New England -- Juvenile fiction; Sailing -- Juvenile fiction; Sea stories
When he had been toppled backward down the after cabin steps Harry
Corwin said that they'd been in the habit of leaving the _Follow Me_
unguarded for hours at a time and that so far no one had molested her,
and Steve decided that it would be safe enough if they locked the
cabins. So presently the _Adventurer's_ tender was lifted off the chocks
and put overboard and after hasty toilets the boys piled into it and the
two dingeys, each loaded to the limit, set off for the _Follow Me_. The
latter was a thirty-four foot craft, with a hunting cabin that reached
almost to the stern, leaving a cockpit scarcely large enough to swing a
cat in; although, as Perry remarked, it wasn't likely anyone would want
to swing a cat there. The cabin was surprisingly roomy and held four
berths, while a fifth bunk was placed forward of the tiny galley. The
latter was intended for the crew but at present it was the quarters of
"Brownie." The sixth member of the ship's company occupied at night a
mattress placed on the floor and philosophically explained that
sleeping there had the advantage of security; there was no chance to
roll out of bed in rough weather. The engine compartment lay between
cabin and cockpit and held a six-cylinder engine. Steering was done from
the cockpit, under shelter of an awning, but the engine control was
below. The _Follow Me_ was four years old and had seen much service, but
she had been newly painted, varnished and overhauled and looked like a
thoroughly comfortable and seaworthy boat. She was copper painted below
the water-line and black above, with a gilt line and her name in gilt on
bows and stern. Compared to the _Adventurer_ she was a modest enough
craft, but her six mariners asked nothing better and secretly believed
that in rough weather she would put the bigger boat to shame. Captain
Corwin levied on the slender supply of ginger-ale and sarsaparilla
contained in the tiny ice-chest and after that they again set forth,
this time for the nearest landing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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