CHAPTER X. IMPORTANT TO BOY ARCHITECTS AND ENGINEERS.
The principal said a few words to Mr. Darlingby, one of the instructors, as soon as all the rebels had left the schoolroom. The teacher followed the eight boys who had decided not to wear a uniform to the dormitory. He sad nothing, but merely saw that the rebels went to their rooms, as they had been directed. He then called Bates, the old sailor who had been quartermaster and mate under Captain Gildrock for may years, who did any kind of duty at Beech Hill required of him, from running the steamer down to blacking the principal's boots.
The old seaman always obeyed orders, and never asked any questions or made any speeches. Mr. Darlingby stationed him in the hall of the dormitory, and directed him not allow any of the eight boys to leave the building, or more than one of them to come out of his room at a time. Bates knew what discipline was, for he had been thoroughly trained by his employer. The instructor returned to the schoolroom, and reported the orders executed.
After the rebels had departed from the room, Captain Gildrock made no allusion whatever to them. He pointed no moral for the benefit of the rest of the students, and did not seem to be in the least degree disturbed by the event of the morning. He picked up his papers, and went on with his announcements as though nothing had occurred to interrupt them.
"You have had valuable instruction in drawing from Mr. Jepson," continued Captain Gildrock; "but you have not yet had a great deal of practice. Of course I don't expect finished drawings from you, and the nicety of the work will not affect the result. All the plans must be drawn by scale, and must be intelligible, but the prizes are to be given for the ideas, and not for the artistic finish of the plans."
"On what scale must the plans be drawn?" asked Luke Bennington.
"Mr. Jepson must answer that question."
"A quarter of an inch to the foot," added Mr. Jepson, the master machinist and instructor in drawing.
"Do you all understand what rooms and closets we want in the boat-house? That is what the new building will be called," continued the principal. "I think you had better make a list of these things, so that you won't forget anything."
"Are the sailboats to be provided for in the building?" asked George Duane.
"Certainly not; it would take too high a building to cover the topmast of the Gold wing," replied the principal. "The safest place for the sailboats is at their moorings in the lake."
"I don't quite understand how the two barges are to be accommodated under cover," suggested Harry Franklin.
"There must be two slips, or docks for them, at least fifty-four feet long by eight or nine feet wide, with doors at the water end of them, so that the boats can be locked in. I shall say no more about the docks; but you can put them down at the head of your list. Then we want about forty dressing-rooms, for we must provide for the future as well as the present. They must be at least three feet square and light enough to enable the occupant to see what he is about."
"But where are these dressing-rooms to be located?" inquired Dave Winslow.
"You must answer that question for yourselves; and of course the value of the plan will depend upon the convenience and fitness of the apartments. Add dressing-rooms to the list. Then we want as many as four store-rooms, one for a sail-room, one for a paint-shop, and two for boat furniture."
"What must be the size of these rooms?" asked John Brattle.
"You know what these rooms are for, and you may determine the size of them for yourselves," replied Captain Gildrock. "I desire to measure each student's judgment in the decision of just such questions as this, and I shall leave a great many of them open for this purpose."
The boys looked at each other, and thought that whoever got the prizes would earn them, for it would take no end of hard thinking to make the plans.
"The next requirement is the hall for meetings, which will be on the second story," continued the principal, as the students added the apartment to their list. "The size and proportions will be left to your own judgment, but I will add that you may want to use this hall in the winter for exhibitions of declamation, dialogues, and concerts, to which the people of Genverres may be invited. I give you the uses to which the hall may be put, and it is for you to determine how large it should be."
"Are we to make it big enough to accommodate the whole town?" inquired Corny Minkfield.
"You must judge for yourself how many people the hall ought to hold; for I have no clearer idea of the matter than you have, and I have no plan for the winter entertainments," answered Captain Gildrock. "If there are any exhibitions at all, they will be given at your request, and not at my desire."
"Are we to decide now whether we will have exhibitions or not?" Steve Baxter wanted to know.
"You are to decide for yourselves whether or not a large hall is likely to be needed. I have nothing more to say on this subject. I have now given you the essential points in the new building. In the matter of halls, corridors, entrances, I shall say nothing. You need not confine yourselves to the essentials I have mentioned. If you can add any apartments that are worth having, you are at liberty to do so, and the value of any such additions or improvements will be carried to your credit on the total fitness of the plan. I hold the comfort and recreation of the pupils of the school to be entitled to consideration as well as usefulness in the narrower sense. I have said all I have to say in regard to the boat-house, and after this I shall answer no questions."
"Are the dressing-rooms to be on the lower story or the upper?" inquired Matt Randolph.
"They will be just where you choose to put them," answered the principal. "That is a question of convenience which each must decide for himself."
"But we have the two docks for the boats, the forty dressing-rooms, the four store-rooms, and the corridors and entries to put on the lower story, with nothing but the hall on the second floor," persisted Matt.
"I did not stipulate that any of the apartments you mention should be on the lower floor," said the principal, laughing. "If you think it best to put the two docks for the barges on the second floor, of course you have a perfect right to do so."
"A boat is a good thing to have, but it isn't particularly valuable on the top of a mountain for sailing purposes, and I should rather have it where there is a body of water," persisted Matt. "The docks will take up about fifteen hundred square feet, and that is space enough for a hall that will hold one hundred and fifty or two hundred people. It seems to me that the parts don't balance well."
"It is for you to balance them, then. I have given you the essentials of the boat-house, and I leave all the rest of it to you," replied Captain Gildrock. "If you please, Randolph, we will not argue the matter, for you are giving your associates points that I wish them to study out for themselves. Now we will consider the location and the engineering work."
"I don't see why these are put together," said Oscar Chester.
"Because they are very closely connected," answered Captain Gildrock. "If one of you decides that the boat-house ought to be built in the middle of the lake, he ought to tell us how the foundation is to be laid, and how we are to reach it."
"I see; and I understand it now," added Oscar.
"The location of the building, and of the wharf for the steamer or other craft we may have, are included in the offer. The same student may compete for both prizes, and plan both the building and the location. If you locate the wharf where it cannot be conveniently reached by the Sylph or the Goldwing, the site selected would have to be rejected."
"But perhaps the plan of the fellow who wins the prize for the boat-house may not fit the location that gets the prize," suggested Oscar Chester, who seemed to be taking the deepest interest in the subject, though he had been the hardest boy in the whole before his admission to the school.
"I have considered that difficulty, and the two plans which are the best on the whole will be modified to adapt them to each other. Now, we will see the map, Mr. Jepson," said the principal. The instructor in drawing unrolled a chart on the wall behind the principal, and it proved to be Beech Hill Lake, drawn after the manner of the chart of Lake Champlain, with the compass, soundings, and character of the bottom upon it.
"This chart will be available for the inspection of all the students. It shows Beech Hill Lake, which is about eighty rods long by forty wide. It is simply an enlargement or basin of Meadow Creek. I own the land on both sides of it down to Lake Champlain, and therefore we can do what we please with it, even if we fill it up. When you locate the wharf you must indicate how it is to be built, and how it is to be reached both on the land and the water side."
"I suppose there is only one way to build a wharf, and that is by driving piles," said Harry Franklin.
"The wharf may be of wood or of stone. If you look at the chart, Franklin, you will see that the bottom on this side of the lake is composed of rocks, into which no piles can be driven. Our present wharf was built like a log house, by piling logs one upon another, and filling in with earth. But the timbers are rotting, and it will soon need to be rebuilt, and I don't care to have another of that kind. On the other side of the lake the bottom is mud, brought in by the creek. That is all we need say about the wharf and location."
But half a dozen of the boys who had ideas on the subject before the school proceeded to ask questions, which the principal declined to answer.
"The season is advancing, and I wish to have this building up and covered in before the cold weather comes, and we want these plans at once," continued the principal, after he had quieted the inquirers. "After consultation with the instructors, I have decided to give you three days vacation, at the end of which time the prizes will be awarded. These three days are given you to study the subject and draw the plans."
"That is a short time," said Matt Randolph.
"But it is just as much for one as for another. You must do the best you can in that time. Fifty dollars is a considerable sum for a boy to have; and I must say now that the winner will not be allowed to fool it away. If they have no immediate use for it, the money will be placed to their credit in the Genverres Savings Bank; but it may be used at once for any proper purpose."
The students wondered, as they left the schoolroom, if the vacation had not been given on account of the rebellion. But all of them hastened to the lake to look for a site for the boat-house.
CHAPTER XI. DORY DORNWOOD CONFRONTS THE TOPOVERS.
Several groups of the students had formed on the banks of Beech Hill Lake, and were discussing the plans when the school-bell rang. They obeyed the summons, and began to think this was a queer sort of a vacation, when the principal informed them that he had forgotten something. Seeing them talking together at the lake had reminded him of the omission.
"I must exact a promise from each student that the plan he offers is wholly his own work," said Captain Gildrock. "There must be no conversation, conference, or comparison among you, and no student must show his plan to another, or tell another what it is. All of you who assent to this, and make this promise, will signify it by standing."
All the boys rose and remained standing. Some of them asked a lot of questions as usual, but in a few minutes the whole matter was perfectly understood.
"Under these conditions we shall have to stay in our rooms all the time," said Dave Windsor; and the remark created a laugh, for it looked as though the competitors for the prizes were to be prisoners as well as the rebels.
"You can do your work where you please. The schoolroom, the workshop, the grove, are open to you, as well as your rooms," replied the principal. "I consider that each pupil is put on honor not to look at the work of another. Before the prizes are awarded I shall ask each one if the plan is wholly his own idea, and I shall be willing to take his word for it."
"Then everything must be original, must it?" asked Bolly Millweed. "If we have seen an arrangement of doors or windows we like in a hotel or church, we must not use it."
"Not at all," answered Captain Gildrock, a little impatiently. "If you have ideas, they belong to you though you did not originate them. I simply insist that you shall not use one another's ideas. I don't expect you to originate many if any new ideas in architecture and engineering; only to combine old ones for the particular structure we have in view. I only ask you to do what any old farmer would do if he wanted to put up a set of farm buildings; and he would not go near an architect or civil engineer, though it might pay him to do so."
"I understand it now," said Dave.
"I hope you all understand it; but if there are any questions to be asked it must be done now, for not one will be considered after I dismiss you this time. You may use any of the boats on Beech Hill Lake during the next three days without further permission."
The boys were ashamed to ask any more questions, and they left the schoolroom. They were not to talk together about the plans, and they separated outside the door, each to make his examination of the shores of the little lake by himself. In a few minutes they were scattered all along the border of the lake and creek, each one carefully avoiding all the others; for, under the skilful training of Captain Gildrock, each one had come to regard his honor as the apple of his eye.
Of course there were some of the boys who had no more idea of the making of a plan or the fitness of a locality for the boat-house than they had of the erection of a Chinese pagoda; and the principal hardly expected that more than half a dozen plans of the building and as many of the location would be submitted. But he knew that the study given by the pupils to the subject would be worth more than the prize to them.
It was rather amusing to see some of them making so serious a matter of the plans, but probably every one of them thought he could select the best location for the wharf and boat-house, even if he could not make a mark towards the plan of the structure. Many of them seated themselves under the trees in view of the lake, with paper and pencil in hand, as though they had begun to make the rough sketches of the plan.
By the middle of the forenoon it was clear that some of the students had got their ideas in working order, for they went to the schoolroom, and began to make sketches on brown paper. But others were not satisfied with the limited survey they had made of the lake, and wished to visit the other side. Though the creek was narrow, there was no bridge on the Beech Hill grounds, and it was too wide to be leaped over. Mat Randolph proposed that they should go over in the barges. All hands were called, and they assented to the plan.
When they were seated in the boats, with only nine oarsmen in each, it was decided to make a trip around the lake, in order to examine the shore from the water side. At the head of the lake, in the rear of the shop and schoolroom, was a rocky hill rising to the height of about a hundred feet in the loftiest place. The rocks rose perpendicularly from the lake, and the water was four feet deep alongside of them.
Bolingbroke Millweed was earnest and critical in his survey of these rocks, though hardly another of the party paid any attention to them. Probably most of them thought it was the most unsuitable place on the lake for the boat-house and wharf, though it was nearer to the mansion and schoolroom than the present wharf, where the barges were moored.
The two boats pulled with a gentle stroke around the lake, stopping at several points for a more careful survey. If any one had any brilliant ideas he was as silent as Beech Hill itself, at the head of the lake. This was the name of the elevation in the rear of the schoolroom, and the estate, the lake, and the institution had been called after it.
Beech Hill Lake extended north and south within a quarter of a mile of Porter's Bay, an inlet of Lake Champlain. Between the little lake and the bay there was a beautiful grove, which was one of the most delightful resorts on the shipmaster's estate. He had intended to build a bridge across the creek, back of Beech Hill; but an attempt had been made to rob his house by a couple of New York burglars, who had landed at the head of the bay, and crossed the lake in a boat which had formerly been kept on the other side.
The idea of constructing: a bridge had been given up after this attempt, but a small pier had been built near the inlet of the creek, for convenience in landing from boats at the grove. The barges went to this little wharf, and the crews landed, and separated, each to pursue his studies by himself. All of them made a careful examination of the west shore of the lake.
When he had finished his survey, Dory Dornwood seated himself under a tree not far from the pier. He did not seem to think he had any talent for architecture or civil engineering, and he had not a very strong hope of winning either of the prizes. The fact that he was the founder's nephew would not affect the matter in any way, for each competitor was to put only a word or character on his work, which was also to be written on an envelope containing his name. The examiners, whoever they were, were not to know whose plan they were considering.
While Dory was contemplating the shores of the lake, and making up his mind in regard to the best place for the wharf, he heard voices in the direction of the pier. Looking that way, he saw a squad of boys on the little wharf. Their attention was fixed upon the two barges, which they were examining with interest, not to say enthusiasm.
Genverres had its proportion of bad boys as well as good ones, and Dory recognized these visitors to the grove as belonging to the former class. He had not been in the town long enough to have any acquaintance with them, and hardly knew them by sight; but his uncle had pointed out a couple of them whom he suspected of stealing fruit from his garden. In fact he had suffered so much from the depredations of fruit-thieves, that he had taken extensive and expensive precautions to keep them out of his grounds.
The captain had built a fence ten feet high from the main road to the creek; the latter being considered a sufficient barrier on the west side of the estate. The grove could easily be reached, but the grounds on the east side of Beech Hill Lake were now well protected. Dory saw that the leading spirit of the squad of visitors was Tom Topover, a reckless young rascal of sixteen or seventeen, who had made himself a terror to the farmers on the outskirts of the town, as well as to many peaceable citizens in the village.
The presence of the "Topovers," as they had come to be called, after their leader, boded no good to the boats, for the squad were free-and-easy fellows, who had no more regard for the rights of property than they had for the cleanliness of their faces and their garments. Dory Dornwood knew how easy it was to get up a quarrel with this class of young ruffians, and he did not think it was wise to go near them; but he thought it was best to show himself, so that they might not be tempted to meddle with the barges by the supposition that they were not seen. He began to walk about where he could not fail to be observed by the visitors.
Dory looked all around him through the grove, but he could see only a few of the other students. Doubtless they were all absorbed in the study of the plan and location, for not a sound could be heard except the dashing of the water against the rocks in the creek above the lake.
He and Matt Randolph had each a boatswain's whistle, used in calling the boats' crews when they were separated, as in the present instance. Its shrill pipe could be heard at least half a mile in a still day; but the coxswain of the Winooski hoped he should have no occasion to use it. The Topovers had seen him, and probably some of the other students, and must know that the crews of both boats were in the grove, or the barges would not be at the wharf.
He watched the visitors very closely, but they manifested no disposition, so far, to meddle with the boats. They were looking at them, and made them the subject of a great deal of animated conversation. Dory could not blame them for being delighted with the barges, and the fact they were pleased was an evidence that they had some good taste. But presently he saw four of them walking towards him. They came in a direct line, and the coxswain had no doubt they had something to say to him. One of them was Tom Topover; another was Kidd Digfield; the two whom the captain had indicated as the plunderers of his garden. He did not know the names of the other two.
"Hullo, Dory!" called Tom Topover, when the party came within hailing distance of him, "Them's tip-top boats you've got down there."
"They are very fine boats," replied Dory.
"I s'pose you fellers have big times in 'em," continued Tom, as he and his companions halted in front of the coxswain.
"We have first-rate times in them," answered Dory, with a pleasant smile, for he was very careful that there should be nothing exasperating in his conduct, and he had learned that one's manner of saying anything could be very provoking, even when nothing offensive was uttered.
"You ain't usin' them boats now: won't you let me and the fellers take a little turn in 'em on the pond?" Tom Topover proceeded with as much assurance as though he was making only a reasonable request, as he evidently believed it was.
Dory felt that he had no more right to lend one of the boats than he had to loan one of his uncle's shirts; and he saw the beginning of trouble in the request.
CHAPTER XII. TOM TOPOVER HAS REASON TO BE ASTONISHED.
Tom Topover was a stout and wiry fellow, and he had the reputation of being the greatest fighting character in Genverres. He made a quarrel whenever he could, and he had proved a handful to several men who had been called upon to tackle him in some of his marauding exploits. With this reputation he was afraid of no one though a village policeman declared that there was more bully than fight in him.
Dory Dornwood wondered that Tom had taken the trouble to ask permission to use the boats; but as he had done so, and done it in a respectful manner, it was his duty to answer him; and the circumstances made it a very disagreeable duty. The coxswain was not a "bruiser," and he had no taste for pugilism, though, if attacked or assaulted, he was a very vigorous opponent.
"Those boats belong to Captain Gildrock," replied Dory to the request of the Topover.
"I know that, but you fellers takes care on 'em, and we only want to use 'em a few minutes while you ain't in 'em," continued Tom, in a very pliable manner for him. "We won't hurt 'em a mite, and we'll fetch 'em back jest as soon as you fellers want 'em!"
"The boats don't belong to me, and I have no right to lend them," added Dory, with a pleasant smile to soften his refusal.
"The cap'n won't say nothin' if you just let us take one of the boats for a few minutes," pleaded Tom. "You needn't tell him, and he won't know nothin' about it."
"I have no right to lend the boat, and I can't do it," persisted Dory, who had no confidence in the statements or the promises of the Topover.
"What's the reason you can't?" demanded Tom, with a little more vigor in his tones.
"I have told you the reason: the boats don't belong to me. What would you say if I should lend your hat to some fellow without your permission?"
"I shouldn't say a word; just as lief you'd do it as not," promptly returned the applicant. "I ain't stingy with what belongs to me. If them boats was mine, I'd let you have 'em all day when I wa'n't usin' 'em."
Tom Topover made this display of liberality in a tone of triumph, and he appeared to think it ought to settle the question at once. He looked as complacent and self-satisfied as though he had actually loaned the coxswain half a dozen barges every day for a week.
"I have ten dollars belonging to my uncle which he gave me to pay a bill in Burlington when I go there to-morrow," said Dory, amused but not convinced by the unselfish offer of Tom. "Do you think it would be right for me to lend that money?"
"Right? Of course it would, if any good feller like me wanted to borry it. Lend it to me, and I will pay it back next week when a man gives me twenty dollars he owes me," answered Tom glibly.
"I don't think it would be right, and I can't lend the money or the boats because they don't belong to me. You must go to Captain Gildrock if you want to borrow the boats," replied Dory, finding it was useless to argue the point with one who had no respect for the rights of property.
"You'll let us take one of the boats, won't you? I hain't got no time to go'n find Captain Gildrock," continued Tom.
"I will not let you take one of the boats," said Dory very decidedly. "I have told you I could not."
"All right! The boats don't belong to you, and 'tain't none of your business," chuckled Tom. "We'll take a little turn in the furder boat, and I'll see the cap'n arter we come back, and make it all right with him."
This seemed to be a satisfactory arrangement to Tom Topover, and he started for the wharf, followed by his companions, with the evident purpose of carrying out his idea at once.
"The boats don't belong to me, but, as you said, we have the care of them, and we can't let any one take them without Captain Gildrock's permission."
"What are you go'n to do about it?" demanded Tom, halting, and then retracing his steps to the spot where the coxswain stood. "You don't reckon I keer for you, do you?"
"I don't want to make any words about it, and I have said all I have to say," replied Dory, and he still maintained his quiet demeanor, though things began to look like an immediate battle.
"I don't want no words nuther. I'm go'n to take one of them boats, and I want to know what you are go'n to do about it," blustered Tom.
"I don't want to do anything; but the boats are in the care of our fellows, and we are responsible for them. If you meddle with them, I shall be obliged to call the crews, who are here in the grove," replied the coxswain.
"Call the crews, will you?" said Tom, clenching his fists and siding up towards Dory.
"There's two or three fellers comin' down here," interposed Kidd Digfield.
"You 'n' Nim Splugger look out for 'em, and I'll polish off this chap," replied Tom, as he glanced into the grove, where he saw Matt Randolph and Oscar Chester approaching. "Them boats don't belong to you, and 'tain't none of your business who takes 'em. I'll bet you don't call no crews nuther," continued Tom, assuming a decidedly belligerent attitude.
"I have nothing more to say," returned Dory, bracing himself up in readiness to meet whatever might come.
"All right if you hain't; and I hain't got much more to say; only if you try to call them crews, you'll wish you'd been born deef and dumb," added Tom, savagely, and enforcing his threat with a flourish of his dirty fists. "Come back, Kid, and be in a hurry," he shouted to his companions he had sent to look out for Matt and Oscar, who were still too far off to see what was transpiring near the wharf.
Tom Topover started at a smart run for the wharf, closely followed by his three companions. He had evidently changed his tactics all of a sudden, and concluded not to fight any battle. The haste displayed indicated that they were hurrying to get into the boats before any of the crew could arrive. Dory comprehended the situation at once, and blew a long pipe on the boatswain's whistle, which woke the echoes of the quiet grove.
"Git into them boats!" shouted Tom Topover, to the companions he had left at the wharf. "Untie 'em, and pick up the oars!"
The Topover intended to get possession of the boats while it was possible to do so, and not lose any time in thrashing Dory, which he regarded as an easy matter, a mere form. He had called his crew with the whistle, and Matt, as soon as he heard it, had blown his own pipe. He and Oscar had by this time got an idea that something was wrong, and were running with all their speed towards the wharf.
Dory was not content with merely blowing his whistle, and, as soon as he saw what Tom meant to do, he ran after him. There were about a dozen Topovers, as nearly as he could judge, but he did not stop to ask himself what he should do alone against such a host. The leader of the young ruffians was not as fleet of foot as the three companions who had attended him to the grove, and they reached the wharf when he had accomplished about two thirds of the distance.
"Hurry up, Pell Sankland!" shouted Kidd when he came to the wharf, though the one called was not far ahead of Tom.
Kidd Digfield appeared to be the second in power and influence of the party, and he gave orders enough when he reached the vicinity of the pier to confuse and confound those who had obtained a footing in the boats. There were five in one barge and four in the other. They had already cast off the painters, and hauled the boats up to the side of the wharf.
"Let the boats alone!" shouted Dory, when he had nearly overtaken Tom Topover.
"What are you go'n to do about it?" demanded Tom, halting, and facing about.
"Those fellows must not meddle with the boats," answered the coxswain, and he was not disposed to stop to parley with the chief ruffian.
"'Tain't none of your bread and butter; you said so yourself," interposed Tom, stepping in front of Dory with clenched fists to bar his further advance.
The coxswain was not disposed to waste any time in words with Tom, and he attempted to pass him by dodging to one side, but the ruffian threw himself upon him, seizing him by his coat collar. This was an act of violence, and it roused the lion in Dory's nature. He shook off the grasp of his assailant without any difficulty, for if he was not as quick as lightning, he was about as near it as a boy of his weight could be. Once more he attempted to pass his assailant, but Tom got in front of him again.
"If you want to fight, come on!" foamed the Topover, as he put himself into the order of battle.
"I don't want to fight, but I shall defend myself," replied Dory. "Out of my way!"
Instead of taking himself out of the coxswain's path, Tom aimed a blow at Dory's head. The ruffian might as well have pitched into the sea-serpent or a royal Bengal tiger as into Dory Dornwood. He was rather smaller than his assailant, but he had learned the art of self-defence of a Burlington barber, who had formerly been a teacher of the "science." His frame seemed to be made of steel wire. He had brains and great dexterity of movement. Abundant exercise in boats and other training had fully developed his powers, and every student in the Beech Hill Industrial School knew that he was a terribly "hard hitter."
The coxswain easily parried the blow aimed at him with his left hand, and planted a sledgehammer hit with his right in Tom's face. The Topover went just where Oscar Chester had gone on a similar occasion at Plattsburg—on the ground, flat on his back. Doubtless the leader of the young ruffians was greatly astonished, not to say confounded, at this unexpected reception, for his historical studies had been neglected, and he had never heard of the Battle of Plattsburg, at least the particular one to which we refer.
Dory did not think it necessary to push the battle any farther at the present moment, though Tom instantly sprang to his feet, in spite of some confusion in his ideas. With one eye on his assailant, Dory retreated a few steps, and then resumed his march on the wharf.
"Hold on! I hain't licked you yet, and I'm go'n to do it afore I get through," said Tom, moving towards his intended victim.
"I can't wait for you to do it now," replied Dory, as he broke into a run.
But Tom began to swear like a pirate, and rushed after Dory. The latter had no difficulty in keeping out of his way, and he reached the wharf just as the villains in the boats had shoved them clear of the pier. Kidd had put six of the party in each barge, and they had manned the oars. But they had been obliged to leave their leader behind.
Tom Topover now observed this bit of strategy, and he divided his vials of wrath between the coxswain and his lieutenant.
CHAPTER XIII. A VICTORY FOR THE TOPOVERS.
Dory Dornwood reached the wharf too late to prevent the ruffians from getting off in the boats; and his failure filled him with consternation. It was not for a few minutes, as Tom Topover had said, that the ruffians wanted them, but for all day, or for a week or a month, if they were not sooner taken from them. Living on the river and near the lake, such fellows would naturally take to the water, and all or most of them knew how to handle an oar, but not one of them could be called a skilful boatman, though Kidd Digfield claimed to be a sailor on the ground that he had made two trips in a lumber schooner.
Even if the Topovers were competent to handle a common row-boat, it was quite another thing to manage a barge fifty feet long, pulled by twelve oars. If they succeeded in getting the boats out of the river, they were likely to swamp them in the waves, smash them on the rocks, or grind their cedar bottoms on the gravelly beaches. Dory had a genuine affection for the Winooski, and it grieved him sorely to see her in the hands of such a villainous crew as the Topovers.
Of course there was nothing to be done at Beech Hill until the barges were recovered. The wind was northwest and blowing fresh, as on the day before, and it was dangerous for an unskilful crew to venture out on the lake. The lives of the reckless party would be in peril as well as the boats.
Dory had but a few moments to consider the matter. Matt Randolph and Oscar Chester were near him, out of breath after the run they had made. Tom Topover had retreated to the shore of the pond; and the coxswain of the Winooski, not wishing to engage in a fight, had neglected to follow him. Nim Splugger had taken command of the Gildrock, and Kidd Digfield of the Winooski. They had made sure to put a couple of lengths between the barges and the wharf, and in this position they were as safe from any interference of the boys on shore as though they had been in the middle of the lake.
There was no boat at the grove, and no means of pursuing the captors of the barges. In fact, nothing at all could be done, and for the moment the situation looked hopeless to the coxswains. Kidd proceeded to give directions to his crew as soon as the immediate danger of capture was passed. Taking the tiller-lines himself, he brought something like order out of the confusion in his crew. After a great deal of sharp talk, he succeeded in getting his fellows so that they could pull a stroke together, and the Winooski slowly moved towards the lower end of the lake.
Kidd could not help seeing the chief Topover on the shore, and as soon as his crew were in working order, he headed to the point where he stood. Dory immediately observed the change in the course of the Winooski, and understood the purpose of her present coxswain, which was to take Tom on board. By this time Matt and Oscar were as near the spot where Tom was waiting for the boat as Dory was.
"Head them off!" shouted Dory, as he started at the top of his speed.
"Pull lively, fellers!" yelled Kidd Digfield, when he saw the three students running towards his leader.
They did pull with all their might, and as the Winooski was bound to go ahead when the oars crossed her gunwale, she was too much for the runners on the shore. Dory hoped one of the clumsy oarsmen would "catch a crab" at that important moment, but not one of them gratified his desire. He was within a couple of rods of Tom, and was all ready to pitch into him, when Kidd ordered his crew to stop rowing, and then to back water.
The inexperienced coxswain had not calculated well, and the boat lost her headway when her sharp bow was within ten feet of the shore. Dory's hopes swelled when he saw the boat come to a stand, and he increased his speed.
"Pull again!" shouted Kidd, almost crazy with excitement, when he realized that he was losing the game.
But his undisciplined crew were in confusion, and only half of them could bring their oars to bear. The barge went ahead again just as Dory was about to pounce on Tom Topover. The leader of the ruffians saw his peril, and he did not seem to be "spoiling for a fight" at just that moment, perhaps because his late victim had been reinforced by a couple of his companions. He had not another instant to spare, and Tom made a vigorous leap for the bow of the Winooski.
The stem of the barge was not more than three or four feet distant when the Topover made his leap, but the pointed bow was an ugly foundation to strike upon. He could not throw his body into the fore sheets, but he succeeded in grasping the gunwale with both hands, while the lower half of his body went into the water. Unfortunately the force of his blow had been imparted to the forward part of the barge, and it had been shoved farther away from the shore.
Tom Topover dragged himself into the Winooski. Seizing a boathook, he stood up in the bow of the boat, evidently intending to use it in case of need in defending himself from an attack of his pursuers. The two coxswains reached the shore with their wind about gone, to find that ten feet of deep water lay between them and the nearest part of the Winooski. They could leap into the water and swim to her, and Oscar Chester proposed to do so; but this would have been folly, for the ruffians could easily beat them off with their oars and the boathooks.
Nim Splugger, who had assumed the command of the Gildrock, did not claim to be a sailor, though he had often pulled an oar. He lacked confidence in his own ability, and was therefore not so imperative in his orders as Kidd. The boat was clear of the wharf, and he took time to arrange his crew at the oars. Before he could get them into working order, their attention was attracted to Tom and the movements of the Winooski. They rested on their oars, watching the issue of the affair near the shore.
"Now, back her, fellers!" yelled Kidd Digfield, as soon as he saw that Tom was in the boat.
"No, you don't back her, Kidd!" roared Tom Topover. "That ain't no way to do it! Pull on this side," and the leader pointed to the starboard side; "back on t'other!"
Tom was right, if he did not claim to be a sailor, and Kidd was wrong, for backing her would only have sent the barge along parallel with the shore, with the chances of a deviation which would have thrown the stern within reach of the students on shore. Tom called his disciples by name, and told each one what to do. Kidd took in his captain's idea, and helped him with his words. Under their united directions, the head of the Winooski was thrown around, and she was forced out into the lake.
"I hain't done with you yet, Dory," yelled Tom, shaking his fist at the proper coxswain of the barge. "Afore you are a week older I'll give you the biggest lickin' you ever got in your life. I'll crack half the bones in your body! I'll mash your head till you won't know it from a last year's punkin!"
"You had better bring those boats back before you get into hot water," replied Dory, more in grief than in anger. "Let me tell you that you are stealing them, and Captain Gildrock will haul you up before the court for it."
"Shut up, you monkey milksop! When we've done with the boats we'll set 'em a-fire!" returned Tom.
"I can't stand this! I shall boil over!" exclaimed Oscar Chester. "I should like to get near enough to that scallawag to pitch into him."
"Keep cool, Oscar," said Dory. "We can't do anything just now, and it's no use to boil over."
"What makes that fellow so down on you, Dory?" asked Matt Randolph. "He didn't say anything to Oscar and me."
"Perhaps I gave him reason to be down upon me, though I only defended myself. I knocked him over when he tried to stop me from reaching the wharf," answered the coxswain of the Winooski. "If I had only got among those ruffians half a minute sooner, I might have saved the boats, though I should have had to stand up against the whole of them."
Matt wanted to know more about the affair, and Dory told all that had happened since he first saw the Topovers. By the time his fellow coxswain had heard the story, the rest of the two crews began to arrive. They could see for themselves why they had been summoned so soon. Tom had taken possession of the stern-sheets of the Winooski, and sent Kidd to one of the vacant thwarts to row. The ruffians were struggling with the oars, for, though they had the strength, they were utterly lacking in discipline and knowledge. But they pulled with some degree of unanimity, and the Winooski went ahead at a very moderate rate. The Gildrock was doing better than her consort, for Nim Splugger did not confuse his crew with too many orders, and each one got the hang of the oar in his own way.
Both boats were moving, and were headed towards the outlet of the lake. Their regular crews at the grove could only look on, for they were powerless to raise a finger to recover the boats at present. One after another suggested various experiments for demolishing the Topovers, but their schemes were either foolish or impracticable. Oscar Chester wanted to run down to the narrowest place on the outlet, and make an attack on the marauders; but both Matt and Dory were not in favor of such a plan.
"If we get desperate, and try to break things, those villains will smash the boats rather than let us get them. That Tom Topover is as mad as a March hare at the rap Dory gave him," said Matt.
"I think we had better report to Captain Gildrock, for I don't see that we can do anything here," suggested Dory, as he gazed sadly at the retreating barges.
"We can't even get over to Beech Hill," added Luke Bennington, as he glanced across the lake at the school grounds.
"We must go around by the road, and it is over a mile," added Pemberton Millweed.
"It seems to me that somebody on the other side must have seen what was going on," said Matt.
"I don't think anyone has seen what was going on," replied Dory. "Bates is on duty in the dormitory, the teachers are attending to their own affairs, and probably Captain Gildrock is in the house. If any of them saw the boats going down the lake, they were too far off to know who were in them. If my uncle knew anything about this business, he would have sent a boat over before this time."
"If we had been in any mischief, half a dozen of them would have seen us," said Thad Glovering, with a laugh.
"It's no use to stay here, and we may as well walk around by the road and report to Captain Gildrock," added Dory.
This was considered the best thing to do, and in half an hour they arrived at the school grounds on the other side of the lake. No one knew anything of what had happened on the other side of the water. They could not find the principal about the place; and at last one of the stablemen said he had gone to the village with Mrs. Dornwood in the buggy.
Mr. Jepson, the master machinist, was the only instructor they could find about the premises, and he agreed with Dory and Matt that something should be done at once.
CHAPTER XIV. THE PURSUIT IN THE GOLDWING.
It was easier to decide that something should be done than it was to determine what to do. Mr. Jepson suggested the Sylph, but it would take some time to get up steam, and Dory thought she would not be the most convenient craft in a conflict with the barges. He was decidedly in favor of pursuing the marauders in the Goldwing.
In the smashing breeze on the lake she would sail nearly as fast as the steamer, and he could have her under way in five minutes. The schooner could follow the boats into shoal water, while the Sylph must have eight or nine feet, and if Tom Topover was smart, she might not be able to go within a mile of the barges.
"I am more afraid the rascals will smash the boats than that we shall not get them again," said Matt Randolph. "They are reckless fellows, and will run them on the rocks or shoals."
"We must look out for that," replied Dory. "If they go out on the lake they are more likely to swamp them than they are to smash them. But we are losing time, and I should like to catch the villains before they are out of the river, for I think they won't hurry after they get out of sight of Beech Hill."
"Goldwing it is!" exclaimed Luke Bennington.
"So say we all of us!" shouted the others, beginning to be somewhat excited at the prospect of a lively time with the Topovers.
"Dory shall command the expedition," added Thad Glovering.
"Matt is a better skipper than I am," modestly added Dory.
"No, I am not," protested Matt. "And Dory is better acquainted with the Goldwing than I am, and he shall conduct the affair."
"But you can't all go in the Goldwing," interposed Mr. Jepson. "There are eighteen of you, and you will be so crowded that you will knock one another overboard."
"Although the schooner will carry eighteen well enough, we can do nothing on board with so many, and nine or ten are all we need," added Dory.
"But there are fourteen of the ruffians," suggested Thad Glovering. "They are used to fighting, and we want as many fellows as they have."
"I don't believe there will be much fighting," replied Dory, laughing; "but if there should be, we can do better with ten than we can with twice that number. With eighteen we should be in one another's way."
"Ten only will go," said Mr. Jepson decidedly.
"But who shall they be?" demanded Luke Bennington. "Every fellow wants to go and have a hand in the fun."
"There is where the difficulty comes in," added Matt. "I think Dory had better select his own crew; and for one, if I am elected to stay at home, I won't complain."
"You know very well that you will be elected to go, Matt," said Will Orwell.
"I don't like to select a crew; I wish all could go, and I shall be satisfied with any nine," interposed Dory.
"Under these circumstances the best thing a fellow can do is to volunteer to stay behind; and I volunteer not to go," said Oscar Chester. "I should like to go as well as the next one, and I don't want any fellow to think I am chickenish."
"We know you are not, Oscar," added Dave Windsor; and all the students began to clap their hands at the self-sacrifice of the first volunteer.
Bolingbroke Millweed followed Oscar's example; then came Matt Randolph and Luke Bennington. It was the unselfish and brave thing to volunteer to stay at home, and no one was willing to stay behind in doing a good deed. In a moment more the whole seventeen had volunteered to remain at Beech Hill.
"I don't like to be alone, and I will join the crowd," exclaimed Dory, greatly amused at the situation. "We are just as badly off as we were in the beginning, and the Topovers are pulling down the river all the time. I will tell you how to settle the matter so that it shall be fair for all."
"All right, Dory: propel!" exclaimed Dave Winslow.
"Matt Randolph is the coxswain of the Gildrock, and he must go anyhow. For the other eight you must draw lots. Mr. Jepson will attend to the matter, and Matt and I will get the Goldwing ready," said Dory, beginning to be impatient at the delay.
All of them clapped their hands in token of their approval of the plan. The master machinist took out his pencil and wrote the numbers from one to sixteen on the back of a letter. Around eight of them, taken at random, he drew a square. Calling Miss Millweed from the schoolroom, he gave the paper to her.
"Now, Luke, select a number less than seventeen," continued Mr. Jepson.
"Forty-two," said Luke, laughing.
"I shall have to turn you over to Mr. Darlingby for further instruction in arithmetic," replied Mr. Jepson.
"Twelve," shouted Luke.
"Is that number enclosed in a square, Miss Millweed?" asked the machinist.
"It is not," replied the lady clerk.
"Then you are blackballed, Luke," added Mr. Jepson.
"Of course I am; I knew I should be."
"But with the eight who are elected not to go we will go down the river in the two four-oar boats; and we may be able to assist in the capture of the barges," said the machinist.
All hands applauded this announcement, and the lot proceeded. Oscar Chester, the first to volunteer to remain behind, was one of the first who selected a squared number. This result was heartily applauded. From being the worst bully in the crowd he had come to be a very gentlemanly and unselfish fellow. The discipline of Captain Gildrock had done wonders for him.
By the time the last of Dory's crew had been drawn, the schooner was under way, and standing in towards the wharf. The eight who had been "blackballed," as the machinist called it, were directed to man the two four-oar boats, and put the others on board of the yacht.
"Now we are all right, and under way at last," said Matt Randolph.
"But the Topovers have a start of all of an hour ahead of us, and if they have been using their oars they must be well out in the lake by this time," added Dory.
"I don't believe they will go a great way out into the lake," replied Matt. "There must be a smart sea at the mouth of the river, for the wind is a good deal heavier than it was yesterday."
"The rest of the fellows are coming down the river in the four-oar boats," said Oscar. "I suppose they are going to help us, and we ought to make short work of this affair."
"Are you going to lay them aboard, Dory?" asked Matt, who was rather inclined to quiz his fellow coxswain.
"I haven't the least idea how we shall manage the business," replied the skipper of the Goldwing.
"But you ought to have a plan," suggested the New York boatman.
"How can you make a plan before you know what the Topovers intend to do, and before you ascertain the situation of the boats?" asked the skipper. "It's no use to try to cross the river before you get to it."
"Of course not; but do you mean to board the barges and fight it out, or to manœuvre them out of the game as you did the Chesterfields?" continued Matt, rather disappointed to find that Dory did not lean upon him as much as he desired and expected.
"I am ready to do either or both, as the circumstances happen to favor," replied the skipper. "If you will take the tiller, Matt, I will go forward and 'clear ship for action.'"
The schooner was going at great speed, with the wind on the beam, and the outlet was very narrow. Dory went forward, and proceeded to arrange certain rigging on the forward deck. He did not explain what he was doing, but he worked as though he had some idea of his possible action in the encounter with the Topovers.
While he was busy with the lines, the centreboard of the Goldwing suddenly flew up, and a moment later the bottom of the yacht was scraping on the sand. Dory suspended his work, and looked up.
"Here we are!" he exclaimed, as he looked around him, and then at the helmsman.
"I thought there was water enough here for her," said Matt, greatly chagrined to find that he had run the schooner aground when they were in such a hurry.
"So there is if you only keep in it," replied Dory laughing, for he did not wish to hurt the feelings of his fellow coxswain. "I have done that same thing myself, Matt, and I did it as handsomely as you have done it."
"We have to haul her up into the wind here, and I was afraid she would go ashore on the other side," pleaded Matt. "But here we are with the centreboard up in the air, and the planks rasping the sand on the bottom."
The disaster occurred at the bend in the outlet, which Dory called the "V point." The current, which was quite strong at high water, deposited a great deal of sand at the apex of the point, while its force made a clear channel near the shore on the other side. When the wind was northwest it was necessary to hug the point as closely as possible.
The two oars and the boathook were at once brought into use, but it was impossible to move the hull in this way. Dory sent a couple of the crew ashore in the tender with a line, which they made fast to a tree near the deep water. The anchor was taken on deck, and the other end of the line passed through the block on the bowsprit. All on board manned this line, and the bow was hauled off almost in the twinkling of an eye. Matt insisted that Dory should take the helm, when the tender had returned with the line.
It was not an easy thing to get under way again in that bad place and Matt was very much mortified at the mishap. The skipper said all he could to comfort him, and gave him the helm again as soon as the schooner was in Beaver River. He arranged his lines as he had before, and by the time he had done this the Goldwing was approaching the mouth of the river. But a bend prevented them from seeing out into the lake.
"There they are!" shouted Dory at the heel of the bowsprit, where he could get the first view of the white-capped waves. "They are doing the very thing I was afraid they would do."
"What's that, Dory?" asked Matt, starting the sheets as the course of the yacht was changed.
"They are standing across the lake, and in a short time, if they make any headway, they will be in smooth water," replied the skipper.
Matt did not ask any questions, and possibly he suspected that Dory was his superior in the management of a boat. If he did, it was only because he was mortified at the accident at V Point. The Goldwing went out into the lake, and began to dance on the billows. The two barges appeared to be doing very well, in spite of the inefficient crew at the oars. Both of them were pitching smartly, and were not taking in water except in the form of spray.
In a few minutes the Goldwing was within hailing distance of the barges. Dory declined to take the helm when Matt suggested, and was again busy with his lines on the forward deck.
CHAPTER XV. THE SKIPPER USES A NAUTICAL LASSO.
"What's that?" called George Duane, while Dory was still busy on the forward deck.
This question was called forth by what sounded like a volley of cheers from the New York side of the lake; but nothing could be seen to indicate the source from which the noise came.
"There it is again," added John Brattle, as three distinct cheers came over the waves. "There is some sort of a party up that little cove."
There was an inlet just to the south of the barges, from which it was now evident that the sounds came. But parties from the surrounding country frequently had frolics on the shores of the lake, and the students concluded that the cheers came from one of these gatherings.
The Topovers continued on their course, and seemed to be laboring to increase their speed, which was certainly moderate enough. They pulled but six oars in each barge, and against the wind and the heavy sea they could make but little progress. The Goldwing was making three miles to their one, and the moment for action was near.
Though the Goldwing was close-hauled, she leaped over the waves like a bird, and Matt was running directly for the barges, one of which was following the other, the Winooski being ahead. The skipper finished arranging the lines on the forward deck. Getting on his feet he made a careful survey of the situation.
"Matt, can you go to windward of the barges?" he called to the helmsman.
"I might, possibly, but it would be a close squeeze," replied Matt.
"Then we must work more to windward: tack, if you please," added Dory; and it was evident that he had prepared his plan of attack.
Matt came about and headed the Goldwing to the north. Dory kept his eye on the barges, but he gave no hint of his method of operations. Probably Matt thought he was entitled to be informed in regard to the plan, but the accident in the river for which he was responsible had humbled him, and he asked no questions.
When the schooner had made about a quarter of a mile of northing, the skipper gave the order to tack again. Matt was directed to steer for a certain point on the shore, which would carry the yacht a little distance to windward of the barges, allowing for the headway they would make before she could reach them. In that lively breeze even the width of the lake at Beaver River was only a run of a few minutes for the Goldwing, and she was very soon abreast of the Gildrock. The Winooski was about a hundred fathoms ahead of her.
"Now, Matt, we have some sharp work to do, and every thing must be done on the instant," said Dory, when the Goldwing had passed the Gildrock and was up with the Winooski.
"Perhaps you had better take the helm, then?" suggested the coxswain of the Gildrock.
"I can't, for I have a job to do here on the forward deck. We shall go about, and run for the Gildrock in a moment," replied Dory. "I want you to make for her stem just as though you meant to run her down."
"All right, Dory; I will obey orders to the letter," returned the helmsman.
"I would rather you would obey them in spirit; so if I make a blunder, and get knocked out, I want you to correct it," added Dory lightly.
"I don't know what you are going to do, and I can only obey orders to the letter," said Matt.
"I could not settle on any plan until I had seen how the barges lay; and it is too late to explain now. Ready about!"
Matt promptly obeyed the orders given him, and the schooner came entirely around. It would have been a shorter way to jibe her, but the skipper never ventured upon this manœuvre when the wind was at all fresh; for he was not one of those venturesome boatmen who think they are not smart unless they incur needless risks.
Dory saw that Matt was carrying out his orders to the letter, and it was clear that Nim Splugger, the acting coxswain of the Gildrock, was getting nervous as he saw the Goldwing dashing down upon his craft.
"What are you about? You will run over us!" yelled Nim, when he saw the schooner within twenty feet of him.
The oarsmen were inclined to desert their posts, and kept looking behind them at the Goldwing. But both barges had been in the trough of the sea, and those in charge of them had found by actual trial that the only way they could go was directly across the lake, against the wind. This was the reason why the barges were nearly over to the New York shore, and not because they were following a plan of their own.
"Keep to your oars, fellers!" shouted Nim Splugger, when he saw several of his crew cease rowing. "Never mind that boat! She won't run into us."
But Nim had his doubts on this point, for the Goldwing did not budge an inch from her course. Dory had looked over his lines, and was watching the course of the schooner and the position of the Gildrock. When the schooner was within ten feet of the barge, Nim gave a frantic yell, and all the rowers gave up in despair.
"Keep her away a little, Matt!" called Dory, who was now on his feet with a line in each hand.
The Topovers in the Gildrock gave a desperate yell, satisfied that they should be floundering in the angry waters the next instant. The Goldwing fell off a trifle at this moment, in obedience to the helm. Dory had fixed the line in his left hand on the spur of the light boathook, which he extended as far as he could reach. As he did so, one of the covers from the cook-stove, which he had secured to the bight between his hands, dropped into the water.
Thus arranged, the line formed a snare in the shape of a triangle, the stove-cover sinking the lower angle a couple of feet under water. As the skipper held the snare, the Gildrock ran her bow directly into it. The bight of the line was a slip-noose, and as the schooner drove ahead, it tightened up.
As the Goldwing went ahead, Dory paid out the line rapidly, for a single jerk would have upset the barge. The Topovers in the boat were so terrified that they did not comprehend what Dory was about.
"Hard down your helm, Matt!" shouted Dory, with tremendous energy, when half his line had run out, and the bow of the schooner was abreast of the stern of the Gildrock.
Oscar Chester had been stationed at the mainsheet, and the instant Matt put the helm down he hauled in the sheet with all his might. The effect of these orders, as they were sharply executed, was to cause the Goldwing to circle around the stern of the barge, and come up close-hauled on her starboard side.
"Now we are all right! It's a success!" cried Dory, with all the enthusiasm of a person who has won a great victory.
But even his own crew did not understand what he was about, and had not the least idea of the working of his plan. All that had been done had been accomplished in a few seconds, and the rapid working of the schooner absorbed all their attention.
When the Goldwing came about under the stern of the barge, Dory rushed aft with the end of his line in his hand, and made it fast to a cleat. The rope had sunk in the water, and passed under the keel of the Gildrock.
"Touch her up, Matt! Lively, if you please!" said Dory, as he secured the line in his hand.
But the schooner had not yet got under full speed since she came about, and when the mainsail shook she had lost about all her headway. But she was not permitted to come to. Dory took the helm now, which Matt was very willing to have him do.
"Go aft, every one of you!" shouted Dory to the Topovers in the barge. "If you don't you will be overboard in a moment!"
The six oarsmen had been stationed in the middle of the boat, leaving the vacant places forward and aft. Without waiting for orders from Nim Splugger, the rowers all hurried aft as fast as the uneasy motion of the craft would permit. This change in her burden caused the bow of the Gildrock to be lifted out of the water, which was precisely what Dory desired. Putting the helm of Goldwing up he allowed the yacht to gather headway by slow degrees. He had lassoed the barge, but he was not certain of the effect when he should attempt to tow her. The slip-noose had come home so that the knot was nearly in line with the stem.
"I see now what you are about," said Matt, while Dory was experimenting with the process of towing the barge. "But those fellows will cut the line as soon as they get a little used to the movement of the boat and understand what you are doing."