A CALL FOR ALL HANDS AT BEECH HILL.
"I am very sorry, Mrs. Bristol, that you should have been placed in such
an unpleasant situation," 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 indorse 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."
"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 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.
"No; I hardly expect any 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 went 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 summer, 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 Chesterfields, after having been
defeated several times in their assaults upon the Beech Hillers, 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 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 unusual, 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 Dornwood, and the students generally
sailed her without the interference of the principal or any of the
instructors. 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, who had served one season as first
assistant-engineer, had been promoted to the highest place, and the
second to the place thus made vacant.
Oscar Chester was the first pilot. He had been a diligent student in
the pilot-house, and knew the lake 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 company
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 fireroom 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 organization, who had regular tricks at the wheel in the
pilot-house under the direction of the first or second pilot.
Dory Dornwood 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 us the length of Lake
Champlain would permit. Sometimes the principal was on board, and
sometimes he was not. If he had anything to say, he said it to Captain
Dory Dornwood; and the discipline was as perfect as though the steamer
had been in the navy.
In the beginning of Captain Dornwood's administration 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 disobedient to those above him
in rank, he was "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, 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 were as obedient to the new officers as they had ever
been when Captain Gildrock was in command. More than this, Dory was very
popular in the school; he was not unreasonable, snobbish, 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 Dornwood, 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.
"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.