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All AboardorLife on the Lake
A Sequel to "The Boat Club"
ByOliver Optic
CHICAGO:M.A. DONOHUE & CO.
PREFACE.
"ALL ABOARD" was written to gratify the reasonable curiosity of thereaders of "THE BOAT CLUB" to know what occurred at Wood Lake during thesecond season; and, though it is a sequel, it has no direct connectionwith its predecessor. The Introduction, in the first chapter, contains abrief synopsis of the principal events of the first season; so thatthose who have not read "The Boat Club," will labor under nodisadvantage on that account.
The _story_ of each book is entirely distinct from that of the other. Asthe interest of the first centers in Tony Weston, so that of the seconddoes in Charles Hardy. I have tried to make the boys believe that thepath of truth and rectitude is not only the safest, but the pleasantestpath; and the experience of Charles with the "Rovers" illustrates andsupports the position.
Perhaps some of the older readers of these books will think that, inproviding the boys at Wood Lake with a whole fleet of boats, with bandsof music, with club rooms, libraries, and apparatus, I have furnishedthem with very magnificent recreations; and that I might as well havetold a "fairy tale" while I was about it. The only excuse I can offerfor this extravagance is, that it would have been a pity to spoil asplendid ideal, when it could be actualized by a single stroke of thepen; besides, I believe that nothing is too good for good boys,especially when it is paid for out of the pocket of a _millionaire_.
The author, grateful to his young friends for the kind reception givento "The Boat Club," hopes that "All Aboard" will not only please them,but make them wiser and better.
WILLIAM T. ADAMS.
DORCHESTER, October 25, 1855.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER.
I. IntroductionII. The New MemberIII. All Aboard!IV. The Fraternal HugV. Up the RiverVI. Hurrah for Tony!VII. Commodore Frank SedleyVIII. The RaceIX. Little PaulX. A Unanimous VoteXI. Better to Give than ReceiveXII. First of MayXIII. The LighthouseXIV. The ConspiracyXV. The "Rovers"XVI. The Camp on the IslandXVII. The EscapeXVIII. Wreck of the ButterflyXIX. The Cruise of the FleetXX. The Hospitalities of OaklawnXXI. Conclusion
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
It can hardly be supposed that all the boys who take up this book haveread the Boat Club; therefore it becomes necessary, before the oldfriends of the club are permitted to reunite with them, to introducewhatever new friends may be waiting to join them in the sports of thesecond season at Wood Lake. However wearisome such a presentation may beto those who are already acquainted, my young friends will all allowthat it is nothing more than civility and good manners.
Frank Sedley is the only son of Captain Sedley, a retired shipmaster, oflofty and liberal views, and of the most estimable character. He is notwhat some people would call an "old fogy," and likes to have the boysenjoy themselves in everything that is reasonable and proper; but not tothe detriment of their manners or morals, or to the neglect of theirusual duties.
Having been a sailor all his life, he has none of that fear of boats anddeep water which often haunts the minds of fond parents, and haspurchased a beautiful club boat for the use of his son and other boyswho live in the vicinity of Wood Lake.
Some fathers and mothers may think this was a very foolish act on thepart of Captain Sedley, that the amusement he had chosen for his son wastoo dangerous in itself, and too likely to create in him a taste foraquatic pursuits that may one day lead him to be a sailor, which sometender mothers regard as "a dreadful thing," as, indeed, it is, undersome circumstances.
But it must be remembered that Captain Sedley had been a sailor himself;that he had followed the seas from early youth; and that he had made hisfortune and earned his reputation as a wise, good, and respectable man,on the sea. So, of course, he could not sympathize with the generalopinion that a ship must necessarily be a "sink of iniquity," a schoolof vice, and that nothing good can be expected of a boy who is sent tosea. He believes that the man will grow out of the boy; and to hisparental duty he applies the apostolic maxim, "Whatsoever a man soweth,that shall he also reap."
The club boat and the boat club, as means of instruction and discipline,as well as of amusement, were suggested by an accidental occurrence. The"Bunkers of Rippleton," a set of idle and dissolute boys, hadconstructed a rude raft, upon which they paddled about on the lake, andappeared to enjoy themselves very much. Captain Sedley, who hadforbidden his son to venture upon the lake on the raft, or even in aboat, without permission, overheard Charles Hardy, the intimate friendof Frank, remark that the "Bunkers" had a much better time than theyhad, and that boys who did not obey their parents often enjoyedthemselves more than those who did.
A few days after, the boys discovered the club boat, the light andgraceful Zephyr, resting like a fairy shell upon the lake, and in itsuse the argument of Charles was effectually refuted. A club was formedof the boys in the neighborhood, and under the instruction of Uncle Ben,an old sailor who lived with Captain Sedley, soon became very expert inthe management of the boat. A building was erected for the use of theassociation, in which, besides the boat-house, was a club roomcontaining a library, and furnished with conveniences for holdingmeetings for mutual instruction and recreation. A constitution for thegovernment of the club was adopted, in which the object of theassociation was declared to be "the instruction and amusement of themembers, and the acquiring of good morals, good manners, and good habitsin general." It defined and prohibited a great many vices and bad habitscommon among boys, so that the tendency of the organization was to makethem better, wiser, and happier.
Their experience upon the lake, while the influence of the associationstimulated them to the strict performance of their ordinary duties, wasboth varied and useful. Inasmuch as it reduced their recreation to asystem, the laws of the club acting as a salutary check upon thewaywardness of youth, it afforded an excellent discipline for the mindand heart, as well as for the muscles.
Among the members of the club was an honest, noble-hearted youth, theson of a poor widow, by the name of Tony Weston. In an affray uponCenter Island, Tony had taken the part of Frank Sedley against TimBunker, and had thus obtained the ill will of the leader of the"Bunkers," and is accused of stealing a wallet, which is afterwardsproved to have been taken by the "Bunker" himself. The theft is provedupon the graceless scamp, and he is sent to the house of correction,while Tony is borne in triumph by the club to his home.
Near the close of the story, Tony's brother, who has long been mournedas dead, returns home from California, with a large fortune in hispossession. The brother, George Weston, builds a fine house for hismother, and, impelled by a warm admiration for Tony's noble character,purchases a splendid club boat for him, of the size and model of theZephyr, which is named the Butterfly.
Tony is a boy whom all my readers will like, and though he is really nobetter boy than Frank Sedley, the humble circumstances of his motherbefore George returned required a great deal of sacrifice on his part,and called into action a great many noble traits of character. His lifewas a struggle, and his character a triumph over the perils to whichpoverty exposed him.
His experience seemed to exemplify the truths of Christianity. He couldforgive his enemy, as when, at the risk of his own life, he plunged intothe lake and rescued Tim Bunker from a watery grave, though Tim was eventhen laboring to ruin him. He loved to sacrifice his own comfort to thatof others and found his greatest pleasure in making others happy. He andFrank are the unconscious exemplars of the boat club--the "men ofcharacter and influence" in their embryo world.
Charles Hardy is a boy of another stamp--one who does things "to beseen of men." He is sometimes selfish and ambitious; though thebeneficent influence of the organization is working miracles in thetransformation of his character.
The Butterfly was launched in the month of April. The liberality ofGeorge Weston had provided for her a boat-house, similar to that of theZephyr, and, like that, furnished with a club room and library, and allthe means for promoting the objects of the organization.
And now, with my old friends refreshed in memory by this review of thefirst season, and my new ones put in possession of all that is necessaryto a proper understanding of the situation of the boat club, we areready to proceed with our story.