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[Illustration: THE YACHT WAS BEARING DOWN UPON THEM.]




                                  THE
                       YOUNG OARSMEN OF LAKEVIEW.


                                   BY

                       _CAPT.  RALPH  BONEHILL._


                              _Author of_
         “_Rival Bicyclists_,” “_Leo, the Circus Boy_,” _Etc._


                             [Illustration]


                                NEW YORK
                           W. L. ALLISON CO.,
                              PUBLISHERS.




                            COPYRIGHT, 1897.
                                   BY
                           W. L. ALLISON CO.




                               CONTENTS.


           CHAPTER.                                      PAGE.
                 I. Jerry, Harry and Blumpo                  5
                II. Mrs. Fleming’s Runaway Horse            12
               III. Jerry’s Bravery                         18
                IV. Saving the Sloop                        24
                 V. Harry is Rescued                        30
                VI. The Single Shell Race                   37
               VII. Who Won the Shell Race                  43
              VIII. A Prisoner of the Enemy                 48
                IX. Tar and Feathers                        55
                 X. What Towser Did                         61
                XI. Off for Hermit Island                   67
               XII. An Attack in the Dark                   73
              XIII. Jerry’s Shot                            78
               XIV. The Hermit of the Island                83
                XV. The Hermit’s Secret                     89
               XVI. An Exciting Chase                       94
              XVII. Harry’s New Yacht                       99
             XVIII. The Robbery of the Rockpoint Hotel     108
               XIX. The Red Valise                         113
                XX. The Mishap to the Yacht                118
               XXI. Words and Blows                        125
              XXII. Another Boat Race                      132
             XXIII. Jerry Starts on a Journey              140
              XXIV. The Work of a Real Hero                146
               XXV. A Fruitless Search                     153
              XXVI. Alexander Slocum is Astonished         160
             XXVII. Jerry’s Clever Escape                  165
            XXVIII. Something About a Tramp                171
              XXIX. Mr. Wakefield Smith Again              178
               XXX. An Unlooked for Adventure              182
              XXXI. Nellie Ardell’s Troubles               187
             XXXII. A Crazy Man’s Doings                   193
            XXXIII. The Little Nobody                      200
             XXXIV. Alexander Slocum Shows His Hand        208
              XXXV. A Strange Disappearance                215
             XXXVI. Jerry Hears an Astonishing
                      Statement                            222
            XXXVII. A Joyous Meeting                       229
           XXXVIII. Alexander Slocum is Brought to Book    237
             XXXIX. Harry to the Rescue                    244
                XL. A Struggle in the Dark                 252
               XLI. A Last Race—Good-bye to the Rival
                      Oarsmen                              262




                               CHAPTER I.
                        JERRY, HARRY, AND BLUMPO.


“I’ll race you.”

“Done! Are you ready?”

“I am.”

“Then off we go.”

Quicker than it can be related, four oars fell into the water and four
sturdy arms bent to the task of sending two beautiful single-shell craft
skimming over the smooth surface of the lake.

It was a spirited scene, and attracted not a little attention, for both
of the contestants were well known.

“Go it, Jerry! You can beat him if you try!”

“Don’t let him get ahead, Harry. Keep closer to the shore!”

“How far is the race to be?”

“Up to the big pine tree and back.”

“That’s a full mile and more. I’ll bet on Jerry Upton.”

“And I’ll bet on Harry Parker. He has more skill than Jerry.”

“But Jerry has the muscle.”

“There they go, side by side!”

And thus the talking and shouting went on along the lake front. Most of
the boys present were members of the Lakeview Boat Club, but there were
others of the town there, too, as enthusiastic as the rest.

It was a clear, warm day in June. The summer holidays at the various
institutes of learning in the vicinity had just begun, so many of the
lads had nothing to do but to enjoy themselves.

There were not a few craft out besides the two shells to which we have
drawn attention. But they drew out of the way to give the racers a free
field.

On and on went Jerry and Harry until the big pine was reached. Then came
the turn, and they started on the home stretch side by side, neither one
foot ahead of the other.

“It’s going to be a tie race.”

“Pull, Harry! Let yourself out!”

“Show him what you can do, Jerry!”

Encouraged by the shouts of their friends, both boys increase their
speed. But the increase on both sides was equal, and still the boats
kept bow and bow as they neared the boathouse.

“It’s going to be a tie, sure enough.”

“Spurt a bit, Jerry!”

“Go it for all you’re worth, Harry!”

Again the two contestants put forth additional muscle, each to
out-distance his opponent, and again the two row-boats leaped forward,
still side by side.

As old Jack Broxton, the keeper of the boathouse, said afterward: “It
would have taken twelve judges, sitting twelve days, to have told which
had the advantage.”

The finishing point was now less than five hundred feet distant, and in
a few seconds more the race would be over. The crowd began to stop
shouting, almost breathless with pent-up interest. It was surely the
prettiest race that had ever been rowed on Otasco Lake.

Splash!

The splash was followed by a splutter, and then a frantic cry for help.
A portion of the high float in front of the boathouse had unexpectedly
given way, and a short, stocky, reddish-black youth had gone floundering
over board.

“Blumpo Brown has gone under.”

“It serves him right for standing away out on the edge of the float.”

“Help! Help!” cried the youth in the water.

“Hold on, Harry! Jerry, don’t run into me!”

Alarmed by the cries, the two racers turned around, easing up on their
oars as they did so. A single glance showed them that the unfortunate
one was directly in their path.

“We must stop!” cried Jerry Upton to his friend.

“All right; call it off,” responded Harry Parker. “It was a tie.”

As he finished, both shells drew up, one on either side of Blumpo Brown.
Each of the rowers offered the struggling youth a helping hand.

Blumpo was soon clinging to Jerry’s shell. He was dripping from head to
foot, and not being at all a handsomely-formed or good-looking youth, he
presented a most comical appearance.

“It’s too bad I spoiled the race,” mumbled Blumpo. “But that’s just
me—always putting my foot into it.”

“I guess you put more than your foot into it this time,” was Harry’s
good-natured comment, as he ran close up alongside.

“Where shall I land you, Blumpo?” questioned Jerry Upton.

“Anywhere but near the boathouse,” returned Blumpo, with a shiver that
was not brought on entirely by his involuntary bath. “If you land me
there the fellows won’t give me a chance to get out of sight.”

“I’ll take you up the lake shore if you wish,” said Jerry. “I intended
to go up anyway in a row-boat.”

“All right, Jerry, do that and I’ll be much obliged to you,” returned
Blumpo Brown.

“You are going along, aren’t you, Harry?” continued Jerry, turning to
his late rival.

“Yes, I want to stop at Mrs. Fleming’s cottage,” replied Harry Parker.

In a moment more Harry had turned his shell over to old Jack Broxton and
had leaped into a row-boat.

“Ain’t you fellows going to try it over again?” asked several on the
shore, anxiously.

“Not now,” returned Jerry. Then he went on to Harry, in a lower tone: “I
didn’t expect to make a public exhibition of our little trial at speed,
did