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All Aboard
or
Life on the Lake
A Sequel to "The Boat Club"
By
Oliver Optic
CHICAGO:
M.A. DONOHUE & CO.
PREFACE.
"ALL ABOARD" was written to gratify the reasonable curiosity of the
readers of "THE BOAT CLUB" to know what occurred at Wood Lake during the
second season; and, though it is a sequel, it has no direct connection
with its predecessor. The Introduction, in the first chapter, contains a
brief synopsis of the principal events of the first season; so that
those who have not read "The Boat Club," will labor under no
disadvantage on that account.
The _story_ of each book is entirely distinct from that of the other. As
the interest of the first centers in Tony Weston, so that of the second
does in Charles Hardy. I have tried to make the boys believe that the
path of truth and rectitude is not only the safest, but the pleasantest
path; and the experience of Charles with the "Rovers" illustrates and
supports the position.
Perhaps some of the older readers of these books will think that, in
providing the boys at Wood Lake with a whole fleet of boats, with bands
of music, with club rooms, libraries, and apparatus, I have furnished
them with very magnificent recreations; and that I might as well have
told a "fairy tale" while I was about it. The only excuse I can offer
for this extravagance is, that it would have been a pity to spoil a
splendid ideal, when it could be actualized by a single stroke of the
pen; besides, I believe that nothing is too good for good boys,
especially when it is paid for out of the pocket of a _millionaire_.
The author, grateful to his young friends for the kind reception given
to "The Boat Club," hopes that "All Aboard" will not only please them,
but make them wiser and better.
WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
DORCHESTER, October 25, 1855.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER.
I. Introduction
II. The New Member
III. All Aboard!
IV. The Fraternal Hug
V. Up the River
VI. Hurrah for Tony!
VII. Commodore Frank Sedley
VIII. The Race
IX. Little Paul
X. A Unanimous Vote
XI. Better to Give than Receive
XII. First of May
XIII. The Lighthouse
XIV. The Conspiracy
XV. The "Rovers"
XVI. The Camp on the Island
XVII. The Escape
XVIII. Wreck of the Butterfly
XIX. The Cruise of the Fleet
XX. The Hospitalities of Oaklawn
XXI. Conclusion
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
It can hardly be supposed that all the boys who take up this book have
read the Boat Club; therefore it becomes necessary, before the old
friends of the club are permitted to reunite with them, to introduce
whatever new friends may be waiting to join them in the sports of the
second season at Wood Lake. However wearisome such a presentation may be
to those who are already acquainted, my young friends will all allow
that it is nothing more than civility and good manners.
Frank Sedley is the only son of Captain Sedley, a retired shipmaster, of
lofty and liberal views, and of the most estimable character. He is not
what some people would call an "old fogy," and likes to have the boys
enjoy themselves in everything that is reasonable and proper; but not to
the detriment of their manners or morals, or to the neglect of their
usual duties.
Having been a sailor all his life, he has none of that fear of boats and
deep water which often haunts the minds of fond parents, and has
purchased a beautiful club boat for the use of his son and other boys
who live in the vicinity of Wood Lake.
Some fathers and mothers may think this was a very foolish act on the
part of Captain Sedley, that the amusement he had chosen for his son was
too dangerous in itself, and too likely to create in him a taste for
aquatic pursuits that may one day lead him to be a sailor, which some
tender mothers regard as "a dreadful thing," as, indeed, it is, under
some circumstances.
But it must be remembered that Captain Sedley had been a sailor himself;
that he had followed the seas from early youth; and that he had made his
fortune and earned his reputation as a wise, good, and respectable man,
on the sea. So, of course, he could not sympathize with the general
opinion that a ship must necessarily be a "sink of iniquity," a school
of vice, and that nothing good can be expected of a boy who is sent to
sea. He believes that the man will grow out of the boy; and to his
parental duty he applies the apostolic maxim, "Whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap."
The club boat and the boat club, as means of instruction and discipline,
as well as of amusement, were suggested by an accidental occurrence. The
"Bunkers of Rippleton," a set of idle and dissolute boys, had
constructed a rude raft, upon which they paddled about on the lake, and
appeared to enjoy themselves very much. Captain Sedley, who had
forbidden his son to venture upon the lake on the raft, or even in a
boat, without permission, overheard Charles Hardy, the intimate friend
of Frank, remark that the "Bunkers" had a much better time than they
had, and that boys who did not obey their parents often enjoyed
themselves more than those who did.
A few days after, the boys discovered the club boat, the light and
graceful Zephyr, resting like a fairy shell upon the lake, and in its
use the argument of Charles was effectually refuted. A club was formed
of the boys in the neighborhood, and under the instruction of Uncle Ben,
an old sailor who lived with Captain Sedley, soon became very expert in
the management of the boat. A building was erected for the use of the
association, in which, besides the boat-house, was a club room
containing a library, and furnished with conveniences for holding
meetings for mutual instruction and recreation. A constitution for the
government of the club was adopted, in which the object of the
association was declared to be "the instruction and amusement of the
members, and the acquiring of good morals, good manners, and good habits
in general." It defined and prohibited a great many vices and bad habits
common among boys, so that the tendency of the organization was to make
them better, wiser, and happier.
Their experience upon the lake, while the influence of the association
stimulated them to the strict performance of their ordinary duties, was
both varied and useful. Inasmuch as it reduced their recreation to a
system, the laws of the club acting as a salutary check upon the
waywardness of youth, it afforded an excellent discipline for the mind
and heart, as well as for the muscles.
Among the members of the club was an honest, noble-hearted youth, the
son of a poor widow, by the name of Tony Weston. In an affray upon
Center Island, Tony had taken the part of Frank Sedley against Tim
Bunker, and had thus obtained the ill will of the leader of the
"Bunkers," and is accused of stealing a wallet, which is afterwards
proved to have been taken by the "Bunker" himself. The theft is proved
upon the graceless scamp, and he is sent to the house of correction,
while Tony is borne in triumph by the club to his home.
Near the close of the story, Tony's brother, who has long been mourned
as dead, returns home from California, with a large fortune in his
possession. The brother, George Weston, builds a fine house for his
mother, and, impelled by a warm admiration for Tony's noble character,
purchases a splendid club boat for him, of the size and model of the
Zephyr, which is named the Butterfly.
Tony is a boy whom all my readers will like, and though he is really no
better boy than Frank Sedley, the humble circumstances of his mother
before George returned required a great deal of sacrifice on his part,
and called into action a great many noble traits of character. His life
was a struggle, and his character a triumph over the perils to which
poverty exposed him.
His experience seemed to exemplify the truths of Christianity. He could
forgive his enemy, as when, at the risk of his own life, he plunged into
the lake and rescued Tim Bunker from a watery grave, though Tim was even
then laboring to ruin him. He loved to sacrifice his own comfort to that
of others and found his greatest pleasure in making others happy. He and
Frank are the unconscious exemplars of the boat club--the "men of
character and influence" in their embryo world.
Charles Hardy is a boy of another stamp--one who does things "to be
seen of men." He is sometimes selfish and ambitious; though the
beneficent influence of the organization is working miracles in the
transformation of his character.
The Butterfly was launched in the month of April. The liberality of
George Weston had provided for her a boat-house, similar to that of the
Zephyr, and, like that, furnished with a club room and library, and all
the means for promoting the objects of the organization.
And now, with my old friends refreshed in memory by this review of the
first season, and my new ones put in possession of all that is necessary
to a proper understanding of the situation of the boat club, we are
ready to proceed with our story.