The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat-BuilderOptic, Oliver
General
The Yacht Club; or, The Young Boat-Builder
Optic, Oliver
Sailing -- Juvenile fiction; Yachts -- Juvenile fiction; Young men -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction
"You shall have that satisfaction. If you give me any trouble about it,
I shall have to put these things on," added the sheriff, taking from his
pocket a pair of handcuffs.
The culprit withered at the sight of the irons. He and Laud both walked
to the county jail, where they were locked up. Of course the
imprisonment of such a man as the wicked nabob caused a sensation; but
there was no one to object. He was willing to pay any sum of money to
get out of the scrape; but the majesty of the law must be vindicated,
and there was a contest between money and justice. He obtained bail by
depositing the large amount required in the hands of two men, whom his
well-fed lawyer procured. Between two days he left the city; but
Beardsley kept the run of him, and when he was wanted for trial, he was
brought back from a western state.
On the trial a desperate attempt was made to break down the witnesses;
but it failed. The first for the defence was Mrs. Sykes; but her
evidence was not what had been expected of her. She had told, and
repeated the lie, that the captain left his house at four o'clock on the
morning after the outrage; but in court, and under oath, she would not
perjure herself. She declared that the defendant had left home about
eleven o'clock in the evening, dressed in her husband's blue frock,
boots, and hat. Mr. Sykes, after his wife had told the whole truth, was
afraid to testify as he had said he should do. A conviction followed;
and the prisoner was sentenced to the state prison for ten years. He was
overwhelmed by this result. He swore like a pirate, and then he wept
like a child; but he was sent to Thomaston, and put to hard work.
Laud pleaded guilty, and was sent to the same institution for a year.
There was hope of him; for if he could get rid of his silly vanity, and
go to work, he might be saved from a lifetime of crime.
Donald came out of the fire without the stain of smoke upon him. After
the great race, as Mr. Norwood was in no hurry for the Alice, he went on
the long cruise with the fleet, in the Sea Foam. They coasted along the
shore as far as Portland, visiting the principal places on the seaboard.
On the cruise down Donald "coached" his friend, Ned Patterdale, in the
art of sailing; and on the return he rendered the same service to
Rodman. Both of them proved to be apt scholars; and after long practice,
they were able to bring out the speed of their yachts, and stood a fair
chance in a regatta.
On the cruise, the yachts were racing all the time when under way, but
the results were by no means uniform. When Donald sailed the Maud, she
beat the Skylark; but when Rodman skippered her himself, the commodore
outsailed him. The Maud beat the Sea Foam, as a general rule; but one
day Robert Montague sailed the latter, and the former was beaten.
"Don John, I don't know yet which is the fastest craft in the fleet,"
said Commodore Montague, as they were seated on Manhegan Island, looking
down upon the fleet anchored below them.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account