Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Guy said. “Here we are many thousand miles from home, on an island which has not even a name, so far as I know.”
“True; but there’s our ship, ready to carry us away when we choose. That makes the difference between us and Crusoe.”
“I should prefer that there should be a difference. I don’t care to feel myself a prisoner here.”
“What are your plans for the day, Guy? You are the leader of our expedition. Shall we begin our search for the treasure immediately?”
“To-day let us simply be explorers. I should like to see something of the island. Suppose we strike for the woods.” ”

“ Guy was not without fears that Captain Richmond would, on some pretext, decline to carry out his contract, and refuse to visit the Agalegas Islands.
A captain at sea is such an autocrat that he often takes indefensible liberties, and transcends his rightful authority. He can make things exceedingly uncomfortable for anyone for whom he feels a dislike or cherishes a grudge. ”

“ To Rob Blake and his companions in the Eagle Patrol, surprising, and sometimes perilous things happen constantly. But the lads, who are, after all, typical of most young Americans of their type, are resourceful enough to overcome every one of their dangers and difficulties.
How they discover the whereabouts of little Joe, the “kid” of the patrol, by means of smoke telegraphy and track his abductors to their disgrace; how they assist the passengers of a stranded steamer and foil a plot to harm and perhaps kill an aged sea-captain, one must read the book to learn. ”

“ You might as well make up your mind, first as last, that there is nothing to be found here. I don’t believe, for my part, that any pirates ever visited the island.”
“Why, then, should a dying man tell my uncle so, Captain Richmond?”
“It was a sailor’s yarn. There are some men who can’t help lying, even upon their deathbed.”
“Don’t you believe any pirates ever concealed their booty?”
“Nine out of ten of the stories about pirates and hidden treasure are fabrications.”
“Be that as it may, Captain Richmond,” said{246} Guy, with dignity, “you will lose nothing by waiting.” ”

“ A real treasure hunt of the most thrilling kind, with a sunken Spanish galleon as its object, makes a subject of intense interest at any time, but add to that a band of desperate men, a dark plot and a devil fish, and you have the combination that brings strange adventures into the lives of the Bungalow Boys. ”

“ That he would bully a boy whom he disliked I can readily believe. I remember once giving him a thrashing for impertinence. I got flogged for it by the doctor, but I had the consolation of knowing that I had hurt Simon quite as much as his father hurt me.”
“I don’t think he would bully me.”
“You don’t look like a boy that would allow himself to be bullied. I suppose this Vivian Bell is a different sort of boy.”
“Yes; Mr. Saunders tells me that his father had a gentle disposition, and thinks the son may resemble him in that respect. His father was a clergyman.” ”

“ One day he treated with unusual brutality the Italian sailor already referred to, Guido Leporelli.
Guido was a short man, not much over five feet in height, and the captain probably regarded him with contempt, as one whom it would be safe to bully. In personal strength, Leporelli was as a mere child compared to the robust captain, but he had his share of the fiery and revengeful spirit that characterizes a large number of his countrymen. ”

“ From time to time, as they could see, the captain looked toward the island and then resumed his walk.
“I wonder he doesn’t propose to come on shore and aid you in the search, Guy.”
“I don’t think he cares to have me succeed. For some reason which I don’t understand he appears to have taken a dislike to me.”
“It is partly because you are independent of him. He has authority over all on board the Osprey except ourselves, and this chafes him.”
“I shouldn’t like to be in the power of such a man.” ”

“ Fenwick slightly shuddered.
He was a pale, thin man, with an intellectual look, but had the air of a scholar and a recluse.
“I couldn’t do it, Guy,” he said. “Even if I walk a mile, I feel that it is a hardship. It is tame and monotonous. I don’t see where you get your red cheeks and exuberant spirits from.”
“From my mother’s family, I think, father.”
“Very likely. Your mother was bright and animated when I married her, but she broke down under the manifold duties and engagements of a minister’s wife.” ”

“ You have had the courage to be a friend to a boy who was badly abused. What is your name?”
“Jim Rawdon.”
“Mine is Guy Fenwick. I am an American boy.”
“And yet you are sent here by Bell’s guardian,” said Rawdon, in surprise.
“Yes. It is too long a story to explain now.”
“I like you, even if you are not English,” said Rawdon. “Do what you can for Bell.”
“That is what I have come here for. What will happen if Dr. Musgrave captures him?”{120}
“He will flog Bell before the whole school, worse than he ever did before.”
“You may rest assured that he won’t do that,” said August Locke. ”

“ Then the crew were summoned to meet the new captain.
“Men,” said Captain Forbush, “the captain’s death has made me your commander.”
There was an attempt at applause, but with a wave of his hand Mr. Forbush stopped it.
“I shall try to deserve your confidence and good will,” he continued. “Of the dead let us think and speak only in pity. He had his faults, but he has been terribly punished. It is proper for me to state, as I take command, that I shall immediately reverse the ship’s course and return to the island for Guy Fenwick and his two companions.” ”

“ Forbush?” asked the boatswain one day. “Are those poor fellows to be left to their fate?”
“No,” answered the mate, firmly. “I shall report the matter when we reach Bombay, and I will agree to head an expedition for their relief.”
“But how will they get along meanwhile? Won’t they starve?”
“No. Titcomb told me that the island produced enough to sustain life.”
“Will not Captain Richmond be punished?”
“I earnestly hope so. If my representations will effect it, he will lose his command.”
“The man must be a fiend.” ”

“ Say nothing of it to father, as I do not propose to tell him.”
“Is that right, Guy?”
“Yes. Father isn’t a practical man, as you know, and could not advise me in the matter. I have talked it over with Mr. Saunders, who is a shrewd man of business, and I think we can trust to his judgment.”
“To be sure! to be sure! Let it lay over till to-morrow, then.”
By this time they had reached the parsonage, and the minister welcomed his guest with unaffected cordiality.
“Well, Fenwick, you are not sorry you trusted Guy to me, are you?”
“No! no! my old friend! Nothing but good has come to him. ”

“ I shall always be glad to do him a good turn.”
“I guess I must be goin’,” said the deacon, who was anxious to spread the wonderful news.
“Well, father, did you see Guy?” asked Noah, when his father entered the store.
“Yes, I did.”
“Is he out of work?”
“He needn’t work any more as long as he lives,” said the deacon, solemnly. “Guy’s come home with a fortune. He’s just given his father twenty-five thousand dollars.”
Noah listened with eyes and mouth wide open.
“Do tell, pa!” he said.
“Yes. Guy’s an awfully smart boy. ”

“ He looked the captain straight in the face, and there was a look of determination in his eyes that made Captain Richmond, who was a bully, but not brave, think he had gone far enough.
“I prefer that you should not speak to any member of my crew,” he rejoined, as he turned abruptly away.
“James,” said Titcomb, “as I don’t wish to get you into any trouble, I will hereafter seek opportunities to speak to you when the captain is not on deck.”
“I wish Captain Grover were in command,” replied the boy. “He was a gentleman.” ”

“ Within an hour the Osprey, under full sail, for there was a good breeze, was speeding away from the island.
We must now follow Guy and his two friends, who had gone ashore in high spirits, feeling that success was within their grasp. They did not loiter on their way, but made all haste to reach that part{272} of the island indicated as the repository of the treasure.
As they walked they talked cheerfully and hopefully of the future.
“Guy,” said Abner, “you are entitled to credit for your enterprise and pluck. It isn’t many boys of your age that would have done so much.” ”

“ Saunders, of Bombay.”
“I don’t know Mr. Saunders.”
“Perhaps not; but I do. I know that unless these gentlemen are treated with proper respect and consideration he will refuse to pay the sum he has contracted to give your owners.”
“I am an English captain, and do not care to meet common men on an equality.”
“These men whom you call common are as good as you or myself. One of them is the brother-in-law of Captain Grover; the other is his friend. But, above all, they are American citizens, and as such are entitled to respect.”{201}
“I haven’t much respect for a Yankee,” muttered the captain. ”

“ You have an unusually strong will for a boy of sixteen. From whom do you take it?”
“Not from my father,” answered Guy. “He is altogether too gentle and yielding, and allows himself to be bossed by one of his deacons. Fortunately, I thwarted Deacon Crane in one of his schemes when I was at home.”
“Your father is a minister, isn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“That accounts for it.”
“I don’t know. Some ministers are quite as fond of having their own way as any of their congregation. However, that isn’t the case with my father.”
“I suppose, Guy, you have some clue to the place where the treasure is concealed?” ”