Chapter II: Preface

"All Taut" is the fifth volume of "THE BOAT-BUILDER SERIES," which will be finished in the next book. Nearly all the characters presented, and all who take prominent parts in the story, have been introduced in the preceding volumes. The principal of the Beech Hill Industrial School entertains some doubts in regard to the principle upon which he has been conducting the institution, and brings about a partial change in its character. He is a firm believer in the utility of the school as he has organized it; and, apart from its industrial mission, he believes it may accomplish another purpose that will render it still more valuable to the community in which he resides.

The founder of the school has demonstrated to his own satisfaction, to say the least, that the institution is a practicable cure for some of the evils of American society; and he adds to it the feature of making it partly reformatory. The subjects of his new experiment in this direction are the Topovers, who have been the bad characters of the story. He finds them more tractable than he had anticipated, and the story will show with what results he applied the naval discipline of the school to them.

In spite of the rather formidable reformatory plan of Captain Gildrock, the book contains about the same amount of incident and adventure as its predecessors in the series; but they are events which forward the action of the principal, and illustrate his method of reforming bad boys. The Lily is rigged, and makes a very good record as a fast sailer on the lake.

The principal, though the actual work to be done by the students is only to rig a fore-and-aft schooner, explains to them the different kinds of vessels, classed by their rig, and fully illustrates the system by which the spars, rigging, and sails of a ship are named, so that he makes quite an easy matter of it for the boys.

The next and last volume of the series will be devoted to the sailing of boats; though, as in the other books, the subject will be amplified so as to include nautical manœuvres of larger vessels.

DORCHESTER, MASS., May 31, 1886.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

CHAPTER I.

TOM TOPOVER AND HIS RECRUITS 13

CHAPTER II.

THE VOYAGE OF THE THUNDERER 24

CHAPTER III.

A QUESTION DEBATED AND SETTLED 35

CHAPTER IV.

A MUTINY, AND A NEW SKIPPER 46

CHAPTER V.

A QUESTION OF AUTHORITY 57

CHAPTER VI.

A ROW ON BOARD THE GOLDWING 67

CHAPTER VII.

AN UNEXPECTED APPEARANCE 78

CHAPTER VIII.

A STARTLING EVENT ON THE ROAD 89

CHAPTER IX.

LOOKING FOR A SETTLEMENT 100

CHAPTER X.

TWO CONFLICTING STORIES 111

CHAPTER XI.

COMPLIMENTARY TO THE PICNIC-PARTY 121

CHAPTER XII.

A NEW MISSION FOR THE BEECH-HILL SCHOOL 132

CHAPTER XIII.

THE BEGINNING OF THE TROUBLE 143

CHAPTER XIV.

THE PRISONERS IN THE DORMITORY 154

CHAPTER XV.

FIRST LESSONS IN DISCIPLINE 164

CHAPTER XVI.

THE PUPILS FOR THE NEXT YEAR 175

CHAPTER XVII.

TOM TOPOVER FINDS HIMSELF IGNORED 186

CHAPTER XVIII.

NAUTICAL INSTRUCTION ON THE WHARF 197

CHAPTER XIX.

THE DIFFERENT RIGS OF VESSELS 207

CHAPTER XX.

THE SPARS, SAILS, AND RIGGING OF A SHIP 217

CHAPTER XXI.

THE RIGGING AND SAILS OF A SCHOONER 230

CHAPTER XXII.

ORGANIZING THE SHIP'S COMPANY 241

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE TRIAL TRIP OF THE LILY 251

CHAPTER XXIV.

A LIVELY BREEZE ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN 262

CHAPTER XXV.

TOM TOPOVER IN THE ASCENDANT AGAIN 273

CHAPTER XXVI.

AN INDEPENDENT LEADER 284

CHAPTER XXVII.

A SLEEPY SHIP'S COMPANY 295

CHAPTER XXVIII.

STEALING A MARCH UPON THE LEADER 306

CHAPTER XXIX.

TOM TOPOVER'S RECEPTION 317

CHAPTER XXX.

THE REFORMED TOPOVERS AT BEECH HILL 327

ALL TAUT;

OR,

RIGGING THE BOAT.