_The Boat-Builder Series._
I.
ALL ADRIFT;
OR,
THE GOLD WING CLUB.
II.
SNUG HARBOR;
OR,
THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS.
III.
SQUARE AND COMPASS;
OR,
BUILDING THE HOUSE.
IV.
STEM TO STERN;
OR,
BUILDING THE BOAT.
V.
ALL TAUT;
OR,
RIGGING THE BOAT.
VI.
READY ABOUT;
OR,
SAILING THE BOAT.
[Illustration: THE COLLISION ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. Page 15.]
[Illustration:
OLIVER OPTIC’s
BOAT-BUILDER
SERIES
SNUG HARBOR
BOSTON,
LEE AND SHEPARD
PUBLISHERS.
]
_THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES_
SNUG HARBOR
OR
THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS
BY
OLIVER OPTIC
AUTHOR OF “YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,” “THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES,”
“THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES,” “THE WOODVILLE SERIES,” “THE
STARRY-FLAG SERIES,” “THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES,” “THE
ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES,” “THE YACHT-CLUB
SERIES,” “THE LAKE-SHORE SERIES,” “THE
RIVERDALE STORIES,” “ALL ADRIFT,”
ETC., ETC.
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS_
BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK
CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM
1884
COPYRIGHT, 1883,
BY WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
_All rights reserved._
TO MY YOUNG FRIEND
HARRY CLINTON WHITE
This Book
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.
PREFACE.
“Snug-Harbor” is the second volume of “THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES.”
Though it contains its fair proportion of story and adventure, there
is less of these elements than in its predecessor; though the writer
believes there is enough to keep up the interest of his young readers.
Dory Dornwood, the hero of the initial volume of the series, is again
presented, and about a quarter of a hundred others; though all of them
cannot be heroes. Like the former volume, the scene is laid on Lake
Champlain and its shores.
In accordance with the hint thrown out in the preface of the first
volume, the Beech-Hill Industrial School makes a beginning in this
book; and its pupils are gathered together in the schoolroom and the
workshop. The boys are instructed only in those branches of learning
which will be of the greatest practical utility to them as mechanics.
They are taken into the shop, and set to work as carpenters and
machinists; and some idea is given of their operations at the bench.
But in a work of this kind the author finds it hardly practicable to
describe in detail the work done by the Champlain mechanics; though he
has done so to some extent, as a suggestion rather than as a system of
instruction for boy-workmen. Without a vast number of drawings, the
tools and machinery used by the carpenter and machinist cannot be
described and explained so as to be of any great practical service.
The book is rather to create an interest in these trades than to
furnish a guide to young mechanics.
The author regrets that there is no American work of the kind
mentioned. Our English cousins have sent us over some excellent works
on the subject, which are very useful, though not fully adapted to the
needs of American boys. A new friend suggests that such a book be
prepared, and with his aid it may yet be done.
Captain Gildrock, the founder and patron of the Beech-Hill Industrial
School, has some radical ideas on the subject of education; and
probably many of the older readers of this book will disagree with
him: but the question he argues is worthy of attention and discussion,
however it may be finally settled.
Though the author is not a mechanic by trade, he has worked in his own
shop for many years. With the carpenter’s bench, the turning-lathe,
and the various implements for working in wood and metals, he finds
not only his needed exercise, but a degree of pleasure which makes it
all the more healthy and exhilarating; and he commends the work to his
young friends, both for their amusement and instruction.
DORCHESTER, MASS., Aug. 20, 1883.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGE
THE SLOOP THAT WENT TO THE BOTTOM 13
CHAPTER II.
THE YOUNG MAN WITH A LONG NAME 23
CHAPTER III.
MR. BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED TELLS HIS STORY 34
CHAPTER IV.
THE GOLDWING ANCHORS FOR THE NIGHT 44
CHAPTER V.
A QUARREL ON BOARD OF THE JUNIPER 54
CHAPTER VI.
THE IMPULSIVE ASSAULT OF THE ENGINEER 65
CHAPTER VII.
BOLINGBROKE MILLWEED OUT OF A PLACE 76
CHAPTER VIII.
PUPILS FOR THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 87
CHAPTER IX.
THE VOLUNTEER HELMSMAN AND HIS MOVEMENTS 97
CHAPTER X.
THE BATTLE NEAR GARDEN ISLAND 107
CHAPTER XI.
THE MASTER-CARPENTER DISPOSES OF HIS PRISONER 117
CHAPTER XII.
CAPTAIN GILDROCK’S FIRST LESSON IN NAVIGATION 128
CHAPTER XIII.
HANDLING A STEAMER IN A FOG 138
CHAPTER XIV.
THE STRONG-ROOM AT THE BEECH-HILL INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL 148
CHAPTER XV.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE AFFAIRS OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY 159
CHAPTER XVI.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SHIP’S COMPANY 170
CHAPTER XVII.
THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF THE SYLPH 180
CHAPTER XVIII.
ANOTHER BATTLE AT PLATTSBURG 190
CHAPTER XIX.
SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED ON SHORE 201
CHAPTER XX.
THE NEW HEAD OF THE MILLWEED FAMILY 212
CHAPTER XXI.
CAPTAIN GILDROCK ARGUES AGAINST HIGH-SCHOOLS 223
CHAPTER XXII.
THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS IN THE SHOP 234
CHAPTER XXIII.
SOMETHING ABOUT TOOLS AND WORK 244
CHAPTER XXIV.
WORK FOR THE HEAD AND THE HANDS 255
CHAPTER XXV.
THE SECOND CLASS AT THE CARPENTER’S BENCH 266
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE END OF THE FIRST SCHOOL-DAY AT BEECH HILL 277
CHAPTER XXVII.
OSCAR CHESTER TAKES A LESSON IN BOATING 288
CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE UPSETTING OF THE MONKEY AND ITS LESSON 299
CHAPTER XXIX.
AN AFTERNOON IN THE MACHINE-SHOP 310
CHAPTER XXX.
WHAT THE STUDENTS FOUND AT THOMPSON’S POINT 320
SNUG-HARBOR;
OR,
THE CHAMPLAIN MECHANICS.
CHAPTER I.
THE SLOOP THAT WENT TO THE BOTTOM.
“Starboard your helm! hard a-starboard!” shouted Dory Dornwood, as he
put the helm of the Goldwing to port in order to avoid a collision
with a steam-launch which lay dead ahead of the schooner.
“Keep off! you will sink me!” cried a young man in a sloop-boat, which
lay exactly in the course of the steam-launch.
“That’s just what I mean to do, if you don’t come about!” yelled the
man at the wheel of the steamer. “Why didn’t you stop when I called to
you?”
“Keep off, or you will be into me!” screamed the skipper of the sloop,
whose tones and manner indicated that he was very much terrified at
the situation.
And he had reason enough to be alarmed. It was plain, from his
management of his boat, that he was but an indifferent boatman; and
probably he did not know what to do in the emergency. Dory had noticed
the sloop coming up the lake with the steam-launch astern of her. The
latter had run ahead of the sloop, and had come about, it now
appeared, for the purpose of intercepting her.
When the skipper of the sloop realized the intention of the helmsman
of the steamer, he put his helm to port; but he was too late. The
sharp bow of the launch struck the frail craft amidships, and cut
through her as though she had been made of card-board.
The sloop filled instantly; and, a moment later, the young man in her
was struggling on the surface of the water. The boat was heavily
ballasted, and she went down like a lump of lead. It was soon clear to
Dory that the skipper could not swim, for he screamed as though the
end of all things had come.
Very likely it would have been the end of all things to him, if Dory
had not come about with the Goldwing, and stood over to the place
where the young man was vainly beating the water with his feet and
hands. With no great difficulty the skipper of the Goldwing, who was
an aquatic bird of the first water, pulled in the victim of the
catastrophe, in spite of the apparent efforts of the sufferer to
prevent him from doing so.
It was a very warm day towards the end of August, and a bath in the
cool waters of Lake Champlain was not the worst thing in the world to
take. The victim of the collision was more scared than hurt; and he
lay in the bottom of the yacht, puffing and blowing like a black bass
just stolen from his native element. He did not seem to be able to
speak, and Dory thought he was making a great fuss about a very small
affair.
The Goldwing had been headed across the lake when her skipper picked
up the victim; and, when he was safely on board, she continued on her
course. Dory had come out to cool off and take a sail, and it made no
difference to him where he went. The Beech-hill Industrial School had
not yet commenced operations, and he had nothing on earth to do the
greater part of the time.
His father had died a few weeks before; but he had found a snug harbor
at Beech Hill, where he resided with his mother and sister in the
elegant mansion of his uncle, Captain Royal Gildrock. The captain had
acquired an immense fortune by his operations in various parts of the
world; but as his wife was dead, and he had no children, it had
bothered him a good deal to determine what to do with all his money.
For many years there had been a feud between the head of the Dornwood
family and the owner of Beech Hill. Mr. Dornwood was an intemperate
man, and never more than half supported his family; though he had good
wages as a pilot on the lake. He had married the captain’s only sister
in spite of the opposition of all her friends, and especially of her
brother.
When the captain attempted to assist his sister in taking care of her
two children, her husband ordered him out of his house; for a great
many sharp words had passed between them. The wife was afraid of her
inebriate husband, and the attempts of the wealthy brother to help the
family had ended in the complete estrangement of the brother and
sister.
But as soon as Mrs. Dornwood was a widow, the captain hastened to her
assistance. Though Dory had made an earnest effort to support the
family, he had finally consented to reside with his mother at Beech
Hill. The pilot’s wife and children had always lived in the humblest
tenements, worn the meanest garments, and lived upon the plainest and
cheapest food.
Their lot at the new home was in tremendous contrast with their former
condition. Captain Gildrock was a plain man himself, and inclined to
regard the elegancies and luxuries of life with contempt. Though his
house was large, it was plainly furnished. If his table was not
garnished by the skill of a French cook, it was loaded with the best
that could be procured. To the Dornwoods every thing about the house
was luxurious.
Captain Gildrock was a thinking man, and he had ideas as well as
money. The two go well together, for ideas are often barren things
when one has not the means to carry them out. The worthy shipmaster
had studied society and human nature in many lands and climes. After
he retired from the sea and business generally, he had given his
attention wholly to the affairs in his own country. After he had done
so for a year or two, he was disposed to exclaim with the inspired
writer, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity!”
Perhaps the standard of the captain was too high for this world, but
he felt that the American people were slipping away from first
principles. The nation had prospered by toil,--by inducing and
compelling the earth to yield her increase. Life had been something
more than a pleasure-excursion.
“When I was young,” he used to say, “the boys worked on the farm,
learned a trade, or went to sea. Now all the young men go into stores,
become counter-jumpers and man-milliners. Men get rich now by making
corners, betting on futures, and in speculation of all sorts. A big
thief is a gentleman: a little one is a criminal, after he is caught.
The boys and girls have been educated too much: they get above their
station in life, and then half starve themselves in order to be
genteel.”
The captain did not believe that the young people were educated too
much; only that they were trained in useless accomplishments, as he
regarded them. He did not think that the Genverres high-school, though
a very successful institution in the opinion of the school-board and
the citizens generally, was really a blessing to the town. He was
confident that he had discovered the philosopher’s stone in education,
though he found himself almost alone in his opinions.
“That school only spoils good farmers and mechanics, good seamen and
engineers. It gives them altogether too high notions of themselves. It
turns its pupils out on the world fit only to be genteel. The
education which the fathers of New England meant, when they planted
the schoolhouse alongside the church, was simply a common-school
education, without any high-school bosh on the tail-end of it. It’s
all well enough for rich people: it is a luxury they can afford, and
one they ought to pay for.”
Very likely the captain was too ultra in his views, but the question
he argued is one which must be settled before the lapse of many years.
The shipmaster was a practical man, and he did not talk without
acting. He believed in industrial education, not in the grammar-school,
but in place of the high-school. He had talked his views in
town-meeting, and printed them in the papers; but the people were not
inclined to adopt them.
A year before, he had taken a number of young men, and instructed them
in seamanship and the construction and management of the marine
engine. It was only a partial experiment, but he regarded it as an
eminently successful one. Most of his pupils had obtained situations
as engineers, and they were competent to fill them.
Captain Gildrock hoped to convince the people that his views were
correct, and he was ready to spend his money in demonstrating the
truth of what he preached. His class of the preceding year had been
rather too old when he took them in hand. He wanted boys from the
grammar-school, twelve or fourteen years old, before they had “bowed
down to the vanity of this world,” before they had learned to be
genteel, before they oiled their hair, and spent half an hour a day in
adjusting their neckties.
After the death of his brother-in-law, the pilot, he had captured his
nephew, after a hard struggle, and found he was the leading spirit of
the Goldwing Club, which had taken its name from Dory’s boat. These
boys were rather wild, but not bad. The captain succeeded in gathering
them all into the Beech-hill Industrial School, as he decided to call
the new institution. But the boys in Genverres were shy of the new
school, or their parents were shy for them. Not a few of the latter
regarded the retired shipmaster as a sort of harmless lunatic, liberal
with his money, but, like all reformers, an unsafe leader to follow.
Several boys from the high-school had made excellent records out in
the world, and each fond parent expected his own son would join the
galaxy of bright stars from its graduates. The captain could find only
three boys in the whole town who would join the new school, while
thirty went to the high-school. Possibly the requirement that the
pupils should reside at Beech Hill had some influence with the
parents.
It looked as though the school was to begin with eight pupils,--hardly
enough to man the Sylph, the captain’s elegant steam-yacht, the
largest and finest craft of the kind on the lake. All the boys in the
high-school would have liked to flirt about the lake in the
magnificent steamer; but to do it as seamen, firemen, engineers,
waiters, and cooks, was not wholly to the taste of the parents, if it
suited that of the boys.
Dory Dornwood was waiting for the school to begin. Great boxes of
tools, machinery, and other material for the workshops, had arrived at
Beech Hill; but the captain would not allow them to be opened until
the boys came. Besides, he was very busy in looking up pupils for the
new institution. He wanted twenty-four to begin with, and he was
searching for them in some of the interior towns where he was
acquainted.
Dory was very impatient for the school to begin, though he was very
happy in the midst of his new surroundings. He was a natural mechanic,
and tools of any kind suited him better than books. He was fond of
adventure, and wondered if he should ever have another time as lively
as that on the lake before he was captured by his uncle.
The young man he had picked up on the lake was about sixteen years
old, and was a stranger to him. His wet garments, though poor enough,
betrayed an effort at some style. After a while he recovered his
breath, and seemed to be in condition to give an account of himself.