sloop, in her altered trim, 
 was as steady as an old horse on a smooth road. 
 As the Silver Moon was close-hauled, she struck the 
 seas constantly ; and the waves broke with no little
 
 164 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 noise against her bows, tossing the spray from 
 stem to stern. 
 
 Bissell watched the lee washboard all the time, 
 and seemed to be very nervous. He did not heed 
 the singing in the barges, which greatly interested 
 the acting skipper. The owner evidently expected 
 the sloop would ship a sea every moment, which 
 would fill her half full of water as she had been 
 before. But she tore along on her course without 
 taking in a drop of water over her lee side, unless 
 when a wave broke there, and spit the spray over 
 the washboard. 
 
 "You will put the Silver Moon on the bottom 
 before you get her over to Westport," said Bissell, 
 when he could hold in no longer, and his mental 
 excitement had become intense. 
 
 " I certainly shall not do it after we get to West- 
 port," replied Dory, with a smile. "But if you 
 wish to take the helm, of course you can do so. I 
 suppose you can swim, Paul ? " 
 
 " I could swim in Sandy Bay, but I don't think I 
 could in these waves," answered Paul. 
 
 " I don't think it is safe to sail along in this way 
 with the gunwale under water all the time," said 
 Bissell, as the water' rose nearly to the top of the 
 washboard.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 1G5 
 
 "Then you take the tiller, Mr. Bissell," replied 
 Dory, rising and offering his place on the weather- 
 side to the skipper. 
 
 Bissell was clearly full of doubts, but he took 
 the tiller. His first movement was to put the helm 
 down a little, so that the reefed mainsail began to 
 shake slightly, and of course the gunwale was 
 lifted out of the water. He kept the tiller shaking 
 all the time, as the boat was in danger of broaching 
 to. 
 
 When he had steered about a quarter of an hour, 
 it was seen that the barges were rapidly overhaul 
 ing the Silver Moon, though she gained on them 
 while Dory had the tiller. But it was necessary to 
 tack, and the skipper put the helm hard down. 
 The sail shook, and the boat did precisely what 
 Dory knew she would do she miss-stayed, and 
 then began to roll in the trough of the sea. She 
 had little headway when the helm was put down, 
 arid her momentum was not sufficient to carry her 
 around against the head sea. 
 
 The water began to roll into her on the sides ; 
 but Dory seized one of the oars, and with a few 
 smart pulls, threw her head up into the wind. The 
 instant the sail began to fill, which it did with a 
 rush, Bissell put his helm hard down. Dory plied 
 the oar once more.
 
 166 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 " I wish you would take the helm again," said 
 Bissell. 
 
 "I will, if you say so," replied Dory, who had 
 entirely satisfied his curiosity in regard to the sea 
 manship of the skipper.
 
 CHAPTEE XVI. 
 
 DORY DORNWOOD GIVES A LESSON IN BOAT-SAILING. 
 
 TT was absolutely certain that Bissell was not a 
 reckless and over-daring skipper, which is often 
 the most glaring fault of those in charge of sail 
 boats. He erred in the opposite extreme, he was 
 too timid. He had not pluck enough when it was 
 blowing fresh to keep his sail full. The barges 
 were overhauling her, because she had hardly any 
 headway ; and when she went in stays, she had not 
 speed enough to meet the fierce waves. 
 
 Dory took the helm, while the skipper, with the 
 bucket, dipper and sponge, soon removed the water 
 from the well. The sail was permitted to fill, and 
 the Silver Moon dashed on her course at a lively 
 rate again. The barges pulling against a head sea 
 could not keep within hail of her when she was on 
 her long tack. 
 
 ''I have about made up my mind that you can 
 handle this sloop better than I can," said Bissell, 
 when he had wiped out the well with the sponge. 
 
 167
 
 168 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Paul Bristol burst out into a loud laugh at this 
 remark. 
 
 " What are you laughing at, Paul ? " askejj the 
 skipper, looking rather severely at the spare hand. 
 
 " I was only thinking it had taken you a long 
 time to make up your mind, Mr. Bissell," replied 
 Paul, suppressing his risibles when he saw that 
 Dory looked as serious as a judge. 
 
 " I suppose you think I am not much of a skip 
 per, Paul," added Bissell, evidently annoyed by 
 the laugh of the spare hand. 
 
 " I don't know much about sailing a boat, and I 
 think I had better not say anything," answered 
 Paul prudently. 
 
 " I never got into such a scrape before with the 
 boat," continued the owner. " This boat will be 
 for sale after I get ashore." 
 
 " She is a very good boat, and works well," said 
 Dory ; but, cautious in regard to offending the skip 
 per by any criticisms, he was not willing to have 
 the boat blamed for the fault of the man. 
 
 "I always thought so myself till to-day; and I 
 have always believed I could handle her better 
 than any other man. It goes a little hard with me 
 to give in to one boy and have another laugh at 
 me," replied the skipper. " I should like to have
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 169 
 
 you tell me just what ails my management of the 
 boat." 
 
 " I don't volunteer any criticism ; but if you will 
 not be offended with a boy for expressing his mind 
 plainly, I will do so," added Dory. 
 
 " That 's what I want you to do, and I shall not 
 get mad, though it hurts for me to give in on 
 handling the Silver Moon. 
 
 " You are just a little too careful ; and that is 
 what has made the mischief every time," Dory 
 began. " If you don't give your boat a good full, 
 she won't go about in stays. That was the trouble 
 when you had the ladies onboard." 
 
 " The man that showed me how to sail a boat 
 said I could not be too careful," protested Bissell, 
 astonished at the remark of the acting skipper. 
 
 " I don't quite agree with him, though he is 
 right in the main. Most of the accidents happen 
 because the skippers are careless. Your sloop 
 was a little out of trim. When it blows too hard 
 for you to carry the jib, you must put a single 
 reef in the mainsail. With a whole mainsail, the 
 mast ought to be farther forward. Since I shifted 
 the ballast, she carries a stronger weather helm." 
 
 It was necessary to tack again, and Dory ex 
 plained more fully what he meant by a "good
 
 170 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 full," and then put the helm down. The sloop's 
 head flew up into the wind at a lively pace, and 
 the mainsail went over; but the helmsman righted 
 the helm, and met her with it so that she should 
 not fall oft' too far, thus putting her lee gunwale 
 under. 
 
 Bissell was deeply interested, and began to learn 
 what he had not before acquired. He took her, 
 and made the next tack, under the direction of the 
 acting skipper, himself. From that time he retained 
 the helm, and Dory continued to instruct him until 
 the Silver Moon got into comparatively still water. 
 
 Dory and his pupil had made more tacks than 
 were necessary, in order to illustrate the subject. 
 The boats came up with the sloop just as she was 
 going in at the wharf. The ladies and the crews 
 were still singing, and their merry voices attracted 
 quite a collection of people. 
 
 " When I was over oft" Button Island I did not 
 expect ever to see West-port again," said Bissell, 
 after he had made the Silver Moon fust at the 
 wharf. " I have only ten dollars in my pocket, 
 now, but I want you to take that and let me owe 
 you another ten." 
 
 " You must excuse me, Mr. Bissell," protested 
 Dory.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 171 
 
 "It ain't enough, I know; and I will make it 
 up to fifty dollars when I get to the store," added 
 the skipper. 
 
 "It is enough, and more than enough, Mr. Bis- 
 sell. I cannot take a single cent for that kind of 
 service. Captain Gildrock would put me into the 
 brig if I took money for assisting anyone in dis 
 tress on the water," said Dory earnestly. " Sailors 
 are bound to help each other always when in 
 danger'." 
 
 The store-keeper pressed Dory quite warmly to 
 take the money, but the latter was as firm as a 
 rock. Then he tried to give a few dollars to Paul, 
 but the spare hand, though he wanted the money 
 for his mother, took his cue from Dory, and re 
 fused to take a cent. Bissell expressed his grati 
 tude in very warm terms, and said he should like 
 to take some more lessons in sailing a boat from 
 such a skilful master. He would gladly pay for 
 the time and trouble, and he concluded not to sell 
 the Silver Moon at present. 
 
 It was now nearly two o'clock, and the students 
 thought it was about time to attend to the con 
 tents of the lunch baskets. The ladies had beon 
 landed, and were profuse in their expressions of 
 delight at their trip in the barges. The Beech
 
 172 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Hillers landed, and camped under a tree to dispose 
 of their lunch. Dory and Paul joined them, and 
 it took some time for the former to explain what he 
 had done on board of the sloop. He did not say 
 any unpleasant things about the skipper, or dwell 
 upon his mistakes. 
 
 Before the boys had made any deep inroads into 
 their stock of provisions, Bissell and the ladies ap 
 peared laden with ice cream, pies, and cake, which 
 were a welcome addition to the lunch. The " girls," 
 as Bissell called them, waited upon their deliverers, 
 and gushed over the delightful time they had hfid 
 in the barges. 
 
 " There come the Chesterfield barges," said John 
 Brattle when the clock indicated half past two. 
 "I wonder what they are going to do over here." 
 
 " I thought they had business about this time 
 over at Sandy Point," added Tuck Prince. 
 
 "Don't say a word about the cottage, fellows," 
 interposed Paul Bristol, with a good deal of ear 
 nestness. " I know what they come here for ; at 
 least, I think I know." 
 
 " Why don't you let on then, Paul ? " demanded 
 Phil Gawner. 
 
 " They have come over here after Major Billcord, 
 for I am sure he will want to see the cottage pitched
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 173 
 
 into the lake. I am almost sure now that none of 
 them know the house is gone," replied Paul, rub 
 bing his hands with delight when he thought of the 
 disappointment of his oppressors. 
 
 "If you like, Mr. Bissell, I will sail down the 
 lake with you as far as Sandy Point," Dory pro 
 posed, Avhile the boys were digesting what Paul 
 had said. " The coxswain consents to my absence ; 
 but I must return to Beech Hill in the Marian." 
 
 " All right, for I want very much to see you sail 
 the Silver Moon with a heavy w r ind on the beam or 
 over the quarter," replied the store-keeper. " But 
 I must go up to the house and change my clothes, 
 for I am as wet as a drowned rat." 
 
 Bissell hastened to his house, which was only a 
 short distance from the head of the landing. The 
 Chesterfield barges had just reached the wharf, and 
 the young gentlemen were coming up the steps. 
 The boats had pulled around under the lee of the 
 land, so that they had not been seen until near the 
 wharf. 
 
 The Chesterfield students formed a procession 
 on the wharf, and it was evident that they intended 
 to escort Major Billcord, who was fond of parades, 
 to the boats. The ladies waiting on the students 
 from the other side said this was the meaning of
 
 174 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 the procession, which was not a strange sight in the 
 streets of the town. 
 
 " You will take no notice of them whatever, fel 
 lows," said Commodore Chester very impressively. 
 "If they salute us properly, which they are not 
 likely to do, we must be as polite as they are, and 
 more so, if possible. If they call us 'tinkers' and 
 ' chip-makers,' which they are more likely to do, 
 make no answer of any kind. I will report any 
 student who utters an offensive word to them. 
 You all know that this is the order of the princi 
 pal, and not mine." 
 
 For some reason the procession of Chesterfields 
 did not pass near the tree under which the Beech 
 Hillers were lunching. Paul pointed out the ele 
 gant mansion of Major Billcord, and the students 
 of the institute marched in that direction. 
 
 "While we are waiting for Mr. Bissell, I should 
 like to go up to his house and get my sister's val 
 ise, which she left there," said Paul to the cox 
 swain of the Marian. 
 
 Dick consented, though he would not have per 
 mitted any of the crew to leave without a good 
 reason for it while the Chesterfields were so near. 
 Paul hastened up to the main street. He saw the 
 institute students halt in the grounds of Major
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 175 
 
 Billcord's mansion. They broke ranks, and the 
 magnate was talking to them. 
 
 " I will give twenty-five dollars to any student 
 or party of students that will capture that young 
 scoundrel, Paul Bristol, and hand him over to me at 
 Sandy Point." This was what the great man said 
 to a group of half a dozen of the students. 
 
 The party in front of him promised to carry out 
 his wishes if he would not mention the matter to 
 the rest of the students.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE MISSION OF THE SIX RUFFIANS. 
 
 TDAUL BRISTOL saw the conference between 
 the six Chesterfield students and Major Bill- 
 cord ; but he could not hear what passed between 
 them, and had no suspicion that he was the subject of 
 remark. None of them saw Paul when he entered 
 the gate to Mr. BisselPs premises, though his curi 
 osity prompted him to stand there a few minutes 
 to observe the proceedings of the party. 
 
 He expected to see nothing more than a sort of 
 reception of the magnate, who was evidently to 
 be their passenger to Sandy Point, and the stu 
 dents proposed to take him to the scene of the 
 afternoon's sport in state. But Major Billcord 
 appeared to have selected the six ruffians best 
 suited to the undertaking in which they were to 
 engage. He had called them aside, and made his 
 offer to them. 
 
 Those who were near enough to the magnate to 
 see his face could not help noticing that he had a 
 
 176
 
 STEM TO STEKN. 177 
 
 pair of black eyes. In this respect he was the 
 counterpart of his hopeful son, though the moiirn- 
 ins; of the latter was of a deeper shade than that 
 of his father. The major had remained in his 
 elegant mansion all the forenoon, for he was more 
 modest in the display of the weeds under his eyes 
 than he was of his person generally. Doubtless 
 he had often looked in his lofty mirrors to ob 
 serve the condition of his face. 
 
 He did not like the looks of himself with the 
 marks Paul had left on his face, for they certainly 
 added nothing to the dignity of his expression, 
 lie was a pompous, overbearing, and tyrannical 
 man, and every time he saw his mourning organs 
 they tilled him with wrath, and inspired him to 
 seek a wholesale revenge. He did not give a 
 thought to the insult his son had offered to Miss 
 Lily. She was of not the slightest consequence, 
 and it would have been quite proper, in his opin 
 ion, for her to submit in silence to the pleasure of 
 the reckless young man. 
 
 On the way home from the scene of his signal 
 del'cat at the hands of Paul Bristol, he had called 
 at the institute, and intimated that he had a mis 
 sion for the students, at the point, on the following 
 day. He wished them to call for him at his house
 
 178 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 in the afternoon, 'and he would insure them an 
 hour or more of the liveliest recreation. He did 
 not say what he had in view, and he had cautioned 
 Walk not to mention the business in which the 
 young men were to be engaged, 
 
 As Walk went home with his father, he had no 
 opportunity to let the cat out of the bag, even if 
 he had been so disposed. Father and son had 
 spent the rest of the day in studying out an ade 
 quate punishment for Paul. If they could have 
 " hung, drawn, and quartered " him, it might have 
 satisfied them. Walk suggested that he should 
 be prosecuted, and that the justice would send him 
 to prison for a month or two. But his father saw 
 that such a course would bring out the whole story 
 of the son's assault upon Miss Lily, and the judge 
 might not regard the affair in the same light as the 
 sufferers did. 
 
 They could agree upon nothing, but before 
 morning Major Billcord had devised the scheme 
 he had now taken the first step to carry out. He 
 thought it wise not to implicate his son in the out 
 rage, for he might be prosecuted and compelled to 
 pay a fine for himself and those he employed to do 
 the actual work. The vengeance of the magnate 
 was to be administered to Paul at Sandy Point.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 179 
 
 The plant for the black eyes hud been set out near 
 the doomed cottage, and it was proper that the 
 punishment should be inflicted on the same spot. 
 
 Walk Billcord had not been in condition to re 
 turn to the institute that day, for he did not care to 
 put his mourning on exhibition, and to answer all 
 the questions that it would call forth. But he was 
 going to Sandy Point in the boat to which he be 
 longed, for he was anxious to take part in the 
 destruction of the cottage. After the students 
 marched up to the mansion of the magnate, they 
 had informed him of the presence of the Beech 
 Hillers, and of Paul, in Westport. The story of 
 the Silver Moon's mishap had been related to them 
 at the wharf when they landed. The students from 
 the other side had come to the town to convey the 
 ladies from the disabled boat ; and this sufficiently 
 accounted for their presence. 
 
 Nothing was said about Paul, except that he had 
 come in the sloop. Major Billcord had no doubt 
 that his stalwart foe was still staying at the point, 
 and he had arranged his plan on the supposition 
 that he would be found in that vicinity. But when 
 he was informed of his presence in Westport, he 
 had been obliged to make a slight change in his 
 scheme. He had not intended to mention it till the
 
 180 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 students landed at Sandy Point. He had before 
 selected his ruffians, and he was simply obliged to 
 make his offer a little sooner than before arranged. 
 
 Paul Bristol went into Mr. Bissell's house and ob 
 tained his sister's valise. As he was about to de 
 part, the owner of the Silver Moon came down 
 stairs in his changed dress, with a letter in his 
 hand. 
 
 "Paul, do you know where Captain Bleeker 
 lives?" asked Bissell, as soon as he saw the boy 
 with the valise in his hand. 
 
 "Of course I do," replied Paul. "I used to 
 work for him on his place when he had anything 
 for me to do." 
 
 " I am going to Sandy Point in the sloop, and 
 Dory is waiting for me," continued the skipper. 
 " I am in a hurry to be off, and if you will go round 
 by Captain Bleeker's and leave this letter at his 
 house, I \vill carry your valise down to the boat. 
 I will put it on board of the Marian." 
 
 " All right, if you will tell the coxswain to wait 
 for me ; for I suppose I am to go in the barge," 
 replied Paul, as he took the letter. 
 
 Bissell hastened to the wharf with the valise, and 
 Paul started for his destination, which was on a 
 street in the rear of Major Billcord's mansion. The
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 181 
 
 procession had re-formed in the spacious grounds 
 to escort the magnate to the wharf. The six ruf 
 fians had been excused from marching in the line, 
 by request of the major, and they were consulting 
 in regard to their mission in the street in front of 
 the house. 
 
 Paul was obliged to take a cross street to reach 
 the house of Captain Bleeker, and he had to pass 
 within a few rods of the elegant mansion. As he 
 turned the corner, the chief of the six ruffians, who 
 was called Buck Lamb by his fellow-students, dis 
 covered him, and the conference came to a sudden 
 conclusion. The time for council had passed, and 
 the time for action had come. Buck Lamb was an 
 acknowledged leader, and, without any appoint 
 ment as such, he assumed the position and began 
 to give off his orders. 
 
 Paul was in sight, going up the cross street with 
 a letter in his hand. The back street ran parallel 
 to the main street, and the object of the attack 
 must be going to some house in that direction. 
 Buck sent two of his force to the cross street next 
 beyond that taken by Paul, with orders to inter 
 cept the victim if he went that way. Two more 
 were to remain near the mansion of the magnate, 
 and Buck himself, with Ham Jackson, followed
 
 182 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Paul. One of the two parties was sure to meet 
 him, or if they failed, by any accident, the pair on 
 the main street were in position to capture him. It 
 was a quiet little place, and there was scarcely a 
 person in the streets after the procession had 
 marched to the wharf. 
 
 Paul Bristol, all unconscious of what had been 
 done to make him a prisoner, walked with a rapid 
 step towards the house of the person to whom the 
 letter was addressed. He had not noticed the 
 movements of the six ruffians, or even that any of 
 the Chesterfields had been left behind. He was 
 thinking that the students would soon reach Sandy 
 Point with Major Billcord, and he was engaged in 
 picturing their astonishment and disappointment 
 when they discovered that the cottage had taken to 
 itself wings, and that the locality had assumed its 
 original appearance. 
 
 He went up to the door of the house, and rang 
 the bell. It was answered by Captain Bleeker 
 himself. He seemed to be somewhat surprised 
 when he saw Paul, for he had been expecting 
 another person. 
 
 " Is that you, Paul? I was in hopes that it was 
 Bissell ; for I expected an important letter as soon 
 as the mail got in, and he promised to bring it over 
 to me," said the captain.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 183 
 
 " He asked me to bring the letter over, and here 
 it is," replied Paul, as he handed the important 
 missive to him. 
 
 " Good ! It contains a draft which I need as 
 much as I need the air I breathe," added Captain 
 Bleeker, as he took the letter, and thrust his hand 
 deep into one of his trousers pockets, drawing forth 
 a quarter. " I am more glad to see you than I 
 should be to meet my grandmother, who died 
 twenty-five years ago. Here is something to prove 
 it ; " and he handed him the quarter. 
 
 " I don't want anything for this errand ; I only 
 did it because Mr. Bissell asked me to." 
 
 "Take the money," said the captain impera 
 tively. " If you come over here in about a week, I 
 shall have something for you to do, for it will be 
 time then to hoe the garden." 
 
 " I don't think I can come, sir, for I have a place 
 now, with steady work, on the other side of the 
 lake," replied Paul. 
 
 "All right," added Captain Bleeker, as he broke 
 the seal of the letter, and proceeded to close the 
 door, manifesting no interest in the messenger's 
 new position. 
 
 Paul put the quarter in his pocket, thinking there 
 had been no time in two years when it was so little
 
 184 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 needed as at present, thanks to Captain Gildrock. 
 But he did not lose a moment, for he thought that 
 by this time the crew of the Marian might be wait 
 ing for him. He walked at his most rapid pace up 
 the street in the direction by which he had come. 
 There was not a person to be seen in the back 
 street, though Buck Lamb and Ham Jackson had 
 reached the corner. 
 
 " Paul saw them approaching him on the same side 
 of the street. If he had seen them in the neighbor 
 hood of the institute, he might have known them ; 
 as it was, he did not recognize them, though they 
 wore the barge uniform. Being in a hurry, he de 
 serted the sidewalk to cut off the angle at the 
 corner of the street. But the two ruffians promptly 
 placed themselves in front of him in the middle of 
 the highway. 
 
 " Stop where you are ! " said Buck Lamb, in an 
 imperative tone. 
 
 "What am I to stop for?" asked Paul, with a 
 smile, and with the simplicity of an infant. 
 
 "You are to stop because I order you to do so," 
 replied Buck, who was of the genus bully, and 
 could not well help manifesting authority, whether 
 he had it or not. 
 
 "As I am in a hurry to join my boat, I don't
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 185 
 
 think that is a sufficient reason for my stopping,'' 
 replied Paul, with abundant cheerfulness. "If you 
 will excuse me, I had rather not stop just now." 
 
 " But I order you to stop ! " said Buck sav 
 agely. 
 
 " Oh, you do ! " added the intended victim. 
 " Then I must take the liberty to disobey your or 
 ders." 
 
 " When I order you to stop, I mean to enforce 
 my order," said Buck, with his teeth set fast 
 together. 
 
 "I can't stop to jaw with you now ; for, as I told 
 you, I am in a hurry," replied Paul, beginning to 
 be a little indignant at the interruption. 
 
 "If you move another step, I shall hit you," 
 continued the bully, placing himself in front of the 
 victim, with his fists clinched ready to execute his 
 threat. 
 
 Paul dodged back, and attempted to pass the 
 ruffians, but Buck got in front of him again.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE RESULT OF AN UNEQUAL CONFLICT. 
 
 "ID UCK LAMB evidently considered himself as 
 more than a match for Paul Bristol, for neither 
 Walk Billcord nor his father had given the stu 
 dents the particulars of the battle at Sandy Point. 
 All the magnate said was that he and his son had 
 been insulted and assaulted by the ungrateful son 
 of the woman he had harbored on his land. Buck 
 was a stout fellow, who had the reputation of pos 
 sessing scientific skill in the noble art of pugilism, 
 and who was ready for any fellow of his avoir 
 dupois, either with soft gloves or with hard gloves, 
 or with no gloves at all. 
 
 Happily, Paul had no knowledge of the reputa 
 tion of the bully, which the more knowing of the 
 students would have said was only reputation. In 
 his ignorance of the accredited accomplishments of 
 Buck Lamb, Paul vyas not in the least afraid of him. 
 Possibly, though not probably, if he had known 
 what a bruiser the leader of the six ruffians claimed 
 
 186
 
 STEM TO STERN. 187 
 
 to be, he would have taken to his heels and escaped 
 in the best way he could, or expressed his willing 
 ness to obey the imperative order of his assailant. 
 
 Buck not only intercepted his intended victim, 
 but he levelled a blow with his iron fist, as he 
 called it, at the modest nose of Paul Bristol. This 
 was enough to satisfy the son of toil, who had often 
 hoed corn and potatoes in the garden hear the 
 corner, that his opponent meant business. He 
 parried the blow aimed at him successfully, and it 
 was the right time for him to have returned it ; 
 but Paul did not yet msan business, for he was not 
 a fighting character, and despised the whole sub 
 ject of pugilism. Instead of striking, he looked 
 about him for the means of escape, and discovered 
 two more of the ruffians running with all their 
 might towards the scene of the encounter. They 
 wore the uniform of the barges of the institute, as 
 did Buck and Ham. There was no chance of es 
 cape, and Paul was beginning to get a glimmering 
 idea of the purpose of the assault. He concluded 
 that the fellows before and behind him were to 
 punish him for what he had done the day before at 
 Sandy Point. 
 
 Buck La.nb did not wait for the second pair of 
 the ruffians to join him ; and in that he made a
 
 188 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 bad mistake for himself. His blow hud been 
 parried, and he began to think that his antagonist 
 had some skill in the sublime art of pugilism; in 
 this he was again mistaken, for Paul had never 
 learned the first thing about it. He was fully 
 roused, and he aimed a second blow at Paul, which 
 was not as successfully warded off as the first had 
 been, and he received a portion of its force in his 
 right cheek. 
 
 Perhaps this hit was needed to render Paul fully 
 equal to the needs of the occasion ; at any rate, it 
 roused all the tiger of his nature, and then he was 
 ready for anything that might come. He at 
 tempted to parry the blow with his left arm ; but 
 as soon as the hit was felt on his cheek, he struck 
 a tremendous blow with his right hand. It was the 
 stroke of a son of toil, whose muscles had been 
 hardened by constant labor. It fell between the 
 eyes of the bully, which seemed to be u favorite 
 locality for Paul. 
 
 The pugilist of the institute reeled backwards, 
 and then fell over into the dirt in the middle of 
 the street. Doubtless he saw all the stars his 
 vision could encompass, and his ideas were awfully 
 confused. At any rate, he did not " come to time," 
 but lay on the ground where he had fallen.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 189 
 
 Ham Jackson was appalled at the result of the 
 first onslaught, which was accomplished in a tenth 
 part of the time it has taken to narrate it. Per 
 haps he was not a pugilist ; hut it was certain 
 from his actions that he was not prepared for the 
 state of things now existing. He seemed to be 
 quite as much bewildered as his companion in the 
 dirt. But he recovered himself more quickly, and 
 rushed upon Paul with the apparent intention of 
 seizing him by the collar of his coat. But the son 
 of toil did not know what he meant, and only saw 
 him coming. Without waiting to inquire into his 
 purpose Paul gave him the counterpart of the blow 
 which had upset Buck Lamb. The effect was 
 precisely the same, and Ham went over back 
 wards. 
 
 The two students approaching from the rear 
 were only a few rods distant, and Paul did not 
 wait for them to come any nearer. As he would 
 gladly have done in the first place, he took to his 
 heels and ran as fast as he could towards the 
 main street. Before he reached it, he looked back 
 to see if his enemies were pursuing him. The 
 two who had just come up with their unhorsed 
 companions were picking them up, and there was 
 no effort yet made to overtake him.
 
 190 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 P.'iul slacked his speed to a walk, and as he 
 approached the main street he saw two more stu 
 dents in the barge uniform. The instant they 
 discovered him, they rushed to a position in front 
 of him. One of them commanded him to stop ; 
 but he declined to do so. One of them attempted 
 to seize the collar of his coat, and Paul felt obliged 
 to hit again. His blow was parried better than 
 either of his former assailants had been able to do 
 it, but he repeated the attempt with success. The 
 blood spurted from the nose of the foremost stu 
 dent, but he was not upset by the shock. 
 
 Both of them came upon him then, the second 
 putting one of his feet between Paul's legs while 
 he was attending to the first, and tripping him up. 
 Down went the son of toil, and the two ruffi;uis 
 pounced upon him with the intention of holding 
 him till the rest of the party joined them. But 
 Paul did not hold still worth a cent ; and with his 
 great strength he shook off his assailants. 
 
 The last couple were more plucky than the first 
 had proved to be, and they followed him up very 
 closely. The victim rained blows upon them 
 without regard to the belt, hitting them where he 
 could. He was furious, and raging like a lion. 
 It was a very uneven combat, and Paul was rapidly
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 191 
 
 exhausting himself. The second of his present 
 antagonists used his boots almost exclusively. He 
 kicked the son of toil in the shins, and labored to 
 trip him up again. Just as Paul had given the 
 one Avho used fists a blow between the eyes, which 
 upset him, the leg operator succeeded, by an attack 
 in the rear, in bringing the victim to the ground. 
 
 As soon as Paul was down, Mad Twinker, who 
 was the one who demonstrated with his boots, 
 jumped upon him, and clawed his fingers into the 
 throat of the unfortunate son of toil. Just at this 
 moment the party from the back street came up, 
 and the two fresh ruffians assisted Mad in securing 
 the victim. They had obtained a couple of pieces 
 of bedcord at the house of the major, and they tied 
 his arms behind him. 
 
 Paul was so exhausted that he could make no 
 further resistance, and he submitted to be bound. 
 His breath was hardly shorter than that of his last 
 opponents, who were now wiping the blood from 
 their faces. The ruffians had earned their money, 
 so far as the capture of the victim was concerned ; 
 and it only remained for them to deliver the pris 
 oner to Major Billcord at Sandy Point. 
 
 Two of the ruffians went to a pump and wet 
 their handkerchiefs, with which they washed their
 
 STEM TO STEIIN; 
 
 own faces. Paul's handkerchief was taken from 
 his pocket, and the stains of blood were re 
 moved from his battered face. In a few minutes 
 they had wiped away the traces of the conflict. 
 Then two of the students, one on each side, took 
 Paul by the arms and marched him towards the 
 wharf. When they came in sight of it, they saw 
 that all the barges were manned, and had pulled a 
 short distance from the shore, where they awaited 
 the absent members of the crews. The Beech 
 Hi Hers had taken position off the end of the pier, 
 while the Chesterfields were near the land. 
 
 There was still quite a collection of people on the 
 wharf, drawn thither fwr the purpose of seeing the 
 barges, and possibly expecting a race or a fight, 
 the latter being more probable in the opinion of the 
 spectators : the battles of the previous season having 
 been duly reported in the town. The Silver Moon, 
 with Bissell and Dory in the standing-room, was 
 running with the wind on her beam for Scotch Bon 
 net. The six ruffians halted when they came in 
 sight of the wharf, and gathered around their 
 prisoner. 
 
 "This will never do, "said Mad Twinkcr, shaking 
 his head. " "VVe can't take him through that crowd 
 of people on the wharf."
 
 OB, BUILDING THE BOAT. 193 
 
 "That's so," replied Buck Lamb, who had lost 
 some of his prestige since his overthrow, and Mad 
 Twinker had come to the front. " Four of us can 
 handle him well enough now. Jeff Monroe, and 
 you, Steve Douglas, go and get Bissell's four-oar 
 boat." 
 
 " Bissell is n't there now," replied Jeff. 
 
 " Stop at his store as you go along, hire it for a 
 couple of hours, and get the key," continued Mad 
 Twinker. "Pull up to the creek at the head of the 
 bay, and we will meet you there." 
 
 Though there appeared to be no one in the 
 streets, for all the idlers had gone down to the 
 wharf, there were people in. the houses. Among 
 the latter was Miss Susy Wellington, who had 
 pulled an oar in the Marian. She had gone home 
 to change her wet dress for a dry one, and saw 
 from her chamber window the capture of Paul 
 Bristol by the ruffians. She had heard something 
 in the boat about Paul's battle with Major Billcord 
 and his son, and she had some idea of the occasion 
 of the assault upon the son of toil. 
 
 While Mad Twinker and his fellow-ruffians were 
 hurrying their prisoner to the creek, she hastened 
 down to the wharf. On her way she stopped at 
 Bissell's store, where she had worked with Lily
 
 194 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Bristol. She learned that her employer had gone 
 ofl' in the sloop again, and that some of the 
 Chesterfields had just hired the four-oar boat. She 
 continued on her way, and soon saw the two stu 
 dents in her employer's boat, pulling rapidly to 
 wards the head of the bay. When she reached the 
 end of the wharf she waved her handkerchief to the 
 Marian, and beckoned with all her might with her 
 hand. 
 
 Dick Short gave the order " Stern all ! " and the 
 barge backed up within hail of the fair oars woman. 
 The coxswain asked her if she desired to pull an 
 oar in the barge again. 
 
 " We are waiting for Paul Bristol, and he ought 
 to be on board by this time," added Dick. " If he 
 don't come, you can take his place." 
 
 "No, I thank you, Mr. Coxswain," replied Miss 
 Susy, and she proceeded to detail what she had seen 
 from her window. 
 
 "Paul a prisoner ! " exclaimed Dick, thoroughly 
 aroused by the intelligence. " Stand by ! Give 
 way lively ! " 
 
 He ran the Marian under the stern of the Gild- 
 rock, and reported the astounding intelligence to 
 Commodore Chester. 
 
 " A prisoner ! " exclaimed Oscar, startled by the 
 news. " Where is he now ? "
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 195 
 
 "Do you see that boat near the head of the bay? 
 Two of the six fellows who captured Paul were 
 sent for the boat, while the others took him in that 
 direction." 
 
 "This looks like serious business. The Chester 
 field barges both lie between us and that small 
 boat," continued Oscar Chester. 
 
 The Gildrock was hauled around so that the com 
 modore could confer with Thad Glovering. The 
 details were repeated so that all the students in the 
 three barges heard the whole story. 
 
 " It looks as though the rascals were going to 
 bring Paul off in that boat, and put him on board 
 of the Racer or the Dasher," which were the names 
 of the two Chesterfield barges. 
 
 " Then, if we pull up there in a hurry, we may be 
 able to get him away from them," added Thad 
 Glovering. 
 
 "On the other hand, if the fellows in charge of 
 the prisoner see our barges coming, they will put 
 Paul ashore." 
 
 It was a difficult point to settle.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 A DEADLOCK AT THE HEAD OF THE BAY. 
 
 TT was finally decided by the commodore that all 
 the Beech Hill barges should proceed to the 
 head of the bay, and if the ruffians landed wit!}, 
 their prisoner, or did not put him in the boat, 
 they should follow them on shore and rescue Paul 
 at all hazards. Oscar Chester gave the word, and 
 the Gildrock dashed off, with the other two barges 
 following her. The crews were not spared, and the 
 boats appeared to leap over the water, which was 
 tolerably smooth under the lee of the land. 
 
 The Chesterfield barges still lay near the shore, 
 above the wharf, and in order to avoid them the com 
 modore headed the Gildrock across the bay. In the 
 absence of the spare hand and Dory, the Marian 
 was one oarsman short, and Dick Short missed the 
 stroke very much. The Silver Moon was not more 
 than a quarter of a mile from the wharf, for Dory 
 was showing off the sloop in various points of 
 sailing. Very likely he desired to keep the Beech 
 Hill barges in sight as . long as the Chesterfields 
 were near. 
 
 198
 
 STEM TO STERN. 197 
 
 Dick Short waved his handkerchief in the direc 
 tion of the sloop. Dory saw the signal, and 
 headed the Silver Moon to the head of the bay. 
 Before the commodore changed the course of the 
 fleet, he ran across the stern of the Marian. 
 
 "The Chesterfields have made Paul a prisoner ! " 
 shouted Dick Short. 
 
 Dory heard the announcement, and then the sloop 
 passed out of speaking distance. He was not a 
 little astonished at the information, and fully real 
 ized the peril of the son of toil. Glancing at the 
 Chesterfield barges, he saw Major Billcord seated 
 in the stern-sheets of the Dasher, and it did not 
 need a very vivid imagination to comprehend the 
 programme of the enemy. 
 
 " I must ask you to excuse me to-day, and I will 
 come over some other time when the wind blows, 
 and put the Silver Moon through her paces," said 
 Dory to the owner of the sloop. 
 
 "What's the trouble here?" asked Bissell. 
 
 The acting skipper explained the situation to 
 him, including enough of the proceedings at 
 Sandy Point the day before to enable him to un 
 derstand it. 
 
 "Major Billcord is as . savage as a wild hyena 
 when he gets mad," added Bissell. M - He is bound
 
 198 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 to have his own wuy against everybody else. He 
 tries to rule the town, though most of the people 
 hate him." 
 
 Dory tacked and stood back to the Marian. He 
 hailed the coxswain and asked to be taken on 
 board. Dick told him to come alongside as quick 
 as he could, and he would be ready for him. 
 
 " I wonder if I can't do something to help you," 
 said Bissell. "You fellows have done me a good 
 turn to-day, and I should n't mind helping you out 
 if I could." 
 
 "You will only offend Major Billcord, and I think 
 we can manage the affair," replied Dory. 
 
 "No matter whom I offend; Paul Avorked well 
 in the sloop, and he seems to be the bottom dog in 
 this business, and if I see a chance to do anything 
 for him I shall do it, if the major bu'sts over it." 
 
 By this time the Marian was close under the 
 bow of the Silver Moon. Dick checked the head 
 way of the barge, and Dory put the helm down. 
 Up went the starboard oars on the Marian, and 
 the sloop was alongside of her the next minute. 
 Dory leaped into the stern-sheets, and took his 
 place at the stroke oar. The sailboat fell astern, 
 and the crew gave way again. 
 
 Dick gave Dory all the information he had in
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 199 
 
 regard to the capture of Paul. Both of them 
 were satisfied that the poor fellow would be 
 beaten half to death if he was not rescued from 
 the enemy. By the time the story had been told, 
 the Gildrock changed her course, and pointed her 
 bow for the creek at the head of the bay. On the 
 shore they could see several young men in the 
 uniform of the Chestertield barges, and they could 
 be no other than the captors of Paul. The four- 
 oar boat was just making a landing. 
 
 When the commodore changed his course, the 
 barges of the two schools were at about the same 
 distance from the mouth of the creek. Oscar's 
 strategy had given Beech Hill this equal advan 
 tage. The movement of the barges created a 
 sudden sensation on board of the Racer and the 
 Dasher. Major Billcord began to demonstrate, 
 and a good deal of violent jawing came from the 
 crews. The magnate had seen the two ruffians 
 take the boat from the wharf, and pull to the head 
 of the bay. He could not fail to understand that 
 the prisoner was to be brought off in her. 
 
 Doubtless, he commended the prudence of the 
 ruffians in avoiding the crowd on shore. He had 
 kept faith with his hired villains for his own sake 
 as well as for theirs, and he was the only person
 
 200 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 in the barges who expected Paul to be put on 
 board, or who comprehended the movements of 
 the six absentees from the boats. It was evident 
 to him that the Beech Hillers had discovered what 
 was going on, though it was a mystery to him how 
 they had obtained their information, for the com 
 ing of Susy Wellington had not been observed. 
 
 "Run for the head of the bay, Jack Wood- 
 horn ! " exclaimed Major Billcord, when he saw 
 the Beech Hill barges headed in that direction. 
 "You must get there before those rascals from 
 the other side do, or they will thrash the six boys 
 of the institute who are there." 
 
 " We can't do anything, sir ; we are four oars 
 short in this boat, and two in the other," replied 
 the coxswain of the Dasher. 
 
 "Don't waste a second, Jack!" protested the 
 magnate. "Do the best you can. You have the 
 inside track, and you ought to beat them with 
 half a crew. ' 
 
 Woodhorn gave the order to give way, and the 
 eight rowers in his boat were soon pulling with all 
 their might. The Racer followed her, and, having 
 ten oars, she passed her. It looked like a race be 
 tween the two schools, though it was a very une 
 qual one. The Chesterfield students had improved
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 201 
 
 in rowing a great deal since the last season, but 
 discipline was still the wanting element in their 
 organization, and though they had never measured 
 speed with the Beech Hill boats, they were no 
 match for them. 
 
 The boys from the other side did not seem to 
 hurry themselves, but only pulled a steady and 
 strong stroke. In five minutes it was clear 
 enough that they were beating their opponents. 
 The magnate urged the Chesterfields to greater 
 exertion, and did more harm than good by his ill- 
 
 / 
 
 timed interference. 
 
 Dory had shaken out the reef in the Silver 
 Moon, and made an additional change in the bal 
 last, so that she was now behaving remarkably 
 well. Bissell had run over to the north side of the 
 bay, and now had a slant which would carry him 
 to the mouth of the creek. Oscar Chester had 
 kept his gaze fixed on the party on the shore. He 
 saw the six ruffians, and recognized Paul Bristol 
 with his arms still bound behind him. The four- 
 oar boat lay at the mouth of the creek, but the six 
 ruffians had retreated to the high ground in the 
 rear of the landing. 
 
 The approach of the three Beech Hill barges 
 had completely upset the calculations of the ruf-
 
 202 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 fians. They stood looking down upon the lake, 
 and appeared to be entirely non-plussed. The 
 Gildrock was bearing towards the Westport side of 
 the bay, and was coming between the shore and 
 the Chesterfield barges. It was plainly folly to 
 put the prisoner into the boat that had come for 
 him. In the barges there were thirty-five Beech 
 Hillers, and only twenty belonging to the insti 
 tute. Besides, the boats from the other side had 
 always been victorious over their own. 
 
 The Gildrock came to a stand, with the crew 
 lying on their oars, and the other two barges fol 
 lowed her example at the order of the commo 
 dore. If the Chesterfields advanced, they would 
 have to break their Avay through the Beech Hill 
 line of boats. Jack Woodhorn ordered a halt 
 before he came up with the formidable line in 
 front of him. Colonel Buckmill, the principal, 
 who was not present, had told the students of the 
 institute never to come in collision with any of the 
 boats from the other side, and the coxswains were 
 disposed to obey their orders, especially as all the 
 chances were against them. 
 
 " What are you stopping for, Jack Woodhorn? " 
 demanded Major Billcord, when the oarsmen in 
 the Dasher brought their blades to a level.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 203 
 
 "We can go no farther without running into 
 those barges," replied the coxswain. 
 
 "Run into them, then ! Smash them if they 
 don't get out of your way. Are you afraid of 
 those chip-makers?" blustered the magnate. 
 
 " The principal ordered us never to come in col 
 lision with any of the boats from the other side, 
 sir," replied Woodhorn respectfully. 
 
 "Are you going to leave your fellow-students 
 on the shore to be mauled by those rascals ? " 
 
 "I don't believe the tinkers will meddle with 
 them as long as they stay on shore." 
 
 " But you want the rest of your oarsmen, and I 
 want you all at Sandy Point. There is the biggest 
 pile of fun for you over there that you ever had in 
 your lives," continued Major Billcord, moderating 
 his tone a little when he .found his own wishes 
 were in conflict with the orders of the principal. 
 
 Neither Jack Woodhorn nor Phil Fessenden, 
 the coxswain of the Racer, was disposed to get 
 into a row with the Beech Killers. Both of them 
 had been in the barges the summer before in all 
 their tilts with the Gildrock and the Winooski, 
 and they had learned wisdom from experience. It 
 was in vain, therefore, that Major Billcord coaxed 
 and threatened them. With a pair of black eyes
 
 204 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 out of the battle of the day before, Walk was 
 hardly inclined to support his father, though he 
 was quite as anxious as the magnate to get Paul 
 into their possession. 
 
 For full a quarter of an hour the boats remained 
 in the same relative position. The six ruffians on 
 the shore had come to the conclusion that there 
 was no getting out of the deadlock, and that the 
 only way for them to earn their money was to 
 march their prisoner to Sandy Point by land, a 
 distance of two miles. 
 
 Bissell had run the Silver Moon into the mouth 
 of the creek, and had been waiting for some move 
 ment on the part of the combatants in which he 
 miirht do something to serve his friends. The 
 
 r^ o 
 
 ruffians were jawing among themselves as to what 
 it was best to do, but he could not hear enough of 
 their talk to understand their plans, if they had 
 any. The skipper's patience was exhausted, and, 
 taking his painter in his hands, he went on shore. 
 Securing the rope, he walked up the banl$. 
 
 "What are you trying to do?" he asked, ad 
 dressing his remark to Mad Twinker. 
 
 "We want to put this fellow on board of the 
 Dasher," replied the leader, as he had been since 
 the overthrow of Buck Lamb.
 
 OB, BUILDING THE BOAT. 205 
 
 "Well, why don't you do it?" asked Bissell 
 briskly. 
 
 "Because the tinkers will interfere." 
 
 "I will take him in the Silver Moon if you like," 
 added the skipper indifferently. 
 
 "Will you take the rest of us too?" asked 
 Mad. 
 
 " Yes ; I can carry a dozen well enough," re 
 plied Bissell. 
 
 About all the students were small customers at 
 Bissell's store, and were well acquainted with him. 
 They had no suspicion of any treachery on his 
 part.
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 THE REBELLIOUS SKIPPER OF THE SLOOP. 
 
 "TT THAT are you going to do with Paul Bristol, 
 Mad T winker?" inquired Bissell, as they 
 marched him down to the sloop. 
 
 " We are not going to do anything with him. 
 Major Billcord wants to see him, and we promised 
 to take him over to Sandy Point for him," 
 answered the chief ruffian. 
 
 "Oh, that's all, is it?" added the skipper. 
 " What is the major going to do with him ? " 
 
 " We don't know ; and it 's none of our business." 
 
 "Of course it isn't," replied Bissell cheerfully, 
 as he hauled up the bow of the boat so that the 
 party could get on board. " How are you feeling 
 now, Paul?" 
 
 " I think I am all right. I have got some hard 
 cracks since I saw you at your house, but I guess I 
 shall come out of it all right," replied the prisoner, 
 looking with interest and anxiety into the face of 
 the store-keeper. 
 
 208
 
 STEM TO STERN. 207 
 
 Just then, while the ruffians were picking their 
 way into the boat, Bissell gave the prisoner an 
 almost imperceptible wink, which Paul saw and 
 comprehended. It was full of hope to him, for 
 he did not see ho\v the skipper could deliver 
 him over to the magnate after the good service he 
 had rendered, in his humble way, on board of the 
 Silver Moon. Besides, he was a Beech Hiller now, 
 and the store-keeper knew it. He was under 
 great obligations to them, and Paul did not be 
 lieve he would betray one of their number. 
 
 The skipper had not lowered his mainsail when 
 he made the landing, and the sloop was all ready 
 to shove off. After two of the ruffians were in 
 the standing-room, the prisoner was conducted on 
 board between two others. At this point, Bissell 
 went on board and took a stand near the tiller. 
 
 " It blows like Sam Hill to-day," said he, " and 
 I want you to keep your places, and not move out 
 of them. There are eight of us now, and sit four 
 on a side. Here, Paul, you sit there," and he 
 shoved the prisoner into the place next to his 
 own, on the port side. 
 
 " But you won't have to go out into the rough 
 water to get to Sandy Point," suggested Mad 
 T winker.
 
 208 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " "We must go out some distance, for there is 
 hardly any wind under the bluffs," replied the 
 skipper. " You take a seat in that corner, Mad ; " 
 and he crowded him into the place opposite his 
 own. . 
 
 The other ruffians were arranged to. suit him, 
 and then he shoved the sloop off into deep water. 
 The sail filled on the port tack, and the Silver 
 Moon went off with the wind a little abaft of the 
 beam. The shore was low at the head of the bay, 
 and the sloop got her full share of the breeze. 
 She struck into an eight-knot speed at once. 
 
 " It was lucky for us that you came up to the 
 creek, Mr. Bissell," said Mad Twinker, as the 
 boat shot ahead. 
 
 " Perhaps it was," replied the skipper ; but 
 there was not much enthusiasm in the remark. 
 
 " Those villains from the other side blocked us 
 in so that w r e could n't do anything, and we were 
 thinking of walking Paul over by land," added 
 the leader. " But some of us are about used up, 
 and we did not like the idea of such a tramp 
 through the woods." 
 
 As he spoke he glanced at the battered faces of 
 some of his companions. They all looked as 
 though they had been through the wars.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 209 
 
 "The head bout of the tinkers is swinging 
 around," said Alf Sumner, as the Gildrock turned 
 her bow towards the shore. 
 
 "I wonder what they are going to do now," 
 added Mad Twinker, with no little anxiety in his 
 expression. 
 
 " The rest of the tinker boats" are following her," 
 continued I Iain Jackson. 
 
 The (Jildrock made a graceful sweep before the 
 sloop came up with the position of the last barge 
 in the line, and was abreast of the Silver Moon 
 about as soon as she was under full headway. 
 The Beech Ilillers now laid themselves out, though 
 they could hardly expect to keep up with the sail 
 boat in that wind. 
 
 " Can't yon out sail those barges, Mr. Bisscll ? " 
 asked Mad Twinker. 
 
 " Every time when we have as much breeze as 
 we have now," replied the skipper. "And we 
 shall have a good deal more before we have any 
 less." 
 
 " There goes the Dasher," said Alf Sumner. 
 " The Racer is after her." 
 
 " And both of them will be a long way after 
 the tinkers," added Ham Jackson. 
 
 "We want you to put us ashore on the Sandy
 
 210 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Bay side of the point," said Mad Twinker. w Of 
 course, we shall pay you the dollar an hour for the 
 boat and boatman for all the time we have her." 
 
 "That's all right," answered the skipper, as he 
 headed the Silver Moon farther out into the bay, 
 and let oft' the main sheet to suit the change. 
 
 In a few minutes more the boat was in rough 
 water, and she began to pitch and roll in a manner 
 somewhat trying to the nerves of persons not used 
 to it. The six ruffians, who were no boatmen, for 
 they had very seldom been allowed in a sailboat, 
 did not like it. 
 
 " What 's the use of going out so far from the 
 shore, Mr. Bissell ? " demanded Mad Twinker. 
 
 "I don't think it is safe to sail near the bluffs, 
 for the wind is flawy and snappish there," replied 
 the skipper. "I don't know but I shall have to put 
 a reef in the mainsail, for the gusts come heavier 
 than I thought for." 
 
 As he spoke he hauled out a lot of rope from 
 the locker under the tiller. He began to fuss over 
 the lines to find a reef pendant. He took his 
 knife from his pocket, and cut one of them oft' the 
 right length. He laid the knife down by his side 
 on the seat, and then returned all the ropes, except 
 the one he had cut off, to the locker.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 211 
 
 " I may not want to reef, but it is best to be 
 ready," continued the skipper, shifting the tiller a 
 couple of notches on the comb. " Do you think 
 those barges will come up with us, 'Mad?" 
 
 " I should judge that they would not," replied 
 the leader. 
 
 " The Beech Killers are putting in some strong 
 strokes," added Bissell. 
 
 " So tire our boats," replied Mad. 
 
 " They are getting up quite a smart race. Will 
 you fellows bet on your own boats?" asked the 
 skipper, with a cheerful smile. 
 
 "Of course we won't while the Dasher is 
 four hands short of her complement," said Jeff 
 Monroe. 
 
 " But your boats are doing their prettiest, and I 
 should n't wonder if they got the best of it in the 
 end. Don't you see that the Dasher is gaining on 
 the Marian?" continued Bissell, with a great deal 
 of earnestness. 
 
 " I don't think she is gaining at all/' put in Steve 
 Douglas. 
 
 But the six ruffians were gazing with all their 
 eyes at the five barges ; and this was the one thing 
 that Bissell most desired. While he held on to the 
 tiller with his right hand he had picked up his knife
 
 212 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 with the other. Reaching around behind him, he 
 got hold of the cord which bound Paul Bristol. 
 Making sure that the blade was in the right place, 
 in which he was assisted by the prisoner, he cut the 
 rope. 
 
 " Is the Dasher gaining anything, Mad ? " he 
 asked when he had accomplished his purpose with 
 out attracting the attention of the ruffians. 
 
 " Not a hair ; she is losing, and the tinkers are 
 running away from our boats. They ought to 
 when our fellows are short-handed." 
 
 " I guess you are right, Mad," added the skip 
 per, as he looked about him, as if in search of 
 something. " The wind comes stronger and 
 stronger, and I think I shall Avant my long tiller. 
 It is in the cuddy forward ; will you hand it to me, 
 Jeff Monroe ? " 
 
 Jeff produced the spare tiller, and passed it 
 astern to the skipper. It was about three feet 
 long, and was made of the toughest oak. Bissell 
 took it, and placed it at his side, between himself 
 and the prisoner. Though Paul knew that his 
 arms were free, he had not removed them from 
 the position in which the cord had kept them, and 
 no one but the skipper suspected that he was not 
 still in bonds.
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 213 
 
 All that the owner had said about rough seas 
 had been uttered to blind the six ruffians. It was 
 rough, but not nearly so bad as it had been in the 
 forenoon farther from the land. Bissell had be 
 come more interested that day in sailing a boat 
 than he had ever been before. He had obtained a 
 good many new ideas on the subject, and was 
 really desirous of reducing them to practice. 
 Without saying anything about his intention, he had 
 gradually let off the sheet, and put up the helm 
 until the Silver Moon was now a full mile from 
 the shore, and was exposed to the entire force of 
 the moderate gale. 
 
 The Beech Hill barges followed the sloop, but 
 the Chesterfields were inclined to keep near the 
 shore. The latter were short-handed, and this 
 was doubtless their excuse. The sailboat was 
 now at least half a mile from the Gildrock. Bis 
 sell was glowing with his new ideas, and ho was 
 disposed to profit by the instructions of the skip 
 per of the Goldwing while they were fresh in his 
 mind. Suddenly he hauled in the sheet, and 
 threw the sloop up into the wind and then let her 
 off. on the starboard tack. Laying a course which 
 would take him back to the mouth of the creek, 
 he trimmed the sail and let her drive.
 
 214 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " What under the canopy are you doing, Mr. 
 Bissell?" demanded Mad Twinker angrily. 
 
 "I am afraid the Dasher will not catch us if I 
 run off any farther," replied Bissell. 
 
 " No matter whether she catches you or not. 
 All you have to do is to land us at Sandy Point, 
 on the bay side," added the leader of the ruffians. 
 
 " I guess we had better run back a piece," said 
 Bissell, unmoved by the wrath of his passengers. 
 
 " We don't wish to go back," protested Jeff 
 Monroe. " Do you want the tinkers to board us 
 and take our prisoner out of the sloop ? " 
 
 " I don't know that I care if they do." 
 
 "Don't you? Well, we do ! We won't stand 
 this sort of thing. We hire the boat, and she 
 must go where we say," replied Jeff, rising from 
 his seat, boiling over with wrath. "We won't 
 stand it!" 
 
 '* What are you going to do about it?" inquired 
 Bissell in the mildest of tones. 
 
 "I order you to come about and take us to 
 Sandy Point, as you agreed to do." 
 
 "I didn't agree to do anything of the kind. I 
 told you I would take Paul on board, and then the 
 rest of you, when you asked me to do so. That 's 
 the whole of it."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 215 
 
 " This is treachery," yelled Mad Tvvinker. 
 
 "Well, if it is, I think we have carried this* 
 thing about far enough. I hadn't any idea of 
 helping you to hand Paul over to Major Billcord. 
 I would sink my carcass to the bottom of the lake 
 first," continued the skipper of the Silver Moon, 
 warmly. 
 
 " All we have to do, fellows, is to take posses 
 sion of the boat," shouted Jeff Monroe, as he 
 made a rush aft. 
 
 "Back into your seat, or I will spill you into 
 the lake ! " said Bissell sharply. 
 
 But Jeff was not to be intimidated by a threat, 
 and, supported by Mad, he made a dive at the 
 skipper. Suddenly the spare tiller appeared in 
 air, in the hands of Paul, and then it came down 
 upon the head of Jeff Monroe.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 AN OUTRAGE IN THE STANDING-ROOM OF THE 
 SLOOP. 
 
 TEFF MONROE fell all in a heap at the door 
 of the cuddy; but his fall did not deter his 
 fellow-ruffians from advancing upon the skipper. 
 Buck Lamb threw himself in front of Mad 
 Twinker, as though he intended to redeem his 
 escutcheon from the stain of defeat. Bissell was 
 no more a fighting character than Paul, and he 
 had not the least idea of " science." Buck was in 
 proper position to make or receive an attack, and 
 the skipper had risen from his sitting posture 
 when the prisoner did. 
 
 Instead of hitting as a pugilist should, Bissell 
 reached out his long arm, and took the bully by 
 the collar of his uniform, jerked him over once, 
 and then tossed him upon the prostrate form of 
 Jeff Monroe. Mad Twinker had bravely followed 
 up the attack until he was in reach of the skipper's 
 arm, and he was tumbled over in a heap. 
 
 213
 
 STEM TO STERN. 217 
 
 But Bissell could not do duty with his long arms 
 and steer at the same time ; and the Silver Moon, 
 now having a strong weather helm, came up into 
 the wind, and, with her boom shaking in the midst 
 of the combatants, began to roll as though she 
 intended to pitch the ruffians overboard without 
 any help from her owner. Jackson, Sumner and 
 Douglas had retreated from the after part of the 
 standing-room, and the motion of the boat, made 
 more unsteady by the movements of the ruffians, 
 pitched them all into the seats. 
 
 Buck Lamb and Mad Tvvinker rose to their feet 
 as soon as they could, but Jeff Monroe was not yet 
 in a condition to move. The skipper put the helm 
 up, and the sloop filled away again. Paul had 
 advanced a pace, and taken a seat near the skip 
 per, but with the spare tiller ready to deal a blow 
 as soon as a head came near enough to receive it. 
 
 The ruffians looked at the heavy tiller in the 
 hand of Paul, and then they looked at the long 
 arms of the skipper. While they were gazing 
 there was a halt all along the line, which afforded 
 an opportunity for reflection. Some of them cast 
 their eyes about them for something in the shape 
 of a weapon. The spare tiller seemed to be the 
 only stick that would answer the purpose of a club,
 
 218 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 except the crutch used to support the boom when 
 the sail was furled, and that was under the owner's 
 seat. 
 
 Both Mad and Buck seemed to realize that they 
 could do nothing without bringing that tiller down 
 upon their heads, and its descent was almost sure 
 to reduce them to the condition of Jeff Monroe, 
 who was just beginning to show some signs of life. 
 While they were thinking about it, the skipper 
 came about, and headed the sloop towards the 
 shore. When he had done so, he picked up the 
 crutch, and placed it on the seat, by his side. 
 
 The Silver Moon was now headed in the direc 
 tion of Sandy Point. The Beech Hill barges were 
 some distance astern of her, and the Chesterfields 
 at least a quarter of a mile farther to the westward. 
 
 "I don't think it is quite safe, Paul, to leave 
 these fellows lying round loose in the standing- 
 room," said Bissell, when he had the boat well in 
 hand on the new tack. At the same time he drew 
 out from the locker under him the ropes from 
 which he had selected the reef pendant. 
 
 " What do you mean by that ? " demanded Mad 
 Twinker, before Paul had time to reply. 
 
 " I mean that I shall be under the disagreeable 
 necessity of tying your arms behind you, just as
 
 OH, BUILDING THE BOAT. 219 
 
 you had Paul when you brought him on board," 
 replied Bissell ; but his tone and manner did not 
 indicate that the duty was a very unpleasant one. 
 
 " But we won't stand it ! " replied Mad 
 angrily. 
 
 "Won't you?" continued Bissell, as he took 
 the crutch in his hand. 
 
 "I protest against such an outrage ! " exclaimed 
 Ham Jackson. 
 
 "Oh, you protest, do you? And you really 
 think it would be an outrage?" said Bissell, in a 
 mocking tone. 
 
 " We are students in the Chesterfield Collegiate 
 
 O 
 
 Institute, and we are the sons of gentlemen," re 
 turned Ham, with dignity. " Of course, it would 
 be an outrage to put us in bonds, like common 
 felons." 
 
 " Precisely so ; then we will tie your hands be 
 hind you like uncommon felons. We won't quar 
 rel about words, for you can beat me every time 
 in that line. I suppose it was not an outrage for 
 you to attack Paul Bristol, six to one, in the 
 street, and tie his hands behind him," replied the 
 skipper, with a very heavy sneer. "He don't 
 happen to belong to the Institute, but he is a mem 
 ber of the Beech Hill School."
 
 220 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "We don't care what he is," interposed Mad 
 Twinker. " We won't submit to be bound ! We 
 won't stand such an indignity ! " 
 
 "You think you won't? I don't believe I shall 
 have much trouble in tying the hands behind him 
 of that fellow on the floor," continues Bissell. 
 "It is for you to decide whether you will have 
 your hands tied before or after you are knocked 
 stiff. I will begin with you, Mr. Twinker." 
 
 "No, you won't!" cried Mad, as he sprang 
 from his seat, and rushed madly upon the skipper. 
 
 Bissell was on his feet, and, reaching out his 
 long arm, he took his assailant by the throat, in 
 spite of the wild blows he aimed at him. This 
 time he did not pitch him on the floor, but choked 
 him till the ruffian began to feel weak, and to 
 relax his struggles. 
 
 "You take the tiller, Paul, but don't let go the 
 spare one. If one of them moves aft, knock him 
 as you did the first fellow," said Bissell, as he 
 picked up the reef pendant he had cut off. 
 
 Paul took the helm. He had steered a sailboat 
 before, though he knew next to nothing about the 
 general management of the craft, and kept her as 
 she was. By this time Mad was decidedly faint, 
 and the owner had no difficulty in tying his arms
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 221 
 
 behind him. When he had done so, he picked up 
 the crutch again, and stepped forward. His next 
 victim was Buck Lamb ; but as about all the vim 
 had gone out of the bully, it was an easy job to 
 secure him. The other four ruffians made no 
 resistance worth mentioning, for the crutch in the 
 hand of the skipper was an awful weapon ; so was 
 the spare tiller which Paul wielded. If the ruffians 
 could have got hold of anything in the way of 
 clubs, doubtless they would have held out longer. 
 
 As it was, they were completely vanquished. 
 Bissell had ranged them three on a side as he 
 bound them, and they had not been inclined to 
 move. Possibly they thought they were in a bad 
 condition to save themselves if the Silver Moon 
 had taken it into her head to upset and spill them 
 into the angry lake. 
 
 " We are all right now, Paul. Don't you say 
 so ? " said the skipper, as he seated himself on the 
 weather side and took the helm. 
 
 " I should say that we were, "replied the late pris 
 oner heartily. "You have saved me, Mr. Bissell, 
 from an awful pounding at the hands of Major 
 Billcord and his son ; and I owe you a thousand 
 thanks. I shall never forget what you have done 
 for me to-day."
 
 222 STEM TO STERN ; 
 
 "I think I got saved myself this forenoon," 
 added the skipper; "and I guess I know how it" 
 feels. I think we should all have been drowned 
 in the Silver Moon if it had n't been for the Beech 
 Hi Hers ; and I don't feel as though I could ever do 
 half enough for them. We are not square yet, 
 Paul, and you did your share." 
 
 "I didn't do much; it was Dory Dornwood 
 who did it all," answered Paul modestly. 
 
 "It cut me like a sharp razor to give in to a 
 mere boy on sailing, but Dory knows more about 
 a boat with his eyes shut than I do with mine wide 
 open. He did n't put on any airs, either," contin 
 ued Bissell, with enthusiasm. 
 
 " By the big wooden spoon, there comes the 
 Sylph ! " exclaimed Paul, as the steam yacht cams 
 out from behind Barber's Point. " Captain Gild- 
 rock is on board of her, and you may be sure he 
 will put things to rights in double quick time." 
 
 " All right ; I am glad he is coming, for I don't 
 know what to do with these fellows, now that we 
 have them Avhere they can't set the lake on fire." 
 added the skipper, as he glanced at the Sylph. 
 M We will keep on as AVC are, for I suppose she is 
 going over to Beaver River." 
 
 " I think you have carried this thing about far
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 223 
 
 enough, Mr. Bissell," said Mad Twinker, after 
 he had taken a glance at the steam yacht. 
 
 " Not quite, Mr. Twinker," replied the skipper, 
 with a smile. "I shall carry it about as far as that 
 steam yacht, and then I don't care a button what 
 becomes of it." 
 
 "You mean by that to hand us over to the 
 principal of the Beech Hill School?" inquired 
 Ham Jackson. 
 
 "I reckon it amounts to that." 
 
 " If you settle the thing that way, you will have 
 to answer to Colonel Buckmill," added Mad 
 Twinker. 
 
 "I am ready to answer to him. Do you think 
 the principal of the Chester.field school will justify 
 you in committing such an outrage as you have 
 put on Paul Bristol ? " demanded Bissell indig 
 nantly. 
 
 rt Then why don't you hand us over to Colonel 
 Buckmill?" 
 
 "So I would if he happened along here at about 
 this time. Perhaps the other principal will pass 
 you over to Colonel Buckmill," suggested the 
 skipper, with a sort of chuckle, as though he had 
 his doubts on the subject. "Six of you set upon 
 Paul in the most cowardly manner, and "
 
 224 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " Only two at a time," interposed Buck Lamb. 
 
 "How was it, Paul?" asked Bissell. 
 
 The intended victim of the ruffians told his story 
 in full, not omitting to mention the punishment he 
 had bestowed upon his assailants. Bissell ex 
 pressed himself very emphatically in regard to the 
 cowardly character of the assault, and was glad 
 Paul had defended himself till he was overpowered 
 by numbers. The faces of some of the ruffians 
 bore the marks of his hard fists, and they were 
 probably booked for mourning eyes by the next 
 day. 
 
 By this time the Silver Moon was off Sandy 
 Point. Paul had watched with interest the move 
 ments of the Sylph. When first seen she was 
 headed for Scotch Bonnet, which was her direct 
 course when homeward bound ; but she soon 
 shifted her helm, as though she was going up to 
 Westport. . 
 
 "She is going to make a landing at the town," 
 said Paul, when he noticed the change of course. 
 
 "I am sorry for that, for I thought she was 
 coming over this way," replied Bissell. 
 
 "Captain Gildrock must see all the barges, and 
 I am sure he will run over here as soon as he 
 makes them out," added Paul.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 225 
 
 The words were hardly out of his mouth before 
 the head of the steamer was turned in the direction 
 of the Beech Hill barges, which were not half a mile 
 astern of the Silver Moon. The skipper decided 
 to come about, and stand back to the fleet. Be 
 fore he could reach the boats, the Sylph had 
 stopped her screw, and was hailing the Gildrock. 
 Oscar Chester informed him that Paul Bristol had 
 been taken a prisoner by six of the Chesterfields, 
 and that the skipper of the sloop was conveying 
 him to Sandy Point. This was all the commodore 
 knew about the matter, but it was enough for the 
 captain. He started the screw again, and in a few 
 moments he had overhauled the Silver Moon. 
 
 From the pilot-house the principal could see 
 the condition of things in the standing-room of the 
 sloop. Again Captain Gildrock rang one bell, and 
 then two. As the steamer lost her headway the 
 Silver Moon rounded to under her lee side, where 
 she had still water.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 AN INVITATION TO SANDY POINT. 
 
 ~T SHOULD like to hand these fellows over to 
 
 you, Captain Gildrock," said Bissell, hailing 
 
 the principal. " We have tied their hands behind 
 
 them, and they won't set the lake on tire just 
 
 yet." 
 
 "I should like to know something more about 
 the case. Will you send Bristol on board to 
 report to me?" replied Captain Gildrock. " Mr. 
 Wolfenden, of Westport, is on board, and will 
 join you in the boat." 
 
 " Wolfenden ! Why, he is the deputy sheriff ! " 
 exclaimed Bissell. " I guess he is the very man 
 we want." 
 
 "Mr. Bulfington is also on board," added the 
 principal. 
 
 " Perhaps both of us had better go on board of 
 the Silver Moon," said Mr. Wolfenden, for both 
 he and Bulfington, who was a constable, were in the 
 pilot-house. 
 
 226
 
 STEM TO STERN. 227 
 
 " I should like to have one of you remain and 
 hear the statement of Bristol, upon whom this out 
 rage has been perpetrated," added Captain Gild- 
 rock. "As Bulfington is the constable, perhaps 
 he had better remain." 
 
 The deputy sheriff was satisfied to let it be so, 
 and he went on board of the sloop. The two 
 officers had been down to Port Henry on official 
 business, and, manifesting quite an interest in the 
 Sylph, the principal had invited them to take pas 
 sage to Westport in her. As the officer went on 
 board of the sloop, Paul left her, and hastened to 
 the pilot-house. 
 
 "Well, Bristol, it seems that you did not see 
 the- last of the trouble at Sandy Point yesterday," 
 said the principal, bestowing a look of kindness 
 and sympathy upon the new pupil. " Your face 
 looks as though you had had a hard time of it 
 to-day." 
 
 " The toughest time I have had yet, but not so 
 tough as it would have been if Mr. Bissell had not 
 stood by me, and got me out of the scrape. We 
 did him a good turn this forenoon, and he did not 
 forget it," replied Paul. 
 
 "I am glad to see you, Paul," added Mr. Bul 
 fington, taking him by the hand. "It is about
 
 228 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 time the pranks of those students should come to 
 an end ; and I think the people of Westport have 
 had about enough of them." 
 
 "What service did you render to Mr. Bissell?" 
 asked Captain Gildrock. 
 
 " It is rather a long story, sir ; " but Paul pro 
 ceeded to relate it in full, and he soon found 
 that both of his auditors were deeply interested 
 in it. 
 
 " My daughter was one of the six girls," said 
 Mr. Bulfington, when the spare hand had finished 
 his narrative. " I am sure I owe the boys a debt 
 of gratitude which I shall never expect to dis 
 charge." 
 
 Paul then gave the particulars of the assault 
 upon him very minutely, and described the events 
 which had followed his capture up to the present 
 moment. 
 
 " It would have gone terribly hard with you, 
 Paul, if Major Billcord had got you over to the 
 point, for there is no more reason or mercy in him 
 than there is in a fighting bulldog," added the 
 constable. " He has got money enough to pay all 
 damages, and he would not mind a thousand or 
 two if he got his revenge in full." 
 
 " These boys must have been employed to cap-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 229 
 
 ture Bristol," said the principal, whose face was 
 flushed with indignation. " Mrs. Bristol this 
 morning gave her son into my charge, and he 
 shall not be abused while he is in my care." 
 
 " What do you intend to do about it, Captain 
 Gildrock?" asked Mr. Bulfington. 
 
 " I shall prosecute the ruffians first ; and if I can 
 prove that Major Billcord employed them to assault 
 my pupil, I will prosecute him," replied the cap 
 tain. 
 
 The principal went to the side and had a brief 
 talk with Bissell. It was arranged that the skip 
 per should convey the boys to Westport, the con 
 stable going with him. Mr. Wolfenden returned 
 to the steamer, and instructed the captain in the 
 proper method of procedure in the court. 
 
 Bissell lost no time in getting under way. The 
 ruffians were utterly crestfallen when they under 
 stood that they were to be prosecuted for the out 
 rage upon Paul. Very likely Colonel Buckmill and 
 the magnate would choose to regard it as a mere 
 lark, a little wildness, on the part of the students, 
 which ought to be passed over without any appeal 
 to the courts. 
 
 Before this time the Beech Hill barges had come 
 to the side of the Sylph. The Chesterfield barges
 
 230 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 h.ad given the steamer a wide berth. They were 
 close up to the shore, and were pulling in the 
 direction of Sandy Point. Major Billcord could 
 not help seeing his minions on board of the sail 
 boat, and to suspect that they had come to grief; 
 but he could not prevail on the coxswains to go 
 near any of the craft from the other side of the 
 lake. 
 
 Paul remained on board of the Sylph, for his 
 evidence was needed in Westport in getting out 
 the warrant for the arrest of the ruffians. The 
 principal gave no orders of any kind to the com 
 modore of the fleet, and he was left to do as he 
 pleased. The students were consulted in regard 
 to their washes. Dory had gone on board of the 
 Silver Moon as soon as the Marian came alongside 
 of the steamer, and had obtained from Bissell all 
 the details of the capture of Paul, and the sub 
 sequent events. 
 
 The Sylph stood over to the town, and the three 
 boats locked together for a conference. The first 
 thing was to hear Dory's account of Paul's adven 
 tures. Then they decided to wait until the Sylph 
 started for home, for they were tilled with curios 
 ity to know what might be done with the ruffians. 
 
 Just then they discovered that the Chesterfield
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 231 
 
 barges were lying on their oars off the southern 
 arm of Sandy Point. They had some curiosity, 
 and doubtless were more interested than their 
 rivals. All the boats retained their positions for 
 over an hour, when the Sylph was seen to leave 
 the wharf. In a few minutes more she had crossed 
 the bay, and stopped her screw near the Marian. 
 The eight-oar barge was ordered to come along 
 side the steamer, and Paul was taken on board. 
 
 Of course they could not separate until the stu 
 dents had heard the news from Westport. In a 
 few words the spare hand informed them that a 
 warrant had been issued on the testimony of Paul 
 and Bissell, and the six ruffians had been com 
 mitted to the lockup. They were to be examined 
 the next day, and the witnesses were duly sum 
 moned. In the presence of the magistrate Buck 
 Lamb had broken down, and he declared that they 
 bad been employed by Major Billcord to capture 
 Paul for the sum of twenty-five dollars. Two of 
 the others indorsed this statement, and the prin 
 cipal had procured a warrant for his arrest, which 
 was now in the hands of the constable. Captain 
 Gildrock had procured the services of the best 
 lawyer in the county of Essex to look after the 
 business for him.
 
 232 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 The news from Westport was very satisfactory, 
 and the question seemed to be whether or not a 
 man who had money enough to pay the bills could 
 outrage a poor boy with impunity. Captain Gild- 
 rock's blood boiled, though it did not bubble, or 
 otherwise manifest its condition. 
 
 The commodore gave the order for a start, and 
 in a short time the barges came up with the Ches 
 terfields, though they were a quarter of a mile 
 farther out in the lake. The Sylph was hardly 
 moving through the water, the principal doubtless 
 holding her back to see that no trouble arose be 
 tween the two schools. He took the precaution to 
 run the steam yacht between the two parties, and 
 soon found himself within hailing distance of the 
 Dasher, with Major Billcord in the stern-sheets. 
 
 The two gentlemen were somewhat acquainted, 
 and had occasionally met on the lake and at the 
 bank in Burlington. As the Sylph went lazily 
 along, the captain discovered a white handkerchief 
 hoisted on a stick, and saw that the Dasher was 
 pulling towards the steamer. He rang his bell 
 to stop her, and she awaited the pleasure of the 
 barge. 
 
 "Captain Gildrock, you and I have always been 
 good neighbors, though we don't live on the same
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 233 
 
 side of the lake," said Major Billcord, standing up 
 in the stern-sheets of the barge. "I feel it my 
 duty to give you a friendly warning. I learn that 
 a young scoundrel by the name of Paul Bristol, 
 whose family I have charitably harbored on my 
 land without the payment of rent, came over to 
 Westport to-day with the students of your school. 
 He is a young villain, and I warn you not to trust 
 him." 
 
 "I had come to the conclusion that he was a very 
 good boy," replied the captain. 
 
 "You are utterly mistaken, sir!" protested the 
 major. " He assaulted both my son and myself, 
 for which I intend to punish him in the severest 
 manner. His mother and sister live on the point 
 here, in a cottage owned by the woman ; and the 
 boy lived here before he went to Genverres, if he 
 has gone over there. I warned the woman to 
 move her house at once. She has not done it, and 
 I shall tumble the building into the lake. It will 
 make some sport for our boys, and I thought yours 
 might like to see the fun, and learn a good lesson 
 in the administration of human justice. I should 
 be happy to have your steamer and your barges 
 take position near the point, where you can see the 
 proceedings."
 
 234 STEM TO STEHN; 
 
 Captain Gildrock made no repty, and the Dasher 
 pulled away without waiting for any. The two 
 Chesterfield barges ran their bows into the sand in 
 front of where the cottage had stood, and the 
 Sylph, after whistling for the Beech Hill barges to 
 approach, followed the Dasher. The barges from 
 the other side pulled to the entrance of the bay, 
 and lay upon their oars. 
 
 " Now is the time for the fun to begin, and we 
 are invited to see- it," said Dick Short to Paul, who 
 sat by his side. 
 
 " I think there will be some fun, though it will 
 not be what Major Billcord and his crowd came to 
 see," added Dory. 
 
 On board of the Dasher, Jack Woodhorn had 
 risen from his seat, after he had given the order 
 for the oarsmen to boat their oars. All the stu 
 dents were busy attending to their blades. Wood- 
 horn was evidently looking for the cottage ; but 
 he /lid not see it. Then the magnate stood up; 
 then all the students in the two boats stood up, and 
 then both barges were nearly upset by this folly, 
 and the coxswains ordered their crews to be 
 seated. 
 
 "Did I understand you to say there was a cot 
 tage here to be tumbled into the lake to illustrate
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 235 
 
 the administration of human justice, Major Bill- 
 cord?" called Captain Gildrock, who had placed 
 the bow of the Sylph within a few feet of the 
 stern of the Dasher. 
 
 "I don't understand this," replied the magnate. 
 "The cottage was here yesterday, and it was quite 
 impossible for the woman to move it. Send the 
 young gentlemen ashore to see if they can find 
 it." 
 
 The young gentlemen could not find it. The 
 site where it had stood was smoothed over as 
 nicely as though the building had never been 
 there. The major said it was a great mystery. 
 
 "No human justice to-day, then?" queried the 
 principal of the Beech Hill school. "Perhaps 
 divine justice had got ahead of human justice in 
 this instance, as it sometimes does." 
 
 "Do you know anything about it, sir?" de 
 manded the major angrily. 
 
 " The cottage was removed to Genverres by the 
 students of the Beech Hill Industrial School last 
 night," replied the captain.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 THE PROCEEDINGS AT SANDY POINT. 
 
 TT is to be regretted that Major Billcord set a 
 very bad example to the Chesterfield students 
 by using profane language when the Beech Hill 
 principal " let the cat out of {lie bag." At first 
 he was not inclined to believe the statement, for it 
 seemed incredible to him that any company of 
 boys should have been able to put the cottage on a 
 boat and convey it across the lake. 
 
 Captain Gildrock was obliged to explain how 
 the work had been clone, before he would accept 
 the solution of the mystery. The principal offered 
 to take him over to the school grounds and show 
 him the cottage if he had any doubts on the subject. 
 
 " It was a shabby trick on your part, after all," 
 said Major Billcord, when he had got the expla 
 nation through his head. " I don't interfere with 
 your affairs on the other side of the lake, and I 
 don't know of any reason why you. should meddle 
 with mine." 
 
 236
 
 STEM TO STERN. 237 
 
 "As I understand the matter, major, you warned 
 Mrs. Bristol to remove her cottage within twenty- 
 four hours, or you would tumble it into the lake," 
 replied the captain. "I simply allowed the stu 
 dents to assist the good woman in doing what 
 you required her to do." 
 
 " You knew very well that this was a case of 
 discipline on this side of the lake," replied the 
 major, waxing exceedingly wrathy. "My son was 
 attacked in the most brutal manner by that wo 
 man's cub, and she upheld the young villain, and 
 wpuld not allow him to be punished as he deserved. 
 Of course, I knew the woman could not remove 
 the cottage, and it would have been here now if 
 you had not meddled with my business, like a very 
 bad neighbor." 
 
 " I don't care to discuss the assault, as you call 
 it, with you, but I think the boy and his mother 
 were fully justified in their action," replied the 
 principal, in firm but gentle tones. 
 
 "You do, do you?" demanded the major. 
 "The young rascal abused my son. Look at his 
 face," and he pointed at the interesting features of 
 Walk, who sat in the boat listening to what his 
 father said. " When I interfered to save my son 
 from serious injury, he flew at me like a wildcat, 
 and look at my eyes."
 
 238 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "Why didn't you prosecute the boy in the 
 court, and have him properly punished ? " sug 
 gested the captain, looking rather sarcastically at 
 the magnate. 
 
 " I don't do business in that way," returned the 
 major, boiling over with anger. " I shall punish 
 the young rascal myself! I shall do it here at 
 Sandy Point, where the outrage was committed. 
 I have taken steps to have him brought here for 
 that purpose." 
 
 " Then you expect Paul to be brought here, do 
 you?" asked Captain Gildrock, astonished at the 
 remarks of the magnate, for he had not a doubt 
 that he had seen what had transpired while the 
 sailboat was alongside the Sylph. 
 
 "I do expect him here very soon; and I shall 
 tie him up to a tree and give him such a thrashing 
 that he won't get off his bed for one month after it ! " 
 exclaimed Major Billcord, flourishing a rawhide in 
 the air as he spoke. 
 
 "This strikes me as rather brutal," added the 
 principal. 
 
 " Brutal ? Look in Walker's face ! Look in 
 my face ! Were the blows that made these marks 
 brutal, or were they not? I shall have satisfac 
 tion for them ! "
 
 OE, BUILDING THE BOAT. 239 
 
 Captain Gildrock was trying to explain to him 
 self how it happened that the magnate knew 
 nothing of what had taken place alongside the 
 steam yacht. As he thought the matter over he 
 understood it better. The Sylph had been be 
 tween the Silver Moon and the Chesterfield barges, 
 so that they could not see what took place on the 
 lee side of her. 
 
 While Paul was telling his story in the pilot 
 house, the Chesterfields, finding the Beech Hill 
 boats gathering around the steamer, had pulled 
 close up to the shore, and continued on their way 
 to Sandy Point. Neither Major Billcord nor the 
 students with him had been troubled with a doubt 
 in regard to the fidelity of Bissell to their inter 
 ests. Even if he was faithless, he had the six ruf 
 fians with him, and they would be more than a 
 match for a single man. 
 
 However it had happened, it appeared that the 
 magnate and the crews with him knew nothin^ at 
 
 fD O 
 
 all about the capture of the ruffians. They had 
 waited off the point till the Beech Hill fleet came 
 up, and they concluded that the sloop was stand 
 ing off towards Westport to avoid a meeting with 
 the "tjnkers." 
 
 The magnate wished the visitors from the other
 
 240 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 side to see the destruction of the cottage, and he 
 had invited them to be spectators of the expected 
 frolic. He had decided to attend of the cottage 
 first, so that the Beech Hillers might see the fun, 
 and to administer the punishment to Paul Bristol 
 after they had gone, for he did not care to have 
 them witness that spectacle. 
 
 " I am afraid you are laboring under a mistake, 
 Major Billcord," continued Captain Gildrock. 
 "Did I understand you to say that you expected 
 Paul here to be punished for his brutality? " 
 
 " That is precisely what I do expect ; and he 
 will be here in the course of half an hour. But I 
 need not detain you any longer, sir," replied the 
 magnate, with very ill grace. " There is no mis 
 take about it, you may depend upon it." 
 
 "If you will pardon me, there is some mistake, 
 for Paul Bristol is here now." added the captain. 
 " Marian, ahoy ! Back down this way," he 
 shouted to the barges, which were lying at the 
 entrance to Sandy Bay. 
 
 The crews were lying on their oars, and Dick 
 Short promptly gave the order, " Stern all," and 
 the Marian soon put her stern very near the bow 
 of the steamer. 
 
 "Stand up, Bristol, and show yourself," said 
 the captain.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 241 
 
 Paul stood up in the stern-sheets of the barge, 
 and Major Billcord looked at him as though he 
 had been a spectre from some neighboring grave 
 yard. Then he had a moment's animated conver 
 sation with the coxswain at his side. It was 
 another mystery, and possibly the magnate 
 thought he was in the middle of the last chapter 
 of a novel. How had it been possible for him to 
 get out of the clutches of the six ruffians? 
 
 But the mystery suddenly paled, and the 
 major threw himself into a towering passion. 
 The object of his intended vengeance was before 
 him. Jack Woodhorn, at the request of the mag 
 nate, summoned his crews from the shore. It 
 looked as though the enraged major intended to 
 attempt the capture of his victim under "the very 
 eyes of the Beech Killers. 
 
 "That is Paul Bristol, as you may see for 
 yourself, Major Billcord," said Captain Gildrock, 
 when he observed the preparations on the part of 
 the Chesterfields to do something. " He is now a 
 student in the Beech Hill Industrial School ; and 
 to him, for the time being, I stand in the relation 
 in loco parentis ; I shall protect him to the fullest 
 extent." 
 
 " Captain Gildrock, this is unfriendly to me, 
 and"
 
 242 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " But friendly to the boy and his mother, who 
 need a friend more than you do," interposed the 
 principal. "The six ruffians you hired to capture 
 that poor boy have been arrested and committed 
 to the lockup. Some of them admitted that they 
 were employed by you to do this piece of villany, 
 and there is a warrant out for your arrest. Doubt 
 less, the facts will all come out at the examination 
 to-morrow forenoon ; and if it appears that I have 
 done ytm any wrong, I shall be prepared to make 
 you abundant reparation." 
 
 " A warrant for my arrest ! " exclaimed Major 
 Billcord, sinking down into his seat. 
 
 " I have employed the Hon. Richard Law brook 
 to look after the case in my absence, and I hope 
 justice will be done," added the captain as he 
 rang two bells in the pilot-house. 
 
 At the same time the principal made a motion 
 with his hand, in the direction of home, to the 
 boats ahead of the steamer. The barges backed 
 into position, and the commodore shouted the 
 order to give way. In a minute more they were 
 in line, pulling down the lake, but keeping near 
 the shore. 
 
 Major Billcord did not utter a word to anj'one. 
 He was in deep thought. Very likely his impul-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 243 
 
 sive nature had led him to organize the plan for 
 the capture of Paul without any consideration of 
 the possible consequences. He was by far the 
 richest man in that region, and owned no end of 
 shares in all the industrial and commercial enter 
 prises of that part of the State. He was a man of 
 large influence, and was not over-scrupulous in 
 regard to the use of it. With such po\ver, he was 
 in the habit of having his own way, though there 
 were a few people in the neighborhood who con 
 trived to maintain their own independence, even at 
 the risk of quarrelling with the magnate. 
 
 Among the latter was the Hon. Richard Law- 
 brook, a prominent lawyer in the county, who had 
 been made a senator, though without pledges, in 
 part by the influence of the major. But when the 
 legislator was requested and pressed to promote 
 by his eloquence a more than questionable enter 
 prise, his conscience revolted, and he refused his 
 aid. This had produced a bitter quarrel between 
 himself and the magnate, though all the honest 
 people believed that the senator was an upright 
 and just man. 
 
 Doubtless, the mention of the senator's name had 
 produced a decided effect upon the mind of the 
 magnate. Mr. Lawbrook was a man of influence,
 
 244 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 who believed that the laws should be impartially 
 executed upon the rich as well as the poor. The 
 prospect ahead was not pleasant. 
 
 There was no " pile of fun " to be had at the 
 point that day, and Commodore Wbodhorn backed 
 away from the beach as soon as his crews were in 
 a condition to do so. Without asking the major 
 any questions, he conveyed his distinguished pas 
 senger over to the town, and landed him at the 
 steps. The procession was formed to escort him 
 to his elegant mansion when Mr. Bulfington 
 appeared, and respectfully announced that he had 
 a warrant for the arrest of the object of the parade. 
 The major was impatient when the officer presented 
 himself, and told him to call at his house if he had 
 any business with him. 
 
 The constable politely intimated that it was a 
 criminal proceeding, and that he was under the 
 necessity of taking his prisoner wherever he could 
 find him. He treated the culprit just as though 
 he had been a poor man, which was a new expe 
 rience to the magnate. He was taken to the 
 lockup, and confined in a cell. With the major 
 behind the bars, Mr. Bulfington was complaisant 
 enough to do anything he required. A couple of 
 wealthy friends were sent for, and the major and
 
 Oil, BUILDING THE BOAT. 245 
 
 the six ruffians were bailed out in the course of an 
 hour. 
 
 There had been some earnest talk between Cap 
 tain Gildrock and Mr. Lawbrook, for the former 
 wished to know whether justice represented a sub 
 stantial idea in the State of New York. The sen 
 ator was confident that all men were equal before 
 the law ; and as he had more influence with the con 
 stable than any other person had, Mr. Bultington 
 was unwilling to assume any special responsibility 
 in regard to his powerful prisoner. 
 
 The Beech Hill fleet went home, and not only 
 the students, but the families at the mansion and 
 at Hornet Point had enough to talk about for the 
 rest of the day. The next morning, when all the 
 students except Paul were at their studies in the 
 school-room, the Sylph, with Mrs. Bristol and 
 Lily on board with Paul, sailed for Westport.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE STUDENTS DECIDE " WHAT 5 S IN A NAME." 
 
 HV/TAJOR BILLCORD had the services of a 
 distinguished lawyer from Plattsburgh and of 
 another from Elizabethtown to defend himself and 
 the six ruffians. They almost made a "celebrated 
 case " of it. They got the trial into the county 
 court, and the six ruffians were sentenced to ten 
 days confinement in the county prison, and the 
 major himself to thirty days. 
 
 The assault and the conspiracy were too outra 
 geous, in the opinion of the justice, to be punished 
 with a simple fine. The workingmen and the 
 farmers had got hold of the case and talked a 
 great deal about it. Against the advice of the 
 eminent legal gentlemen he employed, Paul Bristol 
 was prosecuted for the first assault upon Walker 
 Billcord, and this brought in the testimony of Lily 
 and her mother, which the lawyers wanted to 
 keep out. This evidence completed the history of 
 the case by filling in the beginning of the trouble. 
 246
 
 STEM TO STERN. 247 
 
 Paul was fully justified and acquitted, and the 
 people praised him for his defence of his sister. 
 Fathers and mothers were interested, for they 
 looked to the law for the protection of their chil 
 dren. Every effort was made to save the magnate 
 from the disgrace of being confined in a common 
 prison, but public sentiment would have been in 
 dignant, and he had to serve out his time. 
 
 The farmers and mechanics were inclined to go 
 as far the wrong way in one direction as the major 
 and his friends were in the other. The magnate 
 was a " soulless capitalist," a " bloated bond 
 holder," and he suffered, especially among the 
 mill hands, for this senseless reason. But the 
 judge was even-handed between the two parties, 
 and the major learned a lesson which was worth 
 half his fortune to him that before the law he 
 was no more than the equal of the poor man. 
 
 Four of the six ruffians were taken from the in 
 stitute by their parents, who had sent them there 
 to be fitted for college, and they were sure that 
 their sons had been led away by the influence of 
 Major Billcord, and by the lack of proper disci 
 pline in the school. Three others were removed 
 for the same reason. The loss of these pupils 
 was a severe blow to Colonel Buckmill, who had
 
 248 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 condemned the conduct of the major from the 
 first. 
 
 Though other students were soon obtained to 
 take their places, and even to increase the number 
 of pupils in the school, the colonel realized that 
 he was not managing the institution on the right 
 principle. The magnate had lost much of his in 
 fluence in the vicinity, and the principal found that 
 he could afford to be independent of him, for it 
 would pay better. 
 
 On the day of the examination, Captain Gild- 
 rock called the students of Beech Hill together in 
 the school-room in the afternoon, after the studies 
 had been finished. The model to which he had 
 alluded at the time of his lecture on shipbuilding 
 was still on the table where it had been placed 
 on that occasion. The students had examined it 
 with a great deal of interest. They had read all 
 they could find in the books in the library on the 
 subject, and studied the three plans on the wall. 
 
 They were very impatient, as young men 
 always are, to begin the actual work of building 
 the boat. It was even more to their taste than 
 
 N 
 
 erecting a house, though many of them were now 
 competent to frame a building from the plans. 
 The subject of a name for the craft had engaged
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 249 
 
 their attention, and they had given a great deal of 
 thought to it. They were all ambitious to name 
 the schooner, and a great variety of names was 
 likely to be presented. They had all been handed 
 in ; and when the principal announced that the first 
 business was to select one from them, Mr. Bent- 
 nick handed him the envelope which contained 
 them. 
 
 "Lily, "said the captain, laughing, as he took 
 the first paper from the enclosure. 
 
 All the boys looked very good-natured, though 
 something like embarrassment appeared upon the 
 faces of not a few of them. 
 
 "Lily," continued the captain, reading the sec 
 ond suggestion. 
 
 The good-natured looks expanded into smiles. 
 
 "Lily," the principal said again, as he drew out 
 the third paper. The smile became a little more 
 intense. 
 
 "Lily," repeated the principal once more, and 
 then he emptied all the slips of paper from the 
 envelope, and began to sort them over. 
 
 Principal, instructors and students were all 
 laughing merrily by this time. It was evident 
 that the boys were very impressible fellows, and 
 had been captivated by the beauty of Miss Bristol.
 
 250 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Possibly some of them were disturbed because 
 they found that others had made the same selec 
 tion as their own. 
 
 "They are not all alike," said Captain Gildrock, 
 when he had finished sorting the papers. " Only 
 about two thirds of them are 'Lily.' It is cer 
 tainly a very pretty name, and there is no flower 
 more pure and beautiful than the lily. But the 
 name is rather general and indefinite. "We have 
 the tiger lily, the lily of the valley, the pond lily, 
 and other kinds. What do you say to calling the 
 schooner the Pond Lily ? " 
 
 " No, sir ! " shouted a majority of the students, 
 with one voice. 
 
 " The Tiger Lily, then?" 
 
 " No, sir," was the emphatic reply. 
 
 "Then Lily of the Valley?" 
 
 " No, sir ! " again voted the majority. 
 
 " Perhaps I shall have to ask Miss Millweed for 
 the names of other kinds of lilies," added the 
 principal, with a very pleasant smile. 
 
 " None of them ! " exclaimed the crowd, encour 
 aged by the cheerful expression of the captain. 
 
 " None of them ? " 
 
 "Lily Bristol!" called Luke Bennington. "I 
 put in another name, but that is what the fellows 
 mean."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 251 
 
 "Yes, sir ! " cried the majority. 
 
 Captain Gild rock improved this opportunity to 
 say something about the influence of female society, 
 and especially of young ladies. If Beech Hill 
 were not a school of mechanic arts, he should 
 be in favor of having as many young ladies as 
 young gentlemen on its roll of pupils. He was 
 in favor of co-education, whereat Mr. Bentnick 
 shook his head, and seemed to be uneasy in his 
 seat, though Mr. Darlingby showed a disposition 
 to clap his hands. The captain was an old-fash 
 ioned man, he said, but he hoped he had modern 
 and progressive ideas. He was not in favor of 
 " pretty girls." 
 
 At this point about half a dozen of the students 
 gave something like a suppressed groan. The 
 principal paused, the dissentients wished they had 
 said nothing ; but he did not add a word. He 
 seemed to feel that they had as much right to ex 
 press themselves in this manner as to applaud, or 
 express themselves in other ways. 
 
 "I don't believe in pretty girls as such," he con 
 tinued, "because they monopolize the sole atten 
 tion of young men, to the exclusion of others even 
 more worthy who are personally less attractive. 
 But I hardly expect young gentlemen to adopt
 
 252 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 my views on this subject before they have lived 
 to be as old as I am. When you have an oppor 
 tunity, boys, bestow some attention upon the 
 'wallflowers.'" 
 
 He had not intended to say so much on this part 
 of the subject, and he resumed the general topic. 
 Ladies should be treated with the utmost respect, 
 whether attractive or not, and even if they did not 
 conduct themselves like ladies. He did not pro 
 hibit the students from associating with the young 
 ladies of Genverres and the neighboring towns, 
 under proper circumstances, and thought female 
 society was beneficial to them. But profound re 
 spect must be the basis of such relations. There 
 should be nothing like undue familiarity with 
 them, and a young lady, even if not more than 
 fifteen, should not be addressed by her Christian 
 name except by her relatives. It must always be 
 "Miss Bristol," and not "Lily," or even "Miss 
 Lily." 
 
 " Not Miss Lily ? " said a puzzled student. 
 
 " That is a grade of familiarity between the sur 
 name and the given name, proper enough for per 
 sons who are intimate enough to use it, but not 
 applicable in the present instance. Now, to return 
 to the name of the schooner, from which the papers
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 253 
 
 withdrew my attention. I atn entirely willing that 
 you should give her a name." 
 
 After what the principal had said about pretty 
 girls, most of the students concluded that any 
 attempt to give the name of one of that sister 
 hood to the craft would be vetoed. They were 
 not quite satisfied to have their wishes disregarded. 
 His last words, however, gave them a little encour 
 agement. The principal picked up the slips of 
 paper and counted them, or a portion of them. 
 
 "Twenty-three have given in the name of ' Lily,' " 
 said he, taking up those which indicated some other 
 name. rt Charnplain,' 'Lake Bird,' ' Lake Gem,' 
 ' Saranac,' and the names of most of the lakes and 
 rivers in Vermont. Among them are ' Addison' 
 (our county), 'Genverres,' either of which would 
 be a very good, and a very appropriate name. I 
 don't like the fancy names, such as ' Gem of 
 the Lake,' as well as the more substantial ones. 
 Now you may vote on the question, and the name 
 among those I have read which has a majority 
 shall be the one selected." 
 
 This announcement brought out some applause. 
 Then the captain said it would be in order for any 
 student who wished to recommend any particular 
 name, to say what he pleased on the subject.
 
 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 This permission brought Luke Bennington to his 
 feet. 
 
 " I don't believe there is a craft on the lake now 
 called the 'Champlain.' There has been a large 
 steamer, but she is no longer in existence," said 
 the speaker, Avith considerable earnestness. "In 
 my opinion and I have seen the lakes of Scot 
 land and Switzerland Lake Champlain is the 
 finest lake in the world." 
 
 " Oh ! Oh ! Oh ! " murmured several listeners. 
 
 "Of course the size of the lake comes into the 
 comparison, or Lake George might be nothing by 
 the side of a little pond between a couple of hills. 
 We have the Adirondacks on one side, and the 
 Green Mountains on the other ; and, taking every 
 thing into consideration, I vote for Lake Champlain 
 as the finest. For this reason, and because it is 
 the element on which the schooner is to figure, I 
 hope its name will be given to her." 
 
 Another student spoke in favor of "Battenkill," 
 but he proved to be the only one who had ever 
 heard the name. He explained that it was a river 
 which had its source in Vermont, though it soon 
 wandered into New York. A third student spoke 
 for "Addison," and a fourth for " Genverres." 
 The advocates of " Lily " seemed to be conscious
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 255 
 
 of their strength, and all of them were too bashful 
 to make a speech in its favor. 
 
 Mr. Darlingby passed around the box, and all 
 voted. The ballots were quickly counted by the 
 instructors, who appeared to be quite as much in 
 terested as the boys, and the principal read the 
 result. It was evident then that a few did not 
 care a straw for the name, and voted for the fun 
 of it. 
 
 '' Tiger Lily, 1 ; Pond Lily, 1 ; Lake Gem, 1 ; 
 Genverres, 1 ; Addison, 1 ; Battenkill, 1 ; Cham- 
 plain, 2 ; Lily, 28," the principal read from the 
 paper made out by Mr. Bentnick. 
 
 The vote Avas received with tremendous applause, 
 and the students continued to clap their hands 
 until the captain raised his finger as a signal for 
 them to cease. 
 
 " The schooner will be called the ' Lily,' " added 
 the principal.
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 BUILDING THE BOAT. 
 
 "TTTHILE the boys were getting over the excite 
 ment attending the vote on the name of the 
 unbuilt schooner, Captain Gildrock moved the 
 table on which the model of the craft stood to 
 the front of the platform, where all could see it. 
 It was a very graceful form, and the nautical boys 
 were sure that the schooner would be a fast 
 sailer. 
 
 "I told you before," said the principal, "that 
 this model was constructed on a new plan ; but I 
 have since learned that the idea is not as original 
 as I supposed it was, and that boats have been 
 built by this method. I supposed I should be the 
 first to introduce it, but I find I am not, though 
 the model-maker had never made one before. 
 
 "The plans are drawn and the model made on 
 the scale of one inch to a foot. Whatever mea 
 sures an inch in the plan or model measures a foot 
 in the boat. Every stick in the craft will there- 
 
 256
 
 STEM TO STERN. 257 
 
 fore he twelve times the size it is in this model. 
 The Lily will have a beam of thirteen feet, which 
 is a little more than one-third of the length. 
 
 "This model is made of soft pine and inahogan}'. 
 The ribs are to be twenty-one inches from the cen 
 tre of one to the centre of the next one. What 
 looks to you like the space between the timbers, 
 or ribs, is pine. The mahogany strips, which are 
 comparatively narrow, represent the timbers. The 
 pieces are tranverse sections of the hull, made 
 separately and put together. 
 
 "This is the stem," continued the principal, de 
 taching the piece from the model. "A model of 
 it is to be made of soft wood, enlarged to twelve 
 times the size of this piece. Removing a piece of 
 the pine, we come to a mahogany section. As the 
 bow is round, these sections radiate from a shorter 
 line on the keel than the horizontal line above it 
 on the deck would be." 
 
 The captain held up one of these diagonal sec 
 tions, the top or deck part of which was in the 
 shape of a triangle with a very acute angle. The 
 
 o , o 
 
 parts were in pairs, one belonging on each side of 
 the bows. 
 
 "The outer edge of this half section gives the 
 shape of the bow where this piece belongs. If
 
 258 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 you lay it on a smooth board, you can mark from 
 it the exact curve of the timber which is to go 
 where this piece is taken out. It must be enlarged 
 to twelve times the size of the section. Of course 
 the outer surface of the section only is of any use 
 to you ; but having obtained the exact shape of 
 the outside, the rib may be made of any width 
 and thickness we wish." 
 
 The principal removed several of the diagonal 
 half sections, all of which were to be treated like 
 the first one. At the widest part of the model he 
 came to pieces which were of uniform thickness. 
 These were also in pairs, separated on the vertical 
 plane above the keel. The lines of the outer sur 
 face in these half sections were to be transferred 
 and enlarged as before, and the mould or pattern 
 was to be made from them. 
 
 In this manner the model was pulled to pieces, 
 and from the edges of the transverse sections 
 the shape of the craft was to be obtained. The 
 stern-post, stern-knees ad transoms were to be 
 shaped in the same way. The captain stated 
 that the model represented the craft after she was 
 planked, and it would be necessary, in drafting the 
 moulds, to allow for its thickness. 
 
 Mr. Jepson then took the platform and explained
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 259 
 
 in what manner the outlines of the half sections 
 were to be enlarged. To give all the details 
 would take a whole volume, and doubtless it would 
 be very dry reading to most young people. Only 
 an idea of how the work was to be done can be 
 given, and those who wish to build such a craft as 
 the Lily, or even a boat or a canoe of a third of 
 her length, need full drawings and very minute 
 explanations.* 
 
 These lectures used up the rest of the afternoon. 
 The next day was devoted to making the moulds. 
 At the end of ten days the frame was ready to set 
 up. The keel was laid down at an angle of three- 
 quarters of an inch to the foot, so that it would 
 readily slide off when the time came to launch it. 
 The boys had been studying on the subject, and 
 the principal had supplied the library with all the 
 available works. They labored very hard because 
 they were very deeply interested. 
 
 Setting up the frame was an exceedingly exciting 
 labor with them ; but when it was up they found 
 the shape corresponded with the model. Some 
 
 *The editor of "Forest and Stream" has prepared a work 
 for amateurs, called " Canoe and Boat Building," which may be 
 obtained of the publishers of that valuable paper, or at the 
 bookstores.
 
 260 STEM TO STERN ; 
 
 had done their work better than others, and here 
 and there it was necessary to do considerable fit 
 ting. In another week the frame was ready for 
 the plunking. Captain Gildrock gave frequent 
 lectures on the proper methods of doing the work, 
 and explained the construction of larger vessels 
 than the Lily. 
 
 A part of the Champlain mechanics, as they still 
 called themselves, worked in the shop, and a part in 
 the building-shed. There were a great many bolts 
 of iron and copper, and a great many metal plates, 
 braces and straps to be prepared, which gave 
 abundant employment to the machinists, who had 
 been instructed by the head of this department in 
 forge-work, as w r ell as filing and turning. 
 
 The carpenters had plenty to do in the shop, 
 with abundant opportunity to learn many things 
 which are not required in the ordinary experience 
 of such mechanics. There was also room enough 
 for the exercise of their inventive powers. 
 
 With so many enthusiastic workmen, who found 
 abundant variety in their operations as the schooner 
 advanced towards completion, the planking was 
 soon finished. Then a dozen of the carpenters 
 went to work upon it with the smoothing-planes, 
 and the outer surface was made as smooth as a 
 floor.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 2G1 
 
 The hull rested in the cradle which had been 
 erected for it, and the tops of the timbers were 
 secured in their places by cross-stays. So far, 
 little or nothing had been said about the interior 
 of the hull, for the reason that the frame and plank 
 ing had absorbed all the attention of the workmen. 
 The next step was to put in the deck-beams, and 
 secure the shelves on which they were to rest. 
 
 "Now, boys, \ve must decide upon the plan for 
 the inside of the schooner," said the principal, when 
 he had called the students together in the building- 
 shed. " What accommodations shall we provide on 
 board?" 
 
 "A cabin and a standing-room," replied Life 
 Windharn. 
 
 "Like the Goldwing," suggested Matt Kan- 
 dolph. 
 
 " The Goldwing contains a cabin, cook-room and 
 standing-room. We can have all these on a larger 
 scale in the Lily ; and there will be space in the 
 run for a store-room and ice-house, with a door 
 into it from the cabin." 
 
 " Behind the steps at the companion-way," added 
 Matt. 
 
 " There is no other way to reach it unless you 
 put a scuttle in the floor of the standing-room,
 
 262 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 which is liable to leak," replied the principal. 
 "The steps can be hung on hinges and turn up, 
 but I think it is better to slip them back out of 
 the way. How long will you have the cabin?" 
 
 "How much clear space have we inboard?" 
 asked Luke Bennington. 
 
 " About thirty feet, after allowing for the bend 
 of the bows and the rake of the stern," answered 
 the principal. 
 
 " Cabin fourteen feet, I should say," continued 
 Luke. "That will leave eight feet besides the 
 overhang for the standing-room, and the same for 
 the cook-room." 
 
 " That was my calculation," replied Captain 
 Gildrock. "Then we want a trunk fourteen feet 
 long, which may be about nine feet wide on the 
 main deck. This will make a very roomy apart 
 ment for a lake craft. On each side of it we 
 must build up transoms, or divans, for seats or 
 berths. As we have no centreboard in the mid 
 dle of it, there will be nothing in our way." 
 
 "Why did n't we build a centreboard boat?" 
 asked Matt Randolph. 
 
 "I think a keel boat is safer and stiffer. In 
 Lake Cham plain we have plenty of water, though 
 we shall draw about five feet aft. There are shoal
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 263 
 
 places, but there is n't the least need of running 
 over them." 
 
 "In a centreboard boat, if you get aground, 
 there is a chance for you to work off when you 
 cannot in a keel," said Matt. 
 
 " That is very true ; but I think the stiffness of 
 the keel craft more than compensates for the 
 advantage of light draft in these waters." 
 
 The principal then made a drawing to illustrate 
 the method of putting in the beams and the knees 
 that were to support them. As only a portion of 
 the beams could extend entirely across the boat, 
 on account of the elevation of the trunk, it re 
 quired careful work and planning to secure the 
 necessary strength. But this problem had been 
 solved by the instructors, and the descriptions of 
 the timbers were obtained. 
 
 In a few days more the frame of the trunk and 
 deck was in place. While a part of the workmen 
 were planking the deck, the rest were putting 
 down the floor of the cabin, and building the tran 
 soms. Before the 1st of July the work on the 
 hull was completed. The boys had contrived a 
 great many lockers in the cook-room and cabin, for 
 the storage of dishes and cooking utensils, and 
 for everything needed on board.
 
 264 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Inside and outside, all hands went over the work 
 with sandpaper. A gang of calkers had already 
 filled the seams with oakum. Tar, pitch, and 
 putty had been used where they were needed, and 
 no one considered it possible for the craft to leak 
 a drop. 
 
 A thin coat of lead color was then put on the 
 outside, and one of white inside. The boys had 
 some skill in painting, for they had been called 
 upon to do all kinds of work, from laying brick 
 up to tinkering a watch. Several coats were 
 given to the whole, but the last two on the outside 
 were of black. 
 
 Captain Gildrock had decided to have an iron 
 false keel added, partly to protect the wood and 
 partly to serve as ballast. A pattern of the cast 
 ing had been made and sent up to Port Henry to 
 be cast. It was in one piece, and weighed over a 
 ton. Of course, it had to be bolted on before the 
 Lily was launched. It was too heavy and cum 
 brous to be transported on the Sylph ; but Mr. 
 Miker had to deliver a cargo of stone at Port 
 Henry, and it could be brought down on the gun- 
 dalow. It was nothing but fun for the students to 
 tow the unwieldy craft about the lake, and the next 
 Saturday holiday was to be used for this purpose.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 265 
 
 At eight o'clock in the morning the Sylph, fully 
 manned by the students this time, started out of 
 the creek with her tow. Paul Bristol had been 
 assigned to a place as a deck hand on board, and 
 he had made several trips in the steamer. On the 
 present occasion he had asked to be excused, in 
 order to attend to some work for his mother. 
 
 For two weeks before, Lily had been at work 
 for Mr. Bissell, taking the place of Susy Welling 
 ton, who had gone to visit her friends in Albany. 
 She had written to her mother that she should 
 like to spend Sunday at home. It was difficult 
 and expensive to get from Westport to Genverres 
 then, for the steamers- did not go up Beaver 
 River. 
 
 Paul thought he could manage it. As it was a 
 still day on the lake, he was going after her in the 
 flatboat, in the afternoon. It was a ten-mile pull, 
 but he was good for that. He had hauled up the 
 boat after dinner to put it in order, when he dis 
 covered a queer-looking craft coming down the 
 creek.
 
 PTT 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THAT CUNNING TOM TOPOVER. 
 
 strange craft appeared to be modelled after 
 the catamaran, though the builder thereof had 
 never seen one. It consisted of two logs a foot in 
 diameter and ten feet long, which were placed 
 three feet apart. In the middle of the supports 
 two boards were nailed on the sticks, so that the 
 thing looked more like the letter H than it did 
 like a catamaran. 
 
 On the cross-boards was an old window-glass 
 box ; and on the box was seated Tom Topover. 
 He was the naval architect of the structure which 
 bore him, and the craft was not at all creditable to 
 his ingenuity. If he had nailed the cross-boards 
 across the ends of the logs, there would have been 
 more stability to the affair, though in that case it 
 would have been stigmatized as a raft. 
 
 In his hand Tom held a rude paddle with which 
 he was trying to control the movements of the 
 aquatic chariot. It had no propelling power, and 
 
 266
 
 STEM: TO STERN. 267 
 
 floated with the current down the creek. A bend 
 of the stream threw the force of the water against 
 Hornet Point, and Tom was trying to keep it 
 from going against the rocks. He did not succeed 
 at all, and one of the logs, striking the hank, twisted 
 the structure entirely out of shape. 
 
 The two logs came together, the nails which 
 held the cross-pieces twisting off with the slight 
 shock. Paul saw that Tom was in peril, and he 
 rushed into the house to get his oars, which he 
 kept in his chamber, in the attic, for he was afraid 
 that some of the hard-looking boys of the Topover 
 herd might steal his boat. He had heard of Tom 
 before, but he had never seen him, and he did not 
 know that the fellow on the queer craft was he. 
 
 Tom Topover dropped from the box down upon 
 the log, allowing his seat to fall into the water. 
 "With the paddle in his hand he threw around the 
 end of the affair, till it was within reach of Paul's 
 flatboat. Reaching out, he hauled it in, and 
 jumped into it. The logs floated off with the 
 current of the little lake. 
 
 "You are there, are you?" said Paul, as he re 
 turned with the oars. 
 
 "Yes I am. How are you, Paul Bristol?" re 
 plied Tom, with a grin from ear to ear.
 
 268 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "Well, I thank you; how are you?" added 
 Paul. "I thought you were booked for a bath, 
 and I went in for my oars." 
 
 "That's right, and you are a good fellow. 
 They say you are a Bristol brick." 
 
 " Perhaps I am, but I don't happen to know 
 you, and can't say what sort of a brick you may 
 be," replied Paul. 
 
 " I 'm a perfect brick. Gi' me them oars and I '11 
 pick up them logs," continued Tom, extending his 
 hand to receive them. 
 
 "I '11 help you do it," replied Paul, taking the 
 painter and hauling in the boat. 
 
 " What 's your name ? " 
 
 "Jack Sheppard," replied Tom, with a fresh 
 grin. 
 
 " Have you got a rope, Jack Sheppard? " 
 
 " Never mind the logs ; they don't belong to me, 
 and I don't care for 'em. Can't you lend me this 
 boat a little spell ? I Avant to git some saxifax over 
 there for my mother." 
 
 "I can't spare her now; I have to go over to 
 Westport after my sister," answered Paul. 
 
 "Be you, though? I guess I'll go over with 
 you," said Tom, with refreshing confidence. 
 
 " I thought you were going to get some sassa-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 269 
 
 fras for your mother," udded Paul, who had by 
 
 this time come to the conclusion that his visitor 
 
 was as queer as the craft upon which he had come. 
 
 " I sruess I '11 2fit it another time. I want to go 
 
 O C O 
 
 over to Westport to see a feller I know there." 
 
 " But I can't bring you back, for my sister is 
 corning with me, and the boat won't carry more 
 than two," answered Paul, supposing this would 
 end the matter. 
 
 "All right; I will stay with the feller I know 
 all night," replied the accommodating stranger. 
 " I '11 help you row the boat over." 
 
 Paul was quite willing to have the queer fellow 
 go with him, even if he had to row all the way 
 himself, for the flatboat worked better with two 
 in her than with one. Without a passenger she 
 was too deep in the water forward, and dug her 
 nose into the wave. He had not the least idea 
 who his visitor was, but did not believe he had 
 given his right name. If he had known him, he 
 would have given him the cold shoulder at once. 
 
 " I am not ready to go yet ; I have to fix up 
 the boat a little," continued Paul, as he laid the 
 oars on the beach. 
 
 " How long before you can go? I don't want to 
 wait all day, Bristol Brick," added Tom.
 
 270 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " You need n't wait one minute if you don't 
 wish to," replied Paul, who wondered in what 
 school of politeness his involuntary companion 
 had been- brought up. " I urn going to wash out 
 the boat and let her dry a little before I go." 
 
 " What 's the use of washing her out ? She is 
 clean enough for any feller to eat his dinner in," 
 growled Tom. 
 
 " Perhaps she is if the fellow's a pig," said Paul, 
 as he hauled the boat up on the beach, nearly up 
 setting the Topover in the act. 
 
 "Mind out! What are you doing? Do you 
 mean to spill me into the drink?" demanded the 
 saucy visitor. 
 
 " If you don't get out of the boat, you will be 
 likely to get a ducking," added Paul, as he took 
 up a pail and a broom he had brought from the 
 house before. 
 
 Tom looked at the owner of the Dragon ; in 
 fact, he eyed him from head to foot. Tom was a 
 pugilist, or he thought he was. He was a fighting 
 character, and possibly he was thinking whether 
 he could whip the son of toil, whose story had 
 been told all over Genverres as well as on the 
 other side of the lake. 
 
 The Chesterfields had patronized and encour-
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 271 
 
 aged Tom Topover the season before, because they 
 believed that he and his vicious companions could as 
 sist them in their encounters with the Beech Millers. 
 
 During the present season the students of the 
 two schools had not come in collision, for the 
 reason that Colonel Buckmill had forbidden his 
 pupils to meddle with their old enemies. Since 
 the removal of the cottage from Sandy Point the 
 Chesterfield barges had been down to Porter's 
 Bay, where Tom had met Walker Billcord. The 
 Topover and his gang had fully discussed the at 
 tempt to capture Paul Bristol, and were familiar 
 with all the particulars. 
 
 Tom wished the magnate had offered him twen 
 ty-five dollars for capturing the fellow, and hand 
 ing him over to the major at Sandy Point. This 
 he said to Walk. He would be willing to do the 
 job for ten dollars. He did n't think it was a 
 great undertaking. 
 
 "You had better try it on, then," added Walk, 
 morosely, for he hated Paul not a particle less 
 than when the son of toil had laid him out on the 
 point. " He will knock you out every time, with 
 out half trying." 
 
 " I should like to see the feller that can dp 
 that ! " exclaimed Tom, clenching his dirty fists.
 
 272 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " Have n't you seen Paul Bristol ? " asked Walk. 
 
 " I saw him on the other side of the pond ; I 
 never see him close to. But I ain't afear'd on him. 
 I '11 bet I can lick him so he won't know whether 
 it 's Sunday or Thanksgiving," blustered Tom. 
 " Will your old man give a feller anything now for 
 ketchin' him?" inquired Tom, looking anxiously 
 into the face of Walk. 
 
 " He don't make any offers for him now," added 
 the son cautiously. " He don't want to get into 
 any more rows about the fellow." . 
 
 "Oh, he don't?" muttered Tom, evidently 
 greatly disappointed. "If your old man will only 
 do the handsome thing, I '11 scrape this Bristol 
 Brick till there ain't nothin' left on him." 
 
 Walk Billcord looked at the ugly customer at 
 his side, and his thirst for vengeance stirred all the 
 bad blood in his veins. He had plenty of spend 
 ing money, and he could even afford to give ten 
 dollars himself for satisfactory vengeance. Nim 
 Splugger and Kidd Digfield, as rough specimens as 
 the Topover himself, would assist Tom. But Walk's 
 father had just been discharged from confinement, 
 and there was great risk in making the trade sug 
 gested. 
 
 " You would be prosecuted if you did anything,"
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 273 
 
 suggested Walk. " Then it would come out that 
 I had a hand in the business." 
 
 "Not a bit on 't !" exclaimed Tom, very posi 
 tively. " Jest as quick as I git the ten dollars, 
 nobody won't see iiothiu' more of me within a 
 hund'ed miles of Lake Champlain." 
 
 "What do you mean by that, Tom?" asked 
 Walk curiously. 
 
 " I 'm go'n to run away. My old man is so 
 hard on me that I can't stand it no longer. I 'in 
 go V to New York to ship in a pirate vessel. I 
 sha n't be caught nohow." 
 
 "I would give ten dollars quick enough to see 
 Paul tied to a tree and lathered with a cowhide for 
 twenty minutes or half an hour ; but I don't make 
 any offers, and I won't hire any fellow to do such 
 a thing," added Walk, as he considered the appall 
 ing risk. 
 
 "I cal'late I know jest what you mean, and you 
 don't make me no oifers. You don't promise to 
 give me no money," protested Tom. 
 
 "What are you jawing about, Walk?" asked 
 Ham Jackson, coining up at this moment. 
 
 "Tom Topover oilers to catch Paul Bristol, and 
 give him a lathering that will keep him on his bed 
 a mouth, for ten dollars ; but I won't do anything
 
 274 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 of the sort. I don't offer him a cent. I won't 
 give him a penny if he kills the rascal," said 
 Walk, with as much earnestness as though he 
 
 o 
 
 meant every word he said. 
 
 " That 's jest how it is. He won't give me 
 nothin', and says he won't," added Tom. 
 
 " If you choose to larrup him on your own ac 
 count, it is none of my business," continued Walk. 
 
 " Of course it is n't," Ham Jackson chimed in. 
 "I should like to pay that fellow oif for the few 
 cracks he gave rne, but they go to law on this side, 
 and it is n't safe." 
 
 "Of course I can lick him if I want to, and 
 't ain't nobody's business," added Tom, who 
 thought he was very cunning. " I guess I under 
 stand you, and you understand me. About next 
 Saturday night at Sandy Point, say:" 
 
 The coxswain's call summoned them to the boat, 
 and they parted from Tom Topover. The latter 
 believed he had made a square bargain with Walk 
 Billcord, and ten dollars would take him to New 
 York and pay his way till he could ship in a 
 "pirate vessel." He meant a pilot-boat, for he 
 had heard some one talking about one of these 
 brisk little schooners a few days before. 
 
 Since that interview Tom had watched the school
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 275 
 
 grounds all the time. Paul lived on the point, and 
 he could catch him alone there some evening. lie 
 had built the queer craft for use in his great enter 
 prise. He had seen the Sylph go down the river in 
 the morning, and he intended to put his scheme in 
 operation that evening. Paul often sat on the 
 rocks about dark, and the opportunity would not 
 be wanting. 
 
 While he was nailing the logs together on the 
 other side of the creek, a little way up, he saw 
 Paul in his flatboat. Then it seemed to him that 
 the son of toil was as good as bagged. He was 
 absolutely sure he could handle him, in spite of 
 the experience of the kid-glove chaps on the other 
 side. But Tom was cunning in his own estima 
 tion. Paul was going to Westport, and it was 
 safer to do the job near Sandy Point than on the 
 school premises. 
 
 He could hardly help bullying, but he refrained 
 as soon as he thought what he was doing ; and half 
 an hour later he embarked in the flatboat with his 
 victim.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BRILLIANT STRATEGY OF THE BRUISER. 
 
 r I ^IIAT cunning Tom Topover was actually be 
 having himself in something like a civilized 
 manner, in his desire not to alarm his victim. Just 
 now he was engaged in a strategetic enterprise, 
 and found it necessary to display only the fur side 
 of his nature, though even that was very like the 
 bristles of a pig. He did his best, which was not 
 saying much, to keep on the right side of his in 
 tended victim. But Paul was a good-natured 
 fellow, and it was an easy matter to conciliate him. 
 The son of toil rowed down the river, and cross 
 ing the shoal water of Field's Bay, took a straight 
 course for his destination. Tom sat at the stern, 
 and did not seem to be as much inclined to talk as 
 he had been immediately after the wreck of the 
 queer craft. In fact, he was turning over in his 
 mind sundry cunning propositions, to accomplish 
 the purpose for which he had embarked in the 
 present venture. 
 
 276
 
 STEM TO STERN. 277 
 
 It was a good six-mile pull to Westport, but 
 Paul was used to the Dragon, and she went ahead 
 without much effort on his part. The lake was as 
 smooth as glass, and the rower wondered that it 
 could ever be as rough as it had been the day the 
 Silver Moon was so nearly wrecked. Though 
 he was as tough as an oak knot, and had not yet 
 become tired, he thought it was about time for 
 the stranger in the stern to begin to do his share of 
 the pulling, for the boat was now about half way 
 to Westport. Sandy Point was half a mile ahead, 
 and Paul mentioned the fact as a hint that his com 
 panion had better take the oars. 
 
 " They say you used to live there, Bristol Brick," 
 said Tom in reply, and without taking the hint, 
 which was altogether too indefinite for one with a 
 skin so thick and dirty as the bruiser had. 
 
 *' I lived there two years," replied Paul indiffer 
 ently. 
 
 "Sho'I You don't say so!" exclaimed Tom, 
 albeit there was nothing very astonishing in the 
 statement. "They say the Beech Hill fellers ker- 
 ried the house you lived in over to Hornet P'int 
 one night, and left everything jest as though there 
 never had n't been no house there." 
 
 " That 's all very true. Major Billcord warned
 
 273 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 my mother to move the cottage within twenty-four 
 hours, and told her he should pitch it into the lake 
 if she did n't do it," added Paul ; and the stranger 
 seemed to be the only person in Addison County 
 who did n't know all the particulars of the affair. 
 
 " I guess the major was a little struck up when 
 he found it had scooted," said Tom, with a cheerful 
 grin, as he looked ahead at the point where he had 
 suggested a meeting of the oarsman with Walk 
 Billcord on the evening of that day. 
 
 "He was very much astonished, and so were the 
 students of the institute, to whom he had promised 
 a pile of fun in tipping the cottage and all that it 
 contained into the lake." 
 
 "I don't see how the Beech Hill fellers could 
 move the house. I don't believe they did it," 
 added Tom, shaking his head. 
 
 Paul explained how the job had been done, and 
 assured his companion he had seen the whole work 
 himself. Tom insisted on being incredulous, for 
 just then he believed he was particularly cun 
 ning. 
 
 " I never went ashore at Sandy Point, Bristol 
 Brick, and I should like to see how the land lays 
 there," suggested Tom, with one of his cheerful 
 grins, exaggerated for the occasion.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 279 
 
 " You can see the whole of the shore from here," 
 replied Paul, turning around and pointing out the 
 locality of the cottage. 
 
 " But I want to see the place, and 'tw r on't take 
 two minutes for me to run up to where the house 
 was," Tom insisted. " Then I will row the rest 
 of the way over to Westport, and nobody won't 
 git hurt none." 
 
 Paul had started more than an hour earlier than 
 he had intended, and would reach his destination 
 before Lily had finished her day's work. Besides, 
 he had a kind of affection for the place where he 
 had lived two years. Just then it flashed upon 
 his mind that he hud never visited the hollow tree 
 which had done duty as a safe for the two dollars 
 and the gold rings belonging to his mother. 
 
 In the excitement of his last visit to the point at 
 the invitation of the magnate, he had forgotten all 
 about the treasure. His mother had spoken of it 
 often, but Paul had no doubt it was safe in its hid 
 ing-place, for the money and rings had been put at 
 a tin box. 
 
 His mother had spoken of it, and so had he, at 
 the time of it, but latterly it seemed to have passed 
 out of the memory of all the family. Paul pulled 
 to the shore as soon as the treasure came into his
 
 280 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 mind, and he wondered that he had not thought of 
 it before. His mother had plenty of money now, 
 and that seemed to be the reason it had been for 
 gotten. 
 
 When Paul swung the boat around, and headed 
 it for the point, he took a look down the lake. 
 Over in the direction of Button Bay he saw a 
 steam yacht. There were several such craft on 
 the lake, though all or nearly all of them were kept 
 farther down. The yacht looked exactly like the 
 Sylph, and he had no doubt it was she. 
 
 " I wonder what the Sylph is doing over there," 
 said he, continuing to pull for the beach before him. 
 " She went down to Port Henry towing the gun- 
 dalow with a cargo of stone." 
 
 " I guess the fellers are taking a little turn in 
 her while the men are unloadin' the stone," sug 
 gested Tom, who was not at all pleased to find the 
 Beech Hill steamer in this part of the lake. 
 
 " She is headed this way, and perhaps she is 
 going back to Beech Hill after something that was 
 forgotten," added Paul, as the Dragon struck the 
 sand on the beach. 
 
 Paul took the painter in his hand and stepped 
 ashore. He paused a moment to take another'look 
 at the Sylph. She was coming up from Button
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 281 
 
 Buy on the east shore of the lake, and this course 
 would carry her within a mile of Sandy Point. 
 It was now four o'clock in the afternoon, and the 
 steamer, with her heavy tow, must have reached 
 Port Henry by eleven at the latest. If anything 
 had been forgotten, they must have found it out 
 earlier in the day. 
 
 While he was looking at the steam yacht and 
 wondering what she was doing in this part of the 
 lake without her tow, she suddenly changed her 
 course and stood over in the direction of West/port. 
 This settled it that nothing had been forgotten, 
 for she was not going back to Beech Hill. She 
 was sailing very fast, and seemed to be shaken by 
 the effort of her engine. They were certainly 
 driving her at a very unusual speed. 
 
 Tom Topover was walking about the point, ap 
 parently engaged in a very minute inspection of 
 the locality. Paul saw him looking at the former 
 site of the cottage, and then he disappeared in the 
 woods. The owner of the Dragon drew his boat 
 a little farther up on the beach, but he con 
 tinued to watch the movements of the steamer ; 
 and he was so absorbed in the effort to fathom her 
 strange behavior that he was in danger of again 
 forgetting the treasure in the tin box.
 
 232 STEM TO STERX; 
 
 From his position on the point Paul could see 
 the steamboat wharf at Westport, or, rather, he 
 could see where it was, for it was over two miles 
 distant. But the steam yacht did not go to it ; and 
 for a ,short time she disappeared from his view 
 behind the trees on the lower arm of the point. 
 But he knew she must come in sight again soon, 
 for there was no landing-place above the wharf, 
 and the water was shoal. 
 
 In a few minutes she did reappear, and now she 
 was close inshore, following the southern trend of 
 the bay. She had reduced her speed somewhat, but 
 she was still sailing faster than her standard rate. 
 Paul watched her till she reached Barber's Point, 
 behind which she again went out of sight. He 
 could make nothing of her erratic movements, and 
 he was forced to the conclusion that Tom was 
 right, and that the follows were taking a little 
 turn in her while waiting for the cargo of the 
 gundnlow to be discharged, or for the iron shoe for 
 the keel of the Lily. 
 
 By this time Tom Topover appeared to have 
 completed his survey of the locality of the cottage, 
 and joined Paul on the beach. The cunning fellow 
 seemed to be somewhat uneasy and excited, though 
 his companion was too much absorbed in the won 
 der of the steam yacht to notice it.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 283 
 
 " Co you about ready to start on ? " asked Tom, 
 after he had looked about him for a few minutes. 
 " I guess I 've seen the whole thing now." 
 
 " I can't make out what the Sylph is doing," 
 said Paul, still perplexed by the problem, though 
 there was n't the least reason why he should bother 
 his head at all about her strange movements ; but, 
 like the average boy of intelligence, he desired to 
 know what everything meant. 
 
 "She's only cruising about for the fun on't," 
 grinned Tom. "I guess I don't want to stop no 
 longer." 
 
 That cunning reprobate had arranged his plan 
 of operations. In the darkness of the woods he 
 had examined the tarred spun-yarn which filled 
 one of his trousers pockets. He had taken it from 
 a new building on the back road, where it had 
 been used to secure bundles of laths. He had 
 coiled up the single lengths in such a way that 
 they would be ready for use when wanted. With 
 these he intended to bind his victim hand and foot, 
 and then tic him to a sapling, which he had se 
 lected for the purpose, in the woods back of the 
 cottage site, where the prisoner could not be seen 
 or heard from the lake. 
 
 He had promised to row the Dragon from Sandy
 
 284 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 Point to "Westport ; and it was with a purpose that 
 he had proposed to do so. Paul was to sit in the 
 stern, and would have to get into the boat first. 
 Torn would be close behind him, and when he 
 took the first step, he would seize him by the 
 throat, throw him down on the beach, and lie down 
 on him. With the spun-yarn in his pocket he 
 could easily secure his hands behind him. He 
 had picked up a stout stick in the woods, which 
 he dropped carelessly on the shore, where it would 
 be available in case of need. 
 
 Tom had no doubt whatever of his ability to 
 carry out this nicely-arranged programme. Paul 
 was a stout fellow, and events at the point and 
 elsewhere proved that he had plenty of pluck, and 
 that he hit hard. But if he took him behind, 
 what could Paul do? What could any fellow 
 do, under such unfavorable circumstances? The 
 blunder of the six ruffians, in Tom's estimation, 
 was in attacking him in front instead of in the 
 rear. 
 
 The cunning bruiser was ready to execute the 
 plan his busy brain had contrived, and he was a 
 little nervous and uneasy, as before noted. He 
 did not take the least interest in the movements 
 of the steamer, though he was rather pleased to
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 285 
 
 find Paul so much absorbed in anything that kept 
 his mind occupied. 
 
 " You git in fust, as I 'm go 'n to row the rest of 
 the way," said Tom, as he took the oars from the 
 boat, the blades of which were projecting over the 
 bow. 
 
 " I am not quite ready to go yet ; I have to go 
 over after something I left in the hollow of a tree," 
 replied Paul, as he turned away from the boat. 
 
 " In the holler of a tree ! " exclaimed Tom. 
 
 " That 's what I said," added Paul. " It is a tin 
 box containing a little money and a couple of gold 
 rings. It won't take me long to get them." 
 
 " How fur off is it ? " asked the bruiser, much 
 interested when he heard there was money in the 
 box, for he was sure to get it. 
 
 Paul said it was up in the hollow, and started 
 off.
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 A HARD BATTLE AT SANDY POINT. 
 
 ^PHE brilliant strategy of the bruiser was not 
 affected by the visit of Paul Bristol to the 
 hollow tree: On the contrary, it improved its 
 prospects of success. The intimation that there 
 was even a little money in the tin box was en 
 couraging, for it would add something to the ten 
 dollars he was to receive on account of his blind 
 bargain with Walk Billcord. 
 
 As soon as Paul disappeared in the woods, Tom 
 took the boathook from the Dragon, the oars be 
 ing already in his possession, and hastened off in 
 the direction to which he had car-ried his previous 
 survey of the locality. He had found a low place 
 beyond the site of the cottage, where a rotten log 
 lay on the ground. Beneath this decayed wood 
 he deposited the oars and boathook. Pulling off 
 enough of the punky wood to cover the articles, 
 he returned to the boat with a rapid step. 
 
 He had been absent but a few minutes, and 
 286
 
 STEM TO STERN. 287 
 
 Paul had not yet appeared with the tin box. If the 
 cunning strategist had been asked why he con 
 cealed the oars and the boathook, very likely he 
 would have replied that he had done so to pre 
 vent the possibility of an escape on the part of his 
 victim. But Tom was a cunning fellow, and this 
 was by no means his object. If he failed to 
 accomplish his purpose in the first onslaught, 
 there is not the slightest doubt that he would have 
 been entirely willing that his intended victim 
 should escape, and even be glad to have him do 
 so, even if he had been left to find his way on foot 
 from the point. 
 
 The three implements which constituted the fur 
 niture of the Dragon might be dangerous weapons 
 in the hands of a resolute fellow like Paul Bristol. 
 He had secured a club for himself, and picking 
 it up, he was plying it as a cane and plaything, in 
 order to avert any suspicion as to its probable use. 
 
 Paul soon returned with the tin box in his hand. 
 It was an old mustard can, and it was not a con 
 venient thing to have in his pocket, and was of no 
 value. He took the rings and money from it, and 
 put them into his pocket, throwing away the can. 
 
 " How much money have you got, Bristol 
 Brick?" asked Tom, with his usual grin.
 
 288 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 "Only a two-dollar bill, and that belongs to my 
 mother," replied Paul, who did not know his com 
 panion, and would not have been afraid of losing 
 the money if he had. 
 
 " Ain 't you goin' to spend it down to West- 
 port, and treat a feller that helps you row the 
 bout?" asked Tom, with a mighty grin. 
 
 " Of course not ; I don't spend my mother's 
 money for anything, without her orders to do so," 
 replied Paul. 
 
 "What odds does it make?" 
 
 " It makes a good deal of odds to me, for I 
 don't spend what don't belong to me. By the big 
 wooden spoon ! There comes the Sylph again, 
 and without the gundalow in tow. She is going 
 as though she were running a race too. It looks 
 to me just as though Captain Dory Dornwood had 
 gone crazy, and I shouldn't wonder if Captain 
 Gildrock hauled him over the coals for it." 
 
 "Is the cap'n aboard?" inquired Tom. 
 
 " No ; he went to Burlington this morning in the 
 cars." 
 
 " Then he won't know nothin' about it." 
 
 "Some one will be sure to tell him; but the 
 officers have to keep a log, and put down the 
 speed every hour. I arn afraid Dory will catch
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 289 
 
 it, for that steamer is running fifteen knots an 
 hour. They say she can do it, but the fellows 
 are not allowed to do more than twelve." 
 
 "All right; but I guess we can watch her from 
 the boat just as well as we can here," suggested 
 the strategist, placing himself close behind his 
 victim, and bracing up for the effort he was to 
 make. 
 
 "If she comes near us, we can hail her, and find 
 out what she is doing, for I should like to know," 
 added Paul, as he stepped down to the beach, in 
 the direction of the bow of the boat ; but his eyes 
 were fixed all the time on the steamer, which was 
 certainly going like the Flying Dutchman. 
 
 "Jump in, Bristol Brick, and I will take the 
 oars." 
 
 Paul had reached the stem of the Dragon by 
 this time, still closely observing the steamer. He 
 was just beginning to wonder if she would not 
 blow up under such a tremendous pressure of 
 steam as she appeared to have on, when the arms 
 of the cunning strategist encircled his neck, and 
 his right knee was applied to the small of his 
 back. He had raised one foot to step into the 
 boat, but he had no chance to bring it down, for 
 he went over backwards on the beach.
 
 290 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 The bruiser had the club in his hand when he 
 passed his arm around the neck of his victim. In 
 the suddenness of the attack Tom Topover had it all 
 his own way, as he had intended to have it. As he 
 drew his prisoner back, he threw him over so that 
 he fell on his face, and Tom came down on top of 
 him. He hugged him with all his might. Drop 
 ping the stick, he fixed his grip on the throat of 
 Paul, and began to jam down upon him with his 
 knees. 
 
 But Paul soon came to a realizing sense of his 
 situation, and he was not at all inclined to submit 
 to the sharp discipline of his companion. He be 
 gan to struggle with all the energy of desperation. 
 His hands were at liberty, and, reaching down with 
 them, he succeeded in getting hold of the legs of 
 his assailant. He immediately put a stop to the 
 action of the assailant's knees, and then, with a 
 mighty effort, rolled over so that Tom was under 
 him, though Paul was still wrong side up. 
 
 With the weight of his victim upon him, Tom 
 could no longer kick or use his knees, and Paul's 
 hands were relieved for other duty. He brought 
 them up and got hold of Tom's hair, getting two 
 fistfuls of it, for the bruiser did not Avear a fighting 
 cut just then. He pulled with all his strength, in-
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 291 
 
 creased by his desperation. At the same time the 
 struggle with the other parts of the body con 
 tinued, Tom's hair was coining out by the roots, 
 and the intense pain caused him to yield a little of 
 his hold at the prisoner's neck. 
 
 Paul felt his advantage, and, seizing the hands of 
 his foe, dragged them from his throat. This enabled 
 him to turn over in part so that he could use his 
 fists. He did not wait for any preliminaries, but 
 rained his blows upon the head of his assailant in 
 the agony of his desperation. Tom could no more 
 stand this treatment than he could have endured 
 the pounding of a trip-hammer. He begged for 
 mercy, and Paul let him up. 
 
 Neither of them could speak, and Tom's dirty 
 face was covered with blood. Both were gasping 
 for breath, and an involuntary truce prevailed. 
 Paul had received no blows in the face, though his 
 throat was considerably lacerated by the nails of 
 his cowardly enemy. Tom was now in a position 
 to understand the reason why the six ruffians had 
 been so badly used before they succeeded in 
 making a prisoner of Paul. It seemed to make 
 no difference in the end whether the attack was 
 made in the front or the rear. Possibly, the bril 
 liant strategist was willing to believe that he had
 
 X 292 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 made a mistake in the quality and quantity of his 
 intended victim. 
 
 A couple of minutes were enough to enable the 
 combatants to recover their breath. Neither of 
 them said a word, but Tom suddenly made a 
 spring at Paul, this time with clenched fists. But 
 the latter had been looking for something of this 
 kind, and he easily parried the blows aimed at him, 
 and then upset the bruiser with a heavy blow be 
 tween the eyes. Paul realized that he could do 
 this sort of thing till the sun went down, but he 
 was tired of it. 
 
 Tom lay still for a minute or so after his fall, for 
 his ideas were doubtless greatly confused. Paul 
 looked at him ; and as he did so he saw one of the 
 coils of rope-yarn sticking out of his trousers 
 pocket. lie seized it at once, and, turning his 
 assailant over, tied his hands behind him, and then 
 secured his arms at the elbows. As Tom came to 
 a realizing sense of his defeat, he began to resist, 
 but the bruiser was about played out, and Paul 
 dragged him to a tree and made him fast. 
 
 "You don't fight fair, Bristol Brick," said he, 
 rather feebly, and he made a weak attempt to 
 break from his bonds 
 
 "I don't mean to fight fair with such fellows as
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 293 
 
 you are," replied Paul, looking with disgust at his 
 prisoner. "I suppose you do, though, and that 's 
 the reason you pitched into me when my back was 
 turned. You may call it fair to jump on a fel 
 low's back and pull him down." 
 
 "But 't ain't fair for you to tie me afore we have 
 done," groaned Tom. "That's mean, and Tom 
 Topover never lets up on a feller that don't fight 
 fair." 
 
 "Oh, then, you are Tom Topover, are you?" 
 exclaimed Paul, looking over his victim from head 
 
 O 
 
 to foot. "Why didn't you tell me who you were 
 when I asked you ? " 
 
 " I was afear 'd you 'd run away if I told you 
 who I was," answered the bruiser, who was likely 
 to be a bully to the end. 
 
 "I don't believe I should have run away," added 
 Paul, with a smile on his face. "1 don't run away 
 from such carrion as you are." 
 
 "You haven't seen the end of this thing yet. 
 I can lick you in fair fight any time," blustered 
 Tom, as he began to regain his strength. 
 
 "Will you do it now if I let you loose?" de 
 manded Paul sharply. 
 
 " I don't feel very well to-day," replied Tom, 
 after some hesitation. " I ain't in fightin' trim no-
 
 294 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 how, and that 's the reason I got the worst on't so 
 fur." 
 
 " Wluit did you pitch into me for if you are not 
 in good condition?" demanded Paul, who was 
 good-natured enough by this time to smile. 
 
 " I did n't think you was so much of a feller, 
 and I had to do what I did to-day," muttered 
 Tom. 
 
 "Why to-day?" demanded Paul. 
 
 "Well, I agreed to do it." 
 
 "Whom did you agree with?" continued Paul, 
 picking up the stick the mighty strategist had 
 brought from the woods. 
 
 "It don't make no difference," whined Tom, evi 
 dently startled when he saw the weapon in the 
 hand of his conqueror. 
 
 " Yes, it does make all the difference in the 
 world ; and if you don't tell me in two seconds, I 
 will take it out of your hide ! " exclaimed the son 
 of toil, demonstrating violently with the stick. 
 
 "I didn't agree to do it, but Walk Billcord was 
 to give me ten dollars for the job. ' He did n't 
 say he would, but we understood one another," 
 answered Tom, in mortal terror. 
 
 "That's all I want to know," added Paul, as he 
 walked towards the boat.
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 295 
 
 He looked into the Dragon, but did not see the 
 oars. He searched all about the beach without being 
 able to find them. While he was thus engaged, 
 the steamer came within a few feet of the shore. 
 He concluded that the absence of the oars was a 
 part of the cunning strategist's plan ; and he was 
 about to return to the tree where Tom was tied, 
 when the steamer rang one bell, followed by two. 
 This meant stop and back her. 
 
 Paul picked up the stick he had brought to the 
 water side, and, without looking particularly at the 
 Sylph, he pushed off the boat, and then gave it a 
 hard shove w 7 ith the short pole. The impetus car 
 ried the Dragon to the side of the steam yacht, 
 and he sprang on board of her with the painter in 
 his hand.
 
 P 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE ENGINEER OF THE UNDINE. 
 
 AUL BRISTOL was somewhat excited after 
 his tough conflict with the strategetical 
 bruiser. He was not a little startled to find that 
 the Billcords were still trying to punish him for 
 defending his sister from insult. Captain Gildrock 
 was his friend and his mother's friend, and he was 
 unwilling to do anything more with the pestilent 
 bully without his advice and direction. He was 
 confident that the exhibition of the stout stick 
 would induce Tom to tell him where the oars 
 were ; but as the steamer was close to the shore, 
 he preferred to take counsel before he acted any 
 further. 
 
 At first he forgot that the principal was not on 
 board of the Sylph, but it came to his mind before 
 he reached the bulwarks. But Dory was certainly 
 on board, and he could advise and assist him. 
 Passing the painter over a stanchion, he leaped 
 over the rail. Then it struck him as a little 
 
 296
 
 STEM TO STERN. 297 
 
 strange that he saw none of the large ship's com 
 pany that had manned her when she left the 
 wharf in Beech water that morning. 
 
 A man who was an entire stranger to him stood 
 on the forecastle, but not a single Beech Hi 1 lei- 
 was to be seen. He looked up at the windows of 
 the pilot-house, where he expected to see the face 
 of Oscar Chester and the second pilot ; but another 
 stranger stood at the wheel. 
 
 " Cast off that boat ! " called the man at the 
 wheel to the one on the forecastle. 
 
 Before Paul could interfere the deck hand had 
 detached the painter from the stanchion and 
 dropped it into the water. At the same moment 
 two bells rang, and the steamer backed away from 
 the point. 
 
 " What did you do that for? " demanded Paul of 
 the deck hand. 
 
 "I have to obey my orders," replied the man. 
 
 The son of toil looked at him and wondered 
 who he was, for he had never seen his face before. 
 He went to the bow and saw the Dragon, fifty feet 
 from him by this time, and the steamer still back 
 ing. He had been sure of obtaining good advice 
 and strong support from his friends on board, but 
 he could not even find a person that he knew.
 
 298 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 He walked aft, and looked into the engine-room. 
 There was a man there, but he was bending over 
 the machinery, and he did not see his face, but he 
 appeared to be a stranger like all the others he 
 had seen. He continued his walk to the door of 
 the after cabin, but not a single Beech Hiller could 
 he find. It looked to him as though, if the thing 
 had been possible, the Sylph had been captured 
 by an enemy, who were ttyen in full possession of 
 her. 
 
 Paul returned to the forecastle, and again looked 
 up at the windows of the pilot-house. The 
 man at the W 7 heel appeared to be talking to 
 some person or persons behind him, who were 
 not in sight. At this moment the engine stopped 
 again, and the steamer was at rest on the smooth 
 water. Paul was confident that the persons in 
 the pilot-house had seen the whole or a portion 
 of the hard battle at Sandy Point, for the tree 
 where he had secured Tom Topover was in plain 
 sight from the lake. 
 
 The deck hand seemed to take no notice of him, 
 though he could not help seeing him, and ob 
 serving all his movements. As the steamer 
 had stopped her propeller, and run close in to 
 the shore, she must be there for a purpose.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 299 
 
 The lust he had seen of her before the bruiser 
 opened the fight, she was running with tremen 
 dous speed down the lake. After that she slowed 
 down, and headed for the point, for he had ob 
 tained an occasional glimpse of her even in the 
 heat of the struggle with the strategist. 
 
 "Is Captain Dory Dornwood on board, sir?" 
 asked Paul, very respectfully, of the deck hand, 
 who had walked forward to look out. 
 
 " I don't know him," replied the man shortly, 
 but civilly enough. 
 
 "Are none of the Beech Hill fellows on board?" 
 
 "I don't know the Beech Hill fellows," an 
 swered the man. 
 
 Paul was utterly bewildered. He looked up at 
 the pilot-house once more to find a solution of the 
 mystery if he could. The stranger still stood at 
 the wheel, and was still talking with some one not 
 in sight. Just then it occurred to Paul that there 
 was something wanting in the appearance of the 
 pilot-house. In the station bill he belonged on 
 the forecastle of the Sylph, and was more familiar 
 with this part of her than with any other. He 
 studied the situation for some time before he could 
 determine what was wanting to complete the usual 
 appearance of the steamer. At last he was able
 
 300 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 to supply the deficiency. On the front and on 
 each side of the pilot house was a sign on Avhich 
 was painted the name of the craft. They were 
 not there ; and if the strangers had captured the 
 Sylph they had removed these signs. There was 
 nothing in sight to indicate that the vessel was the 
 Beech Hill steam yacht. 
 
 Paul looked around him on the forecastle, and 
 some other familiar objects were missing. Sud 
 denly it flashed into his mind that this was not the 
 Sylph after all ; but the absurdity of his making 
 a mistake in the identity of the steamer which he 
 was accustomed to see at the wharf in Beechwater 
 every day, and in which he had made so many 
 trips to Westport and elsewhere, was so apparent 
 to him that he instantly rejected the idea. 
 
 To his mind, in spite of the absence of the 
 signs on the pilot-house, and other familiar ob 
 jects, the steamer was the Sylph. The mystery 
 of her being in possession of other persons than 
 the Beech Killers seemed to thicken upon him. 
 She had taken position not fifty feet from the 
 water side, and there she lay. Paul wondered 
 what she was waiting for, and why she did not do 
 something. If any person on board was to be 
 landed at the point, it was about time to lower
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 301 
 
 one of the quarter boats, which hung on davits 
 abaft the engine. But nothing was done, and no 
 one said anything ; and Paul was getting des 
 perate. 
 
 There was a mystery about the steamer, which, 
 in spite of the good order which prevailed on 
 board of her when her regular ship's company 
 were on duty, presented a very lively aspect. 
 Paul was not patient in the presence of mysteries 
 which concerned him, as in the present instance, 
 for since the setting adrift of the Dragon lie was 
 practically a prisoner on board of her. He decided 
 to solve the problem of the strangeness of things on 
 the deck, and for this purpose he went aft to the 
 ladder on the port side which led to the hurricane 
 deck. lie was determined to have a pow-wow with 
 the pilot, and to ascertain who were the modest 
 persons that concealed themselves in the back part 
 of his quarters. 
 
 He reached the deck on which the pilot-house 
 stood, without impediment, and walked to the 
 door. It was locked, which was not usual on 
 board of the Sylph. He passed on to the side 
 window, where the man at the wheel suddenly 
 confronted him. He had seen this man before, 
 but he had no acquaintance with him.
 
 302 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " "Will you be kind enough to tell me what 
 steamer this is?" Puul began, in his efforts to 
 solve the mystery. 
 
 " The Undine, of Westport," replied the pilot, 
 for such he undoubtedly was. 
 
 "I never heard of her before," added Paul, 
 overwhelmed to find that she was not the Sylph. 
 
 " As she came into the lake for the first time 
 this morning, you were not in the way of hearing 
 of her," answered the man, rather stiffly. 
 
 "But she looks exactly like the Sylph, which 
 belongs to the Beech Hill Industrial School," said 
 Paul, trying to get a sight of the persons on the 
 sofa of the room. 
 
 But the pilot kept himself directly in front of 
 him, and he was unable to gratify his curiosity. 
 
 " The builder has sent out at least half a dozen 
 steam yachts of the hundred-feet order which are 
 so near like this one that you could not tell the 
 difference in them," added the pilot in answer to 
 his remark. 
 
 " If this is not the Sylph, I have no business on 
 board of her," continued Paul. "I shall be very 
 much obliged to you if you will put me on shore, 
 or pick up my boat for me, though I am very 
 sorry to trouble you."
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 303 
 
 "You were not invited on board, and you must 
 look out for yourself." 
 
 " Why did you cast off the painter of my boat? " 
 asked Paul, not pleased with the situation. 
 
 " I obey my orders." 
 
 "Who gave the order, if you please?" 
 
 " The owner," replied the pilot. " Something 
 was going on ashore there just before we came 
 over here. It looked like a very hard fight be 
 tween two fellows." 
 
 " It was a hard fight," answered Paul. 
 
 "And you were one of the fellows in it? " 
 
 " I was ; and the other fellow is tied to a tree 
 on shore," replied Paul, pointing in the direction 
 of the tree, which he could see from his position 
 on the hurricane deck. 
 
 " What was it all about ? Speak up a little 
 louder, for I am rather deaf," added the pilot, as 
 he glanced behind him. " Who was the other fel 
 low?" And the last question seemed to be 
 prompted by the person on the sofa. 
 
 " It was Tom Topover," answered Paul ; and in 
 answer to questions put by the pilot, he told the 
 whole story of his affair that day with the bril 
 liant strategist, from the time he had appeared in 
 the creek on his queer-looking craft.
 
 304 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 The pilot occasionally told him to speak louder, 
 and at last he concluded that he was giving the 
 narrative for the benefit of the concealed listeners. 
 
 "But what made Tom Topover attack you?" 
 asked the man at the wheel. 
 
 " He was hired to do it by Major Billcord's son, 
 Walk Billcord," replied Paul bluntly. 
 
 "Do you mean to say that my son hired that 
 rough to attack you ? " demanded the magnate of 
 Westport, suddenly rushing to the door of the 
 pilot-house, and throwing it wide open. Close be 
 hind him was Walk himself. 
 
 " I did n't know you were here ! " exclaimed 
 Paul, starting back with astonishment when he 
 saw the major ; and he had not had the remotest 
 suspicion that he was the owner of the steam yacht, 
 for the pilot had prevented him from asking who 
 owned the craft. 
 
 " No matter if you did n't know it," replied the 
 major angrily. "I asked you a question. An 
 swer it ! " 
 
 "Tom Topover said he was to get ten dollars from 
 your son for doing the job. He did n't say Mr. 
 Walker agreed to give him the money, but there 
 was an understanding between them to this effect," 
 replied Paul.
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 305 
 
 " Tom Topover is a liar ! " exclaimed Walk. 
 
 " He was to do the job to-day ; and you seem 
 to be here at Sandy Point to attend to the prisoner 
 if Tom got him," added Paul. 
 
 Major Billcord was not in the habit of control 
 ling his wrath, and he made a spring at the son of 
 toil ; but Paul beat a hasty retreat, for he dreaded 
 another encounter with the magnate. He went 
 aft and descended to the main deck ; but he soon 
 discovered that he was not pursued. He heard 
 two bells in the engine-room, and the Undine be 
 gan to back. Paul came to a halt under the star 
 board quarter boat, and devoted himself to an ex 
 amination of the falls by which it was secured to 
 the davits. 
 
 While he was thus engaged, one bell struck 
 in the engine-room, followed by another, and the 
 Undine went ahead. A moment later the jingle 
 bell rattled, and the craft began to go at full 
 speed. Paul heard steps on the hurricane deck 
 above him, and he concluded that the major and 
 Walk were after him. He walked astern to the 
 doors of the main cabin. They were open, and 
 he decided to retreat into this apartment if he was 
 pursued. 
 
 " Engineer ! " called Major Billcord.
 
 306 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 " On deck, sir," replied the man in charge of 
 the engine, as he stepped out of his room. 
 
 The sound of the engineer's voice was a familiar 
 one, and it startled the son of toil as much as the 
 sound of an earthquake would at that moment. 
 
 " Keep an eye on that boy down on the main 
 deck, and don't let him touch the boats," contin 
 ued Major Billcord, who suspected the purpose of 
 the object of his hatred. " Don't let him escape on 
 any account, for I shall have a reckoning with him 
 before we part." 
 
 This looked like a threat, and Paul realized that 
 he was in the hands of the enemy. In spite of his 
 imprisonment, the magnate intended to punish him 
 for what he had done at the point, and the poor 
 fellow began to be very much discouraged. 
 
 " I will see to him," replied the engineer. 
 
 The engine of the Undine was working at a 
 moderate speed, and the engineer walked aft to 
 get a view of his prisoner. Paul looked at him as 
 he approached, for the sound of his voice had pre 
 pared him for an early meeting. lie thought no 
 more of getting away in the boat. He gazed with 
 all his eyes at the man walking towards him. 
 
 " Why, father ! " exclaimed he, rushing upon 
 him with extended hand.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 
 
 "Why, Paul, my son ! Is it possible that it is 
 you?" cried the engineer, grasping the extended 
 hand. "But come into the engine-room." 
 
 Mr. Bristol led the way, still holding his son's 
 hand. They had scarcely entered the apartment 
 before there was a whistle at the speaking-tube. 
 
 " Take that boy into the engine-room, and don't 
 let him get away," said the magnate through the 
 tube. 
 
 " All right ; I have him here," replied the 
 engineer. "What does all this mean, Paul?" 
 asked the astonished father, turning to his son. 
 
 Paul related all the events in the family history 
 since the assault upon Lily at the point ; and the 
 returned wanderer fully understood the feud be 
 tween Paul and the magnate. His blood boiled 
 at the insult to his daughter, and the persecution 
 to which his son had been subjected. He had put 
 his hand on the wheel to shut oft' the steam, when 
 Paul asked him where he had been for two years, 
 and why he had not written to his family. 
 
 The engineer did not turn the wheel, for the 
 wanting letters were an imputation upon him. 
 He was not a scholar, but he had written a score 
 of letters and had never had a reply to one of 
 them. Before he left, something had been said
 
 308 STEM TO STERN ; 
 
 between himself and his wife about her going to 
 the home of an uncle in Iowa. He had invited 
 them to visit him and take care of him, for he 
 was, a bachelor. He Avould support them, and 
 they could do work enough to earn their living. 
 They had expected to hear from him every day at 
 the time Peter Bristol left home. 
 
 The father had no doubt they Avould go there, 
 and had directed his letters after the first one to 
 their new home. A few days after his departure 
 for New York, where he hoped to find work, the 
 letter came from the West to Mrs. Bristol, but it 
 brought no hope. The writer had bought a ranch 
 in Texas, had married, and could do nothing for 
 the family of his brother. This clearly explained 
 the miscarriage of the letters. 
 
 Peter Bristol had worked as a fireman on a rail 
 road. When he got to New York he found a 
 situation as an oiler on a steamer bound to Havana. 
 In Cuba he soon secured a good situation to run 
 an engine on a plantation. He saved his money, 
 and did his best to find what had become of his 
 family. At last it occurred to him to write to the 
 postmaster of his brother's late residence in Iowa. 
 Nothing was known of his family, his brother had 
 gone to Texas, and a score of letters for his wife 
 had gone to the dead-letter office.
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 309 
 
 Then he had written to a friend in "West port, 
 and learned that his family were still at Sandy 
 Point, and were very poor. When this last letter 
 came, nearly two years after he had left home, he 
 was tilled with sorrow and anxiety. He wrote no 
 more letters, but started for home with all the 
 money he had saved. About the first person he 
 met when he landed in New York was Wheeler, 
 whom he had known as a pilot on Lake Champlain. 
 He had been sent by Major Billcord to take his 
 steamer, just purchased, up to the lake by the way 
 of the Hudson and the canal. He wanted an 
 engineer, and, after a deal of talk, employed Peter 
 Bristol. 
 
 Wheeler had his doubts about the competency 
 of Bristol. The magnate wanted a suitable en 
 gineer, and would give him good wages. He 
 might object to a man who had been known on the 
 lake as nothing but a boatman. Peter wanted the 
 place, and had been running an engine for two 
 years. Wheeler agreed to do what he could for 
 him with the magnate ; but he thought it best for 
 him not to say who he was for the present. Time 
 and the tropical sun had so changed him that he 
 was not likely to recognize him if he was care 
 ful.
 
 310 STEM: TO STERN; 
 
 Peter Bristol had served us engineer on the way 
 up, and Major Billcord and Walk had joined the 
 vessel at Whitehall in the morning. The steamer 
 was on trial, and the major wanted her run at her 
 highest speed a part of the time. The magnate 
 had hardly looked at the engineer, he was so inter 
 ested in the machinery and the craft, and Bristol 
 had had no trouble in concealing his identity so 
 far. This was the story he told Paul, and repeated 
 to his wife and Lily in the evening. 
 
 Paul had looked out at the door and saw that the 
 Undine was near Westport. She did not go to the 
 shore, but when she came about and headed down 
 the lake again, Peter Bristol turned the wheel and 
 shut off the steam. There was a ringing of the 
 bell, and then a call through the tube. 
 
 " I shall run her no longer ! " replied the en 
 gineer, emphatically, at the mouthpiece. 
 
 Major Billcord came below, followed by Walk. 
 Mr. Bristol stated his position, and took no further 
 pains to conceal his identity. The father spoke to 
 him like a man, and insisted upon being landed at 
 Westport with his son. The magnate was taken 
 all aback. He could do nothing without an en 
 gineer, and he could not punish Paul in the pres 
 ence of his father. The engineer Avould take the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 311 
 
 steamer up to the wharf, but in no other direction. 
 The magnate had to yield, and father and son, 
 both the Bristol and the Billcord, landed. 
 
 Lily was found, and she had a joyful meeting 
 with her father. Bissell was very willing to loan 
 his four-oar boat to convey them to Beech Hill. 
 On the way they released Tom Topover, and, put 
 ting him into the Dragon, towed him back to Hor 
 net Point. The happy re-union in the transplanted 
 cottage need not be described.
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 LAUNCHING THE BOAT. 
 
 r I ^HE Sylph, with the gundalow, did not arrive 
 till it was nearly dark. The shoe was not 
 done when the scow was ready to take it on board, 
 and they had to wait for the workmen to drill 
 the holes for the bolts. The ship's company had 
 seen the Undine when she passed Port Henry, but 
 no one there knew to whom she belonged, or any 
 thing whatever in regard to her. They saw that 
 she was the counterpart of the Sylph, and knew 
 that she was one of the celebrated class to which 
 she belonged. 
 
 Some of the students thought there might be a 
 chance for a race between her and the Beech Hill 
 steamer ; but Dory was sure enough that Captain 
 Gildrock would not permit the Sylph to race with 
 anything that went by steam. 
 
 The principal had returned from Burlington in 
 the afternoon, and when he saw the four-oar boat, 
 with the Dragon in tow, moving up to Hornet 
 
 312
 
 STEM TO STERN. 313 
 
 Point, he walked over to the cottage. He was 
 a spectator of the affecting interview between 
 Mrs. Bristol and her husband, even before the 
 Dragon was hauled up to the shore. 
 
 Tom Topover was very much battered in the 
 conflict with Paul. He was sure of two very 
 black eyes, and he could hardly walk when he was 
 helped out of the flatboat. The principal thought 
 he had been punished enough for the present ; and 
 as he seemed to be very humble, for him, he was 
 allowed to limp home, after a strong admonition 
 from the captain. 
 
 The principal had been so good a friend to the 
 family, that Mrs. Bristol begged him to stay and 
 hear her husband's story, and listen to the adven 
 tures of Paul since he left in the afternoon. The 
 moving of the cottage had to be related by Paul. 
 The prolonged corversation was interrupted only 
 by the arrival of the Sylph. After the shoe was 
 landed at the boat-shed, and the gundalow towed 
 to the stone quarry, the students learned all about 
 the new steamer, in which they were very much 
 interested, though they were sorry to learn that 
 Major Billcord was her owner. 
 
 On Monday afternoon, the shoe was bolted to 
 the keel of the Lily, and the inside work, which
 
 314 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 had been left unfinished for this job, was com 
 pleted. The following Saturday was appointed 
 for the launch of the boat, for this day would 
 complete the school year of the institution. Invi 
 tations had been sent to the gentlemen who had 
 served as examiners the preceding year, and on 
 Friday afternoon the Sylph, fully manned, and 
 dressed in gay colors, brought up Mi\ Bridges, Mr. 
 Kitchie, and Mr. Flint. They were hospitably 
 entertained at the mansion. 
 
 In the forenoon a sort of public exhibition took 
 place in the great hall of the boat-house, which 
 delighted the spectators, and gave them a very 
 high idea of the progress of the students in the 
 mechanic arts, as well as in the book studies. 
 After this show, the visitors went through the 
 shops, and inspected the Lily as she stood on the 
 stocks. A brass band played a portion of the 
 time, and in the middle of the day a choice colla 
 tion was served on the green. 
 
 About all the young ladies in Genverres, and 
 not a few from Burlington and Westport, \vere 
 present. Possibly there was some heavy flirting 
 done, for again the students in their uniform were 
 lions of the first order. 
 
 But the great event of the day was to be the
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 315 
 
 launch of the Lily. She had been fully prepared 
 in the morning for the exciting occasion, and two 
 jury-masts had been put up on board, and she was 
 covered with flags and streamers. The boat was 
 to move from the ways at four, and an hour before 
 that time the students and the principal were not 
 a little astonished to see the two Chesterfield 
 barges pull into the Beechwater, and take positions 
 near the farther side of the lake. 
 
 Captain Gildrock sent Mr. Bentnick, the prin 
 cipal instructor, to invite them on shore to par 
 take of a collation. Colonel Buckmill sat in the 
 stern-sheets of the Dasher, but he politely de 
 clined the invitation, with profuse thanks. His 
 young gentlemen desired to see the launch, but he 
 would not give the principal any trouble on such a 
 busy day. 
 
 The captain Avas sorry for this refusal, but he 
 seemed to insist that the hospitality of Beech Hill 
 should not suffer in the estimation of the students 
 from the other side, and he sent a boat loaded 
 with ice-cream, cake, and lemonade to the un 
 wonted visitors, which were accepted with more 
 thanks. 
 
 At a few minutes before four, the principal and 
 a small party, including not more than half a dozen
 
 316 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 of the students, went on board of the Lily. A 
 little later, the gallant captain of the Sylph es 
 corted Miss Lily Bristol to the deck of the boat. 
 Her appearance was the occasion of the most tre 
 mendous applause on the part of the students and 
 the crowd assembled on shore. It was observed 
 that the Chesterfields joined in this demonstra 
 tion, with a vigor which astonished their former 
 foes. 
 
 Captain. Gildrock gave certain orders, which 
 were followed by the sound of hammers as the 
 hands knocked away the wedges. The principal 
 raised his hand, which was 'followed by one dis 
 charge of a cannon. At this instant the hull began 
 to move very slowly. Assisted by Captain Dorn- 
 wood, Lily Bristol ascended to the heel of the 
 bowsprit with a bottle in her hand. 
 
 What this bottle contained no one but the cap 
 tain knew. According to tradition and custom, it 
 ought to be filled with wine ; but the principal was 
 a very strong, practical temperance man. How 
 ever, as the contents of the bottle were to be 
 dashed into the lake, it did not much matter what 
 they were. 
 
 The velocity of the moving hull increased as she 
 descended the inclined plane ; and as soon as she
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 317 
 
 was under full headwaj-, Lily broke the bottle 
 over the bow of the schooner. 
 
 "I give to this vessel the name of Lily, and 
 may she be prosperous on the element to which 
 she belongs," said she. 
 
 Then the band struck up ff Hail to the Chief," 
 and all the students and everybody else yelled 
 and applauded with all their might. The ladies 
 waved their handkerchiefs, and a salvo of artil 
 lery followed. The Lily struck the water, and 
 ploughed her way nearly to the other side of the 
 lake, where she was brought up by the lines at 
 tached to her. She rested on the water as grace 
 fully as a swan, and as soon as she was fairly 
 afloat, another series of ringing cheers saluted 
 her. 
 
 The Sylph, under the charge of the first officer, 
 immediately fastened to her, and she was towed 
 to her berth at the wharf, where she was to re 
 main until the next school year began, in Septem 
 ber. But the visitors were eager to examine her, 
 and an arrangement was made by which all who 
 desired could pass on board, make the circuit of 
 her deck and then leave without causing an uncom 
 fortable crowd. Through the cabin doors and the 
 opening for the skylight they could see something
 
 318 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 of the cabin, while the fore-scuttle gave a partial 
 view of the cook-room. 
 
 The young officers and crew of the Sylph told 
 their friends they should see her after she was 
 rigged, her sails bent on, and the cabin and cook- 
 room were furnished. There could be no doubt, 
 so far as the students were concerned, that the 
 young ladies who gushed so- prettily over the craft 
 would be invited to sail in her. 
 
 "With this great event ended the second school 
 year of the Beech Hill Industrial School. The 
 students were certainly satisfied with the experi 
 ence they had had there, and, notwithstanding the 
 sharpness of the discipline, they had only pleas 
 ant memories of the past. Those who had been 
 there two years were w-ell prepared to earn their 
 own living. Though none of the machinists or 
 carpenters could be called finished workmen, they 
 were skilled enough to obtain moderate wages. 
 It would require more years of study and practice 
 to make them into first-class mechanics. 
 
 None of them had yet completed the course of 
 instruction, though the needs of their parents com 
 pelled seven of them to leave the school and assist 
 in supporting families. By this time the reputa 
 tion of the school had been established, and there
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 319 
 
 were applications for three times as many young 
 men to work as engineers, carpenters, and machin 
 ists. Good places were secured for those who 
 were obliged to leave. 
 
 Three of them were to run stationary engines, 
 one was to work as a carpenter, and three more 
 were to learn trades for which their education had 
 fitted them to a considerable degree. The prin 
 cipal had given them a lecture on the subject of 
 wages, in which he bluntly told them that they 
 could not expect full wages, for they were not 
 competent to earn them. They were not yet 
 physically able to do the work of a man, and they 
 were not competent to do all that would be re 
 quired of them in their several trades and callings. 
 They had learned a great deal, and had acquired 
 considerable dexterity ; but if they were judged by 
 what they did not know, they would stand as weak 
 vessels. No man ever learned out in his trade, 
 and the time never came when there was nothing 
 more to learn. 
 
 A certain very wise man, as men are measured, 
 declared that he had only learned enough to re 
 alize what a fool he was. The principal told the 
 graduates that one of their greatest perils was that 
 of knowing too much. Modesty in regard to
 
 320 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 the measurement of their own skill and knowl 
 edge was essential to them. It was better that 
 others should find out how much they knew rather 
 than themselves. 
 
 On Monday morning the Sylph Avent up the 
 lake with the examiners and others who were to 
 spend their vacations at home. In the afternoon 
 she went down the lake with those who were go 
 ing in that direction, and the ship's company was 
 considerably smaller when the steamer returned to 
 Beech Hill. 
 
 Mr. Bristol went on the afternoon trip, for Corny 
 Minkfield and John Brattle, the engineers, were 
 to be left at Burlington. Mr. Jepson was pri 
 vately instructed by the principal to test his quali 
 fications. It appeared that while he had but 
 little scientific knowledge, he was as competent to 
 run an engine as the majority of those who were 
 employed in this capacity. 
 
 "I confess, Mr. Bristol, that I am very much 
 interested in your family, and I shall be glad to 
 retain you at the school," said Captain Gildrock. 
 " I find that Mr. Jepson's duty in connection with 
 the running of the engines in the shops interferes 
 with his usefulness as an instructor. I shall re 
 lieve him entirely of the laborious task he has
 
 OR, BUILDING THE BOAT. 321 
 
 hitherto performed in the most faithful manner, 
 for he is too valuable as a teacher to have any of 
 his time wasted. I shall appoint you as engineer 
 of the shops, though you are to serve in the 
 steamer when required." 
 
 "I thank you, sir, with all my heart," replied 
 Mr. Bristol. "You have done so much for my 
 family, that I already owe you a debt of gratitude 
 I could never repay." 
 
 " What I have done has afforded me as much 
 pleasure as it has the members of the family," 
 added the principal. 
 
 "The moving of the cottage was the greatest 
 and the most timely thing that ever was done. 
 But, Captain Gildrock, I saved considerable money, 
 for a poor man, and I should like to buy a lot of 
 land for my wife's cottage, and put a cellar under 
 it." 
 
 " How do you like its present location? " asked 
 the captain. 
 
 " Paradise has no finer spot, sir." 
 
 " Then I will give you a deed of the lot on which 
 the house stands, without any money, for it will be 
 a great protection to my estate to have your fam 
 ily in just that locality." 
 
 Mr. Bristol was overwhelmed at this generous
 
 322 STEM TO STERN; 
 
 offer, and he accepted it with a heart full of grati 
 tude. During the vacation the house was raised 
 somewhat and a cellar put under it. The Topovers, 
 who had troubled the captain for years by their 
 incursions, ceased to come in by the road to the 
 stone-quarries. 
 
 Though it was vacation at Beech Hill, and only 
 a very few of the boys, who had no homes, remained 
 during the summer months, there were some lively 
 times there. The instructors were all <rone, but 
 
 O " 
 
 plenty of company came from the cities. Almost 
 every day there was some kind of an excursion, 
 and Mr. Bristol was available as engineer, so that 
 
 o * 
 
 the Sylph Was constantly in use. 
 
 Captain Gildrock had another idea come into his 
 fertile brain. The Lily was so great a success that 
 he decided to build a steam yacht about half the 
 length of the Sylph, and to have the engine con 
 structed in the shops by the students. He found 
 they enjoyed their work more when they were 
 doing something which they could use when it 
 was completed. However, he did not say much 
 about it. 
 
 Dory Dornwood, though his uncle suggested a 
 trip to New York, Niagara, or Montreal, found 
 more pleasure in staying at home, strange as it
 
 OK, BUILDING THE BOAT. 323 
 
 may seem. Paul made himself useful as fireman 
 or deck hand on board of the steam yacht, or as a 
 foremast hand in the Goldwing. Mrs. Bristol and 
 Lily were almost always passengers when either 
 craft made an excursion, and so were Mrs. Dorn- 
 wood and Marian. 
 
 The young captain of the Sylph spent a good 
 deal of time at the cottage on Hornet Point, pos 
 sibly because he had conducted the enterprise of 
 transporting the structure from Sandy Point to its 
 present locality. The captain and Dory's mother 
 laughed a great deal about his constant visits, but 
 as he never called the young lady anything but 
 "Miss Bristol," the visits were not regarded as 
 dangerous for the present. 
 
 Major Billcord and Walk sailed the Undine all 
 over the lake, but she was apt to give the Sylph 
 a wide berth. The testimony of Tom Topover 
 was not considered sufficient to convict Walk of 
 bribing him to capture Paul. Certainly, Tom got 
 the worst of it, and the magnate was content to let 
 the punishment of the son of toil go by default. 
 
 The third school year opened as prosperously as 
 either of its predecessors, and the next volume of 
 the series will doubtless contain as many of the 
 adventures of the students on the lake and else-
 
 324 STEM TO STERN. 
 
 where as the former ones, as well as complete the 
 unfinished work on the Lily ; and, of course, the 
 reader will find ever3 T thing " All Taut " about 
 the schooner after they have finished " Rigging 
 the Boat."
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 ARMY AND NAVY STORIES, 
 
 Six Volumes. Illustrated. Per vol., $1.5O. 
 
 1. THE SOLDIER BOY; 
 
 Or, Tom Somers in the Army. 
 
 2. THE SAILOR BOY; 
 
 Or, Jack Somers in the Navy. 
 
 3. THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT; 
 
 Or, Adventures of an Army Officer. 
 
 4. THE YANKEE MIDDY; 
 
 Or, Adventures of a Navy Officer. 
 
 5. FIGHTING JOE; 
 
 Or, The Fortunes of a Staff Offiaer. 
 
 6. BRAVE OLD SALT; 
 
 Or, Life on the Qnarter-Deck. 
 
 This series of six volumes recounts the adventuroi 1 of* I TO 
 brothers, Tom and Jack Somers, one in the arm} r , the othei in 
 the navy, in the great civil war. The romantic narratives '>f 
 the fortunes and exploits of the brothers are thrilling in t" e 
 extreme. Historical accuracy in the recital of the gre\t 
 events of that period is strictly followed, and the result is 
 not only a library of entertaining volumes, but also the 
 history of the civil war for young people ever written.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 YOUNG AMERICA ABEOAD. 
 
 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 A. Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. IGiuo. 
 
 Illustrated by Aast, Stevens, Perkins, and others. 
 
 Per volume, $1.50. 
 
 1. OUTWARD BOUND; 
 
 Or, Young America Afloat. 
 
 2. SHAMROCK AND THISTLE; 
 
 Or, Y 011113- America in Ireland and Scotland. 
 
 3. RED CROSS ; 
 
 Or. Young America in England and Wales. 
 
 4. DIKES AND DITCHES; 
 
 Or, Young America in Holland and Belgium. 
 
 5. PALACE AND COTTAGE; 
 
 Or, Young America in France and Switzerland. 
 
 o. DOWN THE RHINE; 
 
 Or, Young America in Germany. 
 
 The story from its inception and through the twelve vol 
 umes (tee Second Series) , is a bewitching one, while the in 
 formation imparted, concerning the countries of Europe and 
 the isles of the sea, is not only correct in every particular, but 
 is told in a captivating style. " Oliver Optic" will continue 
 to be the boy's friend, and his pleasant books will continue to 
 be read by thousands of American boys. What a fine holiday 
 present either or both series of "Young America Abroad" 
 would be for a }'oung friend ! It would make a little library 
 highly prized by the recipient, and would not be an expensiva 
 one. Providence Press.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD, 
 
 SECOND SERIES. 
 
 A. Library of Travel and Adventure lit Foreign Lands. IGmo. 
 
 Illustrated by JVast, Stevens, Perkins, and others. 
 
 Per volume, $1.50. 
 
 1. UP THE BALTIC; 
 
 Or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and 
 Denmark. 
 
 2. NORTHERN LANDS; 
 
 Or, Young America in Russia and Prussia. 
 
 3. CROSS AND CRESCENT; 
 
 Or, Young America in Turkey and Greece. 
 
 4. SUNNY SHORES; 
 
 Or, Young America in Italy and Austria. 
 
 5. VINE AND OLIVE; 
 
 Or, Young America in Spain and Portugal. 
 
 6. ISLES OF THE SEA; 
 
 Or, Young America Homeward Bound. 
 
 " Oliver Optic" is a nom de plume that is known and loved 
 by almost every boy of intelligence in the land. We have 
 seen a highly intellectual and world-weary man, a cynic whose 
 heart was somewhat imbittered by its large experience of 
 human nature, take up one of Oliver Optic's books and read 
 it at a sitting, neglecting his work in }'ielding to the fascina 
 tion of the pages. When a mature and exceedingly well- 
 informed mind, long despoiled of all its freshness, can thus 
 find pleasure in a book for boys, no additional words of rec 
 ommendation are needed. Sunday Times.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 WOODYILLE STORIES. 
 
 Uniform with Library for Young People. Six vols. IGiuo. Illu 
 trated. Per vol., $1.95. 
 
 1. RICH AND HUMBLE; 
 
 Or, The Mission of Bertha Grant. 
 
 2. IN SCHOOL AND OUT; 
 
 Or, The Conquest of Richard Grant. 
 
 3. WATCH AND WAIT; 
 
 Or, The Young Fugitives. 
 
 4. WORK AND WIN ; 
 
 Or, Noddy Newman on a Cruise. 
 
 5. HOPE AND HAVE; 
 
 Or, Fanny Grant among the Indians. 
 
 6. HASTE AND WASTE; 
 
 Or, The Young Pilot of Lake Charoplain. 
 
 Though we are not so young as we once were, we relished 
 these stories almost as much as the boys and girls for whom 
 they were written. They were really refreshing even to us. 
 There is much in them which is calculated to inspire a gener 
 ous, healthy ambition, and to make distasteful all reading 
 tending to stimulate base desires. Fitchburg Reveille.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 THE STARRY FLAG- SERIES. 
 
 Six volumes. Illustrated. Per vol., $1.35. 
 
 1. THE STARRY FLAG; 
 
 Or, The Young Fisherman of Cape Ann. 
 
 2. BREAKING AWAY; 
 
 Or, The Fortunes of a Student. 
 
 S. SEEK AND FIND; 
 
 Or, The Adventures of a Smart Boy. 
 
 4. FREAKS OF FORTUNE; 
 
 Or, Half Round the World. 
 
 5. MAKE OR BREAK; 
 
 Or, The Rich Man's Daughter. 
 
 6. DOWN THE RIVER; 
 
 Or, Buck Bradford and the Tyrants. 
 
 Mr. Adams, the celebrated and popular writer, familiarly 
 ^nown as " Oliver Optic," seems to have inexhaustible funds 
 for weaving together the virtues of life ; and notwithstanding 
 he has written scores of books, the same freshness and nov 
 elty runs through them all. Some peopl think the sensa 
 tional element predominates. Perhaps it does. But a book 
 for young people needs this ; and so long as good sentiments 
 are inculcated such books ought to be read. Pittsburg ^a-
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 THE ONWARD AND UPWARD 
 
 SERIES. 
 
 Complete in six volumes. Illustrated. In neat box. 
 Per volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. FIELD AND FOREST; 
 
 Or, The Fortunes of a Fanner. 
 
 2. PLANE AND PLANK; 
 
 Or, The Mishaps of a Mechanic. 
 
 3. DESK AND DEBIT; 
 
 Or, The Catastrophes of a Clerk. 
 
 4. CRINGLE AND CROSS-TREE; 
 
 Or, The Sea Swashes of a Sailor. 
 
 5. BIVOUAC AND BATTLE; 
 
 Or, The Struggles of a Soldier. 
 
 6. SEA AND SHORE; 
 
 Or, The Tramps of a Traveller. 
 
 Paul Farringford, the hero of these tales, is, like most of 
 this author's heroes, a } r oung man of high spirit, and of high 
 aims and correct principles, appearing in the different vol 
 umes as a farmer, a captain, a bookkeeper, a soldier, a sailor, 
 and a traveller. In all of them the hero meets with very 
 exciting adventures, told in the graphic style for which th 
 author is famous. Native.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 FAMOUS "BOAT-CLUB" SERIES, 
 
 Library for Young People. Six volumes, handsomely illustrated. 
 Per volume, $1.25. 
 
 1. THE BOAT CLUB; 
 
 Or, The Bunkers of Rippleton. 
 
 2. ALL ABOARD; 
 
 Or, Life on the Lake. 
 
 3. NOW OR NEVER; 
 
 Or, The Adventures of Bobby Bright. 
 
 4. TRY AGAIN; 
 
 Or, The Trials and Triumphs of Harry West. 
 
 5. POOR AND PROUD; 
 
 Or, The Fortunes of Katy Redburn. 
 
 6. LITTLE BY LITTLE; 
 
 Or, The Cruise of the Flyaway. 
 
 This is the first series of books written for the young by 
 " Oliver Optic." It laid the foundation for his fame as the 
 first of authors in which the young delight, and gained for 
 him the title of the Prince of Story-Tellers. The six books 
 are varied in incident and plot, but all are entertaining and 
 orijrinal.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 THE GREAT WESTERN 
 
 SERIES. 
 
 Six Volumes. Illustrated. Per vol., $1.50. 
 
 1. GOING WEST; 
 
 Or, The Perils of a Poor Boy. 
 
 2. OUT WEST; 
 
 Or, Roughing it on the Great Lakes. 
 
 3. LAKE BREEZES; 
 
 Or, The Cruise of the Sylvania. 
 
 4. GOING SOUTH ; 
 
 Or, Yachting on the Atlantic Coas-t. 
 
 5. DOWN SOUTH; 
 
 Or, Yacht Adventures in Florida. (In Press- 
 
 6. UP THE RIVER ; 
 
 Or, Yachting on the Mississippi. (la Press.) 
 
 This is the latest series of books issued by this popular 
 arbiter, and deals with Life on the Great Lakes, for which a 
 tareful study was made by the author in a summer tour of the 
 Immense water sources of America. The story, which carries 
 the same hero through the six books of the series, is alwa}-s 
 entertaining, novel scenes and varied incidents giving a con 
 stantly changing, yet alwa} T s attractive aspect to the narra- 
 tire. "Oliver Optic" has written nothing better.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 YACHT CLUB SEEIES. 
 
 ruifor with the ever popular "Boat Club," Series, Completed 
 iu six vols. IGmo. Illustrated. Per vol., $1.5O. 
 
 1. LITTLE BOBTAIL; 
 
 Or, The Wreck of the Penobscot. 
 
 2. THE YACHT CLUB; 
 
 Or, The Young Boat-Builders. 
 
 3. MONEY-MAKER; 
 
 Or, The Victory of the Basilisk. 
 
 4. THE COMING WAVE; 
 
 Or, The Treasure of High Rock. 
 
 6. THE DORCAS CLUB; 
 
 Or, Our Girls Afloat. 
 
 6. OCEAN BORN; 
 
 Or, The Cruise of the Clubs. 
 
 The series has this peculiarity, that all of its constituent 
 volumes are independent of one another, and therefore each 
 story is complete in itself. "Oliver Optic" is perhaps the 
 favorite author of the boys and girls of this country, and he 
 seems destined to enjoy an endless popularity. He deserves 
 his success, for he makes very interesting stories, and incul- 
 cats none but the best sentiments; and the "Yacht Club" 
 u no exception to this rule. New Haven Jour, and Courier.
 
 OLIVER OPTIC'S BOOKS. 
 
 THE LAKE SHORE SERIES. 
 
 Six volumes. Illustrated. In neat box. Per vol., $1.85. 
 
 1. THROUGH BY DAYLIGHT; 
 
 Or, The Young Engineer of the Lake Shore 
 Railroad. 
 
 2. LIGHTNING EXPRESS; 
 
 Or, The Rival Academies. 
 
 3. ON TIME; 
 
 Or, The Yonng Captain of the Ucayga Steamer 
 
 4. SWITCH OFF; 
 
 Or, The War of the Students. 
 
 5. BRAKE-UP; 
 
 Or, The Young Peacemakers. 
 
 6. BEAR AND FORBEAR; 
 
 Or, The Yonng Skipper of Lake Ucayga. 
 
 "Oliver Optic" is one of the most fascinating writers foi 
 youth, and withal one of the best to be found in this or any 
 past age. Troops of young people hang over his vivid pages, 
 and not one of them ever learned to be mean, ignoble, cow- 
 arcUj', selfish, or to 3'ield to any vice from an3*thing they ever 
 rad from his pen. Providence Press.
 
 DEC 1 1 1979 
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 PRINTED IN U.S A.
 
 ONAL UBRARVFArn 
 
 000199957