Boat Club; or, The Bunkers of Rippleton

by Oliver Optic

  CHAPTER XVII

  OVERBOARD

  There was no visible object which seemed to suggest a name for theminiature sea; but just then the band began to play "Washington'sMarch."

  "Call it Washington Sea, boys," said Mrs. Sedley.

  The name was given, but the geography lesson could not proceed whilethe music continued.

  "Stand by to lay on your oars!" Frank commanded. "Oars!"

  The oarsmen levelled their oars, feathering the blades, and listeningto the march. The Bunkers, attracted by the music of the band, followedthe Sylph at a respectful distance. The presence of Uncle Ben and Mrs.Sedley was a restraint upon them, and they conducted themselves withtolerable decorum. The band ceased playing, and Mrs. Sedley continuedher instructions.

  "What is a gulf or bay?"

  "A portion of the sea extending into the land."

  "Can you give me an example?"

  "Weston Bay," replied Fred, laughing.

  "And perhaps, before the expedition concludes its voyage, we shall findsomething which may be called a gulf."

  "I know where there is a gulf," said Charles.

  "Now, Frank, you may go through the strait," said Fred.

  "Is it safe? I don't know how deep the water is."

  "I am glad to see you are careful," said Mrs. Sedley. "You can askUncle Ben."

  "Sylph, ahoy!" shouted Frank, rising.

  "What boat's that?" roared Uncle Ben, in reply.

  "The Zephyr, of and from Rippleton," returned the coxswain. "Can youtell me what depth of water there is in this passage?"

  "Where's your chart?"

  "We must have a chart of the lake," suggested Fred.

  "That we must. Who shall draw it?"

  "Fred Harper."

  "We have no chart. Will you give me the depth of water inside theisland?" continued Frank.

  "Short fathom," replied Uncle Ben.

  "We are none the wiser," interposed Charles. "How much is a fathom?"

  "Six feet," answered Tony.

  "But he don't say how much short."

  "Can we go through in safety, Uncle Ben?"

  "Ay, ay; but trail your oars."

  Frank let the crew pull several smart strokes, and then ordered them totrail. The Zephyr darted through the narrow passage.

  "Now for the name of the strait," said Frank.

  "You seem to be at a loss for names; I think you had better call thesedivisions after the members of the club," suggested Mrs. Sedley.

  "So we can; the memory of great travellers and navigators has beenhanded down to their posterity by geographical names,--Hudson Bay,Mount Franklin, Cook's Straits, for example," said Fred Harper,laughing heartily.

  The proposition received a ready assent; and the strait was calledGraham Strait, after the boy who pulled the second oar.

  "But the island?" said Charles.

  "Paul Spencer pulls the third oar; we will call it Spencer Island."

  The position of the boat was a favorable one for observing theconformation of the country, and Mrs. Sedley improved the opportunityto point out the various divisions of the land.

  Half-way between Centre Island and the north shore was another island;and after coasting along by the banks of the lake, applying names tominiature sounds, bays, gulfs, and seas, the Zephyr arrived at itssoutherly side.

  "Here is a channel," said Frank; "a passage of water wider than astrait."

  "Fred's turn; we must call it Harper Channel," replied Tony.

  "And the island?--we are out of names," continued Frank.

  "We will call it Mary's Island, after Mary Weston."

  "Agreed!" cried a dozen boys at once.

  "I thank you for the compliment," said Mary, blushing.

  The excursion was continued, the boys rowing leisurely, and pausingfrequently to listen to the music of the band, and discuss thegeographical formation of the lake and its shores. They passed entirelyround the lake, and had given so many names to the various divisions ofland and water, that it seemed improbable they could ever rememberthem.

  As they came round to the boat-house, Mrs. Sedley was landed, and theclub rowed up to Weston Bay, to leave the widow and her daughter. Boththe passengers were delighted with their excursion, and were profuse oftheir thanks to Frank and his companions for their kindness andconsideration.

  "What shall we do now?" said Charles, as they pushed off.

  "Hadn't we better give up for to-day?" suggested Frank.

  "Let us go down to Rippleton for your father," added Fred.

  "I will do that," answered Frank; and the Zephyr dashed away towardsthe village.

  They had scarcely passed the boat-house before they discovered theThunderbolt, directly ahead of them. Uncle Ben had landed the band atRippleton, and had housed the Sylph, so that the Bunkers would nolonger be restrained by his presence and that of Mrs. Sedley. But therewas no way to avoid them, and Frank continued his course with somemisgivings as to the consequences.

  "Bunkers ahead!" said he.

  "Never mind them, Frank," added Fred Harper. "We won't say anything tothem."

  "Tim will get his revenge upon us for this morning if he can,"suggested the coxswain.

  "We can keep out of his way, though I don't like the idea of runningaway from them," replied Fred.

  "I like it better than I do the idea of fighting with them. But thelake is narrow near the village," said Frank.

  "We can row two rods to their one."

  "They have improved a great deal by their day's practice. They areresting on their oars, waiting for us."

  "Let them wait; we will mind nothing about them."

  The Zephyr continued on her course. It was necessary for her to passwithin a short distance of the Thunderbolt, and Frank feared they wouldretaliate upon them for their discomfiture in the forenoon.

  "Let every member of the club mind his oar," said he, as the boatapproached the vicinity of the Bunkers; "I will watch them; I want youto mind what I say, and work quick when I speak."

  "We will," answered the boys.

  "I suspect, if they mean anything, that they intend to rush upon uswhen we pass them. Yes, there is Tim bringing her head round so thatshe lies broadside to us, and every one of them has his oar ready topull," Frank explained.

  "Can't you cut across the lake, and avoid them?" asked Tony.

  "We must pass them somewhere; and they can cut us off, whatever coursewe take."

  "Smash them if they come too near," said Fred.

  "No, no, Fred; that wouldn't do. When I tell you to stop and back her,do it promptly, and we can easily get away from them. Pull steady."

  The boys rowed leisurely, and the Zephyr in a short time reached aposition which was exposed to the assault of the Thunderbolt.

  "Pull," cried Tim Bunker, with energy.

  Her course was at right angles with that of the Zephyr. Tim hadapparently made a nice calculation in regard to his intended movements.He had started so as to come up with his rival when she reached thepoint in her course directly ahead of him.

  The Bunkers pulled with all their might, and the two boats were rapidlynearing each other. Tim's plan had been well conceived, and thecollision seemed inevitable. Frank saw that he had rightly interpretedthe intentions of the Bunkers, but he still continued his course.

  Suddenly, as the Thunderbolt was on the point of pouncing upon herprey, Frank, with startling energy, gave the command,--

  "Way enough! Hold water! Stern all!"

  Every boy, expecting the orders, was ready to execute them. The oarsbent under the violent exertion they made to check the farther progressof the boat.

  When the collision seemed unavoidable, Tim abandoned the helm, andleaped forward into the bow of the boat. He had a large stick in hishand; and it was evidently his intention to use it upon poor Tony, forhis glance was fixed upon him with savage ferocity.

  Frank's plan worked well. He had withheld the order to stop and backher till the last moment, so that Tim should have no time t
o change thecourse of the Thunderbolt, and thus derange his plan. As it was, it wasa very narrow escape, and nothing but the promptness with which theorder was executed averted the impending catastrophe.

  The Thunderbolt passed across the course of the Zephyr, not three feetfrom her bow. Tim saw that he was foiled; and enraged at hisdisappointment, he aimed a blow at Tony with the long stick, as hisboat shot past.

  Tony was beyond his reach; he leaned over the gunwale of the boat in avain attempt to accomplish his malignant purpose. But in doing so, helost his foothold, and was precipitated head foremost into the lake!

  He disappeared beneath the dark surface of the deep water, and his boatpassed over the spot. The Zephyr, impelled backward by the vigorousstrokes of her crew, was several rods from the place before the clubfully realized the nature of the unfortunate occurrence.

  The Thunderbolt was much nearer the place where Tim had disappearedthan the Zephyr; but her crew seemed to be utterly paralyzed by theevent, and unable to render the slightest assistance. One of theBunkers took the helm, and endeavored to rally his companions; but intheir confusion they were incapable of handling their oars; some pulledone way, and some another, and instead of urging the boat ahead, theyonly turned it round in a circle.

  "Way enough!" shouted Frank, as soon as he discovered the accident."Give way! Tim Bunker has fallen overboard!"

  The crew, though affected to some extent as the Bunkers were, usedtheir oars with skill and energy. The presence of mind which Frankdisplayed inspired them with courage, and the Zephyr darted forwardtowards the spot where Tim had gone down.

  "There he is ahead!" exclaimed Frank, with frantic earnestness; "pullwith all your might!"

  "Help! Save me!" cried Tim, as he rose to the surface.

  The boats were both several rods distant from him. He did not swim, butseemed to struggle with all his strength, apparently with a spasmodiceffort, as though he had entirely lost his self-control.

  "Tony, stand by with your boat-hook," shouted Frank.

  But Tim struggled only for an instant on the surface, and then wentdown again.

  "Way enough!" said Frank, as the Zephyr approached the spot. "Holdwater! Oars!"

  The boat, under the skilful management of the resolute young coxswain,lost her headway, and lay motionless on the water near the spot whereTim had last appeared.

  "Do you see him, Tony?"

  "No."

  "Fred, forward with your boat-hook," continued Frank.

  Fred took the boat-hook, and went forward to the bow of the Zephyr.

  "There he is!" exclaimed Tony, as he caught a sight of the drowning boybeneath the surface.

  Fred dropped his boat-hook into the water intending to fasten it intoTim's clothes.

  "He sinks again!" cried Tony, throwing off his jacket and shoes.

  Before any of the crew could fully understand his purpose, so quickwere his movements, he dived from the bow of the boat deep down intothe water.

  The boys held their breath in the intensity of their feelings. One ortwo of them had dropped their oars, and were leaving their places.

  "Keep your places, and hold on to your oars!" said Frank sternly. "NedGraham, take the other boat-hook."

  "Back her a little--one stroke," said Fred Harper. "We are passing overthe spot."

  Frank ordered the boat back, as desired.

  "Here they rise! Tony has him!" exclaimed Fred, as he hooked into Tim'sclothes. "Grasp the other boat-hook, Tony."

  Tim was drawn into the boat, apparently dead.

  Tony was so exhausted that he could not speak, and sank into the bottomof the boat.

  "Give way!" said Frank, heading the Zephyr towards Rippleton.

  The sad event had been observed from the shore, and before the arrivalof the club boat quite a number of persons had collected. Scarcely aminute elapsed before the Zephyr touched the bank, and the lifelessbody of Tim Bunker was taken out, and conveyed to the nearest house.

  "How do you feel, Tony?" asked Frank, lifting the noble little fellowfrom his position.

  "Badly, Frank; I want to go home," replied he faintly.

  Among other persons who had gathered on the shore of the lake was oneof the physicians of Rippleton. He followed the party that conveyed Timinto the house, and applied himself vigorously to the means ofrestoring him. It was a long time before there were any signs of life,and the people in the meantime believed him dead.

  While Dr. Allen was at work over Tim, Fred Harper came to request hisassistance for Tony. Fortunately Dr. Davis, another physician, arrivedat this moment, and accompanied him to the boat.

  "What ails him, Dr. Davis?" asked Frank.

  "Exhaustion and excitement have overcome him."

  "Is it anything serious?"

  "I think not. We must get his wet clothes off, and put him to bed."

  "Will you go home with him? We will row you up and back again."

  The physician was very willing to go, and the boat put off. The clubpulled with all their strength, and the distance to Tony's house wasaccomplished in a very few moments. Mrs. Weston was greatly alarmedwhen Tony was brought in, but the doctor assured her it was nothingserious. He was put to bed, the doctor prescribed for him, and when theboys were ready to leave, they had the satisfaction of knowing thepatient was much better.

  When they reached Rippleton, they found that Tim had been restored, andconveyed to his father's house. Captain Sedley came in the last train,and the boys rowed him home.