CHAPTER XXIV.

A LIVELY BREEZE ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

The trial trip of the Lily was certainly a success so far, but her captain was not quite satisfied. She had made ten knots an hour; and he wanted to know if she was not equal to twelve, which was the ordinary speed of the Sylph. Above Split Rock the lake begins to widen, and the schooner had plenty of searoom. The sea had become tolerably smart, and the Lily pitched in a very oceanic style. The boys liked this sort of thing, though some of the new hands began to be seasick.

At the request of Captain Randolph, the principal consented to the setting of the gaff-topsails. It was blowing very fresh now; and it was not a very easy thing to get these sails aloft, especially with a crew not a half a dozen of whom had ever seen a gaff-topsail set. Even Dory had never seen this sail set, except at a distance; but he was perfectly familiar with theory.

The lake was now covered with white caps, and the sea seemed to be increasing. The principal was rather sorry that he had consented to the setting of the gaff-topsails. He was the only adult on board, for even Bates had been left on shore. He finally modified his consent, after the sails had been brought up from below, so as to require that the Lily should be anchored under the lee of Cannon's Point when the gaff-topsails were set.

The captain gave the order to brace her up, and run for the point indicated. The crew were astonished when the order came for them to take their stations to anchor the schooner. When she luffed up, the jib was hauled down; and, at the right time, the anchor was let go.

"Stations for setting the gaff-topsails!" called the mate, who had received the order for the work from the captain.

By this time the boys had studied their station-bills enough to know their duty, and they had been drilled in doing it. While waiting for a breeze, they had set both gaff-topsails at the same time; and off Cannon's Point it was done as well as it had been in the quiet of Beechwater.

"Stations for weighing anchor!" called the captain.

The students were happy again, and even happier than before; for the extra sails had been set, and they were to be under way again. In a few minutes more—for, with so many hands, very quick work was made of all the manœuvres,—the Lily was standing down the lake again. The gaff-topsails made a wonderful difference in the action of the schooner, for they took the wind from above the bluffs.

With the wind on the port-quarter, the schooner seemed to leap like a greyhound on her course. It was evident that she was an able sea-boat; for she lifted handsomely on the waves, and did not bury her bows in the water. She carried a strong weather-helm; though the power gained by the horizontal wheel made it easy to steer her, much easier than it would have been even with a long tiller.

Captain Gildrock measured the distance from Cannon's Point to Burlington, where he had directed the captain to put in, and found it was six miles to a certain spot near the breakwater. He was sorry he had forgotten to bring a log-line with him. He took the time of the departure, after the schooner was fairly under way.

"I shall ask you for a boat off Burlington when you get under the lee of the breakwater, for I have to go to the bank," said the principal to the captain. "I shall be busy there for two hours; and, while I am on shore, you may run over to Au Sable Point, which is about far enough to use up the time. Do you think you can get along without me?"

"I should be glad to have you with us all the time; but I am sure I can handle the schooner, for I have navigated the Sea Sprite for a whole day in the absence of the sailing-master," replied Captain Randolph confidently.

"The wind is blowing rather fresh, but the Lily proves herself to be an able sea-boat. The only thing to fear is, that some of your crew may give you trouble."

"I don't think they will be likely to do so on the first trip; but, if any do, I think we can manage them, for I am sure all the old scholars will stick by me."

"I don't believe you will have any trouble, and you will be likely to be back in less than two hours. I will get through as soon as I can."

There was nothing about the crew that indicated a mutiny, or even any trouble; for all of them obeyed orders with the nicest care. It was a new thing; and the boys were not likely to make trouble, if ever, until the schooner had become an old story. Hardly any of them had ever seen any livelier sailing on the lake, and half of them had hardly ever been in a sailboat. Half a dozen of them were too seasick to hold up their heads. Among them was Pell Sankland, and even Kidd Digfield was able only with a struggle to keep his place in the ranks.

The government charts of Lake Champlain have a scale on each sheet, in statute miles, nautical miles, and kilometres. The principal had taken off the distance to the point in Burlington Harbor, from the scale of sea-miles. In exactly thirty minutes from the departure from Cannon's Point, the Lily was abreast of the mark; and the distance was six knots. The yacht had therefore made her twelve knots an hour; and the fact was announced to the ship's company, whereat they gave three rousing cheers.

As he had been directed to do, the captain ran the schooner behind the breakwater. The order had been given for the port-quarter boat to be made ready, and her crew of five were called away. The hands had learned how to lower a boat, on board of the steamer; and the work was done properly, and to the admiration of a crowd of spectators on the steamboat wharf, who had run to see the new craft.

The principal was landed, and the boat returned. The captain ordered it to be hoisted up at the davits; though Tom Topover, who was one of the crew, grumbled. It would have to be lowered again in a few minutes, and what was the use of hoisting it up, he reasoned.

But he was hardly on deck before the order was given to get up the anchor; and the Lily was soon standing to the northward, inside of the breakwater. At the lower beacon, she hauled in her sheets, and a course to the north-north-west was given out. The sea was breaking over the top of the breakwater, and outside of it the lake was decidedly rough. At this point the lake is twelve miles wide, so that there was room enough to stir up big waves for an inland sheet of water.

"We are going off without Captain Gildrock," said Tom Topover, after the sheets had been properly coiled up.

"Why shouldn't we?" asked Nim Splugger, to whom the remark had been addressed; for he was the only one of the remaining original Topovers who could hold his head up, Kidd Digfield having just succumbed to the malady, after holding out as long as he could.

Nearly one-half of the ship's company were seasick, and Captain Randolph had begun to fear that he might be short-handed before he returned to Burlington. Even some of the old students were sick.

"I think I could manage this thing as well as Matt Randolph," continued Tom Topover, looking into Nim's face with interest. "I know all about sailing a boat now. I have been out twice with Dory in the Goldwing, and he showed me how to steer her."

"I think I should rather have Matt than you in command," added Nim. "I can steer, but I shouldn't want to have to manage a boat of this size."

"I should like the fun of it; and, if our fellows were as good as they used to be, I would get hold of her, and have a cruise on our own hook," said Tom. (And it appeared that he had lost none of his former enterprise, however it might be with his late cronies.) "But they have all joined the church, and there is no more fun ahead for us."

"Joined the church!" exclaimed Nim.

"I mean old Gildrock's church. They are all as proper as lambs; and the fun has all gone out of them, you among the others, Nim Splugger."

"I think there is as much fun in me as there ever was," added Nim.

"Why don't you show your colors then? You are as meek as Moses."

"So are you!"

"I couldn't do any thing all alone. The fellows caved in, and did not take any more notice of me than they did of any other fellow," growled Tom, who evidently believed that he was born to be a great leader among men.

"It was no use for a fellow to bite his own nose off," Nim explained, as he and the others had done twenty times before to Tom, who had always been ready to remove his nasal appendage in the manner indicated. "If you want to do any thing that is reasonable, just let the fellows know, and you will see where they stand. They have not joined Captain Gildrock's church any more than you have."

"I have had a pretty good time since I was raked into the Industrial School, and I have not thought much about studying up any thing in the way of fun; but it is getting to be a little heavy on my hands to be tied to a bell-rope, and keep step with some little lamb like Dory Dornwood."

The conversation was interrupted just as Tom Topover had delivered himself of these sentiments. The first officer had discovered that all the hands stationed at the jib-sheets were seasick, which was a very humiliating state of things to the captain, and some changes had become necessary in the station-bills. Four hands were transferred from the fore and main sheets to the jib.

The Lily had the wind on the beam; and there was nothing to be done, till the order, "Ready, about!" was given off Point Au Sable. The schooner came about in the liveliest manner, and stood for Burlington on the opposite tack. She was soon inside of the breakwater, and came to anchor there. The other quarter-boat was sent to the shore; and, after waiting a short time, it brought off the principal.

The deck had the appearance of a hospital-ship when the principal came on board, and he directed the captain to beat up Shelburne Bay. Under the lee of the point, where the water was smooth, the Lily came to anchor, to give the seasick ones a rest. The cook and stewards had been at work getting dinner, and at twelve it was served in the cabin. But not many more than half of the students wanted any dinner, and some of them said they did not want any more sailing on the lake.

The dinner was creditable to the cook, and was heartily enjoyed under the novel circumstances. The seasick ones rapidly recovered, and soon wanted something to eat. But the sea continued heavy all the rest of the day, and the principal changed his plan; for he had intended to make a trip to Isle La Motte, and return after dark, in order to give the students a practical exemplification of the use of the signal-lights, as well as of navigating by course and compass. It happened that this had to be deferred till the following week; for an event occurred at the school, a little later, which caused the principal some trouble.

The Lily returned to her moorings early in the afternoon.