CHAPTER XII.

UP THE LAKE.

Major Toppleton was absolutely afraid of his son. There was a rumor in Middleport--though I did not hear of it until after the events narrated had transpired--that his father had positively refused to permit Tommy to have his own way on one occasion, when the young gentleman insisted upon discharging a favorite servant of his mother. The major declined to yield, and stuck to his text. The result was, that Tommy, in his rage, ran away in the dead of winter, and was not found for two whole days, during which time he lived on the fat of the land at the Hitaca House, whither he had gone in the steamer. He refused to go home till his father promised to discharge the obnoxious servant, declaring that he would not live in the same house with the woman, and threatening to go to New York and ship as a common sailor. Undoubtedly it would have been better for the young gentleman if he had shipped as a common sailor, for in that capacity he would have ascertained how much of his own way he could enjoy. His father yielded, and Tommy, having conquered in this instance, had no trouble in maintaining his supremacy. The major was afraid he would run away, or do some other terrible thing; and the man who was the lord and master of all Middleport was the slave of his tyrannical son. This is not the only instance on record of the same thing.

I supposed Major Toppleton would take some steps to prevent a quarrel between the rival students, but he did not. It was a delicate and difficult matter to interfere with Tommy; and the fact that I had been sent back proved that he would not submit to any dictation, or even suggestion.

“I am rather glad you have come back, Wolf,” said the great man; and I saw that he was trying to conceal his anxiety in regard to the students. “I have just received a letter from Hitaca, informing me that my new yacht is finished, and I was on my way to the wharf to find some one to send after her. I have been told that you are a boatman as well as an engineer, Wolf.”

“I have handled all sorts of boats on the lake. I used to sail the Marian on the other side; and she is the largest boat in this part of the lake,” I replied.

“But she is not more than half as large as the Grace.”

“The Grace!” I exclaimed, delighted with the name.

“She is called after my daughter. Do you think you can handle her?”

“I know I can, sir.”

“She is thirty-five feet long, and measures fifteen tons. She has a cabin large enough to accommodate half a dozen persons.”

“I should like to bring her down first rate,” I added, glancing at Skotchley; and I saw by his looks that he would like to accompany me.

“If you think you can manage her, you may go. You will want two or three hands to help you.”

“I will find them, sir.”

“You must take the steamer up the lake as soon as she goes. I will write an order on the builder to deliver the boat to you; call at my house for it before you start.”

I was delighted with this mission, for I had a taste for boats almost as strong as that for a steam-engine. I was fond of the water, and should have preferred a situation in a steamer to anything else. Skotchley was as much pleased as I was with the cruise in prospect; and, after I had told my mother where I was going, we called at the major’s for the order. He gave me some money to pay the expenses, and, with two of my friends, we embarked in the steamer for Hitaca, where we arrived at half past four. Near the steamer’s wharf, up the river, I saw a beautiful yacht, which I at once concluded was the Grace; and she was worthy of her name, if anything made of wood and iron could be equal to such an honor.

I presented my order to the builder, who was in doubt about delivering it to me, whom he stigmatized as a boy; but when I informed him that I was the engineer of the Lake Shore Railroad, he made no further objection. He did me the honor to say that he had heard of me, and that he had ridden in the dummy from Middleport to Spangleport. I was not a little astonished to find that my fame had travelled so far as Hitaca; but it appeared that everybody in the vicinity knew all about the quarrel between the two sides of the lake.

The Grace was moored in a basin of the river, and the builder put my party on board of her in a skiff. She was a magnificent boat, far exceeding anything of the kind I had seen, or even dreamed of. She was sloop-rigged, painted black outside, and white on deck. But her cabin was the principal attraction to me, and I hastened below to inspect it. It was finished and furnished in a style equal to the major’s house, with two little state-rooms, and a little cuddy forward, with a cook-stove in it. I was astonished and delighted, and would gladly have resigned my situation as engineer for a position on this beautiful craft.

I sent Tom Walton and Joe Poole up to a store to purchase a list of groceries and provisions which I had made out, with Skotchley’s assistance, on board of the steamer; for we should need some supper, and perhaps breakfast, before we could reach Middleport. While they were gone, Skotchley and I devoted ourselves to a new examination of the wonders of the Grace. The builder was pleased with my enthusiasm, and the warm praise both of us bestowed upon his work. He opened all the lockers, and explained everything about the yacht, from the keel to the mast-head.

“When will that railroad be done?” asked the builder, after we had exhausted the Grace, cabin, deck, and rigging.

“In a month or two,” I replied; and I could not fail to observe the sly twinkle in his eye.

“They say Major Toppleton has bought up both the steamers, and intends to run them, in connection with the railroad, only from Middleport to Hitaca.”

“I have heard so; but I know nothing about it.”

“Do you see that steamer?” he added, pointing to a vessel, which had just been launched.

“I see her. Is that the new one Colonel Wimpleton is building?” I asked, with no little curiosity.

“That’s the boat, and if I mistake not she will give your road a hard run.”

“I should like to see her,” I continued.

The builder kindly conducted me all over her. Everything about her was first-class work, and I confess that I rather envied the Wimpletonians the possession of such a steamer. They were just building her cabins and upper works, and I saw that she was to be far ahead of anything on the lake.

“I suppose there will be some lively competition when this boat is finished,” said I, as we left the steamer. “But I hope it will be good-natured.”

“The boat has rather the advantage of you,” added the builder. “If the major will build a bridge over the river at Ucayga, he will win the day. As it is, the steamer will have the weather-gage.”

It was hardly prudent for me to think so, for I was to run the “Lightning Express” in opposition to the new boat. But our provisions had arrived, and just then I was more interested in the cruise of the Grace than in the trips of the new steamer. Skotchley and I went on board. As the river below Hitaca was narrow, and the navigation difficult, the builder, with some of his men, assisted us to work her out into the open lake. The wind was tolerably fresh from the westward, and as soon as the men had left us, I took the helm, and headed the Grace for Middleport. The yacht was a furious sailer, and she tore through the water at a rapid rate.

“I rather like this,” said Skotchley, as he seated himself at my side.

“So do I,” I replied. “I wish the major would make me skipper of this boat, and let some one else run the locomotive.”

“I don’t want anything better than this for my vacation. I should like to spend the week in her, cruising up and down the lake.”

“Perhaps you can. The major is going a fishing in her, I heard him say. Very likely he will let you have a berth in her.”

“I’m afraid not. Tommy will spoil all my chances of anything good for this term,” added the dignified student, shaking his head.

“I think the fellows on the Horse Shoe are likely to bring Tommy to his senses before they get through with him. They have him there alone, and I don’t think they will let him have his own way all the time. At any rate, they began as though they would not.”

“If I were in Tommy’s boots, I should try to make the fellows love instead of hate me. He is smart, and can make himself very agreeable when he isn’t ugly. In my opinion, there will be a big row on the Horse Shoe, even without any help from the Wimps. Tommy is plucky, and I am not sure that it will not be a good thing for him if the Wimps attack his camp. His position is a little like that of some king I have read of, who got up a foreign war to save himself from being tipped off the throne by his own subjects.”

“Supper is ready,” said Tom Walton, who attended to the culinary department of the Grace, having had some experience in the art of cooking. “Shall I take the helm, while you go down?”

I was very happy to have him do so, for Tom was a good boatman, which was the particular reason why I had invited him to be one of the party. We went down into the cabin, where the table was set for us. It was neatly and tastily arranged. The viands consisted of beefsteak, potatoes, milk toast, and coffee; and I must do Tom the justice to say that they tasted as good as they looked. Certainly I never felt happier than when I sat down to that supper. There was something decidedly marine in the surroundings. The fresh breeze created quite a sea for an inland lake, and the Grace tossed up and down just enough to make her seem like a vessel.

[Illustration: THE MAN ON THE RAFT. Page 148.]

“Wolf! Wolf!” shouted Tom Walton, at the helm, just as I was taking my second cup of coffee; for I did not expect to sleep much that night.

“What’s the matter?” I demanded, springing into the standing-room, fearful that some calamity impended over the beautiful yacht.

“There’s some one calling to us from over there,” he replied, highly excited, as he pointed towards the eastern shore. “There he is! It’s a man in a boat, or on a raft.”

“Help! Help!” cried the person, in a voice which sounded strangely familiar to me.

“Let out the main sheet, Tom. We will run over and see what the matter is,” I replied, taking the helm.

In a few moments the Grace swept round into the wind, under the lee of the person who had appealed to us for aid. He was on a kind of raft, sitting upon the wet planks, over which the waves flowed freely. I ran the bow of the yacht up to his frail craft, to which the sufferer was clinging with both hands. Giving the helm to Tom, I rushed forward to help the man, whose face presented a most woe-begone aspect.

My astonishment may be surmised when I recognized in this person Colonel Wimpleton!