Oliver Optic

“ It hurt Dory's feelings to see the beautiful work of the boat reduced to splinters in an instant; but he realized that he was in the midst of a stirring adventure, and the blinds could be easily restored.
"Good!" exclaimed Pearl, as the opening appeared in the door. "You did that very well, Peppers. I was wishing I could leave the helm long enough to do it myself, for I wanted to see who the other fellow was that had taken passage with me. Besides, I think it is a good deal more sociable to see a man's face when you are talking to him." ”

“ The two craft were rapidly approaching each other. Dory realized that he should not have more than a boat's length to spare, but that was as good as a mile. He tried to keep cool, as his father had often told him he must do when there was any danger in a boat. His heart was in his mouth, and he tried in vain to swallow it; but it seemed to be too big for his throat.
"Hold on, Theodore!" shouted Mr. Jepson, when the two boats came within twenty feet of each other. "Your uncle wants you, and he won't do you any harm."
Dory kept his eyes on the sails of the Goldwing, and made no reply. ”

“ I don't want to believe such a thing of you, Dory. Fellows like you and me don't have forty-two dollars in every pocket of their trousers; and you won't tell us where you got the money," answered Corny a little more moderately.
"You talk and act just as though you did want to prove that I stole the money I paid for the boat," added Dory. "All I ask of the fellows is to believe that I am innocent until I am proved guilty."
"That's the talk! that's fair! I don't believe Dory did it!" exclaimed Thad. ”

“ The skipper got his hand on the key in his pocket, though he did not venture to take it out. At a favorable moment, if any such was presented, he intended to make a rush to the forward deck to effect his purpose.
"There is a steamer bound to the north," said he, pointing to a vessel a mile to the windward of the Goldwing. "Perhaps she would run over, and pull the Missisquoi off the shoal."
"I don't want any thing more of the Missisquoi; and she may lie where she is till she rots," replied Pearl, without taking his gaze from Dory.
"Do you know what boat that is, Mr. Hawlinshed?" ”

“ Captain Gildrock seemed to have no suspicion of the state of feeling to which his nephew had wrought himself up. He appeared to think that his invitation to go on board of the Sylph was enough, and the present attitude of the boy was clearly a surprise to him. It was plain that he had not thought of the schooner, for he was silent when Dory intimated that she was not in a safe position for heavy weather.
"You can furl her sails, and throw over her anchor," said he after a moment's consideration.
"I don't think the anchor will hold her, sir: the sand is as hard as a rock here." ”

“ Was there any thing about the Goldwing in the letter?" asked Dory, who was quite as much puzzled as Pearl appeared to be.
"None of your business whether there was or not?" exclaimed Pearl savagely; and the letter was evidently not a pleasant topic to him. "I am not here to answer questions."
"Nor I either; and here we are equal," replied [Pg 61] Dory, as he took the tiller of the sailboat from the forward cuddy, and inserted it in the rudder-head.
"The man that gave you that letter got you to buy this boat for him," said Pearl. "He knew I wanted her, if you did not." ”

“ The young skipper proceeded to explain what had made the Goldwing so unruly. He had overcome the difficulty, and he was sure that she was as safe as any boat on the lake. He had perfect confidence in her, and he was willing to have her tested in any weather by any boatman on the lake.
"Pearl Hawlinshed wanted to buy her; and he claims to be the greatest boatman on the lake, and knows his way all over it from Whitehall to St. Johns," added the hotel-keeper. "He knows just where the bottom is in every place."
"I think he does," replied Dory, laughing. ”

“ It took all his strength at the long tiller to keep her from coming up into the wind. There was no lee helm now, with only a jib and mainsail; though she might exhibit this failing when she had all sail on. In fact, she carried too much weather helm; for it impeded her progress.
"She works like a lady!" exclaimed Dory with enthusiasm.
Having satisfied himself in regard to the working of the boat, he turned his attention to the Missisquoi again. He saw that Pearl Hawlinshed was at the wheel of the steamer. He had evidently learned wisdom from the movements of the Goldwing. ”

“ The name was of the utmost consequence, and Dory thought it was better for them to read it for themselves than for him to tell it. Besides, there was a good deal of style in the way the name was put on in the three places.
"Goldwing!" shouted Corny Minkfield, who was the first to read the name on the stern. "And there is a gold wing under it."
"Goldwing!" repeated Dick Short, as he read the name on the heel of the bowsprit. "And there is a gold wing here too."
"Isn't that a splendid name for a boat! Goldwing!" exclaimed Nat Long. ”

“ There was no chance for a race while only a four-knot breeze favored the Goldwing. With a good stiff breeze the skipper believed he could beat the steamer; but, in the absence of such a wind, he must resort to strategy. But strategy was quite as exciting to his companions as a race. It afforded the opportunity for one craft to come out better than the other.
The wind was sensibly freshening, but the Goldwing did not need any more wind just then. She was almost up with Stave Island Ledge, and her skipper was disposed to wait and see what his pursuer would do. ”

“ The skipper of the Goldwing started his sheets, and stood off in the shoal-water, where the steamer could not follow him. He chuckled as he did so; and he did not appear to harbor a suspicion that his pursuer could do any thing but run back and forth through the cut.
"I think I shall take my passengers into Canada in spite of the opposition of that big steam-yacht. A mouse or a mosquito can make it uncomfortable for a lion," said Pearl, as he stood off from his pursuer. "Do you know how the water is in this bay beyond the next point, Dory Dornwood?" ”

“ Everybody that has any thing to do with boats in Burlington knows all about him. He is a little wild, but he is as smart as a steel trap," replied Captain Vesey, as he was called by courtesy.
"Is he an honest boy?" asked Pearl, as though that were a matter of the utmost consequence to him.
"I guess he is. He is worth two of his father, who was the pilot on duty on board of the Au Sable last night, and tried to take the boat across a p'int of land. ”

“ Let us hold on, and see what the fellow wants of you," replied Corny.
"We will have the fun of the race if we don't have any thing more," said Dory. "This is smooth sailing just here, but we shall have it rough enough in about two minutes more. If any of you fellows don't want to go back to Burlington, I will put you on shore at Garden Island."
"We might have to stay there a week," suggested Corny.
"I couldn't help that," answered Dory. "I told you not to come with me if you were afraid of the boat."
"She is as safe for us as she is for Dory," added Dick Short. ”

“ What is the name?"
"Theodore Dornwood."
"Do you live in Plattsburgh?"
"No, sir: in Burlington."
"Are you buying the boat for yourself?"
"You may make the receipt out to me," replied Dory.
"He is buying her for some other person," said Pearl Hawlinshed. "I should like to know who it is."
The auctioneer did not ask any more questions, but led the way into the steamboat office, where he gave the required receipt. Dory felt that he was now the owner of the Goldwing. If he had owned one of the Champlain steamers, he would not have felt any better. ”

“ The other members of the Goldwing Club looked at one another; and Nat Long winked at Corny Minkfield, as much as to say "There is a cat in the meal somewhere." After the imperative warning from the skipper that nothing more was to be said about the forty-two dollars, no more questions were asked; but it was evident that the members all kept up a tremendous thinking on the subject. But even this matter became stale in a few minutes in the excitement of the hour.
"Forty-two dollars is dirt cheap for a boat like the Goldwing," said Dory, breaking the silence. ”

“ Corny put the provisions into a locker in the cabin, and there was enough left for two or three meals more. First one stood up, and then another, until all had taken a view of the Missisquoi.
"The steamer is chasing you, Dory," said Thad, as though he had made a discovery. "She is following us with all her might."
"I know it," replied Dory, looking behind him at the steamer.
"What is she chasing us for?" asked Corny.
"She wants to catch us," added Dory.
"Is it to find out whether she can beat the Goldwing?" asked Nat. "She's a steamer, and she ought to beat her every time." ”

“ Taking off the bonnet amounts to the same thing as reefing the sail."
"Reefing the sail is taking in a part of the sheet by tying it up in a fold," said Nat Long, looking very wise.
"Not much!" answered the skipper.
"That's what my father told me; and he is a deck-hand on board of the Champlain," persisted Nat.
"I don't believe he said any thing of the kind, Nat. Taking up a part of the sheet by tying it into a fold would be a queer operation. Do you run away with the idea that the jib is a sheet?"
"I don't run away with the idea; but of course a sail is a sheet." ”

“ I will put Dory Dornwood into one of your boats, and you can take him away with you."
"All I want is my nephew; and I don't intend to meddle with what don't concern me," said Captain Gildrock.
"That's the sort of man you are; and I always knew you were as straightforward as a gun," added Pearl, delighted with this statement of the owner of the steamer. "Which boat shall I put the boy into?"
Pearl sprang upon the forward deck, and rushed towards Dory. The boy did not take kindly to this proceeding. He dodged around the foremast, and leaped down into the standing-room. ”

“ The boys disposed of themselves as the skipper directed, and sat as still as they could, which was not saying much. But Dory was satisfied that they would keep still enough as soon as the boat got a little more to the eastward, where she would feel the full force of the strong breeze.
"She is gaining on us, Dory," said Thad; and he and his companions were watching the Missisquoi all the time. They were beginning to get excited over the race, though they seemed to be sure that it would soon come to an end by the steamer overtaking the Goldwing. ”

“ It looks a good deal worse to you fellows who were never out in a sailboat when it blew hard than it really is. I didn't think there was any great danger when we started out: if I had, I shouldn't have come over," said Dory quietly.
The members of the Goldwing Club had the idea that they had had a narrow escape, and the skipper was not inclined to allow them to make heroes of themselves. The motion of a boat in a heavy sea seems terrible to those who are not accustomed to it, and the boys were disposed to make the worst of it. ”

“ How did you find it out?" asked Pearl. [Pg 242]
"I felt of it one day."
"If you don't keep a civil tongue in your head, you will feel of it again to-day," added Pearl savagely.
Dory knew there was a half mile of shoal water, deep enough for the Goldwing, but not for the Sylph. But it was shallow off the point; and Dory thought the skipper would get aground before he reached Hyde's Bay. But the water was clear, and Pearl saw the bottom in season to avoid the danger. He stood to the southward then, watching the bottom all the time. ”

“ But Dory was anxious to perform his part in the drama; and he filled away on the starboard tack, pointing the head of the boat towards Plattsburgh. His fellow-voyagers did not give Pearl a good character, but this was not a surprise to the skipper. He knew what Pearl was before he had seen him in the daylight.
"Here we are, Dory," said the villain, as he seated himself in the standing-room. "You have dodged me times enough yesterday and to-day, and I am glad to be alone on board of this craft with you." ”

“ The schooner was half a mile from Simms's Point by this time; but Pearl evidently thought that all he had to do was to return to the westward of the buoys by the way he had come into the Gut, and the Sylph could not come near his boat. He came about, and stood to the north-west.
"We are all right still, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl, as he glanced at the steamer. "She can't come any nearer to us than she is now, and a quarter of a mile is as good as a mile." ”

“ If you don't put the helm to the weather side, the head of the boat will come up to the wind. As she comes up into the wind, it spills the sail." [Pg 106]
"Spills the sail!" exclaimed Corny, who could hold in no longer. "I have heard of spilling the milk, but not of spilling a sail."
"It means to spill the wind out of the sail," added Dory. "In other words, it takes the wind out of the sail, and it don't press against the sail any longer. And, if the wind don't press against the sail, of course it won't tip the boat over."
"That's plain enough. I understand that first-rate," said Thad. ”

“ He has the reputation of being wild, and no one sent him over here to buy a boat. And a fellow like him don't have forty or fifty dollars to invest in boats."
"All that may be; but you can be careful just as well as not," added the landlord.
"He is nothing but a young cub, and has no friends, so that nothing will come of it if he shouldn't happen to be the thief."
"If he has no one to defend him, so much the more reason why he should be fairly dealt with," [Pg 81] replied the hotel-keeper,—a sentiment with which Pearl Hawlinshed had no sympathy. ”