by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER VIII.
THE COLCHESTER CLUB CHANGES ITS NAME.
"What in the world are you doing over here, fellows?" asked DoryDornwood, as the four passengers of the Missisquoi tumbled in over thestern of the Goldwing.
"And what under the breezes of Lake Champlain are you doing in thisboat?" shouted Thad Glovering, who was the first to get a footing in thestanding-room of the Goldwing.
"What boat is it?" asked Nat Long in a blustering manner.
"What are you going to do with her, Dory?" demanded Dick Short.
"Can't you take us over to Burlington in her?" queried Corny Minkfield.
"How many questions do you think I can answer at once, fellows?" repliedDory. "I am going over to Burlington as soon as the weather is fit; andyou can go with me if you like."
"All right, Dory! Hurrah for Dory Dornwood! You are all right, and soare we: only we are half starved, for we haven't had any breakfast thismorning," said Thad Glovering.
It must be confessed that the party that arrived in the Missisquoi werenot very promising-looking boys. They had a wild, harum-scarumappearance and manner, which fully justified the description CaptainVesey had given of them. In a word, they were evidently wild boys; andin this respect they did not differ much from Dory himself.
They are the boat-builders whose exploits and achievements are to berecorded, and they may as well be introduced at this as at any othertime. Thad Glovering was an orphan, who lived with his uncle. As thisrelative had several children of his own, the added one was a burden tohim, for he had but small wages. Thad declared that he was willing towork; but up to this time nothing had been found for him to do. Theworst that could be said of him was that he was wild.
"THE FOUR PASSENGERS TUMBLED IN OVER THE STERN OF THEGOLDWING." PAGE 87.]
Nat Long's father was a deck-hand on a steamer; and, as he was away mostof the time, Nat was permitted to have his own way. His mother was dead;and his older sister, who had the care of the family, found herselfunable to control him. He was not a confirmed bad boy, and had workedfor a year in one place, and done very well. A change in the businesshad thrown him out of work, and he had been unable to find anothersituation. Idleness led him into mischief; and, without some kind ofcontrol, it was only a question of time when he got into the hands ofthe law for some crime.
Dick Short and Corny Minkfield were the sons of widows, both of whom hadsome property. Their mothers were able to support them without work; butwork was the one thing they needed, whether it was with the head or thehands.
These five boys lived near together, and they had been cronies fromtheir earliest school-days. Two of them were usually well dressed; andthe others were somewhat ragged, and considerably patched, showing theefforts of their protectors to keep them decent. They had all been toschool up to the present time, and now it was vacation; and the nextthing to be decided by their friends was what should be done with them.Dick and Corny were to go to the high school; but the others must go towork, and earn their own living,--do something for the support of theirparents.
Dory had gone to work before the school closed for the summer, and allthe boys talked as though they intended to do something. But they didnot feel like going to work in vacation time. They had always had greatlarks on the lake when school did not keep, and they were not disposedto dispense with the good time the present year.
It could not be said that one of these boys was really bad. But theykept all kinds of company; and, in the absence of any strong controllingforce, they were in great danger of becoming "hard boys." Sometimes theyassisted about the steamers and other vessels; and, by making themselvesuseful, they obtained the privilege of sailing on the lake. Theirassociations were not always of the best character. They were all "smartboys;" and wise and steady people who knew them wished they might be putto some useful labor, or be subjected to some salutary control. Mrs.Short and Mrs. Minkfield had both been warned of the peril of theirsons; and both had considered the means of redeeming them from the badcompany into which their habits threw them. But they had not done anything beyond reasoning with the boys, who always promised to mend theirways.
Assisted by his four cronies, Dory Dornwood had built a sort of bateau,a flat-bottomed craft, in which they used to row about the lake near theshore. It was a rude boat; for the young boat-builders had few tools,and very inferior lumber for the construction of the bateau. But itwould carry them all, and Dory was the captain of the craft. She wascalled the Colchester; and the boys formed a club for aquatic sports, towhich they gave the name of the boat.
Doubtless the Colchester Club gave a great deal of satisfaction to itsmembers. Unfortunately the Colchester broke adrift in a Septembersquall, and went to pieces on Colchester Reef, as reported by thelight-keeper. No other boat could be obtained; but the members all saidthat as soon as they got to work they should give a portion of theirearnings for the purchase of a suitable craft for the association. Upto this time they had not gone to work, and the successor of theColchester did not appear.
Dory proceeded to answer the questions of his fellow-members of theColchester Club. The boat in which they found him belonged to him; andthis was the most astounding statement he made in the course of theinterview. They opened their eyes, and stared at Captain Dory, as theycalled him, in silent wonder. Then they looked the boat over withrenewed interest, and seemed to be unable to believe the statement oftheir companion.
"The Colchester Club shall have the use of her when I am on board,"added Dory magnanimously.
"That's handsome; and we shall have the biggest kind of times," addedThad Glovering. "I'll tell you what we'll do, fellows. We will changethe name of the club, and call it after this boat. What is her name,Dory?"
"You will find it on the stern, and also on the bowsprit," replied theskipper of the Goldwing. "It isn't a bad name either."
Two of the members of the club looked over the stern, and two othersrushed to the bow. The name was of the utmost consequence, and Dorythought it was better for them to read it for themselves than for him totell it. Besides, there was a good deal of style in the way the name wasput on in the three places.
"Goldwing!" shouted Corny Minkfield, who was the first to read the nameon the stern. "And there is a gold wing under it."
"Goldwing!" repeated Dick Short, as he read the name on the heel of thebowsprit. "And there is a gold wing here too."
"Isn't that a splendid name for a boat! Goldwing!" exclaimed Nat Long."I don't think you could find any thing better than that if you shouldstudy for a month."
"Or any thing better for a club," added Thad Glovering. "The GoldwingClub! How do you think that sounds, fellows?"
"I don't believe any thing could sound any better," added Dick Short."But we haven't looked the boat over yet."
All hands proceeded to attend to this duty at once. The Colchester hadbeen a rough, flat-bottomed craft, with neither shape nor comelinessabout her. Whatever first-class sailboats the members of the club hadseen had been only at a distance; and consequently their ideal ofbeauty, symmetry, comfort, and convenience in a boat was not very high.The Goldwing was perfection itself to them, though it might not havebeen to more experienced observers. They were ecstatic in their praisesof the Goldwing, and did not believe there was a finer sailboat on thelake than she was.
"You don't mean to say that you own this craft, Dory Dornwood!" saidThad when the party had exhausted their vocabulary of fine wordsapplicable to a beautiful sailboat.
"I have said it once, and I will say it again if it will do any good,"replied Dory. "The Goldwing is mine, and she don't belong to anybodyelse. You can go the last cent you've got on that."
"Get out, Dory!" exclaimed Dick Short, punching the skipper in the ribs."You are selling us too cheap, Dory."
"I'm not selling you at all!" protested Dory. "I wouldn't taketwenty-five cents apiece for you, though that would make a dollar."
"You can't expect us to believe that you own such a magnificent boat asthis, Dory, unless
you tell us where you got her," said Corny Minkfieldvery seriously.
"I can expect it, and I do expect it," added Dory, taking theauctioneer's receipt from his pocket. "I shall prove to you that she ismine, and without saying another word."
Dory handed the receipt to Corny, and said nothing more. The scepticread the paper out loud, and of course that settled the question. Therewas no room for a doubt after the reading of the receipt.
"Forty-two dollars!" exclaimed Corny, as he handed the receipt back tothe skipper. "Judging by the cost of the Letitia, she ought to be worthfour or five hundred dollars."
"Forty-two dollars is nothing for a boat like this," added Dick Short,whose mother was worth money, and therefore he had less respect forforty-two dollars than most of the other members.
"But where did you get the forty-two dollars?" asked Thad, who hadhardly ever possessed even half a dime at one time.
"Haven't I proved that the Goldwing is mine?" demanded Dory ratherwarmly; for he did not want his fellow-members of the Goldwing Clubskirmishing about in the region of the great secret of his lifetime."All I have to say about it is, that I came honestly by the money, and Idon't want any more questions asked."
Dory Dornwood, though he was rather wild, scorned to invent a lie toexplain where the money came from, as perhaps some of his companionsmight have done under similar circumstances.
The other members of the Goldwing Club looked at one another; and NatLong winked at Corny Minkfield, as much as to say "There is a cat in themeal somewhere." After the imperative warning from the skipper thatnothing more was to be said about the forty-two dollars, no morequestions were asked; but it was evident that the members all kept up atremendous thinking on the subject. But even this matter became stale ina few minutes in the excitement of the hour.
"Forty-two dollars is dirt cheap for a boat like the Goldwing," saidDory, breaking the silence. "I have no doubt she cost four or fivehundred dollars; but I ought to tell you that she has a bad name."
"A bad name! The Goldwing?" exclaimed Thad; and all of the party seemedto think it quite impossible that such a splendid boat as the Goldwingcould have any thing but a first-class reputation.
"She drowned the man that owned her. She upset, and then went to thebottom. Now, if any of you want to go on shore, you can."
The members of the Goldwing Club looked aghast at one another.