The finding of the Landslide Mine, as it was called, had been of great financial benefit to the Morr family, and they had been so pleased that they had given Dave and some of the others a share in the holding. In the meanwhile our hero and his chums, along with their friends, had finished their outing in the West by a grand tour through Yellowstone Park, on which they were accompanied by Dave's sister, Jessie and Belle, and some others. "Now you fellows have got to come on a little trip with me," Phil had said, after coming East, and had explained that a small steamer belonging to his father was then tied up at Philadelphia, getting ready for a trip to Portland, Maine, and back. "That will be fine," Dave had answered; and a little later a party had been made up, including Phil, Dave, Roger, and Shadow, and also Ben Basswood, who, as my old readers know, was one of Dave's old friends from Crumville. With the boys went Mr. Lawrence. When embarking on this trip, none of those on board had dreamed of the strenuous time now so close at hand. "I wonder how long it will take us to reach that vessel?" observed Roger, after Mr. Lawrence had followed the captain. "A quarter of an hour at least," replied Dave. "It will depend somewhat on how much steam the firemen can get up. I don't believe we are running at full speed now." "This steamer used to be a pretty good boat," said Phil, "but she is getting old now, and I heard dad say something about laying her up for repairs next Fall." "Wonder if we'll get a chance to do any rescue work," observed Ben. "I guess we'll do all we can," returned Shadow. "Look! Look!" cried Dave, pointing with his hand. "The smoke is getting thicker than ever!" "Maybe the poor people on that steamer will have to jump overboard before we can reach them," said Phil. "A fire like that must be pretty hot." Soon the youths knew by the pounding of the engine that the _Eaglet_ was running at increased speed. The course had been changed, and now the craft was headed directly for the burning boat. "She's a rather small affair, that's certain," remarked Roger. "Looks to me as if she might be a pleasure boat," remarked Phil, who, taking after his father, knew considerable about sea-going matters. "She's a private steam yacht, to my way of thinking." And later on this proved to be the case. As the _Eaglet_ drew closer to the burning vessel, the boys saw that there was great excitement on board the steam yacht. Sailors and others were rushing to and fro over the deck, and two streams of water from hoses were being directed to one part of the vessel, down a hatchway. The smoke was as thick as ever, and sometimes, as the wind shifted, the steam yacht was hidden entirely from view. Fortunately the sea was comparatively calm, there being only a slight breeze from the northeast. As the _Eaglet_ drew closer, the boys heard Captain Bradley giving directions to some of the sailors to get ready to launch two of the small boats.