_All-Over-the-World Series_
AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
OR
CRUISING IN THE ORIENT
By OLIVER OPTIC
AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD" FIRST
AND SECOND SERIES "THE BOAT-CLUB SERIES" "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES"
"THE WOODVILLE STORIES" "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES" "THE LAKE
SHORE SERIES" "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES" "THE RIVERDALE STORIES" "THE
BOAT-BUILDER SERIES" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY SERIES" "A MISSING
MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT"
"STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" ETC.
BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
10 MILK STREET
COPYRIGHT, 1893, BY LEE AND SHEPARD
_All Rights Reserved_
AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
TYPE-SETTING AND ELECTROTYPING BY
C. J. PETERS & SON, BOSTON, U.S.A.
S. J. PARKHILL & CO., PRINTERS, BOSTON, U.S.A.
TO
MY EXCELLENT FRIEND
DR. WILLIAM P. LEAVITT
ONE OF MY FELLOW-TRAVELLERS
IN FOREIGN LANDS
This Volume
IS CORDIALLY DEDICATED
PREFACE
"American Boys Afloat" is the fifth volume of the "All-Over-the-World"
series; and it is a continuation of the travels and adventures of Louis
Belgrave and his faithful and life-long friend and constant associate,
Felix McGavonty, who are still inseparably united wherever they are
and whatever they do. But they have been reinforced by two other
American boys, and "The Big Four," as they have been named by some of
the humorously inclined passengers in the Guardian-Mother, become the
heroes of the adventures recounted in the volume.
These additions to the force of the young millionaire are not wholly
strangers to the readers of this series, for Morris Woolridge filled
a prominent place as an actor in some of the events already related,
though he had not then become one of the party whose moving home
was on board of the steam-yacht. From the beginning the Belgraves
and the Woolridges have been intimate friends; and at the close of
the preceding volume the manner in which they became members of the
expedition around the world in the same steamer was narrated.
The wild and reckless Scott, reformed by the excellent discipline of
the commander of the steamer, and his association with such high-minded
young men as Louis, Felix, and Morris, becomes more of a character than
even his companions. The little steam-yacht, the Salihé, is discovered
at Gibraltar, and the events which caused her owner to dispose of her
to the combined millionaires of the Guardian-Mother are detailed. This
little steamer, with her Mohammedan name changed to one more Christian,
becomes the tender of the ship, and very naturally falls into the
possession of the big four. They organize a regular ship's company,
and the reformed member of the quartet, who is more of a sailor and
navigator than the others, becomes Captain Scott. Under his command,
the little craft, though not so small as to be uncomfortable, makes the
voyage from Gibraltar to Constantinople, keeping on the African side,
and thus "cruising in the Orient" all the way.
The steamer and her little consort visit Algiers and Constantinople,
where the party devote themselves to sight-seeing, and listen to
historical and descriptive lectures of the countries in whose waters
they float, for the commander insists upon the instructive element of
the cruise.
While the author was wondering how he could crowd the story of the
voyage of the Guardian-Mother, including the adventures of the big
four, into six volumes, his publishers very graciously permitted him
to extend the series to twice that number. The voyage will therefore
be continued on the same plan, the little steamer, with the young
navigators on board of her most of the time accompanying the ship.
WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
DORCHESTER, MASS., Aug. 15, 1893.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. THE SALIHÉ ALONGSIDE THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER
CHAPTER II. THE BIG FOUR ARRANGE AN EXCURSION
CHAPTER III. THE POSSIBLE DANGERS OF THE VOYAGE
CHAPTER IV. AN EXPLORATION OF GIBRALTAR BAY
CHAPTER V. AT THE MOUTH OF THE PALMONES RIVER
CHAPTER VI. THE BATTLE ON THE DECK OF THE SALIHÉ
CHAPTER VII. THE BIG FOUR AS PRISONERS IN THE CABIN
CHAPTER VIII. A MORAL CONSPIRACY ON BOARD THE SALIHÉ
CHAPTER IX. WORKING UP THE DETAILS OF THE SCHEME
CHAPTER X. LASSOING THE SCOTCHMAN
CHAPTER XI. THE RETURN OF THE VICTORIOUS KNIGHT-ERRANT
CHAPTER XII. THE SMUGGLERS MAKE A TRIP TO ALGECIRAS
CHAPTER XIII. WHAT IS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT GIBRALTAR
CHAPTER XIV. AMERICAN WITNESSES IN A SPANISH COURT
CHAPTER XV. EXPLORING THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR
CHAPTER XVI. AN ADDITION FOR THE FUN OF THE BIG FOUR
CHAPTER XVII. THE SHIP'S COMPANY OF THE STEAMER MAUD
CHAPTER XVIII. AN AFTERNOON EXCURSION TO TANGIER
CHAPTER XIX. ENTER ALI-NOURY PACHA AND THE FATIMÉ
CHAPTER XX. AN UNEXPECTED PERIL IN VIEW
CHAPTER XXI. EUCHRING THE GRAND MOGUL
CHAPTER XXII. CONSTERNATION ON BOARD THE SHIP
CHAPTER XXIII. A FUGITIVE FROM THE ENEMY
CHAPTER XXIV. A STORMY INTERVIEW WITH ALI-NOURY PACHA
CHAPTER XXV. THE STARBOARD AND PORT WATCHES OF THE MAUD
CHAPTER XXVI. THE PACHA FINDS HE HAS CAUGHT A TARTAR
CHAPTER XXVII. A FEW LESSONS IN NAVIGATION
CHAPTER XXVIII. MORRIS ON "THE RULE OF THE ROAD"
CHAPTER XXIX. THE PROSPECT OF A WATER-FAMINE
CHAPTER XXX. THE MAUD INCLINED TO TURN SOMERSETS
CHAPTER XXXI. CAPTAIN SCOTT SETS A REEFED FORESAIL
CHAPTER XXXII. THE MEETING OF THE TWO STEAMERS
CHAPTER XXXIII. THE PROFESSOR'S LECTURE ON ALGERIA
CHAPTER XXXIV. ORIENTAL VIEWS IN ALGIERS
CHAPTER XXXV. THE ARRIVAL AT CONSTANTINOPLE
CHAPTER XXXVI. THE CITY OF THE SULTAN
CHAPTER XXXVII. THE SULTAN AND THE DANCING DERVISHES
CHAPTER XXXVIII. HIS HIGHNESS IN THE ORIENTAL CITY
AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
CHAPTER I
THE SALIHÉ ALONGSIDE THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER
"It seems to me that I have seen that little steam-yacht before," said
Louis Belgrave, as the four young Americans stood upon the promenade
deck of the Guardian-Mother, of which the speaker was the owner, though
the young man was only seventeen years of age.
"Be the modther of me, it's the Sally Hay!" exclaimed Felix McGavonty,
the Milesian of the party, though he could pronounce the President's
English as well as any of his companions when he chose to do so.
"She certainly looks just like the Salihé," added George Scott
Fencelowe, whom everybody on board addressed as Scott simply: and the
three who had spoken had made a voyage in the little steamer from
Funchal in Madeira to Gibraltar, where the Guardian-Mother was now
moored inside of the New Mole.
"You fellows who have made a long cruise in her ought to know her if
she is the Salihé," said Morris Woolridge. "I never even saw her but
once, and I can throw no light on the subject."
"She was painted white when we made our trip in her, and now she is the
color of a black cat," continued Scott, the oldest of the party and
the best sailor and boatman, for he was eighteen, while Morris, the
youngest, was only fourteen.
"It seems to me to be hardly possible that she can be the Salihé,
though she looks like her in everything except her color," replied
Louis. "If the Fatimé were here, I should have no doubt it was she."
"But the large steam-yacht of His Highness, Ali-Noury Pacha, is not
here, and we know that she passed through the strait and went to sea;
and that is what makes me think the craft is not the Salihé," added
Scott, who had been for a short time in the service of the Pacha, and
had made the voyage in the little steamer from Funchal.
"I suppose Ali-Noury could not very well take her with him on his trip
up the Mediterranean, and he left her here," suggested Louis.
"If that were true, the Pacha would not have had her painted black,"
reasoned Scott; and there seemed to be a good deal of force in the
argument.
"Where is Philopena?" demanded Felix. "Sure, he ought to know the
shtaymer if he's acquainted wid his own fadther, for he was ingineman
of the craft."
Felipe Garcias, a young Spaniard of eighteen, had been the engineer
of the Salihé in the service of the Pacha, and being ill-treated by
his Mohammedan employer, he had run away from Mogadore with the small
steam-yacht. The steam-launch which was the subject of the conversation
was coming out from the dockyard inside of the New Mole, and
approaching the Guardian-Mother. Felipe, who was now an oiler on board
of the steamer, was called by Morris, and his attention was directed to
the approaching steam-yacht. He looked her over very carefully; but the
change of color evidently perplexed him at first, though a little later
he came to his conclusion.
"Salihé!" he exclaimed.
When Felipe came on board of the Guardian-Mother, he could not speak
a word of English; but in the time that had since elapsed he had made
good progress in acquiring it, though he was not yet fluent in the use
of it.
"Are you sure of it, Phil?" asked Louis, who had translated his Spanish
name into English, and then abbreviated it.
"Ver sure," replied Felipe decidedly. "I see some things what I know."
"She was white when we brought her here," added Louis.
"She has become black now; but I know some marks," persisted Felipe;
and he proceeded to mention and point them out; but he spoke in Spanish
to Louis, who had become tolerably fluent in the language by this time.
"Why don't ye's shpake to the man forninst her poilot-house,"
suggested Felix. "Perhaps he knows somephwat about her."
"That's a bright idea of yours, Felix; he would be likely to know
something about her," laughed the owner of the Guardian-Mother.
The Salihé was making a course within twenty feet of the side of the
steamer, and it was not a difficult matter to hail her. The man in the
little box that was dignified with the name of pilot-house was the only
person that could be seen on board of the little steamer, though there
was doubtless another in the engine-room. The boat was moving along
very slowly, and the pilot seemed to be looking about him all the time
and in every direction.
"Salihé, ahoy!" shouted Louis.
"On board the steamer!" replied the man at the wheel, as he threw it
over so as to direct the boat towards the gangway.
The Guardian-Mother was the steam-yacht of Louis Belgrave, who had
become a millionaire at sixteen, less than a year before; and she was
also the college of the young gentleman, for the vessel was provided
with a study, or schoolroom, abaft the principal cabin, in which
Professor Giroud, a very learned Frenchman, instructed him and his
fellow-students in literature, science, history, and languages.
In what manner the steamer became the yacht and college of the young
millionaire has been fully related and repeated in the preceding
volumes of this series, and need hardly be repeated at length. She had
sailed from New York on the first of December before, and had made an
eventful voyage to the Bermudas, to Nassau, and around the island of
Cuba, visiting all the principal ports.
Louis Belgrave, on account of the peculiar family circumstances that
surrounded him, had fallen into many and various adventures, and passed
through and out of not a few perilous situations. None of them were of
his own choice, and he was not a seeker after Quixotic enterprises,
though his excellent friend and trustee had dubbed him a knight, and
called him "Sir Louis;" and his example had been followed by the
commander and others on board.
Captain Royal Ringgold, commanding the steamer, had always been a
friend of Louis, and especially of Mrs. Belgrave, his mother. The
young millionaire had requested him to visit and examine a schooner he
proposed to purchase for a yacht; and his mother and Felix had been
his companions. The stirring adventures to which this visit gave rise
strengthened the friendship before existing.
The captain had advised the purchase of the steamer to which Louis gave
the name of "Guardian-Mother" as a sort of recognition of her who had
given him being, and to whom he was devoted to a degree rarely observed
even in good and worthy sons. He originated the idea of making the
vessel the young gentleman's college, in which the study of books could
be combined with foreign travel.
Squire Moses Scarburn was an old-fashioned lawyer, usually called
Uncle Moses, and was one of the party. Dr. Philip Hawkes, an eminent
physician and surgeon of New York, and Professor Pierre Giroud had
become passengers in consequence of an accident. The doctor and the
lawyer each weighed two hundred and twenty-six pounds and a fraction,
and both of them were humorously inclined.
Mrs. Blossom had been the housekeeper of the squire, and a friend of
Mrs. Belgrave; and she was on board as the companion of the owner's
mother. The party in the state cabin of the steamer who had made the
voyage to the West Indies, across the Atlantic, visiting Teneriffe and
Madeira, voyaging from one port to another in European waters till they
had spent several months in England, Holland, France, and the western
part of Spain, consisted of the seven persons named.
Among the Bahama Islands they had picked up a bank defaulter, whose
adopted son, Scott Fencelowe, had brought him there in the Seahound,
his yacht. When Captain Ringgold realized that the bank officer was
a defaulter, and had secured his plunder, he sent him back to the
United States, forwarding the money he had stolen at the same time. The
adopted son was a wild and reckless fellow, and his foster-father had
practically bound him to the captain as a sort of apprentice.
The young scapegrace had run away three times, but had been reclaimed.
He had reformed his life and manners, and was now a worthy young man,
as he had been for about three or four months. From a common sailor,
berthing with the crew, the captain had promoted him to the rank of
quartermaster, messing with the officers, for he was a good steersman.
He was also a student in the study, where the professor had four pupils.
Mr. Lowell Woolridge was a Fifth Avenue millionaire of New York,
whose wife, son, and daughter, as well as himself, had increased the
number of the party in the cabin to eleven, making up a dozen with the
commander, who spent with them all the time he could spare from his
duties. Mr. Woolridge had become acquainted with the Belgrave family
through the agency of his yacht, the Blanche.
His daughter, a very beautiful and graceful young lady of sixteen,
having some slight symptoms of a pulmonary disease, had been sent to
Orotavo, in the island of Teneriffe, by the physicians, and her father
had been advised to take her there in his yacht. In a long and violent
gale the Blanche had nearly foundered; but the Guardian-Mother had
saved the vessel and the family. Dr. Hawkes declared that nothing ailed
the fair patient, and the Blanche accompanied the steamer on her voyage
as far as Southampton.
On the passage there the commander and the Belgraves decided to invite
the Woolridges to join the party on board of the steamer; and the
arrangements had been completed at Southampton, so that the expense
of the voyage around the world should be equally divided between
the two millionaires. While the two parties were travelling in the
United Kingdom, some needed alterations were made in the cabin of the
steamer, increasing the number of staterooms.
Six of the rooms on board were provided with bathrooms, with all the
appendages, and were as luxurious as the suites of a first-class hotel.
Mr. Melancthon Sage, the chief steward, was a caterer of established
reputation, and Monsieur Odervie, the chief cook, was an artist in
his profession of the highest rank. In fact, everything on board of
the Guardian-Mother was luxurious. The ship was good for eighteen
knots an hour when driven, and was officered by men of skill and long
experience. Besides the boatswain and three quartermasters, her crew of
sixteen seamen were all picked men, and it would have been difficult to
find their equals as a whole in any yacht that sailed the seas.
Felix McGavonty was born of an Irish father and mother, but within the
United States; and he claimed to be as much an American as his friends
and companions; and his claim was freely allowed by all of them. His
mother was dead, and his father had "disappeared." The four young
Americans on board of the Guardian-Mother were fast friends at the time
of their introduction, though Scott had been heartily received as such
at a recent date.
The little steam-yacht, though she was large enough to have a cabin,
engine-room, and pilot-house, came up to the gangway of the ship.
The boys, as the commander always called them when speaking of them
collectively, went over the rail and descended the steps to the
Salihé. Individually, Captain Ringgold, as well as all the officers
and seamen, called Louis "Mr. Belgrave." Though he never put on airs,
some little deference was extended to him by his companions on account
of his ownership; but among themselves the boys were equals in every
respect.
The man in the pilot-house stepped out, and when he had made fast
to the side of the steamer, he invited the party on board. He was
evidently an Englishman, for he slaughtered his h's without mercy,
and was over fifty years old. He was well dressed, and one might have
taken him for the mate of a merchantman. He was polite in his way, and
provided his guests with seats.