TiNKHAM Bros' 
 
i'tatc OJnlUgc of AgticultutP 
 J^t (forneU IniaeraltH 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PS 3097.T5 
 
 The Tinkham brothers' tide-mill, 
 
 3 1924 014 520 930 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924014520930 
 
J. T. TROWBRIDGE'S BOOKS 
 
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 f arnell's Polly 
 
 Coupon Bonds and Other Stories 
 Neighbor Jackwood. Revised Ed. 
 Cudjo'3 Cave 
 
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 JUVENILES 
 
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 SaVER MEDAL STORIES 
 
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 The Silver Medal The Pocket-Rifle 
 
 His Own Master The Jolly Rover 
 
 Bound in Honor Young Joe and Other Beyt 
 
 THE TIDE-MILL STORIES 
 
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 Phil and His Friends 
 
 The Tinkham Brothers' Tide-Mill 
 
 The Satlnwood Box 
 
 The Little Master 
 His One Fault 
 Peter Budstone 
 
 START IN LIFE STORIES 
 Price $x.oo each 
 
 A Start is Life 
 Biding His Time 
 The Lottery Ticket 
 Tbe Kelp-Gatherers 
 
 The Scarlet Tauiger 
 The Adrentnres of David Vaae 
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 TOBY TRAFFORD SERIES 
 
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 Father Brighthopes | Other Stories 
 
 A Pair of Madcaps. Price f 1.99 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., Boston 
 
THE 
 
 TINKHAM BROTHERS' 
 TIDE-MILL 
 
 BY 
 
 J. T. TROWBRIDGE 
 
 (\' »r/^ 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 'h.. «.' 
 
 'J^'ru\u\^''- 
 
 BOSTON : 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO. 
 
CoPYmOHT, 
 
 i832, 
 Bt J. T. TROWBRIDGE. 
 
 AU Sights Reservtd. 
 
COl^TENTS. 
 
 CHAPTiK rAajt 
 
 I. On the Tammoset River 9 
 
 II. The Owner of the Mill 18 
 
 III. The Tinkham Family 28 
 
 IV. The New Home 34 
 
 V. The Fish-Officer 41 
 
 VI. The Odd-Looking Summer House ... 49 
 
 VII. The Boys in Council 60 
 
 VIII. A Call on Dushee 67 
 
 IX. In the Willow-Tree 74 
 
 X. The Encounter at the Dam .... 81 
 
 XI. Reason versus Crow-Bars 87 
 
 XII. The Commodore's Courtesy 93 
 
 XIII. The Argonauts in Council loi 
 
 XIV. What happened that Night . . . -113 
 XV. The Conference 122 
 
 XVI. The Committee reports 131 
 
 XVII. Mart begins a Scrap-Book 142 
 
 XVIII. The New Commodore's New Yacht . . . 149 
 
 XIX. Two Sides to a Story 157 
 
 XX. The Man in Blue and the Man in Gray . 168 
 
 XXI. The Crisis 177 
 
 XXII. What the Lawyer said 184 
 
 XXIII. What the Local Editor said .... 190 
 
 XXIV. What happened that Day 197 
 
 XXV. To rescue the Mud-Sill 206 
 
 XXVI. That Evening 214 
 
 XXVII. Rush has an Idea 224 
 
 XXVIII. How the Argonauts helped .... 232 
 
 XXIX. Rebuilding the Dam 238 
 
iv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAFTEB PAQE 
 
 XXX. Calm before Storm 248 
 
 XXXI. An Attack 256 
 
 XXXII. The Battle of the Dam 264 
 
 XXXIII. Victory 272 
 
 XXXIV. The Prisoner 279 
 
 XXXV. A Boat-Load of Girls 285 
 
 XXXVI. "In Strictest Confidence" . . . .293 
 
 XXXVII. The Tub-Race 298 
 
 XXXVIII. What Lute saw in his Water-Glass . . 306 
 
 XXXIX. From the Sunken Yacht 316 
 
 XL. The Tide turns 321 
 
THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON THE TAMMOSET RIVER. 
 
 A YOUNG fellow, about seventeen years old, — a 
 mere boy, in fact, with a rather solid-looking 
 but fresh and pleasant face, — stepped from a train at 
 the Tammoset station, one March afternoon, and 
 looked about him with the air of a stranger. 
 
 After a brief survey of the plashy village streets, 
 bordered with gutters half full of snow and sluggish 
 water, he addressed a flag-man who was coming along 
 the platform. 
 
 " Can you show me Dempford Street .' " 
 
 " First street to the left," was the ready answer, 
 illustrated by a motion of the flag rolled up on its 
 stick. 
 
 " Does that take me to the river .' " 
 
 " Straight to the river, — straight to Dempford 
 Bridge." 
 
lO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " And Mr. Dushee's place ? " 
 
 "Oh, Dushee's!" said the flag-man. "That's a 
 little off the main track. Turn to your right, just 
 before you get to the bridge, and keep down the 
 river a few rods, till you see an old mill." 
 
 "That 's just what I want to see," the boy replied, 
 with a look of satisfaction. " Much obliged." 
 
 Picking his way along the muddy sidewalks, he 
 passed beyond the village, and in a few minutes came 
 to the brow of a hill, where he paused. 
 
 Below was the river, sweeping, full-banked and 
 strong, across the foreground of a brown landscape, 
 mottled with dingy patches of snow-drifts. On the 
 left, not very far away, was a large pond or lake, still 
 ice-bound, except near the mouth, out of which the 
 dark current flowed. There were orchards and 
 groves, and pleasant residences here and there, on 
 the far-winding shores. 
 
 " That must be fine in summer," he said to himself, 
 with a smile. " We '11 keep a boat and go a-fishing, 
 and have some jolly sails, — if the chickens I'm 
 counting will only hatch. Won't it be nice to take 
 mother out, and row with her along by those woods, 
 just after sunset? — if she will only agree to my 
 plans. And Letty, won't she like it ! But I know 
 it can't be ; it 's all too good to come true." 
 
' Can you show me Dcmpford Street? " — Page 9. 
 
ON THE TAMMOSET RIVER. II 
 
 And yet there was a look on his face which said 
 that it should come true, if the determined will and 
 good wit of a boy of his size could accomplish it. 
 
 The river flowed beneath the bridge at the foot of 
 the slope, and making a curve to the right, soon dis- 
 appeared under the hill, which terminated there in 
 a low bluff. On the summit of that was an old-fash- 
 ioned house, and just beyond, through the bare 
 boughs of a large willow-tree, appeared a brown 
 roof. 
 
 "That must be the mill," he exclaimed, starting to 
 walk toward it. 
 
 Descending the bluff, he took a foot-path along the 
 river's brink, amidst a scene picturesque enough even 
 at that season of the year. 
 
 On his right was the bluff, or high bank, to the 
 steep side of which heavy snow-drifts still clung. 
 On his left, the whirling stream rushed on toward a 
 low dam, over which it broke with a sound that was 
 music to his ears. The mossy turf of the path he 
 trod was supported by the roots of willow-trees that 
 overleaned the water, in the largest of which — an 
 immense pollard, with stout branches — seats were 
 framed, with a little foot-bridge of plank leading to 
 them from the top of the bank. 
 
 " What a place for mother to sit and sew, in pleas- 
 
12 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 ant weather ! " he said to himself, with ever-kindling 
 enthusiasm. " We '11 put a little railing along by the 
 plank, and we can help her over safely. It beats all 
 the bay-windows in the world ! Right over the 
 water, and up among the birds ! " 
 
 A pair of those early comers, the bluebirds, were 
 there already, flitting in the boughs, their beautiful 
 plumage and richly warbled notes hinting of the 
 delights of the season of leaves and flowers now so 
 near at hand. 
 
 But, while taking in with keen interest so many 
 things, the eye of the boy did not neglect the prin- 
 cipal object of his visit. 
 
 That rose before him, at the end of the path, close 
 by the great willow, — a little, old, brown, two-story 
 building, built partly over the water, at the end of 
 the dam, and partly against the high bank. 
 
 A door at the end of the path opened into a shed- 
 like wing, where his eye was delighted with the 
 sight of a forge with its great bellows. 
 
 " This is what the boys will like ! " he said, with a 
 nod and a smile. " And there is the water-wheel ! 
 I wonder why it is n't going. I believe the place is 
 deserted." 
 
 He peeped through an open doorway, leading 
 from the shed into the lower story of the mill, and 
 
ON THE TAMMOSET RIVER. 13 
 
 saw on one side a long work-bench with lathes, a 
 circular saw beyond, wheels and boards overhead, 
 and all sorts of odd litter scattered about the room. 
 
 Nothing very attractive, you would have said ; and 
 yet the sight filled the boyish visitor with mild rap- 
 ture. 
 
 " Everything is lovely, so far ! But I must n't 
 appear too well pleased. There 's somebody." 
 
 The roof of the shed formed a walk from the 
 upper story of the mill to the top of the bank. 
 Footsteps were heard on the boards overhead, and 
 presently a chubby-faced boy appeared beyond, 
 descending a path through the slushy snow. 
 
 " I 've come to look at your mill," said Boy Num- 
 ber One, carelessly. 
 
 " Wall, ye can look ; don't cost nothin'," said Boy 
 Number Two, with a grin. 
 
 " It 's a dilapidated old shell," remarked Number 
 One. 
 
 " Wall, kind o'," said Number Two, " though she 
 ain't so old as she looks. She never had no coat of 
 paint ; that 's what 's the matter." 
 
 " I should think so," said Number One. " Is the 
 water power good for anything ? " 
 
 " Good for anything ? " echoed Number Two, as 
 he went and stood by Number One and watched the 
 
14 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 current rushing by the undershot wheel. " There 's 
 power enough." 
 
 "Why is n't somebody using it, then?" 
 " Well, we might ; tide is going out strong now." 
 " You are dependent on the tide, are you ? " 
 " Of course," said Number Two. " Don't you 
 know ? It 's a tide-mill." 
 
 " I 'm not much acquainted with tide-mills," Num- 
 ber One replied. " Explain it to me." 
 
 " This is the Tammoset River," said Number Two, 
 " though some folks call it the Dempford River. It 
 runs between two towns. This is Tammoset on 
 this side, and that is Dempford over there." 
 " And what 's the name of the lake .' " 
 " That 's got more names than a poor man has 
 shirts," grinned Boy Number Two. "Some folks 
 call it Tammoset Lake, and some Dempford Lake ; 
 but most generally they say jest the lake, or the 
 pond." 
 
 "Do you mean to say that the tide flows all the 
 way up here from the harbor .'' " 
 
 " Course I do ! Why not ? It 's only about seven 
 miles, and there 's scarce any fall to the water." 
 
 " Is the water of the lake salt or fresh .■" " asked the 
 strange boy. 
 
 " Fresh, of course," the Tammoset boy replied. 
 
ON THE TAMMOSET RIVER. 1 5 
 
 " No salt water ever gits up as fur as here, without 
 't is in a very dry time. They do say the water in 
 the bottom of the pond is a leetle mite brackish; 
 though I don't know how anybody knows." 
 
 " I see," remarked the visitor, who was not quite 
 so ignorant as he had been willing to appear. 
 " When the tide comes in, it forces back the flow of 
 fresh water ; but it turns again before it gets up as 
 far as here. Salt water being heavier than fresh, 
 any that gets into the lake would stay at the 
 bottom." 
 
 While they were talking, there came a sudden 
 rush of water under the wheel, which began to move, 
 slowly at first, then with a brisk rush of the revolv- 
 ing paddles. 
 
 " There she goes ! " said the Tammoset boy. " I 
 told you 't was about time for her to begin to hum. 
 Do you want to see father .' " 
 
 " Is Mr. Dushee your father .' " 
 
 " Yes, and he owns the mill ; and he wants to sell 
 it. Do you know of anybody who wants to buy .' ' ' 
 
 The Tammoset boy spoke so eagerly that the boy 
 who really wanted to buy thought it best to appear 
 more indifferent than ever. 
 
 " I 'd like to see him by and by. Why does he 
 want to sell ? " 
 
l6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Oh, I d'n' know ! Tired on 't, I s'pose. Wants 
 to git into some other kind o' business, where he 
 won't have to work so hard." 
 
 " That 's natural," said the visitor. " Show me 
 how you take advantage of the tide." 
 
 The boy who belonged to the place led the way to 
 a platform over the end of the dam, and pointed out 
 a broad opening in it, stopped by movable boards, 
 over which the water poured. 
 
 " Them 's the flash-boards" he explained, " When 
 the tide runs up they float, and let it go up into the 
 pond. Those ropes keep 'em from floating away. 
 After the tide turns, and we want the power, all 
 we 've got to do is to put down the flash-boards. 
 Soon's the water has fell away a leetle from the 
 lower side, we 've got about as smart a water-power, 
 till tide comes up again, as ever ye need to have, for 
 a small, perty business, ye know. Two tides a day, 
 understand." 
 
 " Only, one of them *s apt to be in the night," 
 replied the visitor, with a laugh. " Do you own any 
 land on the other side ? " 
 
 " No need of that," said the mill-boy. " Father 
 jest bought the right of the owner to build his dam 
 and keep it there ninety-nine years. I don't know why 
 they did n't say a hundred while they was about it." 
 
ON THE TAMMOSET RIVER. 1 7 
 
 " Ninety-nine seems long enough for all practical 
 purposes," said the visitor, hardly able to conceal his 
 delight at the general aspect of things. " What 's 
 the price of the old trap, any way? " 
 
 " I don't know what the price is ; but father says 
 he means to sell for what he can git," said young 
 Dushee, innocently. 
 
 " Oh, does he ? " thought the visitor, with secret 
 glee ; not that he was at all anxious to obtain the 
 property for less than it was worth, but that, having 
 already set his heart on it,' he earnestly hoped that 
 the price would come within the means at his com- 
 mand. 
 
l8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 
 
 A LARGE-FACED, sandy-complexioned man was 
 at work before a lathe when the two boys 
 entered the shop. He was turning what promised to 
 be a croquet-ball, making the fine chips fly, and the 
 round, ragged-looking block hum. 
 
 As the millboy had just such another flabby- 
 cheeked, sandy countenance, laid out on a smaller 
 scale, the visitor did not need to be told that he was 
 in the presence of the elder Dushee. 
 
 He watched the 'operation of turning with lively 
 interest, while the son spoke to his father, and tried 
 to attract his attention. But the elder Dushee, hav- 
 ing noticed by a glance that it was only another boy 
 who had come in with his boy, kept steadily at his 
 work, with no more expression in the extensive fea- 
 tures than if they had been composed of the sand 
 they so much resembled. 
 
 After a while he paused in his cutting to apply the 
 curved arms of a measure to his revolving ball. 
 Then the son tried again. 
 
THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 1 9 
 
 " Here 's somebody to look at the mill. Guess he 
 wants to buy ! " 
 
 Instantly a gleam of sunshine lighted up the 
 Saraha-like countenance, — a smile, in other words, 
 — which was turned hospitably on the youthful 
 stranger. 
 
 " Come to look at the mill, have ye ? " Scanning 
 him closely, and seeing what a mere boy he was, 
 the man added, "But I don't s'pose you want to 
 buy.?" 
 
 " No, I don't," said the visitor. 
 
 The sunshine faded from the desert. 
 
 " But I know parties who may wish to purchase," 
 he continued, "and I have come to examine and 
 report." 
 
 " Oh ! all right." The sandy waste lighted up 
 again. "I'll show you what we've got here." 
 
 " Don't leave your work," said the visitor. 
 
 " That can wait. I happened to get hold of some 
 good apple-tree wood, and I thought I would turn a 
 few croquet sets," Mr. Dushee explained. " Who 
 are the parties you speak of .' " 
 
 "Well, my brothers and myself. There are five 
 of us altogether. I am the third. Our name is 
 Tinkham." 
 
 " The Tinkham boys ! I have heard of the Tink- 
 
20 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 ham boys ! " Mr. Dushee exclaimed. " And, by 
 George, I owe 'em a grudge, too ! " 
 
 " I am sorry for that," replied young Tinkham 
 modestly. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said Mr. Dushee, good-naturedly, not- 
 withstanding his grudge. "I was making a very 
 nice doll's carriage for Mellen & Co. ; they sold all 
 I could turn out. But all to once they said, ' Mr. 
 Dushee, we can't take any more of them carriages at 
 that price.' 'What's up.'' says I. Says they, 'We 
 have to retail your carriage at three dollars ; but 
 here's some, jest about as good, — better, too, in 
 some respects, — that we can sell for two.' 'Whose 
 carriages be them .'' ' says I, and I '11 own that they 
 was mighty cute little things. By two or three 
 ingenious tricks the inventors had managed to make 
 a cheaper article than mine, while it was quite 
 as perty, — maybe pertier, — and nigh about as 
 strong." 
 
 The visitor smiled quietly, while Mr. Dushee 
 went on. 
 
 " ' Whose make be them .' ' says I. ' The Tinkham 
 boys',' says they. ' Who 's the Tinkham boys .' ' says 
 J, 'The Widder Tinkham's,' says they. 'That's 
 about all we know of 'em ; only that they 've got 
 i>ng heads on their shoulders, and can make dolls' 
 
THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 21 
 
 carriages cheaper 'n you can.' 'Very well,' says I, 
 'let 'em make 'em.' But I tell ye I was mad!" 
 
 "That little carriage was my brother Luther's 
 notion," said the Tinkham boy present. " He 's only 
 nineteen, but he's full of ideas, and can do almost 
 anything he sets out to. He didn't set out to 
 undersell you, Mr. Dushee, or to injure your busi 
 ness ; but he saw there might be improvements 
 made in dolls' carriages, and it appears that he suc- 
 ceeded in making them." 
 
 "Oh, that's all right!" Mr. Dushee said. 
 " Where 's your shop ? " 
 
 " We have n't any shop of our own," the Tinkham 
 boy answered, frankly, "and we are looking about 
 for one. That is, I saw your advertisement, and 
 thought perhaps your tide-mill would suit our pur- 
 pose." 
 
 " Should n't wonder if it would ! " said the proprie- 
 tor, gleefully ; " should n't wonder a mite ! Where 
 have you done your work ? " 
 
 " At home, and in our Uncle Dave Darrill's saw- 
 mill. My older brothers, Luther and Martin, began 
 to make things for their own amusement while they 
 were going to school. Then, when father died, and 
 they had to go to work, they thought they would put 
 some of their toys and knick-knacks on the market, 
 
22 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 A few sold pretty well, and that encouraged them 
 to invent more. They have made a good many of 
 their own tools, and contrived the machinery they 
 have put up in uncle's mill. I am not much of an 
 inventor, myself," the Tinkham boy went on, " but I 
 am a tolerably good workman, and I believe I 've a 
 head for business." 
 
 " I should think you had ! " said Mr. Dushee, with 
 increasing good-humor. 
 
 " I don't want to be separated from my brothers ; 
 I want to keep the family together," the representa- 
 tive of the Tinkhams went on, with a swell of emotion 
 in his tones. " I have two younger brothers, still at 
 School, and one sister. My mother fell and broke 
 her knee on a bad place in the sidewalk, just after 
 father died, and she is a cripple. We want to keep 
 her with us." 
 
 " A good idee ! a good idee ! " Mr. Dushee 
 exclaimed, the sunshine of his smile expanding 
 until it seemed to spread all over the continent 
 of his person, and put hiiii into a universal 
 glow. 
 
 "The time has come when the boys ought to 
 have a shop of their own, with a little elbow-room 
 and water-power. I want to keep with them, and 
 learn to be the business man of the concern. Then 
 
THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 23 
 
 our younger brothers can work into it. That 's my 
 plan, and that 's why I have come — " 
 
 Suddenly, seeming to recollect himself, the visitor 
 hesitated. He had set out to be very diplomatic^ 
 and here he was telling the honest truth and expos- 
 ing his secret motives without any caution whatever. 
 Indeed, it was not in Rush Tinkham's frank and 
 impulsive nature to use much reserve and finesse, 
 however needful he might think them in advancing 
 his personal interests ; but he instinctively broke 
 through them, and stood on the solid and enduring 
 ground of sincerity. 
 
 "You've come to jest the right place," Mr. Du- 
 shee made haste to assure him. " This is jest the 
 mill you want ! " showing his visitor about the little 
 factory. " Everything in perfect repair, shabby as 
 things look. Good water-power, good machinery, 
 plenty of room. Come up-stairs." 
 
 Rush Tinkham felt sure that his brothers would 
 be delighted with what he saw. But he said dis- 
 creetly, — 
 
 " I should n't wonder if it would suit us. Now, 
 about the price. Put your figures right down to 
 the lowest point ; then, if we can reach up to them, 
 I '11 try to have my brothers come out and see the 
 property." 
 
24 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " You ought to buy the whole place," said the 
 owner ; " good house, an acre of land, garden, and 
 stable." 
 
 "I should like that, if we can afford it," said 
 Rush ; thinking, " We '11 keep a horse, and give 
 mother such nice rides ! " 
 
 Mr. Dushee then showed him the house and 
 grounds, the boy's keen eyes taking in everything, 
 while he often said to himself, " Mother will like 
 this ; won't mother take comfort in that : " for, 
 though simple and plain, everything was spacious 
 and comfortable compared with the narrow quarters 
 which the family occupied in the city. 
 
 " Nice place, ain't it > " said the proprietor, with 
 his most expansive smile, as they returned to the 
 mill. 
 
 "I like it," Rush replied, frankly ; "and I am sur- 
 prised that you should want to part with it." 
 
 "I don't want to," said Mr. Dushee. "But if I 
 sell the mill I don't care to keep the house. And I 
 want to sell the mill because the Tinkham boys cut 
 under me, and make dolls' carriages cheaper 'n I 
 can." 
 
 He laughed. Rush laughed too, and said, — 
 
 " There 's no other reason .■' " 
 
 "That's the principal reason. My ways areruther 
 
THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 25 
 
 dld-fashioned, and I can't get out of the ruts ; I 
 can't compete with younger men with their modern 
 improvements." 
 
 " Your water-power is all right .' " Rush inquired. 
 
 The owner grinned. Young Dushee also grinned, 
 with a curious expression, as he stood and listened 
 to the conversation and watched his father's face. 
 
 "It ought to be ; I 've used it nigh on to fifteen 
 year. I 've never seen the time," the elder Du- 
 shee added, " when I could n't depend on eight 
 hours, in every twelve, of good running power. 
 Each tide is about two hours coming up. In about 
 two hours more it will be running down fast enough 
 for the wheel. Then we have eight hours, as I say, 
 before the water sets back again. In the driest 
 time, when fresh water fails and a good many mills 
 have to stop, the tide keeps up the supply here." 
 
 " You 've a right to dam the stream ? " said Rush, 
 looking out on the river from a window. 
 
 "A perfect right," the elder Dushee declared, 
 rather earnestly, while the younger watched his face 
 with the same curious grin which Rush would have 
 done well to observe. " It don't injure nobody. It 
 keeps the level of the lake stiddier'n it would be 
 without it, and that 's ruther an advantage to land- 
 owners than otherwise." 
 
26 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TfDE-MILL. 
 
 " I should think it might be in the way of boats," 
 Rush suggested. 
 
 There was a sort of sunset flush on the sandy desert 
 of a face, as the proprietor answered, stoutly, — 
 
 " Whether 't is or not, it has been there, as I said, 
 nigh on to fifteen year ; and it has a perfect right to 
 be there, for this ain't a navigable stream." 
 
 They then talked of terms, and Mr. Dushee, after 
 much hesitation, named a price for the whole place, 
 and also a separate price for the mill. 
 
 "If everything is as you say, and as it looks to 
 be," said Rush, " I '11 have my brothers, and perhaps 
 my uncle, come and talk with- you." 
 
 "It's jest as I say, and jest as it looks," Mr. 
 Dushee assured him. Then, as Rush started to go, 
 he said, " Wait till we tackle up, and my boy shall 
 carry you over to the depot. Dick, run and be back- 
 ing out the buggy." 
 
 Rush Tinkham took a last survey of the mill, the 
 river, and the pleasant grounds, while father and son 
 were " tackling up," and the father gave the son this 
 parting counsel, — 
 
 " Watch the clock on the steeple, and keep driving 
 till jest a minute or two afore train-time, so he won't 
 have no chance to talk with anybody else about the 
 mill. And be sure you don't let on anything about — " 
 
THE OWNER OF THE MILL. 2^ 
 
 Here he lowered his voice, for the horse was har- 
 nessed, and Rush was coming to get into the buggy, 
 
 Returning along the hillside toward the lake, 
 Rush, from the high buggy seat, observed an object 
 which had hardly attracted his attention when he 
 passed within sight of it on foot. It was an odd- 
 looking, half-finished structure, partly hidden by 
 trees on the shore. 
 
 " What are they building over there 1 " he asked of 
 Dick Dushee. 
 
 Now, as this was a dangerously near approach to 
 the subject which he had been warned by his father 
 not to "let on anything about," Dick Dushee, I 
 regret to say, prevaricated. 
 
 " Oh, I d'n' know," he replied. " Some sort of 
 a summer house, I believe." 
 
 " An odd -looking summer house," was Rush Tink- 
 ham's comment, " and an ugly object to be set there, 
 on the lake shore." 
 
 Dick Dushee looked straight before his nose at 
 the horse's tail, and made no reply. 
 
 They rode on, and, with his mind full of other 
 things. Rush thought no more of the odd-looking 
 "summer house," destined though it was to be the 
 source of unnumbered woes to the future owners of 
 the tide-mill. 
 
28 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE TINKHAM FAMILY. 
 
 O USH TINKHAM went home that evening full 
 -^ *- of enthusiasm for the purchase of the Dushee 
 property. 
 
 " It seems as though the place had been made on 
 purpose for us," he said, drawing his chair up to the 
 table where the family were already at supper. " We 
 must have it ! We will have it ! " 
 
 " Even if we have to steal it," suggested Martin, 
 the oldest son, whose habit it was to grow cool as the 
 juniors grew warm on any subject. 
 
 He had a dry way with him, and a serious drawl, 
 which, together with a trick of drawing down one 
 side of his homely mouth, gave a droll effect to his 
 little sarcasms. 
 
 " You would say steal it, or anything, to have it, if 
 you should pay it a visit," said Rush. " Oh ! the nice 
 water-power, the iron lathe and the wood lathe, the 
 steam-box, the forge, the jig-saws, and things, — it 
 would do your heart good. Mart, to see 'em ! " 
 
THE TINKHAM FAMILY. 2^ 
 
 " I rather think it would make my heart ache to 
 see what I could n't have," Mart replied. 
 
 "Rush has got tide-mill on the brain," remarked 
 Luther, the second son, a near-sighted youth in 
 glasses, which gave a singularly old look to his face 
 of nineteen. He stammered a little. " F-f -funny ! 
 Rush can't invent anything, and yet he 's the one 
 who is so anxious for us to have a f-f-f-factory of our 
 own." 
 
 "You are just as anxious as he is," spoke up 
 Letty, the sister, a bright girl in her sixteenth year ; 
 " but you are not half so enterprising." 
 
 " Come, children," said the mild mother, in her 
 cripple's chair, which had been drawn up to the table, 
 " postpone your disputes, and hear what Rocket has 
 to say." 
 
 " Rocket " was the playful family name for Rush ; 
 though I am not sure that any one could have told how 
 he ever came by it. Perhaps it was on account of an 
 eager, impetuous way he had of starting up and dart- 
 ing off on new enterprises, — a trait which had been 
 more noticeable in him two or three years before 
 than now. 
 
 Or it may have been suggested by his real name. 
 Since a rocket goes with a rush, why should not 
 " Rush " give rise to " Rocket " .' 
 
jO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Each of the children had some such nickname, and 
 it was a beautiful trait of the mother that, despite 
 her years, her widowhood, and her crippled limb, she 
 entered into all innocent sportiveness of this sort 
 with as much spirit as any of them. 
 
 "The tide-mill is my idea, and, for that reason. 
 Mart and Lute oppose it," said Rush. " But they '11 
 come round. It's just the place for you, mother; 
 and for you, Letty ! Such a great willow-tree as 
 there is, with seats in it, almost over the water, and 
 a foot-plank running to them from the bank ! A 
 pair of bluebirds came while I was there, and told 
 me how pleasant it was in summer." 
 
 " Oh ! " exclaimed Letty, sharing his enthusiam. 
 " You make me want to fly to get there ! I 'm long- 
 ing for trees and water ! " 
 
 " And, of course, we shall keep a boat and a horse ; 
 and, mother, you shall have the loveliest rides on the 
 lake and the fine Tammoset roads ! " Rush rattled 
 on. "And a garden for flowers and vegetables, — 
 think of that! And pigs and chickens, boys!" 
 addressing the two youngest, at the end of the table. 
 
 " I go in for the pigs and chickens ! " cried Rupert, 
 aged fourteen, 
 
 " Let 's move to-morrow I " exclaimed Rodman, 
 aged twelve. 
 
THE TINKHAM FAMILY. 3C 
 
 " But you have n't told us the price of all these fine 
 things," said the mother, with a smile. 
 
 "Yes, Rocket," added Martin, who was far more 
 interested than he appeared. "Now for the cold 
 water." 
 
 " The asking price is four thousand dollars. But 
 I 've no doubt we can buy it for three, for Dushee 
 is awfully anxious to sell. That includes everything ; 
 and there is an acre of land. By the way, boys, 
 there 's a good joke ! " ' 
 
 And, to explain Dushee's motive for selling, Rush 
 told the story of the dolls' carriages which Luther's 
 had driven out of the market. 
 
 That pleased Luther, and brought him over to 
 Rush's side. 
 
 " Now, I 've something to tell you," he said 
 " Mart to-day received a p-p-proposal to make all the 
 wood-work of Cole & Co.'s fire-works. To do that 
 we shall need our own shop." 
 
 " Oh, now ! if everything is n't made on purpose ! " 
 said Rush. " Dushee said he must have half down 
 in cash, say fifteen hundred. You've got twelve 
 hundred, mother ; and I 'm sure we can raise the 
 rest somehow, with enough to move and start with." 
 
 The widow smiled, but with something like a look 
 of pain. 
 
32 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " My poor little twelve hundred dollars ! " she 
 said ; " all I have in the world ! " 
 
 " Except your children, mother," said Letty, 
 with a high, proud look. " See those five stalwart 
 boys ! " 
 
 " And my dear, darling daughter ! " said the mother, 
 with starting tears. " I know better than anybody 
 else what you all are to me. I am rich in your love 
 and help. But I must look out carefully for my 
 twelve hundred dollars, just the same. I can't — 
 I can't risk that ! " 
 
 "Where's the risk.?" Rush asked. "I tell you 
 this is a big thing, that has been kept waiting for us. 
 We're bound to succeed, and build up a business, 
 and make such a home for you, mother, as you never 
 could have unless we launched out a little." 
 
 " Well, well I we '11 see," said Mrs. Tinkham, 
 quickly brushing away a tear, and smiling reso- 
 lutely. "We shall do nothing rashly." 
 
 " Of course," replied Rush. " I want Lute and 
 Mart and Uncle Dave to go and see the place, exam- 
 ine it thoroughly, and make sure that everything 
 about it is all right ; and then buy it only if they 
 think it 's best." 
 
 There was muQh more talk on the exciting topic, 
 the result of which was that the two oldest boys and 
 
THE TINKHAM FAMILY. 33 
 
 their uncle visited the Dushee place two days later, 
 and got the refusal of it for thirty-six hundred dol- 
 lars, — sixteen hundred to be paid in cash, the 
 remainder to be secured by mortgage. 
 
 The uncle advised the purchase, and Mart and 
 Lute were now as eager as Rush himself to get 
 possession of the old tide-mill and the river-side 
 home. They had not noticed the odd-looking " sum- 
 mer house" on the lake shore. 
 
 The boys had two hundred dollars of their own, 
 and their uncle, who knew them well and believed in 
 them, offered to lend them five hundred more. After 
 that the mother could no longer withhold her con- 
 sent. 
 
 To make every step secure, a lawyer examined the 
 title to the property, and, that being found satisfac- 
 tory, the bargain was finally closed, to the great joy 
 of Rush and his brothers, and equally to the satis- 
 faction of Mr. Dushee. 
 
 " They 're young and plucky ; they can fight it 
 better 'n I can," he remarked, with a big sigh of 
 relief, when he told Dick that he had at last got the 
 " plaguy thing " off his hands. " Now let 'em find 
 out ! " 
 
34 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE NEW HOME. 
 
 THE Dushees moved into a smaller house on the 
 Dempford side of the river, and on the first of 
 April the Tinkhams took possession of their new 
 home. 
 
 Rush drove his mother and Letty over from the 
 Tammoset station in Mr. Dushee's buggy, which the 
 boys had about decided to purchase, together with 
 the horse, harnesses, and a good business wagon, — 
 these being among the many things the owner would 
 now have no use for, and which, he said, ought to go 
 with the mill. 
 
 " A pretty fair sort of a horse," Rush remarked, as 
 he drove out of the village. " Get up ! " — with a 
 flourish of the whip. " Not a two-forty nag, exactly, 
 — go 'long, will you ! — not very stunning in the 
 way of beauty, but he'll do till we can afford a 
 better." 
 
 " He looks well enough, I 'm sure," replied his 
 mother. "And why should boys always wish to 
 travel so fast ? I never expected we should be able 
 
THE NEW HOME. 35 
 
 to keep a horse at all ; and such a one as this, even, 
 seems too much — too great a blessing ! " 
 
 " Oh, he 's beautiful, if he is only ours," said Letty. 
 " To think of keeping our own horse and carriage I 
 It 's like a dream." 
 
 " I hope it won't all turn out to be a big April fool," 
 said the mother, with a smile in which quivered a deep 
 and tender emotion. "That's what I am afraid of." 
 
 The weather was fine; nearly all the first birds 
 had come ; there was a sweet scent of spring in the 
 air. Letty, full of girlish hopes and gay spirits, was 
 delighted with everything; and it was easy to see 
 that, under all her doubts and misgivings as to this 
 important change in their lives, the widow felt a 
 tranquil joy. 
 
 Until that day Rush had not seen the place since 
 his first visit, and the others had not seen it at all. 
 It now appeared to him even more attractive than 
 before, and he experienced the anxious pleasure of 
 watching their first impressions as they saw the lake, 
 the river, the mill roof appearing among the willows 
 above the bank, and the old-fashioned house which 
 was to be their future home. 
 
 Letty was almost wild with enthusiasm, while 
 in the mother's eyes glistened that happiness which 
 is akin to tears. 
 
36 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Did n't I tell you it was nice ? " Rush said, 
 exultingly. 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " said Letty ; " but I could n't believe 
 it was half so nice as it is." 
 
 " It is very charming, indeed," said the mother. 
 " What a pretty little plateau the house stands on ! 
 I didn't think I should live to enjoy a home sur- 
 rounded only by the air and sunshine, with no near 
 neighbors but the trees and birds." 
 
 " There 's Lute coming out to meet us," said Letty. 
 
 The boys had arrived with the loads of goods 
 earlier in the day, and had been busy putting things 
 to rights and preparing for their mother, whom they 
 wished to spare the trials of moving. 
 
 Lute ran out, hatless, in his shirt-sleeves, his 
 honest face beaming behind the spectacles, which 
 gave it an almost comically wise look, and stam- 
 mered his joyful greeting. 
 
 "Well, m-m-mother, this is j-j-jolly! We didn't 
 want you to come a minute before ; but now we 're 
 about r-r-ready for you." 
 
 He reached to lift her from the wagon, as tenderly 
 as if she had been a child, at the same time ordering 
 Rush to " t-t-tumble out." But Rush said, — 
 
 " I want to drive her around the place first, and 
 show her the mill and the river." 
 
* A fine red rooster crowod a shrill welcome." — Page 37. 
 
THE NEW HOME. 37 
 
 "All right," said Lute. "That will give us a 
 1-1-little more time." 
 
 He ran in to give some finishing touches to his 
 mother's room, which was the first part of the 
 house the boys had meant to have comfortable, in 
 order to make her arrival as pleasant a surprise as 
 possible. 
 
 Rush drove around by the little barn, along the 
 track toward the mill ; while Letty, who had leaped 
 from the buggy, ran on before, light and happy as 
 one of the newly arrived birds. 
 
 Hens were squawking with lazy content in the 
 warm sun beside the barn. A pullet was cackling 
 excitedly within, — over a new-laid egg. Rush said, 
 — and a fine red rooster, stepping aside from the 
 track as they passed, crowed a shrill welcome, — 
 sounds full of pleasant rural suggestion to ears and 
 hearts long shut up in city walls. 
 
 Then came shouts of boyish laughter, as the two 
 youngest, Rupert and Rodman, ran out of the upper 
 story of the mill, along the level shed-roof, to meet 
 the buggy bringing their mother. 
 
 Rush turned out on the turf near the edge of the 
 bank, and stopped where they could look down on the 
 mill and the river, while Letty skipped along the foot- 
 plank to the seats in the branches of the great willow. 
 
38 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Oh, mother, you must come here ! " she cried. 
 " You never saw so lovely a spot ! " 
 
 " Yes, yes, I see ; it is all too lovely ! " Mrs. 
 Tinkham exclaimed, with a tremulous smile. 
 
 " Here 's Mart," said Rush. " He and I can take 
 you up and carry you right over there without the 
 least trouble." 
 
 "So you shall, some time," his mother replied. 
 " I foresee that I am to spend many happy hours in 
 that grand old tree over the stream. But not now ; 
 I must go into the house, and see how things are 
 getting on." 
 
 " Yes, mother," said Mart, coming to the side of 
 the buggy, and looking up at her with an expression 
 which beautified his rather lank face and homely 
 mouth. " I want you to come and look at your 
 little nest. Drive around. Rocket ! " 
 
 At the side door he took her in his arms, and, in 
 spite of her protestations, — for, with the help of 
 her crutches, or an arm to lean on, she could walk, 
 — carried her through the kitchen and sitting-room 
 (where things were still in a chaotic state), into a 
 room beyond, where he set her down gently in her 
 own easy-chair. 
 
 She looked wonderingly about her. It was her 
 own carpet on the floor, her own bed set up and 
 
THE NEW HOME. 39 
 
 freshly made, with the pictures on the walls and the 
 vases on the mantel to which her eyes had long been 
 accustomed. 
 
 " There ! " said Mart. " We want you to stay 
 here, and try to make yourself contented, while we 
 straighten out things in the other parts of the house. 
 We are getting along finely with the woman we have 
 hired, and we don't mean that you shall take a step." 
 
 " Oh, this is too much ! " said Mrs. Tinkham, 
 seeing how hard the boys had tried to make her new 
 home home-like to her at the start. " I think there 
 never were such children as mine." 
 
 She had to cry a little, but soon dried her eyes 
 in her quick, resolute way, and observed, — 
 
 " The poor old carpet was n't quite large enough, 
 was it ? " 
 
 " All the better," said Lute, who peered in through 
 his spectacles to enjoy her surprise. "For if it 
 was, the r-r-room would be smaller." 
 
 " I am so glad you are to have a good large room 
 now, mother ! " Letty exclaimed. " We used to 
 crowd you so in the other house ! " 
 
 It was a happy thought to the widow that her 
 daughter and five sons had always found her room 
 so attractive ; and she now looked around with 
 pleasant anticipations of the comfort they would 
 
40 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 all take together there on future evenings and Sun- 
 day afternoons. 
 
 " I never had the sun in my windows so before," 
 she said. " I am afraid, boys, you 've given me the 
 best room in the house." 
 
 " We mean to make it the best, as soon as we can 
 afford it," said Mart. "We knew you wouldn't like 
 this wall-paper very well ; but I hope we can have the 
 whole house repapered and painted in a year or two." 
 
 "The figures are rather old-fashioned," said his 
 mother, "but old fashions are coming round to be 
 new fashions now." 
 
 " And it 's awfully ' tony,' " said Rush, " to have 
 your carpet too small for your room, leaving a space 
 a foot or so wide around by the wall." 
 
 "And see," Letty laughed, gayly, "what small 
 window-panes ! The Lummells, in their new Queen 
 Anne cottage, have some just such little scrimped- 
 up panes, and think they are elegant." 
 
 " Children, we are in style, and it seems to me this 
 place is going to be a little paradise ! I like it — I like 
 it extremely ! Did you bring in my crutches, Rocket .'" 
 
 In spite of all opposition, she was presently on her 
 feet, — or rather on her one good foot and a crutch, 
 — stepping about the house, giving instructions, and 
 setting things in order with her own hands. 
 
THE FISH-OFFICER. 4I 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE FISH-OFFICER. 
 
 'T^HE boys worked hard, delighted with the 
 -*- change, and inspired by youthful joy and 
 hope. 
 
 They had taken the contract to supply rocket- 
 sticks, pin-wheels, and other wooden fixtures for 
 Cole & Co.'s fire-works, and orders for toys and 
 dolls' carriages had been secured. 
 
 The mill met their most sanguine expectations. 
 Much of the old machinery proved to be good, and 
 their ingenious heads and skilful hands found 
 little difficulty in adjusting to it their own special 
 improvements in tools and apparatus. The future 
 seemed bright with the promise of abundant, happy 
 and prosperous employment. 
 
 The simple water-power was a joy to their hearts. 
 The tide set back twice a day, and ebbing again 
 gave, as Mr. Dushee had said, about eight hours of 
 good running power out of every twelve. The oc- 
 currence of this period varied day after day ; but 
 they could easily accommodate their work to it, for 
 
42 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 there would always be plenty of mere hand labor to 
 do in the intervals of flood-tide and still water. 
 
 Two or three days after taking possession, while 
 they were experimenting with the machinery, they 
 received a call from Mr. Dushee. He came to in- 
 quire whether they had concluded to buy the horse 
 and wagons; and the vast landscape of his coun- 
 tenance brightened when Mart said they would 
 try to have the money ready for him the next 
 day. 
 
 " I see you are making improvements," he re- 
 marked encouragingly, as he was about to go, 
 
 "A few changes seem necessary," Mart replied. 
 
 " One thing I am bound to have d-d-done," said 
 Lute. " In place of these flash-boards we are going 
 to have a p-p-permanent gate." 
 
 A cloud of slight embarrassment passed over the 
 desert of a face. 
 
 " I would n't be in a hurry about that ; I advise ye 
 to wait and see how the flash-boards work." 
 
 " It is n't much trouble, I know," said Mart, " to 
 go and put in the flash-boards when we want to 
 start up the wheel ; but what 's the use even of that .■' 
 I think Lute is right." 
 
 " I 've already got a plan of a gate that will take 
 c-c-are of itself," said Lute. " To be hung by the 
 
THE FISH-OFFICER. 43 
 
 top, SO the tide running up will open it, and shut it 
 r-r-running back." 
 
 " I had thought of something like that myself," 
 said the former owner. " But," he added, with the 
 air of one giving disinterested advice, " I think you '11 
 find it for your advantage to stick to the flash-boards. 
 Any way, you'd better wait awhile and see." 
 
 The boys laughed at what they called his " old- 
 fogy notions " after he was gone ; and Lute declared 
 that, as soon as he could get around to it, he would 
 certainly have his g-g-gate. 
 
 It was not long, however, before they learned that 
 Mr. Dushee's counsel was good. 
 
 That afternoon a stranger in a narrow-seated buggy 
 drove up to the mill. Rush came out of the upper 
 story to meet him. 
 
 " I hear this property has lately changed hands," 
 said the stranger, with an air of official authority. 
 
 "Yes, sir," replied Rush. 
 
 " Who are the present owners ? " 
 
 " Well, it belongs to our family, — the Tinkham 
 family." 
 
 " Where is the Tinkham family .' I mean the 
 head. I suppose there is a head somewhere." 
 
 The man spoke rather insolently, Rush thought, 
 so that he was tempted to make a laughing reply. 
 
44 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Yes, there are several heads ; pretty good ones, 
 too, some of us think. The property stands in my 
 mother's name," he added, more soberly. " But my 
 brothers have charge of the mill and the business." 
 
 " I want to see your brothers,"' said the man in the 
 buggy. " Tell 'em I am a fish-officer. I come with 
 authority from the fish commissioners to give due 
 notice of the law and its penalties regarding obstruc- 
 tions in the way of migratory fish." 
 
 Rush did not feel like making a merry reply to 
 that. His heart sank a little, as he said, — 
 
 "That is something I don't think they know any- 
 thing about." He thought of the dam. " They are 
 in the shop. Will you come in and see about the 
 obstructions .■' " 
 
 The man got out of his buggy, followed Rush into 
 the mill, and there delivered his errand to the oldest 
 son. 
 
 Mart received it quietly, but Rush could see that 
 he was taken by surprise. 
 
 " Is this a new thing .' " he asked. 
 
 " Not at all ; we have to attend to it every year," 
 replied the officer. " The alewives will be running 
 up the river in great numbers soon after the middle 
 of the month, and they must have free passageway." 
 
 Mart was silent a moment, only a reddish suf- 
 
THE FISH-OFFICER. 45 
 
 fusion of his eyes betraying to Rush that the dep- 
 uty's words had struck deep. 
 
 " Come out here and see my brother," he said. 
 
 It was high water, the ebb was just setting in, 
 and Lute was on the platform over the dam, study- 
 ing the probable working of his proposed tide-gate 
 in some preliminary experiments with the flash- 
 boards. 
 
 He was interrupted by the approach of his brothers 
 with the stranger. 
 
 " I guess we '11 give up the idea of a gate for the 
 present," said Mart, with his usual drawl. "This 
 man has an argument against it. Fire it off for my 
 brother's benefit, will you, Mr. Fish-officer .? " 
 
 The deputy complied with cheerful glibness. 
 Lute listened intently, having set the flash-boards to 
 keep back the water. Then, having glanced at 
 Mart's serious face, he turned his gleaming specta- 
 cles up at the officer. 
 
 "If this had happened three days ago," he re- 
 marked, " I should have said it was an April-f-f-fool ! " 
 
 "Well, it is no April-fool," replied the deputy, 
 " So now what do you say .'' " 
 
 " I say Mr. Dushee is a f-f-fraud ! " 
 
 " He never said a word to one of us about a fish- 
 way," Rush spoke up in great excitement. 
 
46 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " But he knows the need of it well enough, often 
 as he has been warned," said the deputy. 
 
 " What has he done to keep within the law ? " 
 Mart inquired. 
 
 " There was only one thing to do. He has pulled 
 out his flash-boards and let the iish run." 
 
 " But that destroys the water-power ! " 
 
 " Exactly." 
 
 " How 1-1-long .'' " stammered Lute. 
 
 " The law requires that streams shall be free for 
 fish to run from the middle of April to the middle of 
 June. The alewives go up into the pond to spawn. 
 After that they descend the river again, and return 
 to the sea." 
 
 Mart had by this time recovered from the con- 
 sternation into which he had at first been thrown, 
 and his ingenious mind was already seeing its way 
 out of the difficulty. 
 
 " I should greatly enjoy cracking the Dushee cocoa- 
 nut," he drawled, alluding in that irreverent way to the 
 former owner's head-piece, " for not telling us about 
 this fish business. But it is n't such a terrible matter. 
 Lute. The fish go up with the tide, I believe ? " 
 
 "The great mass of them," replied the deputy. 
 "But a good many stragglers get caught by the 
 ebb, and have to work their way against it." 
 
THE FISH-OFFICER. 4/ 
 
 " These flash-boards float with the flood-tide," said 
 Mart, " and of course they '11 let the alewives run up 
 with it. I guess they won't be seriously hindered, 
 any of 'em. And by the time they have spawned, 
 and are all ready to run down again, we '11 — " 
 
 " We '11 have a f-f-fish-way constructed ! " broke in 
 Lute, with a rapid stammer. " I 've got it already 
 p-p-planned." 
 
 "That will be the best way," remarked the dep- 
 uty. " In case of an impassable dam, the law re- 
 quires the owner to build such a fish-way as the com- 
 missioners approve ; or it requires them to build it, 
 and charge the cost to him. Dushee thought it un- 
 necessary, and preferred to keep his flash-boards 
 open." 
 
 He added that he did not wish to be unduly strict 
 with any man who was willing to comply with the law. 
 Having thus performed his duty, he parted on very 
 civil terms with the Tinkham boys, and rode away. 
 
 "We can get over this well enough," said Mart. 
 " But I tell ye, I was in a pouring sweat for about 
 a minute. I believe I lost about a pound of flesh." 
 
 "I wonder if there is anything else Dushee has 
 kept back," said Rush, still excited. " I 'm afraid 
 we don't yet know all his reasons for being so 
 anxious to sell." 
 
48 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " I remember father used to say, ' A man always 
 has two motives for every action, his real motive 
 and his pretended motive,' " drawled Mart. " I 'm 
 afraid Dushee is the kind of man he meant. What 
 I 'm still more afraid of is, that we sha'n't be glad 
 when we find all his reasons out." 
 
 " Anyhow," said Lute, " I 'm going to have my 
 tide-gate all the same, soon as we've b-b-built the 
 fish-way." 
 
 As the dam was only two feet high, the fish-way 
 — consisting of open water-boxes placed one above 
 the other, so connected that the alewives could 
 easily work their way up or down through them — 
 seemed to be a simple and inexpensive affair. 
 
 So did the tide-gate. But there was a stronger 
 argument against that than any the boys dreamed of 
 yet. 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. 49 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. 
 
 T) USH had been too busy to go off the place 
 -^ *- since the day of the moving. But after sup- 
 per that evening, he and Letty and the two younger 
 boys took a walk. 
 
 They strolled up the river as far as the bridge 
 where they chanced to meet the elder Dushee, re- 
 turning home from Tammoset. 
 
 Rush was inwardly boiling with indignation at 
 the man's extraordinary economy of the truth re- 
 garding the alewife business in all his talks with the 
 purchasers of the mill. But he controlled himself, 
 and said quietly, in reply to Dushee's observation 
 that 't was a pooty evenin' to be takin' a ramble, — 
 
 " You never mentioned to any of us that there 
 might be some trouble about the alewives passing 
 the dam." 
 
 "Trouble.' trouble?" said Mr. Dushee, blandly. 
 " Why, no ! for I never believed there 'd be any 
 trouble." 
 
 4 
 
50 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " You did n't know the fish commissioners would 
 be after us, I suppose ? " 
 
 Rush spoke with biting sarcasm. But the large, 
 bland countenance remained undisturbed. 
 
 " Oh ! there 's been an officer around, has they ? 
 I knew 't was about time. Comes every year. It 's 
 his business. But that 's all 't amounts to." 
 
 " You have paid no attention to his warning ? " 
 said Rush. 
 
 " Skurcely," Dushee replied in a confidential way. 
 " I 'd set my youngsters to watch for a few days 
 when the fish was runnin' the thickest, and if they 
 see the fish-officer a comin', I'd jest pull up my 
 flash-boards, and mabby leave 'em up till they see 
 him go 'long down the river. That is, if I happened 
 to be runnin' the wheel.' But gener'ly I could git 
 along without it for a part of the time; then I 'd let 
 the fish run. The dam never was no hendrance to 
 the alewives, and the officer knew it," the former 
 owner added, seeing a wrathful light in the boy's 
 eyes. " There never was no trouble, and there never 
 need to be none." 
 
 "It seems to me- you might at least have told us 
 of anything of the kind that might turn up," Rush 
 replied, in a rather choked voice ; for it was all he 
 could do to keep his anger from breaking forth. 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. 5 1 
 
 "I s'pose I might," Dushee replied, cheerfully. 
 " But I did n't think it necessary. There 's a good 
 many little things about the mill you '11 have to find 
 out for yourselves. If I can be of service to ye, le' 
 me know." 
 
 Then, as Rush was walking silently away, the 
 large-featured man repeated, with friendly persist- 
 ence, " It 's a re'l pooty kind of an evenin' to be 
 takin' a ramble," and went smiling home. 
 
 The snow had vanished from the hillsides and 
 the ice from the lake. It was still evening, and the 
 glassy water reflected the shores, the distant orchards 
 and groves, and the rosy hues of the western sky. 
 
 The boys ran on toward the outlet, while Letty 
 sauntered slowly, waiting for Rush. 
 
 "Oh, can't we have a boat ride.?" she called to 
 him, looking across the river, and seeing a skiff 
 hauled up on the opposite bank. 
 
 "That's the first boat I've seen; I didn't know 
 there was one on the river," said Rush. "Wait here, 
 and I '11 try to get it." 
 
 He hurried back to the bridge, crossed over to a 
 farm-house on the other shore, 'and was soon seen 
 running down to the water's edge with a pair of oars. 
 
 "Go on up farther," he shouted, "and I'll come 
 over and take you all aboard." 
 
52 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 The current was running out, and he had to keep 
 close by the bank and pull hard until he had suc- 
 ceeded in rowing the skiff up into still water. Then 
 making a broad circuit above the outlet, leaving 
 behind him lovely ripples which spread far away 
 over the pink-tinted pond, he crossed to a pebbly 
 beach, where Letty was waiting with the boys. 
 
 Eager for adventure, they scrambled aboard, and 
 Rush pushed off again. 
 
 "This is better than the boat rides we used to 
 have around the edge of the dirty old harbor," said 
 Rupert. 
 
 " Oh, it is heavenly ! " said Letty, who sometimes 
 indulged in an almost too enthusiastic way of express- 
 ing herself. "Why isn't the water covered with 
 boats ? I should think it would be." 
 
 " I suppose it is too early in the season for them 
 yet," replied Rush. " Mr. Rumney said he had only 
 just got his into the water. That accounts for its 
 leaking so. Look out for your feet, boys ! " 
 
 " Let us row awhile, Rush," said Rupert, as they 
 glided out toward the centre of the lake, which 
 appeared like a vast gulf of infinite depth, illumined 
 by soft and delicate hues, until broken by prow and 
 oars. 
 
 Rush indulged them; they took each an oar, while 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. S3 
 
 he assumed the place in the stern and steered, with 
 a shingle for a rudder. Letty leaned over the bow, 
 enjoying the lovely views. 
 
 "We'll take mother out here when the weather 
 gets a little warmer," said Rush. " I promised my- 
 self that, the first day I saw the lake. Won't she 
 enjoy it ? " 
 
 " I wish she was with us now ! " exclaimed Letty. 
 " It is too much for us alone ! " 
 
 " We can row back and get her," said Rodman. 
 " Can't we, Rupe ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, — it will be fine ! " said Rupe. 
 
 It was not because the young Tinkhams were so 
 much better bred or kinder hearted than many 
 children, nor yet because their mother's crippled 
 condition had called out their gentlest feelings 
 toward her, but rather, I suppose, because she made 
 herself so sympathetic and delightful a companion to 
 them, that they constantly thought of her in this way. 
 
 But now all at once Rush had something else to 
 attract his attention. 
 
 " Hello! there's that odd-looking — summer house, 
 Dick Dushee called it." 
 
 " What ! that building on the shore .' " said Letty. 
 "Nobody would ever think of making such a sum- 
 mer house as that ! " 
 
54 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "And only an idiot or a knave would call it 
 one ! " Rush exclaimed, flushing very red in the 
 evening light. " Hold your oar, Rod ! We '11 run 
 over and look at it." 
 
 Steering with his shingle, he headed the skiff 
 toward the Tammoset shore and Dick Dushee's 
 astonishing summer house. 
 
 " It 's built on piles over the water," said Rupert. 
 " And what's that before it .? " 
 
 " A float," said Rush. " It 's easy enough to see 
 what the building is, and the rogue must have 
 known ! " 
 
 He was not long in surmising a reason for Dick's 
 seemingly uncalled-for prevarication. What he had 
 learned that afternoon made him suspicious of the 
 Dushees. 
 
 " That 's Dick Dushee there, with another boy, on 
 the float," said Rupe. 
 
 " Pull away ! I want to catch him before he gets 
 off," said Rush, lowering his voice. 
 
 " What is the building, — if you know ? " Letty 
 asked, with excited curiosity. 
 
 " Nothing anybody need to lie about," Rush mut- 
 tered, still with his angry flush on. " I '11 tell you 
 by and by. Dick ! " he called, " see here a moment." 
 
 Dick was stepping up from the float into a large 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. 55 
 
 open doorway in the barn-like end of the building, 
 when, hearing the summons, he reluctantly faced 
 about. 
 
 "This is your summer house, \5 it?" said Rush, 
 sharply. 
 
 "I knew 'twas some sort of a house to have fun 
 in, — in summer," said Dick, with an ignoble grin, 
 visible in the twilight. " I 've found out what it is, 
 now." 
 
 " So have I, without any help from you," said 
 Rush. " And, I 'm sorry to say, we 're finding out 
 other things that don't reflect much credit on those 
 who left us to discover them for ourselves." 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," said Dick. 
 
 Rush was flaming up for a fierce reply, when 
 Letty stopped him. 
 
 " Don't have any words with him, Rocket ! " 
 
 " Well, then, I won't. Not now. Hold on here a 
 minute, boys ! " 
 
 To satisfy himself with regard to the character and 
 use of the ugly structure, he leaped to the float, 
 mounted the steps, and entered the great doorway. 
 In a little while he came out again, with a troubled 
 but resolute look. 
 
 " How long has this been building .' " he asked of 
 Dick's companion on the float. 
 
S6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL, 
 
 " Ever since last winter," was the reply. " They 
 drove the piles through holes in the ice." 
 
 " Did you know then what it was for ? " 
 
 " I guess so ! Everybody knew. Anyhow, it had 
 been talked of enough." 
 
 Rush gave Dick Dushee an annihilating look, but 
 said nothing as he stepped back into the boat. 
 
 " Why, what is it troubles you so ? " Letty asked, 
 as they pushed off. "That boy told us what the 
 house was for, when you were inside ; but Rupert 
 had already guessed." 
 
 " I should think anybody could guess ! " said 
 Rupert. 
 
 Rush declined to talk upon the subject as they 
 returned along the shore to the river. After land- 
 ing on Mr. Rumney's bank, he told Letty and the 
 boys to walk along to the bridge, while he returned 
 the oars. 
 
 Having thanked the farmer for them, he said, — 
 
 "Are there many boats owned here on the 
 river ? " 
 
 The farmer, standing in his open shed, filling 
 his pipe, answered, good-naturedly, — 
 
 " Wall, consider'ble many ; more 'n the' use' to 
 be, nuff sight." 
 
 "And on the lake .' " queried Rush. 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER-HOUSE. S7 
 
 " Wall, a consider'ble many on the lake. There 's 
 been a kin' of a boom in the boatin' interest lately." 
 
 " How so ? " 
 
 "Wall," replied Mr. Rumney, striking a match 
 on his trousers, " for years there was no boatin' here, 
 to speak on. But the notion on 't has broke out 
 in a crop o' boys growin' up, — a perfect epidemic, 
 'Specially sence the Argue-not Club was started last 
 summer, though why they call it the Argue-not 
 beats me, for I never seen anything else there was 
 so much arguin' about." 
 
 The smile that broadened the good-natured face 
 betrayed some consciousness of a joke. Rush' 
 however, took the matter with intense serious- 
 ness. 
 
 " This new building over here, on the shore of the 
 pond, is the Argonaut Club's boat-house .■' " 
 
 Mr. Rumney nodded as he puffed at his pipe. 
 
 Rush then said, trying to suppress a tremor in his 
 voice, — 
 
 " Has there been much trouble — about — boats 
 passing — Mr. Dushee's dam .' " 
 
 " Wall," said the farmer, smiling again, " since you 
 ask me a candid question, I s'pose I must make a 
 candid reply. There's been some trouble. I may 
 say perty consider'ble trouble. They say the dam 
 
$8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 has got to go. Your folks '11 have to know it, and ye 
 may as well know it fust as last." 
 
 Rush constrained himself to say calmly, — 
 
 " Seems to me we ought to have known it a little 
 sooner." 
 
 " 'T would have been for your interest, no doubt," 
 the farmer replied ; adding, with a smile of the broad- 
 est humor, " if a man 's going to put on a stockin', 
 and there's a hornet's nest in it, he'd naturally 
 ruther like to know it 'forehand, — leastways, 'fore he 
 puts his foot in too fur ! " 
 
 " Naturally," said Rush. " It was the hornet's 
 nest, as you call it, that made Dushee so anxious to 
 sell.?" 
 
 " Should n't wonder ! " Mr. Rumney gave a 
 chuckle, which had a disagreeable sound to the boy's 
 ears. "Anyhow, he never said nothin' about sellin' 
 till the Argue-nots argued him into it." 
 
 " My brothers came and talked with you before 
 buying," said Rush. " Why did n't you tell them } " 
 
 "Wall, 'twa'n't my business. Dushee he come 
 with 'em. Neighbors so, I didn' like to interfere 
 and spile his trade." 
 
 In saying this, the worthy man appeared wholly 
 unconscious of having acted in any but a fair and 
 honorable way. 
 
THE ODD-LOOKING SUMMER HOUSE. 59 
 
 Something swelled alarmingly in Rush's throat, 
 but he swallowed hard at it, and finally managed to 
 say, "Thank you, Mr. Rumney." 
 
 He turned to go, paused, turned back, and hesi- 
 tated a moment, as if struggling against a tumult- 
 uous inward pressure, an impulse to free his mind of 
 some volcanic stuff. But he merely added, — 
 
 " Much obliged to you for the boat," and walked 
 stiffly away. 
 
60 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BOYS IN COUNCIL. 
 
 "P UPE and Rod ran on merrily down the bank, 
 -^ *- while Letty waited alone on the bridge, in the 
 pleasant evening light, until Rush came out of Mr. 
 Rumney's yard and joined her. 
 
 The innocent girl was thinking gratefully of the 
 happy days which awaited them in that charming 
 spot, with the lake so near and the river running by 
 their door, delighting their eyes while it turned the 
 mill, when a glance at Rush's perturbed face startled 
 her from that bright dream. 
 
 " Rupe ! " he cried, " go and find the boys, and tell 
 them I want to see 'em. About something very par- 
 ticular." 
 
 Then, after the youngsters were gone, " I '11 tell 
 you all about it now," he said in answer to an eager 
 inquiry from his sister. " I did n't want the boys to 
 know, for we must keep it from mother." 
 
 He was in a fever of excitement. He took off his 
 hat, to cool his brow in the dewy evening air, and 
 
THE BOYS IN COUNCIL. 6l 
 
 continued, while she listened with breathless inter- 
 est, leaning by the rail of the bridge, — 
 
 " There 's a good reason why I did n't like the 
 looks of that new building over on the pond ! It 's 
 the boat-house of a newly formed club, — the Ar- 
 gonauts." 
 
 "We knew it was a boat-house," said Letty. "But 
 I don't see why it should trouble you." 
 
 " No, you don't take in the meaning of it," replied 
 Rush. "But I did, as soon as I found out that Dick 
 Dushee had thought it necessary to make up a fib 
 about it. There 's a rage for boating, just now, here 
 in Tammoset and Dempford." 
 
 "All the better," said Letty. "It will make 
 things lively. We are to have a boat, too, you said 
 yourself ; and Lute has promised to make one." 
 
 " It would be all very well but for one thing," 
 said Rush. " Many of the boats will be kept in the 
 new boat-house and about the pond. Some belong 
 down the river. And all will want to be passing up 
 and down." 
 
 " I should think so," replied Letty, still failing to 
 see the evil which cast so dark a shadow. "Why 
 not.?" 
 
 " There 's our mill-dam ! " said Rush, in a low, 
 intense whisper ; and, as they walked on, he told 
 
62 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 her all he had heard. " This was what made Dushee 
 so rabid to sell." 
 
 " Oh, I see ! " exclaimed Letty. " But the dam 
 has a right to be there ? " 
 
 " So Uncle Dave's lawyer told us ; he looked into 
 that matter when he examined the title to the prop- 
 erty." 
 
 " He ought to know." 
 
 " Of course he knows. But he merely went to his 
 law-books for his knowledge, probably. It 's a pity 
 he did n't talk with the Dempford and Tammoset 
 Argonauts ! " 
 
 " Did n't any of you talk with anybody else .' " 
 poor, distressed Letty inquired. 
 
 " Why, yes ; the boys, when they came up here 
 with Uncle Dave, went and .talked with Mr. Rumney 
 He owns the land on the other side of the mill and 
 up above here. He told them that keeping back 
 the water did more good than harm to the land- 
 owners, and he had never heard a complaint against 
 it from one of 'em during the dozen years and more 
 the dam has been there. But he never said a word 
 about the boats. Neither did Dushee." 
 
 " Oh, dear ! What can you do .■" " 
 
 " I have n't talked with Lute and Mart," replied 
 Rush. " But since the law is on our side, and the 
 
THE BOYS IN COUNCIL. 63 
 
 dam has a rigiit to be there, and it is necessary to 
 our business, — why, it would ruin us to take it 
 away, — I know just what they will think." 
 
 " They will stand up for their rights," said Letty, 
 pride in her strong, resolute brothers rising above 
 her fears. "They are not cowards. Neither are 
 you. Rush ! " 
 
 "I should hope not," said Rush, with a nervous 
 laugh. "We have mother to think of, you know. 
 We have got all her money in this property, and we 
 are bound to protect it for her sake, even more than 
 our own." 
 
 " Can't you see some of the Argonauts, — if that 's 
 what you call them, — and come to some agreement 
 with them ? I do so dread the thought of any 
 trouble ! " exclaimed Letty. 
 
 " So do I ; and, of course, we shall get along 
 peaceably with them if we can. But, by their driv- 
 ing Dushee to sell out, I judge that they're pretty 
 rough fellows. It won't do for them to be rough 
 with us ! " Rush added, with another excited laugh. 
 "There come the boys." 
 
 Near the house they met the two oldest, saunter- 
 ing along the walk. They had had a good day in the 
 shop, notwithstanding the fish-officer's visit ; and 
 they were hopefully and tranquilly talking over their 
 
64 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TJDE-MILL, 
 
 plans in their mother's room, when they received 
 Rush's message. 
 
 " How little they suspect ! " whispered Letty. 
 
 " What 's up, Rocket ? " Mart inquired, carelessly, 
 resting one hand on his hip. 
 
 " Send back the boys," said Rush, in a low voice ; 
 for the two youngest were following. " I don't 
 know, though ; I suppose they may as well be told ; 
 but the whole thing must be kept from mother. Go 
 in, Letty, and if she asks any questions, just say I 
 wanted to talk about boats. She knows we think of 
 building one." 
 
 " What have you f-f-found out ? " said Lute. 
 " Anything more about f-f-fish-ofHcers > " 
 
 " Worse than that ! " Rush replied. And there, 
 on the high bank above the river, in the fading twi- 
 light, with his four brothers grouped about him for 
 an audience, he told briefly his story. 
 
 After a few of their eager questions had been 
 answered, Lute turned to the oldest and said, — 
 
 " It looks as if Dushee had let the knife into us 
 middling d-d-deep. Do you remember how the 
 d-d-deed reads .■" " 
 
 " I 'm afraid there 's not over-much comfort for 
 us in that," Mart replied. " It guarantees the title 
 to the real estate, but merely assigns to us the right 
 
THE BOYS IN COONCIL. 65 
 
 he bought of Rumney to maintain a dam against his 
 shore for ninety-nine years." 
 
 "That is, the right to maintain it if we c-c-can," 
 said Lute. 
 
 " And we can," exclaimed Rush, " with the law 
 on our side. And we will ! " 
 
 " The law is a good thing to have on a man's 
 side," Mart said. " But with a boat-club against us, 
 made up of fellows from two towns, maintaining our 
 right is n't going to be the smoothest job." 
 
 Rush had expected to see, his brothers take a 
 more determined attitude at the start, and this sort 
 of talk disheartened him. 
 
 " Dushee is a villain ! " he exclaimed, with burn- 
 ing resentment. 
 
 "Why don't you go right over and punch his 
 head for him ? " cried Rupert. " I would ! I '11 take 
 that Dick ; and you see if I don't give him the worst 
 pounding ever the mean son of a mean man had." 
 
 " Don't talk nonsense," said Lute. " P-p-punching 
 and p-p-pounding won't do any good." 
 
 " No," said Mart. " And remember, you boys : 
 we 've the right on our side, to begin with, and 
 we've got to move carefully, so as not to put our- 
 selves in the wrong. So, just let Dick Dushee 
 alone, and take care what you say to other people." 
 S 
 
66 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " That 's the p-p-point," said Lute. " We are 
 going to stand up for our rights, even if we have to 
 fight for 'em. But we don't want to f-f-fight,-unless 
 we 're f-f-forced to. Is n't that the ground, Mart .' " 
 
 "Precisely," said Mart. "We've everything at 
 stake here, and we're not to be scared. If the 
 principal Argonauts are reasonable, right-minded 
 fellows, it 's likely we can make some amicable 
 arrangement with them. If not — " 
 
 " I 'd fight 'em ! " said Rupe. " I think there 'd 
 be fun in it." 
 
 " There might be, if it was n't for mother," said 
 Mart. " She must n't be troubled about this affair 
 at all. Come, Lute." 
 
 "Where are you going.'' " Rush asked. 
 
 " To have a quiet and agreeable little chat with 
 Dushee." 
 
 "Yes, let's w-wash our hands of him the f-f -first 
 thing," Luke assented. 
 
 They started off, the younger boys following, 
 intent on witnessing the sport. 
 
 " See here ! " said Mart. " We 're not going to 
 battle. We don't need an army. Go back ! But 
 Rush can come along as far as Rumney's, where we 
 shall stop to have a little talk first." 
 
& CALL ON DUSHEE. 6/ 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A CALL ON DUSHEE. 
 
 'T^HE elder Dushee was not pleasantly surprised 
 -'- when, that evening, there came a decided ring 
 at the door of his new house on the Dempford side 
 of the river, and, on opening it, lamp in hand, he 
 looked out on the serious faces of the big Tinkhara 
 brothers. 
 
 It was hard to manufacture, at once, and on the 
 spot, smile enough to cover that enormous blank 
 countenance of his ; but he struggled manfully at 
 it, and invited them to " step in." 
 
 They stepped in accordingly, and remained quietly 
 standing, while he placed the lamp on a table and 
 offered them chairs. 
 
 " Re'l spring-like weather, now," he observed, hos 
 pitably. " Any news .'' " 
 
 "Y-y-yes, r-r-rather," said Lute, with gleaming 
 spectacles. " Seems to be p-p-pretty good weather 
 for news." 
 
 " You told our brother Rush this evening," said 
 
68 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Mart, " that there were some little things about the 
 mill we should have to find out for ourselves." 
 
 "Yes, certainly." 
 
 There was hardly smile enough to go around 
 among the Dushee features ; but the mouth made 
 the most of its share, and grinned persistently. 
 
 " And we 're f-finding 'em out," said Lute. 
 
 " But we thought," Mart added, in his driest man. 
 ner, " that it might simplify matters if you would be 
 a little more liberal with your information." 
 
 " Truth is a p-p-precious thing, we know," struck 
 in the other's rapid stammer. " But a man should n't 
 be too s-s-saving of it. And if you '11 waste a lit- 
 tle on us, now that it can't hurt your trade, we '11 be 
 ob-b-liged to you." 
 
 If there was any humor in their way of introdu- 
 cing the business that brought them, not the least 
 consciousness of it was betrayed by either of the 
 boys ; and surely Mr. Dushee was in no mood to 
 appreciate it, There was a rather grim earnestness 
 in their manner which to him foreboded unpleasant 
 things. 
 
 " Better set down," he said, as they remained 
 standing. " Truth about what ? " 
 
 " About the trouble you 've had with the boat- 
 club, and the probable amount in pickle for us," said 
 
/I CALL ON DUSHEE. 69 
 
 Mart. "VouVc played a sharp game on us, Mr. 
 Dushec ; but we have n't come to make any unneces- 
 sary comments on that. The important thing now 
 is, to know what we're to expect from the Argo- 
 nauts." 
 
 "Wall, I d'n' know. Better set down," said 
 Dushee, with a stammer that rivalled Lute's. " I 
 p^uess you '11 git along with 'em. You 're new men. 
 '.'here won't be the prejudice agin you there has 
 been agin me." 
 
 " Mr. Rumney says you 've had your flash-boards 
 broken and parts of the dam torn out more than 
 once. How is it .' " Mart inquired. 
 
 " He told you that ">. " said Dushee, quickly. 
 
 " Yes ; but not till after you had made your trade. 
 He was careful about that. Now fork out the 
 facts," Mart added, with his most deliberate drawl, 
 " and oblige." 
 
 " I /lave had a little trouble with some of 'em," 
 Dushee admitted, after urging his visitors again to 
 " set down." " There was skurce a boat on the 
 river, 'cept now and then one goin' up into the 
 pond, fishin', not for years. I could always 'commo- 
 date 'em, and nobody never questioned my right to 
 have a dam there." 
 
 " N-n-nobody ? " said Lute. 
 
^0 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Nobody ! " Dushee repeated, with cmohasis 
 — " Better set down. — Not for a dozen years at 
 least. Then a passel of boys, that was in baby- 
 frocks when I built it, they 'd growed up to feel 
 smart and think they owned all creation. They 
 must have their boats ; and, if I was n't on hand to 
 pull up my flash-boards for 'em, they had no more 
 sense than to go to smashin' things. Come ! won't 
 ye set down .' " 
 
 " Guess not," said Mart. " We 're like the boy 
 that went visiting with his mother, and when she 
 kept asking him at the table, ' Can't ye eat a little 
 more, sonny 1 can't ye eat a little more 1 ' ' Mabby 
 I could,' says he, 'if I stood up.' We can take in 
 your facts best standing. And as we don't mean to 
 intrude on your hospitality again, we want a full 
 meal this time." 
 
 This was said with such solemn deliberation that 
 when Mr. Dushee tried to receive it as a joke his 
 forced laugh sounded strangely out of place. 
 
 " Why did n't you tell us this when we first asked 
 about the d-d-dam ? " Lute inquired. 
 
 " I d'n' know ; I wa' n't bound to. Every man in 
 business has his enemies and his little troubles, and 
 you don't s'pose he 's goin' to make out a list of 'em 
 when he comes to sell out, do ye .-' " 
 
A CALL ON DUSHEE. 7 1 
 
 " Little troubles is g-g-good," said Lute. 
 
 " Of course," said Dushee. " This boatin' fever '11 
 die down about as sudden as it come up ; storm '11 
 blow over in a little while, and you '11 be all right." 
 
 " Did n't you have to keep your flash-boards open 
 half the time last summer ? " Mart demanded. 
 
 " Wall, I did keep 'em open a little more 'n I 
 wanted to, I allow." 
 
 " And did n't you keep your dam from being de- 
 stroyed at last by promising, if the Argonauts would 
 leave it for you to use after the boating season was 
 over, you would make some different arrangements 
 before spring .' " 
 
 " Wall, I kave made different arrangements," said 
 Dushee. 
 
 " Yes, you 've sold the property to us," Mart re- 
 plied, with his usual drawl, but with a dangerous light 
 in his eyes. " Without incumbrance, you said, but I 
 call a fight like this with two towns the biggest sort 
 of an incumbrance." 
 
 " We 've got about as much satisfaction as I 
 expected," said Lute. "When a man deliberately 
 swindles a widow and her boys in this way, it 's like 
 exp-p-postulating with a hyena to call him to an 
 account for it. But there 's another thing we came 
 to say. 
 
72 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Yes," Mart added. " I told you to-day that we 
 would take the horse and wagons and things at "our 
 price. But now we think differently." 
 
 "You back down .'" cried Dushee. 
 
 " We b-b-back down," said Lute. " A man may 
 overreach us once. But we're fools if we let him 
 overreach us tw-twice." 
 
 " But he 's a good, sound horse ! " Dushee pro- 
 tested. 
 
 " He may be," Lute answered. " But it will take 
 more than your word to convince us there is n't some 
 inc-c-cumbrance on him." 
 
 " We don't want anything more to do with you, or 
 any more of your property," said Mart. " Come and 
 take it away." 
 
 " And another thing," Lute added, as they were 
 about to go. " Come and get your property, as my 
 b-b-brother says. But after that, if I catch you on 
 our place again, I '11 pick you up and throw you into 
 the w-w-water." 
 
 As Dushee was about twice as big as the boy 
 of nineteen who made, this threat, it would have 
 sounded laughable enough if anybody there present 
 had been in a laughing humor. 
 
 As for Dushee, he was in a blustering rage by this 
 time. He threatened, at first, to sue the widow for 
 
A CALL ON DUSHEE. 73 
 
 the price of the horse and wagons ; then he taunted 
 the boys with their smartness in putting into the 
 market dolls' carriages that crowded his out. 
 
 " You 're welcome to make 'em now, at any price," 
 he roared after them as they walked out of the door. 
 " But you 've somebody else besides me to compete 
 with. You 've got the Argynots to compete with ! 
 Compete with them ! " 
 
 They kept their temper pretty well, considering 
 the circumstances, and went slowly away, without 
 deigning any further reply. 
 
 It had been, on the whole, an unfortunate visit, 
 and they had the poor satisfaction of feeling that 
 they had gained nothing by it but an enemy, against 
 the day when they were to have enemies enough and 
 to spare. 
 
 They had gained two enemies, in fact ; young Dick 
 Dushee, who had stood in the background during the 
 interview, counting henceforth for one. 
 
74 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IN THE WILLOW-TREE. 
 
 nPHE next morning the boys went quietly about 
 -*• their work, wisely resolved not to borrow 
 trouble, but to await developments, and make the 
 best of things. 
 
 They started up the mill, and the rush of the 
 water-wheel, the clank and whir of the machinery, 
 and the noise of the jig-saw and lathe made the 
 music their hearts loved. 
 
 Early in the forenoon Mr. Dushee came over with 
 Dick, hitched the horse to the wagon, loaded up the 
 extra pieces of harness, the blankets and robes, with 
 other articles, and took the buggy in tow. They 
 said nothing to anybody ; but Dick glared insolently 
 at Rupe and Rod, who were digging in the garden, 
 and snatched from their hands the rake and fork 
 they were using, these being among the effects which 
 the Tinkhams had finally declined to purchase. 
 
 "Don't say a word to him!" Rupe charged his 
 brother, who was inclined to resent this rudeness. 
 
Mart carried her across the plank."- Fage 76 
 
IN THE WILLOW-TREE. 75 
 
 " Tht-Y 're welcome to their old traps ; we don't 
 want 'em." 
 
 This was said loud enough for the Dushees to 
 hear, while Rupe bestowed on Dick a look of defiant 
 scorn. 
 
 The Dushees drove away with their miscellaneous 
 possessions, and a few minutes later Rupe and Rod 
 were on their way to the village, with money Mart 
 had given them to buy the garden tools they needed. 
 
 The next day was Sunday ; and in the afternoon 
 Mrs. Tinkham made her first visit to the seats in the 
 willow-tree over the river. 
 
 Mart carried her across the plank in his strong and 
 tender arms, and placed her where the best views 
 were to be had, while Letty followed with a shawl 
 to wrap around the delicate shoulders. The sun was 
 shining, but there was a chill in the air. 
 
 There was room on the benches for the whole 
 family, though Mart remained leaning against one of 
 the great branches, and Rod chose to perch himself 
 on a limb. 
 
 Lute had a newspaper, and Letty had brought a 
 book from which to read aloud to her mother. But 
 book and newspaper were forgotten in the charm of 
 the situation and the pleasant communion which 
 united the hearts of mother and children. 
 
y6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Mr. Dushee must be a man of some taste," said 
 the widow, looking delightedly around, " or he never 
 would have put these seats here in this old tree." 
 
 " I fancy he has about as much taste as his old 
 roan horse has," replied Mart. " He used to have a 
 partner in the business, who lived in the house here 
 with him ; and it 's to him and his young wife that 
 we owe these and some other pleasant things." 
 
 " Speaking of the horse," said his mother, " I can't 
 understand why you concluded so suddenly not to 
 buy him, after I had given my consent." 
 
 " We have n't much c-c-confidence in Dushee," 
 remarked Lute, who had pulled off his spectacles to 
 read his newspaper, but now put them on again to 
 look about him. " He would never let on, if the 
 horse's legs were c-c-covered with spavins and ring- 
 bones." 
 
 " Besides, we shall probably want to use all our 
 spare cash in establishing ourselves here," said Mart, 
 thinking of their rights to be maintained and per- 
 haps fought for. "Then there will be a satisfaction 
 in buying a better horse, and new wagons and things, 
 when we can afford them." 
 
 " A wise conclusion, I 've no doubt," said his 
 mother. " Rocket, I do think it was a happy inspi- 
 ration that made you hunt up this place and insist on 
 
IN THE WILLOW-TREE. J7 
 
 our buying it ! Does n't it seem, children, as if it 
 had been made and kept for us, just as Rocket said?" 
 
 The older boys did not respond to this sentiment 
 so promptly as might have been expected, the con- 
 sciousness of an important secret kept from her, and 
 of troubles in store of which she did not dream, tying 
 their tongues. 
 
 But Rush spoke up earnestly, " I hope you will 
 always think so, mother." And Letty, to the relief 
 of her brothers, began to expatiate on the beauties 
 of the place, in her extravagant, girlish way. 
 
 " I was sorry to take you children out of school," 
 the widow said. " But I am told the schools here 
 are as good as those in town, and you, Letty, shall 
 begin to go at the commencement of the next term 
 along with Rupe and Rod." 
 
 " I want to stay at home and work in the garden," 
 said Rod. " We are going to raise flowers and corn 
 and potatoes and peas and beans and strawberries 
 and everything." 
 
 " You shall have work enough in the garden," said 
 Mart; "all you hanker for, I '11 warrant." 
 
 "What a blessed day of rest this is!" said the 
 mother, " after the turmoil of moving and getting 
 settled ! It seems as if there was nothing now to 
 mar our perfect enjoyment." 
 
78 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " N-n-nothing ! " stammered Lute, taking off his 
 glasses again to look at the newspaper, but thinking 
 all the while of the menaced dam. 
 
 " I 'm only afraid you '11 work too hard, boys," she 
 went on. " You 've been looking rather careworn 
 for a day or two ; and I don't like to see it." 
 
 "We've had a good many things to think of," 
 drawled Mart, glancing from under his contracted 
 brows at some object down the river. 
 
 " Too many ! " exclaimed the mother. " I think 
 some are unnecessary. The boat, for instance, 
 which you talk of making. Don't think of that at 
 present." 
 
 "We shall want a boat," said Lute, carelessly. 
 "There's a new boat-club here in town, and we may 
 wish to j-j-join it." 
 
 "Why, yes," returned the mother; "it will be 
 pleasant to be on good social terms with the young 
 men." 
 
 "V-v-very," said Lute. "We hope to be." 
 
 " There comes a boat, now ! " cried Letty, her eye 
 having followed Mart's down the river. "Two of 
 them ! " 
 
 " Three ! " called Rod from his perch on the limb, 
 as a third boat hove in sight around the bend below 
 the mill. 
 
IN THE WILLOW-TREE. 7g 
 
 " How charming they look ! " exclaimed the mother. 
 
 " L-1-lively ! " said Lute, peering anxiously through 
 his glasses. 
 
 "They are the first of the season," said Rush. 
 " They are coming up with the tide." 
 
 The flash-boards were up, yielding a free passage 
 to the boats, the foremost of which, impelled by 
 sturdy oars, came gliding through. 
 
 " If it was a week day, and the mill was going, I 
 don't see how they would pass the dam," Mrs. Tink- 
 ham observed, looking down on the boatmen, who, in 
 their turn, looked up at the group in the tree. 
 
 "Sunday is the time for them," said Mart. "And 
 they '11 naturally come at flood-tide, when the flash- 
 boards are always open, whatever the day." 
 
 Then, without giving her time to reflect that the 
 boats would probably be returning with the ebb, and 
 that on working days they would find the passage in 
 the dam closed, he added, — 
 
 " I 'm afraid it 's a little cool for you, mother. I 
 don't want you to take cold the first time ; for I 
 expect you will pass whole days here when the 
 weather is warm and the trees are in foliage." 
 
 " But you are not going to take me in so soon ! " 
 she said, entreatingly, as if she had been the child 
 and he the parent. 
 
So THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " I think I 'd better." And he put his arms about 
 her. 
 
 " Oh, yes ; we '11 all go," said Letty, at a hint from 
 Rush. 
 
 There was something in the appearance of one of 
 the boats which the boys did not like ; and if their 
 mother was to be spared all knowledge of the 
 threatened troubles, it was high time that she should 
 be got out of the way. 
 
THE ENCOUNTER AT THE DAU. 8 1 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE ENCOUNTER AT THE DAM. 
 
 THE first boat, having passed the dam, stayed its 
 oars. The second likewise slackened speed, 
 and drifted with the current abreast of the mill, while 
 the third boat came up. 
 
 In the bow of this boat was a burly fellow, whom 
 we may as well introduce to the reader. 
 
 He was a Dempford boy, named Buzrow, son of 
 a Buzrow whom nobody we can hear of ever knew, 
 but who was popularly supposed to have possessed 
 prodigious strength. Tradition declared him to have 
 been double-jointed, or " double-j'inted," as the boys 
 had it ; and there was a story that he had once 
 knocked down a cow with his fist. 
 
 Milton Buzrow — for that was the son's name ; 
 though why a Buzrow who could knock down cows 
 with his fist should honor a poet by calling a child 
 after him, admits of some speculation — Milton, I 
 say (commonly called Milt), was hardly yet twenty 
 years old ; but, in addition to the honor of being 
 the son of the cow-smiter, he also enjoyed a reputa- 
 6 
 
82 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 tion for tremendous physical prowess. He made no 
 claim to being, like the mythical Buzrow, double- 
 j'inted, but his style of conversation clearly showed 
 that he regarded the knocking down of cows as an 
 act of heroic manhood to which he, too, might, in 
 due time, aspire. 
 
 Such a Buzrow was naturally a leader among a 
 certain class of boys ; and that he did not often lead 
 them into ways of peace and quietness need hardly 
 be said. He was one of the Dempford Argonauts, 
 and, we must add, not one of the mildest- mannered 
 and most modest of those young gentlemen, by any 
 means. 
 
 It was Milt Buzrow who had made a braggart vow, 
 at a meeting of the club in November, that if 
 Dushee's mill-dam remained to obstruct their nav- 
 igation of the river until after he had got his boat 
 into the water in the spring, he, for one, would 
 proceed, in open daylight, to do it some dreadful 
 damage. 
 
 Spring was now here, and here was the mill-dam. 
 Here, also, this Sunday afternoon, when he might 
 have been better employed, was Milt Buzrow in his 
 boat. Would he dare to execute his threat ? 
 
 That became an exciting question to his mates, 
 seeing that he had no longer a timid and crafty 
 
THE ENCOUNTER AT THE DAM. 83 
 
 Dushee to deal with, but three stalwart-looking lads 
 watching him from the tree. 
 
 He had committed himself, however, to an act of 
 aggression, and it would never do to have it said that 
 a Buzrow had backed out of anything because he was 
 afraid. 
 
 The dam was a simple structure ; strong stakes 
 driven into the river-bed, with closely fitting hori- 
 zontal planks nailed to them, over a mud-sill across 
 the bottom of the river. 
 
 Buzrow had two of his trusty followers with him, 
 and as they kept the boat in place with their oars, 
 he hauled up a crow-bar from the bow, where he 
 braced himself, and began to strike the point of it 
 against the planks. 
 
 He was striking and wrenching, and a plank was 
 beginning to splinter, when somebody in the other 
 boat whispered, " Look out ! there comes one of 'em ! " 
 and Buzrow, glancing up from his work, saw Lute. 
 
 At the first movement of the iron bar, the second 
 son had slipped from the tree down the bank, and 
 sprung to the platform over the Tammoset end of 
 the dam. 
 
 " See here, young man ! " he called out, " you are 
 a stranger to me, and I am not aware that I ever 
 d-d -did you any harm." 
 
84 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 His manner was not at all menacing, and Buzrow 
 inferred that he could treat his stammer, and his 
 spectacles, and his wise-looking old-young face with 
 contempt, all the more safely because he himself was 
 on the opposite side of the flash-board opening, 
 about ten feet off. 
 
 " No, you n-n-never have," the son of the cow- 
 smiter replied, with a mock stutter which greatly 
 delighted his associates. " But this dam has, and I 
 promised Dushee that if it stayed here till spring it 
 would get smashed." 
 
 " But Dushee has nothing more to do with it," 
 struck in another voice ; and there were two Tink- 
 hams on the platform. 
 
 The second was Rush, who had stopped to snatch 
 up a bean-pole, and now stood grasping it, while he 
 joined his remonstrance to Lute's. 
 
 As there was nothing at all comical about his 
 determined manner and blazing eyes, Buzrow 
 deemed it worth while to treat him with rather 
 more respect, especially as the pole was a dozen 
 feet long. 
 
 " I don't know anything about that," he deigned 
 to respond ; then with a whisper to his oarsmen, 
 " Get a little farther out of his reach." 
 
 " But you ought to know about it, before you go 
 
THE ENCOUNTER AT THE DAM. 8$ 
 
 to destroying our property ! " said Rush. " We 
 didn't suppose this dam injured any one, when we 
 bought it. We have come here to get an honest 
 living, in peace with our neighbors, if we can." 
 
 " That you can't, as long as you keep a dam here," 
 said a man in one of the other boats. " We have no 
 quarrel with you, and don't want to have. But if 
 you think you are going to step into Dushee's place, 
 and do what he found to his cost that he could n't, 
 you 're mightily mistaken." 
 
 "All we want to do," said Lute, "is to carry on 
 our lawful b-b-business ; and that we 've a p-p-per- 
 fect right to do." 
 
 " We don't want to interfere with your business 
 or injure you in any way," said Buzrow. "But you 
 have no more right to keep a dam here than you 
 have to put a gate across the highway. That 's all 
 there is about that." 
 
 Having got well beyond sweep of the bean-pole, 
 he gave startling emphasis to these words by strik- 
 ing another blow with his bar. 
 
 "Break that dam," cried Rush, lifting the pole 
 and standing ready to leap from the platform into 
 the river, "and I '11 break your head ! " 
 
 By that time there was a third Tinkham on the 
 spot, namely. Mart, with two more younger ones 
 
86 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 hastening to bring clubs and brick-bats from the 
 shed. 
 
 " Give me room, boys," said Mart. " No, Rocket, 
 I don't want your pole. Don't fling any of those 
 missiles, boys ! " 
 
 He stepped to the end of the platform, and stood 
 there weaponless, his right hand clinched and rest- 
 ing on his hip, in a favorite attitude, the other hang- 
 ing loosely by his side ; rather thin of face and lank 
 of form, but of goodly height, long-limbed and ath- 
 letic, and with an eye like a hawk's as he looked 
 over at Buzrow and his iron bar. 
 
REASON VERSUS CROW-BARS. 8j 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 REASON VERSUS CROW-BARS. 
 
 RUSH and his bean-pole had startled the Argo- 
 nauts into paying very respectful attention to 
 what the oldest brother had to say. 
 
 "We're peaceable folks here," said Mart, "or at 
 least we try to be. It 's Sunday, and we don't want 
 a row. But, my friend," addressing Buzrow, " if you 
 must be swinging that piece of iron, I 'd rather you 
 would n't swing it in the direction of our dam." 
 
 Buzrow held the bar, looking rather foolishly from 
 the array of Tinkham boys to his own companions ; 
 while Mart proceeded, — 
 
 " Whoever fancies we are going to stand quietly 
 by and see our property destroyed has very erroneous 
 ideas of human nature. It may as well be under- 
 stood first as last that we can't have that." 
 
 As Buzrow had desisted from belligerent action, 
 he seemed to think it necessary to make some defiant 
 remark instead. 
 
 "The dam is a nuisance, and it 's got to go." 
 
88 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " It is n't a nuisance to us," replied Mart. " We 
 bought the mill in good faith, without knowing that 
 anybody had ever objected to the dam. Now we are 
 willing to consider objections in a liberal spirit ; and 
 we ask you, on your part, to consider our position, 
 our honest intentions in coming here, and our wish 
 to do the fair and square thing by everybody." 
 
 " It's easy to talk," replied Buzrow, who had, how- 
 ever, laid down his bar. " Dushee could do that. 
 But we've had enough of it. All is, our boats 
 must n't be hendered by this dam." 
 
 " The flash-boards are out. You have a free pas- 
 sage. And we '11 take 'm out for you any time when 
 they happen to be in. What more do you want .' 
 Whatever your rights may be," Mart continued, 
 "you 're not going just the right way to work to 
 secure them. When you come up here in your boat, 
 and find an opening in the dam ten feet wide to let 
 you through, and, instead of taking advantage of it, 
 turn out of your course and stop to batter down the 
 dam, any man with half a teacupful of brains could tell 
 you that you 're laying yourself liable to a prosecu- 
 tion." 
 
 " You can prosecute," muttered Buzrow. " The 
 law ain't all on your side, you '11 find out. Other 
 folks have taken counsel on this subject." 
 
REASON VERSUS CROW-BARS. 8g 
 
 " I suppose the law will have to decide this thing 
 finally," said a young man in the first boat, which 
 had floated a little way up the river, but now returned 
 to the scene of the encounter. " Come along, boys ! 
 Don't do anything more." 
 
 " I don't intend to do anything more to-day," said 
 Buzrow, glad of an excuse to withdraw from an 
 undertaking which was becoming formidable. " I 've 
 done all I set out to. But," he added, shaking his 
 fist at the dam, — a fist, by the way, which looked 
 as if it might be a good copy of the one that had 
 knocked down a cow, — " before another Sunday, 
 that wrll all be ripped out ! Jest you remember 
 that ! " 
 
 Mart gave no heed to this menace, but said 
 calmly, addressing the young man in the first boat, 
 who appeared to be a person of influence, — 
 
 " You will always find the flash-boards up on Sun- 
 day, — a day on which I should think any disturbance 
 of this kind might be avoided by decent people." 
 
 " I don't belong to the decent sort, I suppose," said 
 Buzrow, in a coarse, jeering way. 
 
 " For the rest," Mart went on, still addressing the 
 young man and ignoring Buzrow, " come to us on a 
 week day, as one man should go to another when 
 there's a conflict of interest between them, and 
 
90 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 we '11 meet you more than half-way in making any 
 necessary arrangements to accommodate both par- 
 ties." 
 
 " That 's fair," said the young man, who seemed to 
 have entered unwillingly into the controversy, and 
 to find it very disagreeable. He had good manners 
 and a fine face, from which no conduct that was not 
 handsome and honorable could well be expected. 
 " I 'm as sorry as you can be that there 's any trouble 
 about the dam ; but I 'm afraid it has gone so far 
 now that the law will have to settle it." 
 
 " Very well ; the law let it be," said Mart. " It 's 
 a miserable weapon for people of sense and right in- 
 tentions to resort to ; but it 's better than crow-bars 
 and bean-poles." 
 
 "I am sorry our fellows have disturbed you to- 
 day," said the young man, appearing himself very 
 much disturbed. 
 
 "I am sure you are," said Mart, cordially; " whether 
 you could have prevented them in the first place, I 
 won't inquire." 
 
 " Perhaps I might," the young man admitted, 
 "but I didn't. The truth is, we all feel that we 
 have a natural right to go up and down the river in 
 our boats, whether the law allows you to dam it or 
 not. We were greatly annoyed by Dushee's shabby 
 
REASON VERSUS CROW-BARS. 9 1 
 
 treatment of us last year, and you must n't be sur- 
 prised at any violence of feeling in opposition to the 
 dam." 
 
 " I see how the matter stands," replied Mart. 
 "You may be sure that, if we had any suspicion of it 
 before we came here, we never should have come. 
 But now that we are here, does n't it seem as if well- 
 meaning fellows, such as you seem to be, and as my 
 brothers and I certainly are, — does n't it seem as 
 if we might settle our differences without lawyers or 
 crow-bars .■' " 
 
 " It does seem so," the young man replied. " Our 
 club meets to-morrow evening, and I shall then lay 
 the subject before them and report what you pro- 
 pose." 
 
 " I hope you will not only report it," said Mart, 
 " but advocate it, as I am sure you can. A word in 
 season from the right person may save a world of 
 trouble, to your side as well as ours." 
 
 "That's a fact," said the young man, his brow 
 clearing of its cloud. " I '11 do my best, but I can't 
 promise that will be much." 
 
 His boat then led the way up the river, followed 
 by the two others, Buzrow still muttering vengeance 
 against the dam as his boat passed through. 
 
 " Who is that young fellow in the farther boat, — ■ 
 
92 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 the one I talked with ? " Mart then inquired of Dick 
 Dushee, who had come down to the Dempford side 
 of the river to see the fun. 
 
 " That," said Dick, who was evidently disappointed 
 that the two parties had separated without affording 
 him more sport, — " that 's Lew Bartland. He 's 
 commodore of the club." 
 
 " I like him ! " said Mart, turning to his brothers. 
 " If we 've got the commodore on our side — and I 
 believe we have — we are all right." 
 
THE COMMODORE S COURTESY. 93 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE commodore's COURTESY. 
 
 A GAIN, the next morning, the Tinkham boys 
 •^^ went about their business as if there had been 
 no cloud of trouble in their sky. The two oldest set 
 to work on the dolls' carriages, for which the spring 
 weather was sure to bring a brisk demand. The two 
 youngest were happy with their new garden tools 
 and a quart of peas Mart had given them to plant. 
 Rush had also a pleasant task, well suited to his 
 hands. To him was assigned the making of the 
 rocket-sticks and pin-wheels for Cole & Co.'s fire- 
 works. The stuff had been brought by express, and 
 enough got ready so that he could set the jig-saw 
 running early in the forenoon. 
 
 Soon after, two young girls drove into the yard, 
 in a handsome top-buggy, and looked about them 
 with lively curiosity, as the sleek and well-groomed 
 horse fell into a slow walk along the gravel path. 
 
 " I wonder if I had better leave it at the door," 
 ^aid one, who held the slack reins. 
 
94 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "My, Syl Bartland!" said the other; "what do 
 you want to leave it there for ! Only women folks 
 are in the house, and I want to see some of the 
 boys." 
 
 " There are two at work over there in the corner 
 of the garden," said Syl. "We might call one of 
 them, and give it to him. Would you, Mollie ? " 
 
 " Those little fellows ! No, indeed ! " cried Mollie. 
 " I want to see the big ones the boys told about. 
 There are six or eight of them in all, they say, and 
 it must have been splendid when one of them was 
 going to knock Milt Buzrow on the head with a bean- 
 pole." 
 
 " I almost wish he had," said Syl. " I hate that 
 great, coarse Buzrow." 
 
 " So do I. But they 've no business to keep a 
 dam here, for all that. Do you remember, Kate 
 Medway and I came up in our boat last summer, and 
 when we were going back we could n't pass the dam, 
 and that miserable old Dushee kept us an hour 
 before he would come and pull up his flash-boards. 
 It was awfully mean ! " 
 
 Mollie lowered her voice as she spoke the last 
 words, for the horse had turned up to the mill and 
 stopped. 
 
 " They are in there at work," Syl Bartland whis- 
 
THE COMMODORE S COURTESY. 95 
 
 pered, with a mischievous laugh. "Now, if you 
 really want to see them, you can take it in to 
 them." 
 
 " What are you talking about ? " giggled the other. 
 " I am not going into that old mill, where there are 
 half a dozen young men I never saw before ! " 
 
 " But you said you wanted to see them. I never 
 saw such a girl as you are, MoUie Kent ! Well, hold 
 the horse, and I '11 beard the lions in their den." 
 
 The weather was warm, and Rush, in his shirt- 
 sleeves, with a paper cap on his head, looking very 
 workman-like, was running his jig-saw, when a rust- 
 ling of the shavings on the floor caused him to 
 glance around. 
 
 He was surprised to see a young girl coming toward 
 him ; her rosy face in a cavalier hat, and a billet in 
 the gloved hand which she held out to him. 
 
 " Are you the Tinkham Brothers .■' " she asked, 
 archly, the rosebud of a mouth looking very much as 
 if it wanted to blossom into a smile. 
 
 " I am one of them," he answered, awkwardly con- 
 scious of his paper cap and shirt-sleeves. 
 
 " Here is a note from my brother. He asked me 
 to bring it over, so that he might be sure you re- 
 ceived it before evening." 
 
 He took the billet, and was thanking her with a 
 
96 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 blush, which well became his fresh and pleasant face 
 when she interrupted him with, "Oh, there's no 
 occasion for that ! " tripped out of the shop, stepped 
 lightly into the buggy on the bank, and, taking the 
 reins from her companion's hand, drove away. 
 
 As soon as they were out of hearing, her sup- 
 pressed laughter broke forth. 
 
 " It was just fun," she said. "They are the tam- 
 est lions ever you saw ! I gave it to the one that 
 shook the bean-pole over Milt's cranium ; I know it 
 was he, from Lew's description." 
 
 "What did he look like.?" MoUie inquired, envi- 
 ously. 
 
 " Handsome as a picture ! Clear red-and-white ! 
 And did n't he blush beautifully, in his paper cap," 
 giggled Syl, " when I gave him the letter ^ " 
 
 "Why didn't you make him come out and help 
 you into the buggy, so I could see him ? " MoUie 
 demanded. " Syl Bartland, you 're as mean as you 
 can be ! " 
 
 Rush, meanwhile, having seen the surprising little 
 vision disappear, opened the unsealed note and 
 glanced his eye over it as he carried it to his 
 brothers. 
 
 " It 's from the commodore," he said, handing it to 
 Mart, — " Lewis Bartland." 
 
THE COMMODORE S COURTESY. 97 
 
 "The commodore!" said Lute. "Who was that 
 g-g-girl?" 
 
 "His sister, I suppose." 
 
 " By G-g-george, she 's a p-p-pretty one ! Why 
 did n't she hand the note to me .■• " 
 
 " Because you are not good-looking enough," 
 laughed Rush. " What is it all about, Mart .? " 
 
 " Now, this is what I call doing the handsome 
 thing," said Mart, with a smile of satisfaction. "I 
 knew there was a gentleman in the commodore's 
 suit of clothes, and this proves it." 
 
 " Let 's have the p-p-proof," said Lute. 
 
 " He writes that a number of boats will be going 
 up the river this evening to the new club-house, 
 where the members are to meet ; and he suggests 
 that it will have a good effect if we give them free 
 way." 
 
 " Certainly," cried Rush ; " though he need n't 
 have taken the trouble to ask it. They will be going 
 up with the tide, and returning later in the even- 
 ing, when the flash-boards will be up." 
 
 " But it 's kind in him to make the suggestion," 
 said Lute, reading over the letter in his turn. " It 
 shows his g-g-good-will." 
 
 " If the Argonauts were all like him," said Mart, 
 " there would be nobody for us to have any row 
 7 
 
98 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 with. I 'd accommodate their boats, if I had to 
 stand at the dam whenever one appeared, and carry 
 it over on my shoulders. Though the law is with 
 us, they 've got a side, and I respect it." 
 
 " So do I, when they respect our side," replied 
 Rush. " But I can't hold my hands in my pockets 
 and see them battering the dam with a crow-bar, as 
 long as any of Dushee's old bean-poles are lying 
 about." 
 
 " I 'm glad you did n't strike the fellow," observed 
 Mart. 
 
 " So am I," added Lute. "As father used to say 
 an ounce of p-p-persuasion is worth a p-p-pourid of 
 opposition." 
 
 The reception of the commodore's courteous note 
 was a cheering incident to the boys in their present 
 state of suspense. And it was evident that they 
 thought no worse of him for the glimpse they had 
 had of his sister. 
 
 With the flood-tide that evening, the boats of the 
 Dempford Argonauts passed the mill on their way to 
 the new club-house on the lake. The Tinkham 
 boys kept out of sight, but they were nevertheless 
 near at hand, and on the watch for any demonstra- 
 tion against the dam. 
 
 There was loud talk in one of the boats, and the 
 
THE COMMODORE S COURTESY. 99 
 
 Buzrow voice was heard repeating the threat of yes-» 
 terday, that it (the dam, of course) was "a nui- 
 sance," and had " got to go." But no crow-bar was 
 used, and no harm done. 
 
 Then the Tinkhams awaited with some anxiety the 
 return of the boats. 
 
 The Argonauts, meanwhile, from down the river 
 and about the lake, as well as from more inland parts 
 of the two towns, assembled at the new club-room. 
 This comprised the upper story of the "odd-look- 
 ing summer house," the lower story being designed 
 for boats, — the lighter ones, like the canoes and 
 wherries, to be placed on racks and brackets, the 
 heavier ones to be floated under the floor and made 
 fast to rods and rings. 
 
 At one end of the room, young Commodore 
 Lewis Bartland sat at a table with the secretary of 
 the club, while the other members, to the number of 
 about thirty, occupied chairs and benches, or stood 
 leaning against the wall. 
 
 At the end of the building, beyond the table, was 
 a balcony overhanging the starlit lake; and there, 
 outside, at the open door and window, were also two 
 small groups of Argonauts, enjoying their cigars 
 and the night air, and, when they chose, listening to 
 the debates. 
 
lOO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Other business having been first transacted, the 
 commodore rose, rapped for silence, and addressed 
 the club. He looked very handsome, with the light 
 from the lamp on the table before him shining full 
 upon his white forehead and finely cut features ; 
 and his speech was calm and persuasive. He gave 
 a concise history of the mill-dam troubles, stating 
 the side of the Argonauts quite to their satisfaction. 
 " But," he went on, after the applause which greeted 
 that portion of his remarks had ceased, " we must n't 
 forget that there is another side to this controversy. 
 The new mill-owners have a side, and we are bound 
 to respect it." 
 
 Dead silence followed this announcement. The 
 youthful commodore felt at once that the club was 
 no longer with him, and that the position he had 
 determined to take would be unpopular. 
 
 But he stood up to it manfully. 
 
THE AKGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. lOI 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. 
 
 " TT 7E have no longer the party to deal with that 
 ' ' we had last year. They did not put the 
 dam there ; and if they had known anything of its 
 history, they would never have bought the mill. So 
 they say, and I believe them." 
 
 There was a murmur of assent. 
 
 "Dushee deceived and imposed upon them," the 
 speaker continued, " as he so often deceived and im- 
 posed upon us. So, I say, instead of regarding them 
 as enemies, we should look upon them as fellow-vic- 
 tims, and do what we can for them in their dfificulty." 
 
 "That's so," cried somebody in a far-off corner. 
 There was also a vigorous hand-clapping in the same 
 direction, but it was limited to one or two persons, 
 and was not taken up by the club. Lew Bartland 
 went on, warming more and more. 
 
 " They have come here for the water-power which 
 the dam gives them, and have probably paid a good 
 deal more for the place than it would be worth to 
 anybody if the water-power was taken away. As I 
 
302 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 understand, they are sons of a poor widow, — mere 
 boys, like the most of us here. That ought to enlist 
 our sympathies in their behalf. They are struggling 
 to get a living for her and for themselves, in a per- 
 fectly honest, upright, legitimate way. Is n't that 
 something for us to consider ? " 
 
 " That was Dushee's claim. We did n't consider 
 that," said a voice at the window, where several 
 heads were looking in from the balcony. 
 
 " But we would — or, at least, we should — have 
 considered it," said the commodore, " if Dushee had 
 treated us fairly, as I believe these young men are 
 ready to do. He never kept his word with us, — 
 promising one thing and then doing another that 
 suited his convenience better. We lost patience with 
 him, and I was as ready as any of you to sweep the 
 dam away and then let the law settle the matter." 
 
 " That 's what we 've got to do now," said the 
 voice at the window. 
 
 "Possibly," replied the commodore, turning in 
 that direction and showing his fine profile to the 
 benches. " But what I insist upon is, that we ought 
 first to talk with these young men, see what they 
 propose to do, and give them such a chance as we 
 should wish anybody to give us if we were in their 
 place." 
 
THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. IO3 
 
 As he sat down, a little fellow from one of the 
 benches jumped up. I say little fellow, because in 
 stature he was hardly more than five feet. But he 
 was one of the oldest members of the club, and he 
 carried himself as if he had been fully seven feet 
 tall. 
 
 " Mr. Webster Foote," said the commodore, recog- 
 nizing him. 
 
 Tremendous applause. Mr. Webster Foote, of 
 Dempford, — or Web Foote, as the boys called him, 
 because he was so fond of the water, — was evi- 
 dently popular, and very well aware of the pleasing 
 fact. He had been a rival candidate for the office of 
 commodore at the time of Lew Bartland's election, 
 and had been defeated by only three votes. He was 
 not, personally, so well liked as Lew, but he had 
 been all along one ot the most active and outspoken 
 enemies of the dam, and had gained favor by encour- 
 aging the prejudice against it. 
 
 It was generally thought that he still aspired to 
 Lew's place. Certain it was that, whenever any 
 plan of the commodore's could be opposed with any 
 show of reason or hope of success, he was sure to 
 lead an opposition. And now the good-natured 
 Bartland had laid himself open to attack. 
 
 Mr. Webster Foote tossed off the black hair from 
 
I04 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 his forehead, and stood waiting for the applause to 
 subside, looking about him with a smile of lofty con- 
 ceit. 
 
 " Straight as a cob ! " whispered a Tammoset boy 
 in the far-off corner. 
 
 " So straight he leans over backward," remarked 
 another Tammoset boy in reply. 
 
 "He's little, but, oh, jiminy !" said a third, with 
 an ironical chuckle. 
 
 Some of the Tammoset Argonauts, it may be 
 said, were lukewarm on the subject of the dam, 
 which they rarely had occasion to pass, and they 
 were inclined to make fun of Mr. Web Foote, of 
 Dempford. 
 
 " Our worthy commodore," the speaker began in 
 high-keyed, oratorical tones of voice, "has made a 
 novel suggestion. He has enlightened us on one 
 point. I thank him for it." 
 
 This complimentary form of phrase would have 
 surprised his followers but for the sarcastic empha- 
 sis with which the short, sharp sentences were 
 uttered. 
 
 " I am sure," he went on, his oratory increasing in 
 shrillness and vehemence, " it never would have 
 occurred to one of us humble members of the club 
 that we owe sympathy and friendship to the owners 
 
THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. I05 
 
 of the dam, instead of opposition. We have no 
 right to go up and down the river in our boats ; or, 
 if we have, we ought to give it away to these honest, 
 upright, dearly beloved strangers." 
 
 There was a laugh of approval, while a cloud of 
 impatience darkened the commodore's face. 
 
 " They have come here to carry on a business of 
 vast importance. I hear they make dolls' carriages, 
 for one thing. The world can't do without dolls' 
 carriages. The world is suffering for the want 
 of dolls' carriages. Europe stretches out its arms to 
 America," — Mr. Web Foote tossed back his hair 
 and extended his own small members to illustrate 
 the attitude of Europe in that dramatic particular, — 
 "and beseeches us for dolls' carriages. And, of 
 course, only the Tinkham Brothers' dolls' carriages 
 will do." 
 
 Shouts of laughter greeted this part of the speech, 
 but no smile broke through the cloud on Lew Bart- 
 land's face. 
 
 "We have been laboring under a great mistake, 
 gentlemen of the club. The river was n't made for 
 us common folks. It is not a natural highway. No 
 boat has any right upon it ; but the fresh water 
 comes down, and the tides ebb and flow, solely for 
 the benefit of the mill and its precious proprietors." 
 
I06 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MIl£. 
 
 Cries of " Good ! good ! " with a noisy stamping 
 of feet on the new floor. 
 
 " Of course, there 's no other place in the world 
 where they can get a living. But if we want to 
 boat up and down a river, why don't we go to some 
 other river .■' There are plenty of rivers in the 
 world ! What are we dallying around here for .■' " 
 
 Amidst the general laughter, even the commo- 
 dore had to smile, Web's mock argument was so 
 amusingly absurd. 
 
 " There are five or six boys of them, I hear, and 
 a widow. Think of that ! A widow ! There are 
 only about forty members of this club ; and what 
 are forty miserable Argonauts, with their sisters and 
 sweethearts, who sometimes go boating with them 
 — what are we, with our paltry interests and pleas- 
 ures, compared with those five or six makers of dolls' 
 carriages and a widow thrown in .■' Of course, we 
 are of no importance. We may as well give up our 
 boats. And, perhaps, it would be a handsome thing 
 to offer this boat-house, which would then be of no 
 more use to us, to the Tinkham Brothers, as a store- 
 house for dolls' carriages. How would you like 
 that.?" 
 
 Web Foote tossed back his hair and sat down, 
 amidst a roar of merriment. That having subsided 
 
THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. IO7 
 
 a little, all eyes turned upon the commodore, who 
 was expected to reply. 
 
 He rose slowly to his feet, and said with simple 
 dignity, — 
 
 " The remarks we have just listened to would be 
 highly diverting if this did not happen to be a seri- 
 ous subject. I am not aware that I have proposed 
 anything so very unreasonable. Can't .we imagine 
 ourselves in the place of those young men, and then 
 ask soberly how we would wish to be treated .' 
 Would we like to have gentlemen to deal with, or a 
 mob .■" I don't propose to abandon our right to the 
 river, by any means, and the last speaker knows as 
 well as anybody that I do not. Is the mere question 
 of a compromise so very absurd ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir ! " bellowed the voice at the window, 
 from which had come the interruptions to the com- 
 modore's opening speech. " Yes, sir ! and I '11 
 tell you why ! " 
 
 Thereupon, in through the window, from the 
 balcony, came the shoulders and one leg, — his head 
 was in already, — and finally the whole burly form 
 of the speaker, who proved to be no other than our 
 valiant acquaintance. Milt Buzrow, of the crow-bar, 
 — the Buzrow whose father had knocked down a 
 cow with his unarmed fist. 
 
I08 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "There can't be no compromise!" He was a 
 little careless with his negatives in times of excite- 
 ment. " I don't care what the mill-owners '11 be 
 willing to do, they can't do but one thing to suit us. 
 As long as the dam or any part of the dam remains, 
 it 's in our way, and it 's got to go ! " 
 
 This was uttered with a gesture of the clinched 
 fist, — which, as we have before intimated, appeared 
 to be a very creditable copy of the cow-smiter's, — 
 and was loudly cheered. 
 
 " Was the river' made for everybody, or for only 
 one or two, I 'd like to know ? " Buzrow went on, 
 advancing toward the middle of the floor. " If it 's 
 only for the mill-owners, why then we '11 throw up 
 our hand, as Web Foote says. But if the public has 
 rights there, the public has got to stand up for its 
 rights, and I go in for standing up for 'em with a 
 good, stiff iron bar," 
 
 This allusion to yesterday's adventure produced a 
 lively sensation. 
 
 " I broke the dam, and I '11 break it again ! " Buz- 
 row cried in a big voice, with a braggart laugh. 
 
 " Look out for bean-poles ! " said one of the 
 Tammosets. 
 
 " I don't care for their bean-poles. Lawyer Snow 
 says we 've jest as much right to tear away that dam 
 
THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. IO9 
 
 as we would have to break a gate put across the 
 highway. I s'pose you know that." 
 
 As the speaker appealed to the commodore, the 
 commodore quietly replied, — 
 
 " I 've heard of his saying so ; but I 've no doubt 
 there are better lawyers than Snow, who would tell 
 the other side exactly the contrary." 
 
 " Then, law or no law," cried Buzrow, " the dam 
 has got to go. S'pose they do take up their flash- 
 boards for us, or make other arrangements for 
 letting our boats through, what a trouble it 's going 
 to be, every time we get to the dam, to wait till 
 some gate is opened, which very likely we should 
 have to open ourselves ; and then we all know how 
 it is when water is low. Last summer Dushee shut 
 his flash-boards after I had got through, going down, 
 and kept back the water so my boat got aground 
 and couldn't be got off till I went and smashed 
 ■em." 
 
 "That's so! that's so!" cried several voices at 
 once. 
 
 "What I claim is," Buzrow said in conclusion, 
 " we 've got a right to the whole width of the river 
 at all times. If the mill-owners will agree to that, 
 all right. It 's the only compromise / will make, as 
 long as I own a crow-bar." 
 
no THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Two or three violent speeches followed on the 
 same side. Then the secretary rose. This was 
 Charley Kent, brother of Mollie, whom we have 
 seen. "I don't think the commodore's position is 
 fully understood," he said, in a modest, conciliatory 
 way, leaning with one hand on the table. " He 
 does n't propose to give up everything to the mill- 
 owners, as some of the speakers assume. But the 
 question is, shall we treat them in a gentlemanly way 
 or in a ruffianly way .■• Are we a club or a mob .' " 
 
 " This is the second time I 've heard that word 
 mob! " cried Web Foote, springing to his diminutive 
 legs, and wildly flinging back the hair from his 
 brow. He threw his chest forward and his head 
 back, much in the style of a fighting cockerel. 
 
 "When such epithets come from officers of the 
 club," — his voice rose to a shriek, — " applied to 
 members of the club," — he sprang forward about 
 three feet, as if he had been going to strike his 
 spurs into somebody, — " I, for one, hurl them back 
 with contempt ! " 
 
 He illustrated the hurling with his right arm 
 thrust straight out — that is to say, diagonally up- 
 ward — at the said officers, with little fist clinched, 
 in comical contrast with that of the cow-smiter's 
 burly son. At the same time, his left arm, also with 
 
THE ARGONAUTS IN COUNCIL. Ill 
 
 little fist clinched, was thrust down diagonally be- 
 hind, as if to balance his person, — which, by the 
 way, was now fully eight feet tall, in his own estima- 
 tion, if it was an inch. 
 
 "We feel the gentleman's contempt, and are 
 withered by it," said the commodore, once more 
 on his feet, and looking calmly over Web Foote's 
 head at the back benches, until Web subsided into 
 his seat. "Nevertheless, I stand to what I have 
 said. Shall we appoint a committee to confer with 
 the mill-owners, and reserve further action on the 
 subject until our next meeting.' That seems to me 
 the only fair and honorable thing to do." 
 
 " And leave the dam there meanwhile .' No, sir," 
 roared Milt Buzrow. 
 
 " I want a vote of the club," the commodore in- 
 sisted. " If, as a club, we are not prepared to act 
 honorably in this and every other matter, I wish to 
 know it, in order that I may take care of my own 
 personal character in time." 
 
 His bearing was so manly, and his quietly-earnest 
 words carried such weight, that he now had a large 
 majority of the Argonauts with him, as was shown 
 by the subsequent vote. Even Web Foote, seeing 
 how the current of popular opinion was turning, 
 stood and was counted in favor of a committee. 
 
112 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Then Milt Buzrow said, " I move that Web Foote 
 be appoitited a member of that committee." 
 
 That was not what the commodore wanted, by any 
 means. But the motion being seconded, he put it to 
 the vote, and it was carried. 
 
 Then the secretary moved that Commodore Lew 
 Bartland be also appointed a member. 
 
 "Gentlemen of the club," said the commodore, 
 hardly trying to conceal his dissatisfaction, " I see no 
 use at all in my serving on this committee with the 
 member already chosen." 
 
 But as his friends insisted on voting for him, he 
 yielded, and was chosen without a dissenting voice. 
 
 In order that both towns might be represented, a 
 Tammoset member was then selected, and the com- 
 mittee was full. 
 
 After some further business was transacted, the 
 meeting broke up harmoniously; and the cause of 
 peace and good order seemed, for the time being, to 
 have prevailed. 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. II3 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. 
 
 AT half past nine o'clock the Tinkham brothers 
 were still waiting for the return of the Argo- 
 nauts down the river. 
 
 It was a mild, starry April night. The rest of the 
 family had retired, and the lights in the house were 
 all extinguished, when the three older boys en- 
 sconced themselves in the willow-tree, — not without 
 bean-poles at hand, — to keep guard over their prop- 
 erty. 
 
 They could hear, in the darkness, the gurgle of the 
 outgoing tide in the eddies formed by the ends of 
 the open dam. Frogs piped in a marsh not far off. 
 No other sound on river or lake or shore. So they 
 waited half an hour longer, under the calm stars. 
 
 Then shouts and laughter were heard in the direc- 
 tion of the new club-house, and they knew that the 
 meeting was over. After a while arose on the night 
 air the "Canadian Boatman's Song," sung by harmo- 
 nious male voices, softened by distance and solitude 
 to an almost spiritual melody. 
 8 
 
I 14 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " That has n't a very w-w-warlike sound," said Lute. 
 
 " No," replied Mart. " I think the commodore's 
 advice has prevailed, as I believed it would." 
 
 Truly, no night-marauders ever went to their work 
 of destruction to the sound of such music. 
 
 The singing grew loud and strong as the boats 
 passed from under the shelter of the high shore and 
 approached the outlet of the lake, and came floating 
 down the dark current of the Tammoset. 
 
 The Tinkhams stretched themselves out on the 
 benches in the tree, so that their silhouettes might 
 not be seen against the starry sky as the Argonauts 
 glided beneath them. One by one the boats passed 
 the dam without difficulty or disturbance. Then, 
 again, the voices were mellowed to an almost spiritual 
 sweetness far down the windings of the river. " Six 
 went up. Only four have gone back," said Rush. 
 
 " I suppose the other two are to be kept in the 
 new club-house, along with the Tammoset boys' 
 boats," Mart replied. " Come to bed now ! We are 
 safe from the depredations of the Argonauts for to- 
 night, any way." 
 
 They went softly to their rooms, taking care not to 
 disturb their mother, and slept soundly after their 
 anxious watch. Then, in the morning, astonishment ! 
 
 The flash-boards, which had been left lying inof- 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. IIS 
 
 fensively on the platform, were missing ; and the 
 plank that Buzrow had started with his bar on Sun- 
 day had been wrenched off and taken away. 
 
 The damage done was not great, but it was exas- 
 perating. " It shows what we 've got to expect, and 
 what we '11 look out for in future, boys ! " said Mart, 
 sternly, as they set about rigging new flash-boards 
 and repairing the dam. 
 
 " Don't tell me again not to strike when I 've a 
 bean-pole over one of their worthless pates ! " said 
 Rush, with choking wrath, and Lute added, — 
 
 " What do you think now of your c-c-commodore .■• 
 And their b-b-beautiful singing ? " 
 
 Mart made no reply, but wielded his hammer as if 
 he had been nailing the Buzrow fist to the dam in- 
 stead of a board. 
 
 The affair was all the more trying because of the 
 delay it involved when the tide was going out, and 
 they wished to take advantage of the wasting water- 
 power. At length, however, all was ready ; Rush 
 returned to his jig-saw and his pin-wheels, and Lute 
 to his lathe and the hubs of his dolls' carriages, while 
 Mart opened the sluice-gate. 
 
 The machinery started, almost stopped, and then 
 started again with a jerk. " Why don't you let the 
 w-w-water full on .' " cried Lute. 
 
Il6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " The water is on ; the gate is wide open," Mart 
 replied. 
 
 " Then what the m-m-mischief is the matter with 
 the w-w-wheel? " 
 
 " Thunder knows ! " Mart exclaimed, watching the 
 unsteady movements with scowling brows. 
 
 Rush sprang to a door which opened upon the 
 water-wheel, and looked it carefully over, while it 
 continued to revolve in the same jerky manner as at 
 first. "Shut it off! shut it off!" he shouted, giv- 
 ing Mart a rapid signal with his hand. " Slowly ! 
 There!" — while Mart applied the lever — "I see 
 what 's the matter." 
 
 They could all see, after the wheel had stopped. 
 On one side a section of five or six of the slender 
 paddle-blades had been broken out. Only notched 
 splinters remained, showing that the work had been 
 done by means of blows from some hard and pon- 
 derous implement. 
 
 The three, crowding the doorway, gazed for some 
 moments in silence, only now and then a strong, 
 deep breath being heard above the sound of the 
 water dripping from the wheel. Over it and the 
 band- wheel a shed projected, open on the lower 
 side, and leaving the paddles exposed for a distance 
 of four or five feet above the sluice-way. Evidently 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. II7 
 
 the raiders had stationed themselves below, in the 
 river, and struck the blows which broke out the 
 blades. 
 
 Mart drew a last long breath and moved away. 
 
 "They mean war," he said, "and war they shall 
 have." 
 
 Lute said not a word, but winked his large eyes 
 rapidly behind his spectacles, as they turned to the 
 light. 
 
 " It 's a wonder we did n't hear the noise," said 
 Rush. 
 
 "We were tired, and slept like logs," Mart 
 replied. 
 
 "And their 1-1-lovely singing had thrown us off 
 our g-g-guard," said Lute. 
 
 " There 's one comfort, boys," Mart added, with a 
 peculiarly grim smile. " We have fair warning now 
 of what they mean to do." 
 
 " And we don't get caught n-n-napping again ! " 
 rejoined Lute, stammering at a frightful rate. 
 " W-w-woe to the next m-m-man th-th-that — " 
 
 Mart took up, so to speak, the stitches his brother 
 dropped. 
 
 " We '11 make things lively for 'em next time ! Say 
 nothing to anybody. We 'II keep our own counsel, 
 be always prepared, and trap somebody. Now, let 's 
 
Il8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 see what boards we can scare up to replace those 
 paddle-blades." 
 
 About the middle of the forenoon, the same 
 elegant top-buggy reappeared which had driven into 
 the yard the day before. But it was not the commo- 
 dore's pretty sister who held the reins this time. It 
 was the commodore himself. 
 
 He, too, had a companion, having brought over 
 the other Dempford member of the mill-dam com- 
 mittee chosen by the Argonauts the night before. 
 Disagreeable as this arrangement was to Lew Bart- 
 land, he had himself proposed it, offering Mr. Web 
 Foote a seat in his buggy, for the good effect that 
 might result from a morning ride and quiet talk with 
 that bumptious individual before their conference 
 with the mill-owners. 
 
 They had arrived at the mill, when a third young 
 man on foot came panting up behind the buggy and 
 joined them. This was the Tammoset member of the 
 committee, Jesse Blump by name ; a pumpkin-faced 
 youth, short of stature, short of breath, and espe- 
 cially short in that essential feature called a nose. 
 He was glowing and blowing with the exertion it 
 had cost him to come up with his colleagues, whom 
 he now greeted with a profusion of smiles. After a 
 few words together, the three crossed the level shed- 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. II9 
 
 roof to the upper room of the shop, where they were 
 met by Rush Tinkham's flushed face and paper cap. 
 
 The youthful commodore, showing tall and manly 
 beside bis companions, — for Blump stood not much 
 higher than Web, though twice as broad, — recog- 
 nized the hero of the bean-pole with a nod, and 
 asked: " Where are your brothers .' " 
 
 " Down-stairs," Rush answered, coldly. 
 
 "We wish to see them," said Mr. Web Foote, 
 pressing forward with an important strut. 
 
 " You can see them," Rush replied, still with curt 
 civility. 
 
 " We have come to confer with them on the sub- 
 ject of the dam," Jesse Blump added ; because, being 
 a member of so important a committee, he felt that 
 his position required him to say something. 
 
 "You are late for that," said Rush. 
 
 " How so .' " asked the commodore, with a look of 
 concern, made aware that some untoward circum- 
 stance had intervened to balk his good intentions. 
 
 " They will tell you," said Rush ; " but you can 
 see for yourselves. The damage is n't all repaired." 
 
 " Damage ! " Lew Bartland echoed, his face cloud- 
 ing more and more. "What damage ? " 
 
 " That done by your rowdies last night." 
 
 Upon which Web Foote fluttered up and blus- 
 
I20 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 tered : " Our rowdies ? What do you mean by 
 that ? " 
 
 "Just what I say," Rush replied, looking the little 
 fellow steadily in the eye. " Only low, miserable 
 scamps would try to injure us as they did." 
 
 " I waive the question of injury, which is some- 
 thing I know nothing about," Web Foote said, with 
 swelling dignity. " But have the kindness to explain 
 why you call them our rowdies .-' " 
 
 " Yes, that 's the question," struck in the Tammo- 
 set member. " Why our rowdies .' " 
 
 "Because," replied Rush, " I suppose they and you 
 belong to the same club." 
 
 " But what reason have you to charge members of 
 our club with acting the part of rowdies .■' " Web 
 Foote demanded. 
 
 " That 's so ! " said Jesse Blump. " What reason ?" 
 
 Rush answered, with a contemptuous laugh, — 
 
 " Because I have seen them act so ! " 
 
 " Seen them — when ? " cried Web Foote. 
 
 " Yes ! When ? " said Jesse Blump. 
 
 "Sunday afternoon. Your commodore here saw 
 them, too. He won't deny it." 
 
 The commodore did not deny it. He looked 
 heartily sick of the whole wretched business. Rush 
 went on: "They did again last night what they 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT. 121 
 
 started to do then. And worse. They broke the 
 water-wheel." 
 
 " Did they touch your water-wheel .' " exclaimed 
 the commodore, with sudden heat. " I can't believe 
 that ! " 
 
 " You 'd better step down and see, if you won't 
 take my word for it," said Rush, showing the stairs, 
 and looking as if he would like to have them make 
 the descent with alacrity, head foremost. 
 
 " Take us to your brothers, if you please," said the 
 commodore. And Rush, somewhat mollified by his 
 distressed look and disheartened tone, led the way. 
 
122 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 TV TART was in the gloomy water-shed, removing 
 ■'-'-•■ the shattered blades from the wheel, with his 
 back toward the door that opened from the shop, 
 when Rush came behind him and said, - — 
 
 " Here are some gentlemen who have come to talk 
 about the dam." 
 
 Mart merely glanced over his shoulder, showing 
 his sweaty and lurid brows, and remarked, as he con- 
 tinued his work : " There 's been some talk about 
 that already. A little more won't do any harm. 
 They can turn it on." 
 
 Rush stepped back, while Web Foote and Jesse 
 Blump pressed into the doorway, the commodore 
 looking over their hats from behind. 
 
 " Can you spare a minute to speak with us 1 " 
 Web asked, pompously. 
 
 "Nary minute," Mart said, giving dryness to his 
 reply by using the old-fashioned vernacular. 
 
THE CONFERENCE. 123 
 
 "We have come on the part of the Argonaut 
 Club," said the pumpkin-faced Tammoset member. 
 
 " I sha'n't hurt you, if you have," said Mart. 
 Clip, clip, with his hammer. 
 
 "This is no fit place for a conference." Web 
 Foote drew back with a prodigious frown. 
 
 " No place at all." And Blump also drew back. 
 
 They were both dressed in dapper style ; and the 
 floorless shed over the sluice, the rough boards, the 
 wet wheel, and the damp odors, not to speak of the 
 unsociable workman in coarse clothes, giving them 
 the coldest kind of a cold shoulder, did not form a 
 very dainty setting for their pictures. 
 
 " I 'm sorry you don't like the place," said Mart. 
 '' I don't like it myself. But my business is here 
 just now; and I've made up my mind to attend 
 strictly to my business in future, and have as little 
 to do with boat-clubs as possible. They have hin- 
 dered us about two hours this morning, and we 've 
 no more time to lose." 
 
 He was standing on a plank, so placed that he 
 could get at the wheel ; and as he said this, he 
 turned and looked over the hats of Foote and 
 Blump, addressing his remarks to the commodore. 
 
 "When was this mischief done .■' " Lew asked. 
 
 "Last night." 
 
124 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Have you any idea who did it ? " 
 
 " I don't know the individuals," said Mart. "But 
 anybody can guess in whose interest it was done." 
 
 "I hope," Bartland replied, "you will do us the 
 justice to believe that no such outrage as this was 
 ever sanctioned by the club." 
 
 " It was n't necessary to sanction it. It has been 
 done, you see." 
 
 " You can never make me believe," cried Web 
 Foote, vehemently, " that any member of our club 
 had anything to do with it ! " 
 
 " Never ! " exclaimed Jesse Blump. 
 
 Mart made no reply, but received a new paddle- 
 blade — a long board — which Lute just then passed 
 to him over the heads of Web and Jesse. He pro- 
 ceeded to adjust it to the wheel. 
 
 " We are in the way here, boys," said the commo- 
 dore. "They are not inclined to talk with us, and 
 no wonder. I did hope to settle our differences 
 amicably ; but, after what has happened, I don't see 
 how it can be done." 
 
 "Thank you for your good-will," said Mart, turn- 
 ing again, while one hand held the board in place. 
 " No doubt you have done what you could. But 
 that does n't seem to be much. You did n't prevent 
 the dam from being attacked on Sunday, nor this 
 
THE CONFERENCE. 125 
 
 Other damage from being done last night. We find 
 we have got to depend upon ourselves ; and that 's 
 what we shall do in future." 
 
 " You are right ; I don't blame you," said the 
 commodore. " I '11 only say that if I could have had 
 my way, things would be different from what I 
 see they are to-day, and must be, I suppose, here- 
 after." 
 
 "Well," said Web Foote, backing out of the 
 water-shed as Lew turned to go, " I regret this piece 
 of work, though, as I said, I don't believe any Argo- 
 naut had a hand in it. But that has nothing to do 
 with the errand that brings us here." 
 
 "Nothing whatever," said Blump, also backing 
 out, while Mart followed them into the shop. 
 
 " I think it has a good deal to do with it," said the 
 commodore. " We come as a committee, to make 
 peace, and find that somebody overnight has been 
 making war. Whether this dastardly thing was done 
 by members of the club or not, they will have the 
 credit of it, and not without cause." 
 
 "I don't admit the cause," Web Foote protested. 
 
 " No, nor I ! " said Jesse Blump. 
 
 " And I intend as a member of this committee to 
 do what we were appointed and sent here for," said 
 Foote. 
 
126 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Precisely," said Jesse Blump. " What we were 
 chosen and sent here to do." 
 
 Lute and Rush now stood with Mart, confronting 
 these two members, while Lew stepped aside. 
 
 " We have come to ask you what you propose to 
 do with your dam," said Web Foote. 
 
 " Exactly," said Jesse Blump. " What do you pro- 
 pose to do with your dam .? " 
 
 The drooping side of Mart's homely mouth drew 
 down with its drollest expression, as he gave his 
 brothers a side glance and drawled out, — 
 
 " They want to know what we propose to do with 
 our d-a-m ! What do we propose to do with it .■' " 
 
 "We don't propose to do anything with it," cried 
 Rush, hotly. 
 
 " Y-yes, we do ! " Lute stammered. " We propose 
 to k-k-keep it where it is, if we c-c-can. And I 
 g-g-guess we can." 
 
 "That seems to be the general opinion of our 
 side," said Mart. " We need the dam for our little 
 water-power. And after we get our wheel mended, 
 we shall need it more than ever to make up for lost 
 time." 
 
 If it was possible for Web Foote to stand 
 straighter than before, he did it now, as he said, — 
 
 " We have come on the part of our club to inform 
 
THE CONFERENCE. 12/ 
 
 you that it obstructs the river and is in the way of 
 our boats." 
 
 If it was possible for Jesse Blump to look more 
 pumpkin-faced than before, he did it when he, too, 
 blustered up and said : " That 's the point ! It 
 hinders our boats in going up and down the river.'' 
 
 " Do you own the r-i-'river .■' " Lute inquired. 
 
 " No, but we own the boats," said Web Foote. 
 
 " We own the boats," echoed Jesse Blump. 
 
 "And we own the dam," said Mart. "We did n't 
 build it ; but we have bought it, and we mean to 
 keep it. We have no wish to interfere with your 
 boats, and you are respectfully requested not to inter- 
 fere with our dam." 
 
 " We heard that you proposed to make some ar- 
 rangements for letting our boats through," said Web. 
 " We did n't believe it practicable ; but our club 
 wished to act honorably, and hear what you had to 
 say, before taking the matter into its own hands and 
 removing the obstructions." 
 
 "That's just it, — before removing the obstruc- 
 tions," said Jesse Blump. 
 
 " Meanwhile, your honorable club comes in the 
 night-time, and not only attempts to remove obstruc- 
 tions, but breaks the water-wheel ! " said Mart. 
 " Your language does n't bulge very much with com- 
 
128 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL, 
 
 mon-sense, my young friends ; nevertheless, we '11 
 waste a little more time on you." 
 
 He rested his right hand on his hip in his favorite 
 attitude, as he continued, again addressing Commo- 
 dore Lew over his colleagues' hats. 
 
 " We came here as strangers, and were ready to do 
 anything reasonable for the sake of keeping on good 
 terms with everybody in these two towns who would 
 use us well. We are not brigands and outlaws ; 
 though, by their treatment of us, some of your fel- 
 lows seem to have thought so. We are really as 
 kind-hearted as the old lady who warmed the water 
 she drowned her kittens in. We would n't willingly 
 injure anybody," 
 
 " Only yesterday," Rush broke in, also addressing 
 Bartland, " my brother said, if the Argonauts were 
 all like you, he would accommodate your boats if he 
 had to stand at the dam and carry them over on his 
 shoulder." 
 
 "What I meant by that rather absurd speech," 
 said Mart, " was this, that we would put ourselves 
 to any inconvenience to oblige you^ And so we 
 will do now, to accommodate those who treat us as 
 civilized beings should treat one another. But we 
 see by last night's transactions that we have to deal 
 with savages. And our answer to all such is, that 
 
THE CONFERENCE. 1 29 
 
 we propose to keep our dam in spite of 'em, and 
 stand up for our rights. Is n't that about the way it 
 hangs, boys ? " 
 
 Rush and Lute assented with quiet, determined 
 looks. 
 
 " Then all I say is, you 've got a hard row to 
 hoe ! " said Web Foote. 
 
 " An awful hard row to hoe ! " said Jesse Blump. 
 
 " We expect it," said Lute. " But it 's better to 
 know we have a fight on our hands, and be p-p-pre- 
 pared for it, than to be caught as we were 1-1-last 
 night." 
 
 " I did n't believe any compromise was possible, 
 and now I know it," said Web Foote. " But I 've 
 done my part." 
 
 "Yes ; we and the club have done our part," said 
 Jesse Blump. . 
 
 " You and the club have done your part in a way 
 that makes a compromise impossible," said Mart. 
 " The commodore will admit that." 
 
 What the commodore thought was plain enough, 
 but he said nothing. 
 
 " You will have not only the club, but both towns 
 against you," said Web Foote, with a toss of the 
 head, probably from the habit of throwing his hair 
 back in debate, though he now kept his hat on. 
 9 
 
/30 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " I can speak for Tammoset," said Jesse Blump. 
 " Both towns will take the matter in hand." 
 
 " No doubt you will all be very brave," replied 
 Mart. " There are five boys of us, big and little ; 
 and there may be five hundred against us. But 
 with law and right on our side, we shall take our 
 chances." 
 
 Web Foote was strutting toward the outer door, 
 followed by the Tammoset member. Seeing that 
 the interview was over, Commodore Lew stepped 
 impulsively back toward Mart and his brothers. 
 
 " I don't know whether you care to part as friends 
 with me," he said, with manly emotion. 
 
 " Certainly I do ! " Mart replied, warmly grasping 
 the proffered hand. " You have acted nobly, and I 
 thank you." 
 
 " I might have helped you ; but this whole busi- 
 ness has been managed as badly as possible. You 
 are in a hard place. I don't see how you are going 
 to get out of it. But you may be sure," Lew added, 
 shaking hands in turn with the other boys, " you will 
 never have an enemy in me. I respect you too 
 much for that." 
 
 So they parted. 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 13 1 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 
 
 THE last meeting of the club had adjourned to 
 Thursday evening, when it was expected that 
 the mill-dam committee would be able to report. 
 
 Again on that evening the Argonauts thronged 
 the new club-room, and the discussion of the excit- 
 ing topic was renewed. The commodore was 
 present, but, at his request, the vice-commodore 
 occupied the chair. 
 
 Mr. Web Foote took the floor, to speak for the 
 majority of the committee. His manner was airy 
 and self-satisfied to a degree unusual even for him. 
 It was evident that the turn affairs had taken had 
 not cooled his ambition nor tripped the heels of his 
 conceit. 
 
 " He feels he 's the upper dog in the fight, now," 
 whispered one of the not over-friendly Tammoset 
 boys. 
 
 "The room ought to have been built higher, on 
 his account," remarked another. "He'll hit a 
 
132 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 rafter with his head some time, when he flings his 
 hair back." 
 
 Serenely unconscious of the possibility that his 
 exalted demeanor could excite any but admiring 
 comments, the little Dempford youth stood erect as 
 an exclamation-point, and launched his speech. 
 
 He first reminded the Argonauts of the position 
 which he and a large majority of those present at 
 the last meeting had taken with regard to the ob- 
 structions in the river. 
 
 " Nine out of ten of us, perhaps I might say 
 thirty-nine out of forty of us," — Mr. Web Foote 
 looked as if he had been the whole thirty-nine, — 
 "were convinced that these obstructions should be 
 summarily removed." (Applause.) "But out of 
 deference to a single member, and because we 
 wished to act magnanimously in the matter — I 
 say, MAGNANIMOUSLY — " 
 
 This word, uttered at first in small capitals, and 
 then repeated with a swelling stress to which only 
 large capitals can do any sort of justice, was greeted 
 with loud applause. Commodore Lew, seated on 
 one of the side benches, was seen to smile. 
 
 " We agreed to the appointment of a committee, 
 and a conference with the mill-owners ; though 
 nobody, I am sure, with the exception, perhaps, of 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 1 33 
 
 that one member," — the speaker continued, with 
 a peculiarly sarcastic smile, — " expected that any 
 satisfactory arrangement with them could be made. 
 That was n't possible, in the nature of things. What 
 we demand is the river, the whole river, and nothing 
 but the river, open to us," — he opened his arms 
 wide, as if ke had been the river, — " now, henceforth, 
 and at all times." 
 
 Tremendous cheers. The torrent of eloquence 
 flowed on. 
 
 " The conference was decided upon ; and I was 
 chosen one of those to perform that disagreeable 
 duty. How very disagreeable it was to be I had no 
 forewarning, or I should have declined the honor. 
 Going as gentlemen to call upon these much-lauded 
 young mill-owners, we had reason to expect gentle- 
 manly treatment. Invested with the authority of 
 the club, we supposed we were entitled to respect. 
 But we received instead " — spoken with shrill em- 
 phasis and a violent gesture — " boorish insults and 
 insolent defiance! " 
 
 Great sensation. Web tossed back his hair, swung 
 on his heel, and looking about him, saw faces flaming 
 up with excitement. 
 
 " Yes, gentlemen of the club, fellow-Argonauts ! 
 These charming strangers ; these industrious makers 
 
134 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 of dolls' carriages for two continents" (a titter); 
 " these good boys who deserve our help and sympa- 
 thy, as we were lately informed " (this was uttered 
 with thrilling irony) ; " these honest, well-meaning 
 mill-owners, — received us with insults and dismissed 
 us with defiance!" 
 
 If Mr. Web Foote expected an uproar of indigna- 
 tion to follow this stroke of oratory, he was not dis- 
 appointed. He then proceeded to describe the 
 " conference " from his own point of view, making 
 out the conduct of the Tinkham boys to have been 
 as bad as possible, and kindling the wrath of the 
 Argonauts. 
 
 " Yes, gentlemen," he said, in his final summing 
 up of the whole matter, " after declining at first to 
 have anything to say to us, then treating us with 
 clownish insolence, and insulting in our persons the 
 whole club, calling us rowdies and savages, they 
 did finally condescend to inform us of their sover- 
 eign will and pleasure. They scoffed at the idea of 
 a compromise, and vowed that they would keep the 
 dam where it is, in spite of us. Yes, fellow-Argo- 
 nauts, IN SPITE OF us ! " he repeated in a voice be- 
 tween a hiss and a shriek. " Their very words, as 
 my colleagues will bear witness. IN SPITE OF 
 US!" 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 1 35 
 
 At this climax, Mr. Web Foote tossed his hair back 
 from his forehead and himself back upon his seat. 
 
 Indescribable clamor ensued. A dozen members 
 were on their feet at once, gesticulating and shout- 
 ing ; among them the burly Buzrow form and face 
 and fist, and the Buzrow voice bellowing to be heard. 
 
 Some were for rushing forth at once and answer- 
 ing the mill-owners' defiance by " ripping out the 
 dam." Fortunately the state of the tide was not 
 favorable to the enterprise ; and the chairman, by 
 vigorous rapping on the table, succeeded in restoring 
 something like order. 
 
 " Mr. Jesse Blump," he said, recognizing one of 
 them who had been trying to speak. 
 
 Mr. Jesse Blump had sat down again in the back 
 part of the room, but now the face of him, looking 
 less like a pumpkin in the lamp-light, and more like 
 a full moon, rose red and round over the troubled 
 waters, and shed its genial glimmer on the scene. 
 
 " As one of the colleagues appealed to," he said, 
 " I can bear witness that we — that they — treated 
 us — with the — the very words you have — heard. 
 They would keep the dam in spite of us. Some- 
 thing like that. I think the other member of the 
 committee will agree with them — I mean with us — 
 that these were the very expression." 
 
136 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Thereupon the newly-risen moon, redder if not 
 rounder than before, set again with surprising ab- 
 ruptness. 
 
 " What fools we were," remarked one of the 
 aforesaid Tammoset boys, "to put Jesse Blump on 
 that committee ! " 
 
 " Don't you see ? " said the other. " It was neces- 
 sary to take a member from our town ; and the 
 Dempfords chose one who could be led by the 
 nose." 
 
 " He ? He has no nose to be led by," was the 
 contemptuous retort. 
 
 Blump's speech did not have the effect of firing 
 the Argonauts to a still wilder fury. It served, on 
 the contrary, as a sort of anti-climax to Webb's 
 harangue, and prepared the way for Lew Bartland. 
 
 Lew felt that he had a tremendous current of 
 opinion against him, but he faced it without flinch- 
 ing. 
 
 He could not quite keep down his rising heart as 
 he reviewed what he called the " report of the ma- 
 jority," which, he declared, entirely misstated some 
 of the facts and gave quite a false coloring to 
 others. 
 
 " I admit, he said, " that we were, at the outset, 
 treated with scant civility. But there was a reason 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 137 
 
 for it which appears very small in the report you 
 have heard, while the so-called rudeness appears 
 very large." 
 
 He then gave his own version of the interview, 
 enlarging upon the provocation the mill-owners had 
 received, which Web had passed over as a very 
 trifling matter. 
 
 " They did not call us rowdies and savages. 
 They called the persons who had committed the 
 outrage rowdies and savages. And I say they 
 
 WERE RIGHT." 
 
 Lew made this avowal with an emphasis of sup- 
 pressed feeling which produced a strong impression. 
 
 " If there 's an Argonaut present who holds that 
 they were wrong, I 'd like to have him stand up and 
 say so. If there's one here who dares maintain 
 that the breaking of the water-wheel that night was 
 an act to be applauded, let 's know who he is, before 
 going any further." 
 
 Web Foote popped up, flung back his hair, and 
 exclaimed, — 
 
 " No Argonaut had anything to do with it, and I 
 told them so." 
 
 A dozen voices echoed, " No ! no Argonaut ! " 
 and made the room ring with renewed tumult. 
 
 " I don't say it was done by Argonauts," Lew 
 
138 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 went on, as soon as he could be heard. " I 've 
 made inquiries, and I can't learn that any member 
 of the club knew anything about it. But what I 
 say is, it was an act of vandalism, which might well 
 rouse the resentment of the mill-owners. What I 
 say further is, that they had good reason to believe 
 it was done by some of us, or at all events in our 
 interest." 
 
 " No ! no ! no ! " clamored twenty voices. 
 
 " I say they had reason to think so ! " cried the 
 young commodore, with splendid spirit. " Who are 
 known as the active enemies of the dam ? Who but 
 the Argonauts .' Of course they suspected us. 
 Right or wrong, they laid the outrage to us, and 
 treated your committee accordingly. I could n't 
 blame them. They were mad, as any of us would 
 have been in their place. But, even then, they 
 could have been easily pacified and brought to some 
 agreement if your committee had met them as I 
 think they should have been met, under the circum- 
 stances." 
 
 "We didn't go down on our knees to them!" 
 cried Web Foote, jumping up. 
 
 " We did n't go as far as that ; we did n't kneel to 
 'em ! " cried Jesse Blump, who, having sweated off 
 the embarrassment of his first attempt at a speech. 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. 139 
 
 felt now that he could make a very good one, if he 
 only had a chance. 
 
 Web was in his seat again, and the full moon, 
 which had also risen, had set a second time over 
 the sea of faces. Lew went on : — 
 
 " They declared their readiness to accommodate 
 every boat that approaches, in a friendly way, to 
 pass the dam. I believe they will do all in their 
 power to oblige those who treat them fairly. But as 
 for going to any great expense to build a lock, or 
 anything of the sort, until they are sure of satisfying 
 us, and feel safe from midnight depredations, they 
 were not so foolish as to waste words about that. 
 They know too well that it would n't satisfy us ; and 
 that they have, what they rightly termed, rowdies to 
 deal with." 
 
 " I am glad we know what our worthy commodore 
 thinks of us ! " cried Web Foote, wilfully miscon- 
 struing the last remark, and raising another storm. 
 
 " Misunderstand me if you will ! " shouted Lew, 
 himself in a blaze of excitement by this time. " Be 
 unjust to me as you are to the mill-owners. Oh ! " 
 he broke forth, with indignation ringing in his 
 tones, " I am disheartened, I am ashamed, I lose 
 faith in human nature, when I see young men like 
 us here unable to take large and liberal and just 
 
I40 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 views of a subject in which their selfish interests 
 are involved.; unable to see that the other side has 
 rights they ought to respect ; ready to take the law 
 into their own hands, and be judges and execution- 
 ers in a cause that should be tried by humanity, 
 forbearance, and good sense." 
 
 Another fiery speech from the little Dempford 
 member, followed by two or three others on the same 
 side, among them one from the son of the father 
 whose fist had knocked down a cow ; then, after a 
 somewhat feeble and lukewarm support of the com- 
 modore by a few of his personal friends, the report 
 of the majority was accepted by an overwhelming 
 vote. 
 
 " Commodore Bartland," said the chairman. 
 
 Bartland was on his feet again, pale but firm, if 
 not calm. 
 
 " I have foreseen how this thing was likely to go,'' 
 he said, " and I will now ask the secretary to read a 
 paper which has been in his hands since yesterday." 
 
 He sat down, but rose again immediately. 
 
 "First, however," he said, "I wish to make one 
 more correction. It has been charged that the mill- 
 owners vowed they would keep their dam in spite of 
 us. They did n't say that. What they did say was 
 something like this : ' We have learned, by last nigMs 
 
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS. I4L 
 
 proceedings, that we have to do with savages, but we 
 Jiropose to keep the dam. in spite of all such.' " 
 
 " The same thing ! the same thing ! " chorused sev- 
 eral voices. 
 
 " If we are the savages who broke the water-wheel, 
 then it is the same thing ; otherwise, it is not the 
 same thing at all. Can't we discriminate .' Are we 
 quite blind with passion ? " cried Lew, with con- 
 temptuous impatience. " But I '11 tell you one thing, 
 gentlemen of the club ! " 
 
 His energetic face lighted up with a smile, as he 
 added, lowering his voice, — 
 
 " Those young men of the mill are not of the sort 
 it is altogether safe to trifle with. They believe, as 
 I believe, and as you will find out, that they have the 
 law with them. They are going to defend their 
 property ; and I advise whoever has a hand in de- 
 stroying it — " 
 
 " What ? " cried Buzrow, as the speaker paused. 
 
 " To wear thick gloves ! " said Lew Bartland, sig- 
 nificantly. 
 
 The paper he had called for was then read. In it 
 he resigned his position as commodore of the club. 
 
i42 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 MART BEGINS A SCRAP-BOOK. 
 
 'X^HE retirement of Lew Bartland rendered an- 
 -'■ other meeting of the club necessary, in order 
 to fill the vacant ofHce of commodore. 
 
 It was held early in the following week. Lew was 
 not present, and the Web Foote faction had every- 
 thing its own way. Web had some opponents 
 among the Tammoset boys and Lew's Dempford 
 friends ; but they could not unite upon any one can- 
 didate, and, when the ballot was taken, Web was 
 elected by a large maiority. 
 
 It was just what he expected. He was at the sum- 
 mit of his ambition. He was jubilant — he walked 
 upon air. 
 
 A committee of ten members was then chosen, 
 "to decide what measures should be taken for the 
 removal of the obstructions in the river '' ; in other 
 words, to get rid of the Tinkham brothers' mill-dam. 
 Somehow the impression had got abroad that it 
 would not be safe for individuals to meddle with it 
 
MART BEGINS A SCRAP-BOOK. 143 
 
 without a strong backing. The time had come, 
 therefore, when it behooved the valiant Argonauts 
 to take action as a club. 
 
 After the meeting had adjourned, the new commit- 
 tee held a consultation with closed doors. Its delib- 
 erations remained a mystery ; but the election of the 
 new commodore made no Httle noise in both towns. 
 The Dempford Gazette had a paragraph about it : — 
 
 "We understand that the special meeting of the 
 Argonaut Club on Tuesday evening was a perfectly 
 harmonious gathering ; and that Webster Foote, Es- 
 quire, was chosen commodore — vice Lew Bartland, 
 resigned^ by an almost unanimous vote. This 
 means the speedy destruction of all impediments to 
 the free navigation of our beautiful river. Among 
 our rising young men, there is not one more popu- 
 lar or more prominent just now than Commodore 
 Foote." 
 
 We will not begrudge the new commodore the 
 gratification with which he read this bit of local gos- 
 sip. He saw it first in the Dempford Gazette ; and it 
 was natural that he should send at once for the Tam- 
 moset Times for the pleasure of seeing it there also. 
 It was the same paper masquerading under another 
 name across the river. 
 
 The Tinkham brothers likewise took pains to pro- 
 
144 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 cure a copy of the Times, having heard that there 
 was something in it about the mill-dam troubles. 
 Rupe brought it to them one afternoon in the mill. 
 They read the paragraph with different feelings from 
 those it inspired in the swelling bosom of Commo- 
 dore Foote. But they were not dismayed. 
 
 " That 's the same strutting little fellow who 
 wanted to know what we were going to do with our 
 d-a-am ! " drawled Mart. 
 
 Upon which Lute, whose ingenuity sometimes 
 extended to the making of a pun, stuttered out, — 
 
 " I knew by his g-g-gait that he would be c-c-com- 
 modore ! " 
 
 " By his gate that he would become a door I O 
 Lute ! O Lute ! " cried Rush, shaking with 
 laughter ; while Mart merely drew down the droll 
 corner of his mouth and gave Lute a reproachful 
 glance. 
 
 " I hear there has been a good deal of this kind 
 of 1-1-literature in the papers," said Lute. " And I 
 should n't wonder if there would be m-m-more before 
 they get through with us." 
 
 " We '11 begin a scrap-book," said Mart, cutting 
 out the paragraph with a chisel on his work-bench. 
 " This may be the nucleus of a large and interesting 
 volume." 
 
MART BEGINS A SCRAP-BOOK, I45 
 
 "The confounded editors!" exclaimed Rush. 
 " They always take the popular side of a question 
 like this," 
 
 " Must n't b-blame 'em," said Lute. " If they 
 should take the other side, how would their bread 
 get b-b-buttered ? " 
 
 " I would try to take the side of justice, if I went 
 without butter and bread, too ! " rejoined Rush. 
 " What do they know about us and our business 
 here.? An item like that will prejudice hundreds of 
 people ! " 
 
 "And sell perhaps a hundred extra p-p-papers," 
 said Lute. " We must n't let mother see that! " 
 
 " No," said Mart, carefully folding the nucleus of 
 his future volume and placing it in his pocket-book. 
 " We '11 let her be happy and sleep nights as long as 
 she can. There 's worry enough in store for her, I 'm 
 afraid." 
 
 " When she does find out, as I suppose she will 
 some time," Rush replied, " we want to be able to 
 say, ' Oh, yes ! Trouble about the dam .' of course ! 
 There has been all the time, but we have n't minded 
 it, and the dam is still there ! ' " 
 
 " If it is still there, as I t-t-trust it will be," said 
 Lute. " What makes the Argue-nots " (the boys 
 had taken up Mr. Rumney's word) "so quiet just 
 
146 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 now, I wonder ? Planning their c-c-campaignj' I 
 suppose." 
 
 Nothing which the boys could think of had been 
 neglected in preparing for all possible contingencies, 
 only Mart would not yield to the clamorous request 
 of the younger boys that they might go to town and 
 borrow their Cousin Tom's revolver. Cousin Tom 
 was sick, and they knew he would be glad to lend it 
 in a good cause. 
 
 " No, boys," Mart said, " I don't want any weapons 
 deadlier than what we've got. Not at present. I 
 should be sorry to shoot anybody. It would n't look 
 well, and I don't believe I should be happy about it 
 afterward." 
 
 " Not in defence of your property .' " cried Rupert. 
 
 " Not even in defence of our property. This carry- 
 ing revolvers is a foolish business, as a general thing." 
 
 " It 's c-c-cowardly ! " said Lute. 
 
 " But Cousin Tom carries one." 
 
 " He carried one in Texas, where he did n't like to 
 go unarmed among armed and violent men. That 's 
 another thing." 
 
 " Don't we expect to have violent men to deal 
 with ? " said Rush, who saw the wisdom of Mart's de- 
 cision, and yet had a boyish inclination for revolvers. 
 
 " Yes, rather ! " drawled Mart. " And there 's no 
 

 — ^I ^ ^ P. 151, 
 
MART BEGINS A SCRAP-BOOK. \^^ 
 
 knowing what they may drive us to do. But I 
 don't want to nleet 'em with a pistol in my fist, if I 
 can help it. A time might come, you know, when 
 I could n't resist the temptation to use it." 
 
 Meanwhile, the brothers kept careful watch over 
 their property by day, and at bedtime every night 
 one of the older ones returned quietly to the mill. 
 There a bed of shavings was prepared, and there he 
 lay down in his clothes, by an open window over- 
 looking the dam. 
 
 Attached to a nail within reach of his hand was 
 the end of a piece of twine, which was a ball by day, 
 but which, every evening, was carried on its un- 
 winding way out of the mill, thrown up the bank, 
 unrolled along the ground, and finally tossed, what 
 was left of it, into a window of the house. Behind 
 the window, which was left open, another of the boys 
 slept, with that end of the string tied to his wrist ; 
 while the other end, as said before, remained fastened 
 to the nail in the mill. 
 
 Lute was generally the one to betake himself to 
 the pile of shavings, because he was a light sleeper. 
 The first sound of marauders trying their operations 
 would have been sure to wake him. Then a jerk 
 of the string would have been enough to bring the 
 other boys at once to his assistance. 
 
148 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Every morning the twine, cast loose from the 
 casement, was drawn along the ground and over the 
 bank by a pair of hands at the mill, wound in a ball 
 and kept ready for use the next night. All which 
 was most carefully done in order not to excite the 
 suspicions of the mother. 
 
 Still, no marauders came. Everything was omi- 
 nously quiet ; it was like a calm preceding a storm. 
 
THE NEW COMMODORE S NEW YACHT. I49 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE NEW commodore's NEW YACHT. 
 
 IT was still early in the season for many boats to 
 be passing the dam. If one appeared when the 
 flash-boards were in, the brothers made haste to 
 remove them and let it through, often receiving 
 scanty thanks for their pains. 
 
 " No matter for their thanks," said Mart as Rush 
 one day complained of this lack of civility. " That 's 
 an article they can be as stingy of as they please. 
 We'll treat 'em well a good deal longer than they 
 treat us well." 
 
 Then one afternoon an incident occurred. 
 
 Web Foote had a very good sail-boat the year 
 before, but it had been beaten in one or two races, 
 late in the season, and as he could not bear to be 
 beaten in anything, he had, during the winter, been 
 building a new yacht, which was expected to outstrip 
 everything of its size that sailed. 
 
 It was now finished. Originally called the 
 "Nymph," immediately on his accession to office 
 
150 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 he had hastened to have the name changed to the 
 "Commodore," much to the distress of the painter, 
 who found difficulty in lettering so broad a name 
 upon so narrow a stern. The boat was sharply built 
 fore and aft ; besides, Web insisted on having the 
 letters large. 
 
 The yacht was launched, and the new letters on 
 the stern were hardly dry when the commodore 
 started one afternoon to take his namesake up the 
 river. 
 
 He would have liked the glory of sailing from 
 Dempford with his commodore's pennant flying, 
 announcing to all the world the new dignity of the 
 owner. But, though wind and tide were favorable, 
 there were bridges in the way of the mast, which 
 had to be laid ignominiouslyfrom stern to stem, with 
 its long, taper end projecting forward over the 
 water. 
 
 Web had expected a friend to make the trip with 
 him, but the friend had not come ; and after waiting 
 an hour, the impatient commodore set out, accom- 
 panied only by a stout boy in a small boat. 
 
 The small boat had the yacht in tow; and the 
 stout boy did the rowing, assisted by the tide ; while 
 the commodore, on board the larger craft, gave use- 
 less orders and steered unnecessarily. 
 
THE NEW commodore's NEW YACHT. I5I 
 
 They made a prosperous start. But, in addition 
 to the hour's delay in waiting for his friend, Web 
 found that the tide was an hour earlier than he had 
 supposed. That made two hours. The result was 
 that, in order to get the yacht up into the lake that 
 afternoon, the high-souled commodore had to get 
 down into the skiff and pull an oar with the boy. 
 
 That vexed Web Foote. He was mad at his 
 friend who had failed him, mad at the boy who did 
 not row faster, mad at the bridges which were in the 
 way of his sail, and mad at the tide, which turned 
 before they reached the dam. 
 
 Then, you may be sure, he was thrice mad at the 
 dam itself, when they came to it, and found the flash- 
 boards in. 
 
 " I wish Milt Buzrow was herewith his crow-bar ! " 
 he said, mopping the sweat of toil and rage from his 
 face. 
 
 In the absence of Buzrow and crow-bar, he was 
 constrained to stop at the mill and send the boy in 
 with an impertinent message to the owners, — 
 
 "Tell 'em Commodore Foote is here with his 
 yacht, and if they don't pull out their flash-boards 
 he '11 smash 'em." 
 
 Which the boy, overawed, perhaps, by the sight of 
 the big brothers, wisely modified thus, — 
 
152 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILT, 
 
 " Commodore Foote would like to have you take 
 up your flash-boards and let his yacht through." 
 
 " Commodore Foote shall be accommodated," said 
 Mart. 
 
 The brothers had watched the commodore's ap- 
 proach ; and while they laughed to see him fume at 
 the oar, and glance wildly over his shoulder at the 
 dam, they had waited with some concern to see 
 what he would do. Lute had even overheard the 
 original order to the boy. 
 
 " Did you tell 'em what I told you to .' " Web 
 demanded, when the boy went out to him. 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir!" said the boy, who had been in- 
 formed by him, on starting from Dempford, that that 
 form of expression was nautical, and would be becom- 
 ing in him ; though it might be varied sometimes, 
 by " Ay, ay, commodore ! " 
 
 " And what did they say ? " 
 
 " They said Conunodore Foote should be accom- 
 modated." 
 
 " Well for them ! Up with your flash-boards 
 here ! " Web called out haughtily to Mart, who fol- 
 lowed the boy from the mill. " I can't be kept 
 waiting all day ! " 
 
 Mart concealed his irritation, if he felt any, by an 
 amused drawing down of his mouth and an exagger- 
 ation of his usual drawl. 
 
THE NEW commodore's NEW YACHT. ISJ 
 
 " Don't be impatient, my little man ! I '11 let you 
 through in a minute." 
 
 He was stooping with great deliberation to reach 
 the ropes that fastened the boards to the post, when 
 the commodore retorted, sharply, — 
 
 " Don't little man me ! I 'd have you know that 
 you are talking to Commodore Foote, of the Ar- 
 gonauts ! " 
 
 "Commodore Foote, or Commodore Little-toe, it 
 does n't make much difference to me," said Mart, 
 holding the ropes, but leaving the boards in their 
 place. "You won't get through any sooner for 
 being so excessively polite." 
 
 " I '11 make a hole in your dam ! " And, spring- 
 ing on board the yacht, the commodore seized and 
 brandished a boat-hook. 
 
 " You can do that ; and other people can make a 
 hole in your yacht, and in you, too, if necessary," 
 said Mart. "You haven't a monopoly of making 
 holes, by any means. I 'm going to let you 
 pass." 
 
 So saying he pulled up the flash-boards. The 
 retarded water swept through in an impetuous cur- 
 rent. The stout boy in the small boat pulled in 
 vain against it, with the yacht pulling more power- 
 fully in the other direction. Web missed a stroke 
 
154 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 at the platform with his boat-hook ; and the yacht; 
 swinging about, was drifting down stream, towing 
 the tow-boat stern foremost, when Mart caught hold 
 of the projecting end of the mast and stopped it. 
 
 " See what a bother your dam is ! " snarled Web. 
 
 "Yes," drawled Mart, starting the yacht forward 
 again. " It 's a necessary evil. Why don't you sail 
 up in this wind ? " 
 
 " Don't you see the bridges ? " retorted the furious 
 commodore. 
 
 " Oh ! the bridges are a bother, too ! " said Mart. 
 " Why don't you have 'em taken away ? Seems to 
 me I would ! I don't see what right they have to 
 stop one of your pretty little pleasure-boats." 
 
 " You talk like a fool ! " said Web. 
 
 " No matter how I talk, as long as I am helping 
 you in a good sensible way," Mart replied, with 
 strong arms shoving the yacht ahead. " Don't you 
 remember I said I would do all I could to oblige 
 gentlemen f It 's a pleasure to help one who is so 
 very civil." 
 
 " Lucky for you the opening ain't too narrow for 
 my breadth of beam ! " said the little commodore, — 
 speaking of the yacht, of course, and not of his own 
 personal dimensions, as Mart by his smile seemed 
 inclined to construe him. " There '11 be bigger 
 
THE NEW commodore's NEW YACHT. I55 
 
 boats than mine going up here soon. Do you know 
 what '11 happen then ? " 
 
 " I suppose the bridges, if any are left, will all be 
 draw-bridges, and dams will have locks," Mart an- 
 swered. 
 
 "A lock is just what we p-proposed to build, in 
 the first place," said Lute, who, with Rush, had come 
 out to stand by his brother and see the yacht 
 through. " It would help you m-m-more than the 
 dam hinders. Don't you see .'' " 
 
 Skiff and yacht were now well through the dam, 
 but the current was strong against them, until Lute 
 illustrated his meaning by putting in the flash- 
 boards. This at once set the water back, and made 
 the further progress of the boats up to the outlet 
 comparatively easy. Nevertheless, Web's last words 
 were flung back spitefully at the mill-owners, — 
 
 " We are not going to be bothered by any lock, or 
 any dam, either ! That 's what '11 happen ! " 
 
 " The C-c-commodore ! " said Lute, reading the 
 name on the stern. " He shows about as much 
 good t-t-temper as he does good t-t-taste." 
 
 " I don't see how you could keep from catching 
 him up by the nape of the neck, and giving him a 
 good ducking ! " Rush said, excitedly, to Mart. " I 
 would if I had been you." 
 
156 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Mart smiled grimly. 
 
 " No, you would n't, Rocket ! It is n't quite time 
 for that. Come, boys ! " 
 
 " What a club it must be that is bossed by such a 
 p-p-puppy ! " said Lute, as they went back into the 
 mill- 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. 157 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 TWO SIDES TO A STORY. 
 
 MRS. TINKHAM was a woman of keen obser- 
 vation ; and Letty and the boys were in con- 
 stant fear lest something should happen, or some un- 
 lucky word be let fall, that might defeat all their 
 plans for preserving her peace of mind, — so sure 
 were they that her feeble health and maternal anx- 
 iety would not let her sleep, as they did, when she 
 should know all. 
 
 It was indeed a wonder that she could be kept in 
 ignorance so long. But the younger ones guarded 
 well their tongues, and, so far, suspicious circum- 
 stances and unlucky allusions to the dangerous sub- 
 ject in her presence had been lightly explained 
 away. 
 
 " How long can we keep it up .■' " they asked 
 themselves, watching her pale, serene face with 
 tender concern, and dreading the time when the 
 threatened storm should burst. 
 
 The day after Commodore Foote took his yacht 
 
158 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 up the river was Saturday, on which day Letty ran 
 out to the mill, in a flutter of excitement, to carry 
 her brothers a bit of joyful news. 
 
 " Who do you think has come 10 the house ? 
 My old schoolmate, Tilly Loring ! I thought you 
 would want to know in time to brush up a little for 
 dinner." 
 
 The necessity of brushing up a little to meet a 
 pretty girl of sixteen made her visit rather an em- 
 barrassing pleasure to the busy boys. But they 
 gave an extra five minutes to their toilet that day, 
 and were amply repaid in smiles by the charming 
 Matilda. 
 
 "I'm so glad you've come, on m-m-mother's 
 account ! " was Lute's cordial greeting. " She has 
 hardly seen a friendly face since we c-c-came here." 
 
 " Don't the neighbors call on you .■' How 
 strange!" said the visitor. "I thought that it 
 was the custom in the country to call on new- 
 comers." 
 
 " So did I," replied the widow. " And to tell the 
 truth, I rather dreaded making acquaintances. I 
 wanted to be alone with my children, and enjoy our 
 new happiness. We have been let alone to our 
 heart's content." 
 
 " They don't seem to be a very social set just 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. 1 59 
 
 around here," said Letty, who thought she knew 
 well enough why people avoided the new family that 
 had come to the mill. " But some have called to see 
 the boys on business." 
 
 That was one of the convenient phrases those 
 youthful conspirators used to keep the mother in 
 ignorance of what was going on. 
 
 " It 's all business," she said. " And I am glad ; 
 for that makes them happy." 
 
 " It makes us almost too happy ! " said Mart. 
 " We don't care to have quite so much on our hands 
 as we have had lately. Some things are quite too 
 pressing." 
 
 "Even the girls who call have some business 
 errand," said the widow. " Two drove into the yard 
 one day, and I thought surely we were going to 
 have visitors. But no ! they had only brought some 
 message to the shop." 
 
 They were now seated at table ; and Matilda, — 
 or Tilly, as everybody called her, — placed between 
 Letty and Rush, was plied with questions regarding 
 their friends in town. 
 
 She chatted merrily, telling all the news she 
 could think of ; but sobered suddenly when some 
 one asked about Cousin Tom. 
 
 "Tom Darrill .' oh ! he is dreadfully sick, they say. 
 
I60 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 It 's consumption, after all, that he brought home 
 with him from Texas ; and they say he can't live." 
 
 " Oh, boys ! " said the widow, " some of you must 
 try to see him soon. He thinks so much of you ! " 
 
 Then up spoke Rupert. " I 've been wanting to 
 go in and borrow his revolver, but the boys won't 
 let me." 
 
 This was one of those indiscreet allusions to the 
 great trouble which the younger ones would now 
 and then let fall, in spite of themselves, and which 
 had to be explained away. 
 
 " What do you want with his revolver .■' " the 
 widow asked, surprised ; while Rupert was overcome 
 with sudden confusion. 
 
 " Boys have a m-m-mania for shooting," said Lute. 
 " I 've hardly outgrown it myself. But we 've all 
 got something to do, now, besides p-p-popping at 
 a mark." 
 
 " I should hope so ! " exclaimed the widow. " I 've 
 the greatest dread of pistols, and everything of the 
 kind." 
 
 "I wish Tom would give me his revolver," said 
 Rodman. 
 
 " The idea of your wanting a revolver, after what 
 mother has said ! " rejoined Letty ; and, to change 
 the conversation, she turned again to Tilly, and 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. l6l 
 
 begged her to " tell everything she knew about 
 everybody else." 
 
 "Last Saturday," said Tilly, "I went to visit 
 Sarah Ball. She lives in Dempford now, you know. 
 How far is Dempford from here .' " 
 
 " About a stone's throw from our b-b-bank," said 
 Lute. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " cried Tilly. " I supposed 
 I was miles and miles away, or I should have come 
 over to see you when we went out to ride." 
 
 " The town lies just across the river," said Rush. 
 " But it 's a mile or more to the village." 
 
 " So near .' How I wish I had known ! The 
 Balls live in the village, and keep a horse and a 
 boat. Boating will be all the rage there this season. 
 They 've got up a club ; all the big boys are join- 
 ing it, and all the little boys want to join it, too. 
 They 've been having a great excitement lately about 
 choosing a commodore." 
 
 There was a pause, in which the widow, if she had 
 not been intent on dishing out the pudding, must 
 have noticed the startled and conscious glances the 
 younger boys gave the older ones, and Lett)^s air 
 of constraint. Lute stammered out, — 
 
 " A commodore is an article no well-regulated 
 club is c-complete without. I hope they g-got one." 
 
l62 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " They had one, — a splendid fellow " said Tilly. 
 "But he resigned, and a new one was to be elected. 
 Everybody was talking about it. It seems there has 
 been a great fuss over a dam which somebody has 
 put across the river." 
 
 At this, even the older boys were filled with con- 
 sternation. But the mother went on serenely dish- 
 ing out the pudding. 
 
 " I 've heard they were having some trouble with 
 a dam," observed Mart. " Is n't it settled yet V 
 
 " Oh, dear, no ! and it is n't likely to be soon," 
 Tilly rattled on, while Letty tried to silence her 
 with a nudge. " The young men are all up in arms 
 about it ; and, of course, the girls and everybody 
 else take their side. Somebody has put a dam 
 right across the river to stop their boats. Of course 
 they won't stand it ; and I would n't, either, if I 
 were in their place." 
 
 " Have some p-p-pudding ? " said Lute, taking a 
 plate from his mother and passing it to the visitor. 
 
 " It 's the meanest thing you ever heard of ! " 
 said Tilly, her warmth of manner showing how ar- 
 dently she had espoused the cause of her Dempford 
 friends. " Thank you," taking the plate. " Think of 
 one man, or two or three (for I believe there are 
 several owners of the factory, — a large factory some- 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. l6$ 
 
 where on the river), pretending they have a right to 
 take all the water for their business, and not leave 
 any for the boats ! " 
 
 Notwithstanding the anxiety they felt on their 
 mother's account, the boys could n't but be amused 
 at this version of the story. 
 
 " That does seem preposterous," said Mart. " I 
 should think they might be contented with a fair 
 share of the water, and leave some for other folks." 
 
 "Yes, indeed!" replied Tilly. "That's what 
 everybody says. They 're going to tear it away ! " 
 
 " Tear what away .' " said Lute. " The w-w-wa- 
 ter.?" 
 
 "No, tne dam. It's decided now. The commo- 
 dore who resigned was Lew Bartland. Everybody 
 likes him ; and his sister, Syl Bartland, is a lovely 
 girl, — an intimate friend of my friends." The boys 
 did not dare look at each other. Mrs. Tinkham 
 dished out the last of the pudding, while Tilly 
 continued : " But Lew was too soft-hearted ; he 
 wanted to put off doing anything about the dam. 
 So he got the whole club against him. They 
 were going to put in his place a conceited fellow 
 nobody seems to like half so well. But he's 
 awfully smart, they say ; and he 's dead-set against 
 the mill-owners." 
 
164 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " In that case," said Rush, " I should think the 
 mill-owners would give up and clear out." 
 
 " So should I ! " Tilly exclaimed. " But they 're as 
 obstinate as they are mean." 
 
 " They must be very mean ! " said Mart. " Think 
 of their wantmg to take all the water and stop all the 
 boats ! Where can this factory be, boys .' " 
 
 " I don't know," said Rush ; "and I have n't heard 
 of any such men." 
 
 " I hope there won't be any trouble with our dam," 
 said Mrs. Tinkham, placidly stirring her tea. ' But 
 I confess it has seemed to me as if something un- 
 toward must happen, we have been so very happy 
 here." 
 
 " Why ! ha.vej/ou got a dam ? " cried Tilly. 
 
 " Yes, a little one, — a sort of plaything for boys," 
 said Mart. " But we don't take all the water and 
 stop all the boats, do we, Lute ? Not quitd ! You 
 must go out and see it after dinner." 
 
 "And the seats in the willow-tree! I wrote you 
 about them," said Letty. " It 's a lovely spot." 
 
 She tried to change the conversation. But Tilly 
 persisted in returning to the dangerous topic. 
 
 "The Argonauts belong to the best families in 
 Dempford. That's what the club boys call them- 
 selves — Argonauts — though I hardly know why." 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. I65 
 
 " In picking up so many interesting particulars 
 about them," said Mart, " I wonder you did n't learn 
 the origin of the name. Who were the old Argo- 
 nauts, Rocket ? You were reading up about them 
 the other day." 
 
 " They were a boating-club named after their com- 
 modore's yacht, ' Argo ' ; their commodore was a fel- 
 low named Jason," was Rush's familiar version of 
 the classic myth. " The ' Argo ' was called a ship ; 
 but it wasn't half so large as some yachts built 
 now-days ; and Jason could n't have held a candle 
 to your new Dempford commodore. They pretended 
 to sail in search of a golden fleece ; which means, 
 I suppose, that they fleeced everybody they came 
 across." 
 
 " You 're making fun of me ! " And Tilly turned 
 her bright, questioning eyes on Master Rush. 
 
 "I beg your pardon, Miss Loring! It happened 
 some time before any of the present Argonauts 
 were born ; thousands of years ago, in fact ; that is, 
 if it ever happened at all. But it 's as true, I 've no 
 doubt whatever, as the most important part of the 
 story you've brought fresh from Dempford." 
 
 "What do you know about the Dempford Argo- 
 nauts .' " said Tilly, with puzzled surprise. 
 
 " A good deal ; I should think I ought to ! I 'vt* 
 
1 66 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 met some of them. And we can see their new club- 
 house from our garden." 
 
 This was said as they were rising from the table. 
 
 " Can you .' Show it tg me ! " exclaimed Tilly. 
 
 " I shall be delighted to," replied Rush ; and they 
 went out together. " You see the top of that square 
 building over the hill yonder.? That's it, on the 
 shore of the lake that makes in there." 
 
 "Is that indeed the Argonaut Club's new house ?" 
 said Tilly, greatly interested, and shading her eyes 
 with her hand to get a better view. 
 
 " Yes," said Rush. " And here is something else 
 you have heard of." He led her to the edge of the 
 bank. "This is the willow-tree; and down there, 
 you see the water pouring over something like a low 
 board fence ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! is n't it pretty ? " 
 
 "Do you think so? Well, don't whisper it to 
 mother, and I '11 tell you a secret. That 's the dread- 
 ful thing that stops the boats ! " 
 
 " You 're joking ! " cried Tilly. 
 
 " Not a bit. It 's too serious a subject. This little 
 old mill is the great factory you have heard of ; and 
 that is the identical dam your Argonauts, and half 
 the people in two towns, are crazy over." 
 
 " No, no ! " Tilly exclaimed, stopping her ears with 
 her hands. 
 
TWO SIDES TO A STORY. 167 
 
 "And we boys," Rush went on, laughing, but 
 rather bitterly, "are the mean, obstinate, horrible 
 men, who take all the water for their business, and 
 don't leave any — " 
 
 " I won't hear it ! It is n't so ! It can't be ! " 
 He had pulled one hand away, and was trying to 
 hold it ; but she struggled to free her wrist, and 
 again clapping both palms to her ears to shut out the 
 cruel, astounding, incredible words, she ran across 
 the plank and threw herself upon a seat in the great 
 willow. 
 
1 68 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE MAN IN BLUE AND THE MAN IN GRAY. 
 
 A TO doubt Tilly Loring hoped Rush would follow 
 -^ ' her into the tree, and, by some soothing ex- 
 planation, atone for the shock he had given her. 
 That is what almost any other girl in her place would 
 have wished and would have had a right to expect, if 
 what he had said was only an ill-timed jest. 
 
 But he merely called after her, " Letty will tell you 
 all about it ! " and walked into the mill, looking terri- 
 bly offended, Tilly thought. 
 
 " What have I done ? " she said to herself. " They 
 will never forgive me ! I know now why Letty 
 nudged me at the table, — she wanted to stop my 
 tongue. I never was in such a scrape in all my life ! 
 To think how I talked to them, — I, their guest ! " 
 
 She heard footsteps coming along the bank, and, 
 looking up, saw Letty bringing hats and wraps. 
 
 " O Letty ! " she implored, " say it is n't so ! " 
 
 " Why, Tilly ! " began Letty, guessing what Rush 
 had been telling her. 
 
THE MAN IN BLUE AND THE MAN IN GRAY. 1 69 
 
 " This is n't the dam the Dempford people are ex- 
 cited over, is it ? Say it is a mistake ! " 
 
 " I wish I could," said Letty. " For you 've no 
 idea how we all feel about it. All but mother. She 
 does n't know of it yet." 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! oh ! " said Tilly. " How I did talk to 
 your brothers ! How they must all hate me ! " 
 
 " No, indeed ! " Letty threw a hat over her friend's 
 agitated curls. " Of course, you did n't understand." 
 
 " Understand ? Why, I know no more of the 
 rights of the case than the queen of China, — if 
 there is a queen of China ! Your brothers could n't 
 have built the factory ; they have n't been here long 
 enough. It looks as old as they are ! " 
 
 " It is, almost. So is the dam. It has been where 
 it is for years. And nobody ever thought of making 
 a fuss about it till lately. It has a right to be there ; 
 and it would ruin the boys — it would ruin us all — 
 it would be the cause of mother's losing every dollar 
 of the money which she has put in the place — if 
 the dam should be taken away." 
 
 " Why, Letty ! " Tilly exclaimed, indignantly. 
 " The Dempford folks know nothing of this." 
 
 " Certainly they don't ! Or they don't want to 
 know. The prejudice against the dam, and against 
 the boys on account of it, is just frightful ! " 
 
I/O THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " But is there no way of letting the boats 
 through ? " 
 
 " To be sure there is. The new commodore's new 
 yacht went through yesterday. There are two 
 boards, next to the platform by the mill; can you 
 see ? They pull up, and make an opening wide 
 enough for the widest boats. And Lute has offered 
 to build a regular lock, though there would be a great 
 deal of work in it." 
 
 "I should think that ought to satisfy them." 
 
 " So we think," said Letty, " But, no ! they must 
 have the whole width of the river, no matter who 
 suffers from the loss of the water-power." 
 
 " I had no idea they could be so unreasonable as 
 that ! " 
 
 " Why, they act like fiends ! A few nights ago 
 some of them came — when everybody in the house 
 was asleep, of course — and, not satisfied with injur- 
 ing the dam all they could, broke the water-wheel of 
 the mill, and djd a great deal of mischief." 
 
 " How mean ! how cowardly ! " exclaimed the sym- 
 pathetic Tilly. "How little we know of a story 
 when we have heard only one side ! " 
 
 " You thought the mill-owners were monsters," 
 laughed Letty. " As obstinate as they were mean ; 
 was that the phrase ? " 
 
THE MAN IN BLUE AND THE MAN IN GRAY. I /I 
 
 " Don't speak of it ! " Tilly threw her hands up 
 to her face. " I never was so ashamed of anything ! 
 I can never look them in the face again." 
 
 " Don't feel so about it ; they will take it as a good 
 joke, that 's all. O Tilly ! I believe there never 
 were such brothers as these of mine. They are so 
 good to me and mother ! and I know, I know they 
 would never do wrong, even to an enemy." 
 
 Tears sprang to Letty's eyes, while Tilly exclaimed 
 fervently, — 
 
 " I am sure they would n't ! " 
 
 "But see how they are hated, — just because they 
 have rights and interests that are in the way of those 
 selfish Argonauts ! " 
 
 While they were talking, a man in a blue coat and 
 a cap, with a metallic badge on his breast, came 
 strolling up the Dempford side of the river. He 
 crossed the bridge above, and walking up the road 
 met a man in a gray coat and a hat, coming from the 
 direction of Tammoset village. The man in gray, it 
 should be said, also had a metallic badge on his breast. 
 
 Now when the Dempford man in blue met the 
 Tammoset man in gray, they exchanged smiles and 
 looked at their watches, much as if they had come 
 to that particular spot by appointment ; then turned 
 together into the by-road leading to the mill. 
 
172 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " There comes the man we saw on the other side 
 of the river," said Letty. "Another man with him. 
 Business with the boys, I suppose. Oh ! I hope it 
 is n't that same old trouble ! " 
 
 Seeing the girls in the tree, the two strangers 
 turned their steps that way ; and the Dempford 
 man in blue, lifting his cap respectfully, inquired, — 
 
 " Is Mrs. Tinkham here .' " 
 
 To which the Tammoset man in gray added, also 
 touching his hat with clumsy politeness, — 
 
 " Mrs. Letitia Tinkham, — is she at home .■' " 
 
 " That 's my mother. She is in the house. Do 
 you wish to see her .'' " 
 
 Letty, somewhat wonder-struck, had started up 
 from her seat in the willow, and stood at the end of 
 the plank. 
 
 " I have a document for her," said the Dempford 
 man in blue. 
 
 " A document for her," repeated the Tammoset 
 man in gray. 
 
 Each at the same time drew from his breast- 
 pocket an official-looking envelope of large size. 
 
 " Please hand it to her," said the Dempford man. 
 
 " If you will be so kind," said the Tammoset man 
 in gray. 
 
 Each at the same moment extended his document 
 
THE MAN IN BLUE AND THE MAN IN GRAY. 1 73 
 
 toward the astonished Letty with one hand, and 
 touched hat or cap with the other. 
 
 She advanced along the plank to the turf, and 
 received the two envelopes, one in each hand. 
 
 "If you will be so good as to give it to her at once ; 
 very important," said the Dempford man in blue. 
 
 " Quite important ; thank you," said the Tammo- 
 set man in gray. 
 
 They then retired along the walk, and parted at 
 the end of the by-road, after a brief parley ; the cap 
 and the blue coat returning down the Dempford side 
 of the river, while the gray coat and the hat took 
 the road to Tammoset. 
 
 "What does it mean .' What shall I do with 
 them ? " said Letty, in a tremor of doubt over the 
 suspicious-looking envelopes. " Oh, here is Mart ! " 
 
 "I don't exactly fancy such things just now," said 
 Mart, with a puzzled and scowling expression. " I 
 wonder what sort of dynamite, or other explosive 
 material, those mysterious packages contain." 
 
 " Could n't you open one ? " Letty asked. 
 
 " No, my dear." Mart shook his head. " I never 
 could break a seal addressed to mother. There's 
 but one thing to do, happen what will. They must 
 be put into her own hands. Lute ! " he called, 
 "come into the house with me." 
 
174 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Still looking at the envelopes, he walked slowly 
 toward the door, quickly followed by Lute, who was 
 followed by Rush, who was followed in turn by the 
 two smaller boys. 
 
 Lute and Rush, on coming up, also examined the 
 envelopes. They were then returned to Letty. 
 
 "They were handed to you, and I '11 let you de- 
 liver 'em," said Mart. " Go on alone. We '11 be at 
 hand if there 's need of us. Keep back, you young 
 Tinkhams ! " 
 
 Tilly, ashamed to face the brothers, remained in 
 the tree. 
 
 The widow, ■ seated, with her crutch leaning 
 against the window-pane at her side, had just taken 
 up her sewing, when Letty came into the sitting- 
 room. 
 
 " You 're a person of great importance all at 
 once, mother ! " she said, with a laughing air. " See 
 what two men have just brought you." 
 
 " Brought me .' " said Mrs. Tinkham, taking the 
 missives. " This is strange." 
 
 She saw the words, "Town of Tammoset," printed 
 on one of the envelopes, along with the town's coat- 
 of-arms, — a flag-staff with crossed swords, — and 
 added, with a smile, — 
 
 "Oh! something about taxes, I suppose." 
 
THE MAN IN BLUE AND THE MAN IN GRAY. 1/5 
 
 But before breaking the seal, she looked at the 
 other envelope. That also bore a coat of arms, — 
 an Indian in his canoe on a river, — with the words, 
 "Town of Dempford." 
 
 "But I don't owe any taxes in the town of Demp- 
 ford, do I .' Of course not." 
 
 With hands beginning to tremble she tore the 
 wrapper, and took out a large sheet of letter-paper. 
 The date was filled in after the printed form, " Office 
 of the Town Clerk, Town of Dempford " ; then fol- 
 lowed the written message : — 
 
 " Mrs. Letitia Tinkham. 
 
 " Madam, — This is to notify you that the mill-dam appertain- 
 ing to your property in Tammoset, which said dam abuts upon 
 the shore of this town of Dempford, and obstructs the passage 
 of the river, has been declared a nuisance by the authorities of 
 this said town, and you are hereby required to remove said dam 
 within six days from this date." 
 
 Signed by the town clerk " by order of the selectmen." 
 
 Instead of trembling more, the widow's hands 
 seemed to grow firmer as she opened the second 
 envelope, and with sparkling eyes and compressed 
 lips read the Tammoset document : — 
 
 " Dear Madam, — Complaint being made that your mill-dam 
 on Tammoset River, in this town, prevents the free passage of 
 
1/6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 yachts and row-boats up and down said river, which is a natu- 
 ral public way, open to all, it is therefore ordered that the ob- 
 struction be at once demolished and removed." 
 
 Signed by the town clerk of the town of Tammoset, " by 
 order of the selectmen." 
 
 " Where are the boys .' " said the widow, in a 
 quick, suppressed voice, looking up from the papers. 
 
THE CRISIS. 177 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE CRISIS. 
 
 THREADING the effect of the papers upon tlieir 
 ^-^ mother, the brothers came thronging into the 
 room, and formed an anxious group around the 
 widow's chair. 
 
 " Well ! here 's something pleasant ! " she said, 
 handing the papers to the two oldest. "They've 
 been trying to scare you boys, and now they think 
 they can frighten your poor old crippled mother ! " 
 
 " What is it all about ? " cried Rush. " What do 
 you mean by their trying to scare us boys ? " 
 
 " Why, Rocket ! " she said, with a bright smile, 
 " do you imagine I am so stupid as not to have 
 known anything of your troubles all this time .? Oh, 
 you dear, deceitful, naughty, precious children ! " 
 
 And the bright eyes flashed through tears. 
 
 " O mother ! " cried Letty, " have you known > " 
 
 "Yes, child; from the very first. I can hardly 
 tell how I found out. It was in the air, as they 
 say. Then I overheard Rupert whispering to Rod- 
 
178 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 man about something I was n't to know, for fear it 
 would make me unhappy. But you see I have n't 
 been so very unhappy, after all." 
 
 The tears were dashed resolutely away, and the 
 smile was there still. 
 
 " You have kept up, and have let us believe we 
 were hiding it all from you, because you thought 
 that would make us happier ! O mother ! " 
 
 And Letty fell sobbing upon her neck. 
 
 " There ! there ! This is no time for crying ! " 
 said the widow, crying with her the while, and ca- 
 ressing her with fervent affection. " There ! Why, 
 I 'm as much a baby as you are ! You '11 spoil my 
 clean collar ! " 
 
 " You 're the most wonderful woman in the 
 world ! " Rush exclaimed, in a gust of feeling that 
 filled his voice and his eyes. " And the best." 
 
 " Did you think the mother of such children would 
 show herself a coward .' " cried the widow. " But I 
 let you amuse yourselves with your devices to keep 
 me ignorant, and all the while I was watching you, 
 deceiving you, loving you ! What do you say, boys, 
 to those formidable town documents .■' " 
 
 Unmanly as it may seem, those big sons of hers 
 had half forgotten the launched thunderbolts of the 
 local authorities which they held in their hands, and 
 
THE CRISIS. 179 
 
 were winking their moist eyes over her surprising 
 revelation. 
 
 "You knew Tilly Loring was talking about our 
 dam .■■ " said Rupert. 
 
 " Certainly I did ! And the young men who came 
 that day to the mill, and the two girls who came the 
 day before, — it was all about the dam, was n't it ? 
 And don't you sleep in the mill, one of you, every 
 night ? I was sure of it ! " 
 
 " You 're a w-w-witch, mother ! " said Lute, wiping 
 his misty spectacles. 
 
 " I should n't be the mother of the Tinkham boys 
 if I was a fool ! Come in, come in, Tilly ! " called the 
 widow, seeing the visitor's face pass the open door. 
 " There are to be no more secrets. You and I have 
 known only a part of the truth ; now we are to know 
 all." 
 
 " I 've told her," said Letty. 
 
 " Then I am the only one kept in the dark ! Well ! 
 I forgive you, because I know you only meant to 
 spare me. What are you afraid of, Tilly ? My boys 
 are not the hard-hearted wretches they are thought 
 to be over in Dempford." 
 
 " I never was so ashamed of anything in all my 
 life ! " said the remorseful Tilly, coming reluctantly 
 into the room. 
 
l80 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " You need n't be ; it 's a part of the fun," laughed 
 Rush. 
 
 Hardly reassured by the cordial pleasantry with 
 which she was received, Tilly sat down quietly in a 
 corner, and heard a history of the troubles, as the 
 boys told it to their mother. 
 
 Dushee's duplicity, Buzrow and his crow-bar, the 
 work of the night marauders, the interview with the 
 Argonauts' committee, and, lastly, the missives of 
 the town officers, — everything was discussed ; and 
 poor Tilly, in listening, burned anew with anger and 
 shame at what she had heard in Dempford, and with 
 sympathy for this noble mother and these brave boys. 
 
 " I want to go right back to Dempford," she spoke 
 up earnestly, " and tell my friends there what I now 
 know." 
 
 " It would n't be of any use," said Rush. " You 
 could n't do more than Lew Bartland could. Both 
 towns have gone mad, I believe ! Look at these 
 papers." 
 
 "It seems to be a pretty good day for t-t-town 
 clerks and selectmen," said Lute. " Brave in 'em, 
 isn't it, to join in making w-w-war on a woman!" 
 
 "I suppose they addressed mother, because the 
 property is in her name," said Rush. " But look at 
 the meanness of it ! Do we live in a free country .' 
 
THE CRISIS. l8l 
 
 or under a tyranny, in an age of persecution ? Who 
 is going to obey their royal edicts, anyhow ? " 
 
 " Mother, of course ! " said Rupert. " She 's going 
 out there on her crutches, with shovel and tongs, to 
 tear the dam away, because some old fools say she 
 must. I fancy ! " 
 
 " Or she can tell you and me to do it, Rupe," said 
 Rodman. "And we will, — when we get ready." 
 
 " Snap your fingers at the Dempford and Tammo- 
 set selectmen. I would! " Rupe rejoined. 
 
 " Snapping our fingers is all very fine," said the 
 widow, once more reaching out her hand for the 
 papers. " But let 's see first what ground we have 
 to stand on while we snap. This action of the two 
 towns makes the matter look serious. What right 
 have they to order the dam away ? " 
 
 " About as much, I imagine," said Mart, handing 
 the papers, which he had been studying in silence, 
 " as they would have to order us to take our house 
 away because it cuts off somebody's view. That is, 
 if our dam has a right to be where it is. That 's the 
 main question." 
 
 " If the Argonauts have no right to meddle with 
 it, then all the towns in the c-c-county have no 
 right," said Lute. "They are just trying to b-b-blu£f 
 us ; that 's all." 
 
1 82 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " You have n't been much frightened yet, boys ; 
 and I glory in your spirit. But I 'm afraid there 's no 
 shirking the fact that we 've got into a terrible situ- 
 ation here by buying out Dushee. We have every- 
 thing at stake ; and in maintaining our rights, we 
 must know just what our rights are. One of you 
 must go to town at once and see your uncle's lawyer, 
 who looked up the title for you." 
 
 All concurred in the wisdom of this step. The 
 mother thought Martin should attend to a matter of 
 so much importance. But he said, — 
 
 "It stands us in hand to keep as strong a force 
 as possible here at the dam, about these times. 
 Rocket is quick with a bean-pole ; but I suppose I 
 could do more effective work in case of an attack. 
 In matters of business, though, he 's as level-headed 
 as any of us ; and I say let him slip into town and 
 talk with the lawyer." 
 
 "You're right," said the mother; "Rocket shall go." 
 
 Rush shrank from so great a responsibility. 
 
 "Just think," he said, "what a fix I have got you 
 all in by hunting up this place and making you buy 
 it ! Don't trust me again." 
 
 " Tut ! tut ! " cried the widow. " Nobody blames 
 you for that, and you sha'n't blame yourself. See 
 what train you can get, and be off." 
 
THE CRISIS. 183 
 
 In half an hour he was on his way- to town. Mrs. 
 Tinkham was left alone with Letty and their guest, 
 and the older boys had returned to the mill. 
 
 In the interval of slack water, that afternoon, they 
 showed their determination to keep the dam, and 
 their defiance of the authorities of both towns, by an 
 act which astonished some Argonauts who witnessed 
 it, on going up the river. 
 
 Without waiting for Rocket's return with the law- 
 yer's latest counsel, they rebuilt the platform at the 
 end of the dam, and put in the required fishway. 
 
 " We '11 let 'em know we mean b-b-business," said 
 Lute, 
 
THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 WHAT THE LAWYER SAID. 
 
 TT was late that evening when Rush returned home 
 "*- and entered his mother's room with an unusu- 
 ally serious air. He found Mart talking with her, 
 and Lute followed him in. 
 
 " What makes you so sober, Rocket," Lute asked. 
 " No bad news from the 1-1-lawyer, I hope ? " 
 
 Rush explained. He had found Uncle Dave in 
 his shop, and they had gone together to the lawyer's 
 office. 
 
 " Then I went home to supper with uncle ; and 
 I have just spent an hour in Cousin Tom's sick- 
 room. I can't help feeling bad, for I don't expect 
 ever to see him alive again." 
 
 Then he had to tell all about their cousin before 
 the business was again mentioned which made them 
 all so anxious. 
 
 "As to that," Rush then said, brightening, "it 
 is all right ! I had a long talk with Mr. Keep in 
 
WHAT THE LAWYER SAID. 1 85 
 
 nncle's presence, and I have written down the most 
 important things he said." 
 
 Mrs. Tinkham nodded approvingly, as he drew 
 from his pocket a paper, which he unfolded. 
 
 " He says, since we own one bank of the river, 
 and have secured by purchase a privilege on the 
 opposite bank, we have a right to construct and 
 maintain a dam which does not change the course 
 of the stream, nor injure anybody by setting back 
 the water. Of course, I told him, nobody claimed 
 that we do that." 
 
 " Rush continued, bending toward the light on his 
 mother's table, and looking over his memorandum, — 
 
 " He says, if we have n't that right, then nobody 
 has a private right to dam any mill-stream in the 
 country. A dam, wherever placed, is liable to be in 
 the way of somebody ; but if the fisherman or boat- 
 man who finds it an obstacle has a right to destroy 
 it, where is there an unchartered dam that would be 
 safe .'' The fact that, instead of two or three per- 
 sons, two or three hundred wish it away, or even all 
 the inhabitants of two towns, — that, he says, makes 
 no difference. If we have a right to our mill-power 
 against the wishes of one individual, we have a right 
 to it against the world. Only legislative enactments 
 can touch it." 
 
1 86 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Lute clapped his hands gleefully. 
 
 " Let the Argonauts put that in their pipe and 
 smoke it," drawled Mart. "Go ahead, Rocket." 
 
 " There is only one question, — is this a navigable 
 stream ? For, of course, no person has any right to 
 obstruct navigation." 
 
 "He told us once it could n't come under the 
 legal definition of a navigable stream," said Mart. 
 "That's what I 've relied on." 
 
 "You can rely on it still," replied Rush. "To 
 make sure, I had him show me something on the 
 subject he quoted from Chief Justice Shaw ; and I 
 copied it." 
 
 " Rocket, you 're the joy of my heart ! " cried his 
 mother, delighted. 
 
 " In the case of Rowe versus Granite Bridge Com- 
 pany, Chief Justice Shaw says : 'It is not every small 
 creek in which a fishing-skiff or gunning-canoe can 
 be made to float at high water which is deemed nav- 
 igable. But it must be navigable,' " Rush went on, 
 reading with emphasis, " ' to some purpose useful to 
 trade or agriculture.' " 
 
 " P-p-precisely ! " stammered Lute. 
 
 "The business of these pleasure-boats that find 
 our dam a nuisance," Mart remarked, in his dryest 
 manner, "is trade and agriculture at a tremendous 
 rate!" 
 
WHAT THE LAWYER SAID. 18/ 
 
 " He showed me something similar in two or three 
 other cases," said Rush. "Important decisions, all 
 to the same effect. Boys ! " he added, triumphantly, 
 "if language means anything, and if Chief Justice 
 Shaw knew more law than the Argonauts, then this is 
 not a navigable stream, and we have a right to dam it." 
 
 " What did he say to the orders sent us by the 
 two towns } " Mrs. Tinkham inquired. 
 
 " He laughed at 'em. He said just what Mart 
 said, — that they might as well order us to take our 
 house or barn away. The fact that the dam has 
 been there so many years without being seriously 
 objected to makes our position all the stronger," 
 Rush added, again referring to his memorandum. 
 
 "And the other question, — about defending it .■" " 
 Mart asked. 
 
 " You have the same right which every man has to 
 defend his property. You can use all the force 
 necessary to drive away assailants. ' Knocking them 
 on the head will be good for 'em.' " 
 
 Rush laughed as he read. He had even that 
 down in his memorandum. 
 
 "I trust it won't come to that," drawled Mart. 
 "But it's well to know just what our rights are. 
 ' Strong reasons make strong actions,' as father used 
 to say." 
 
1 88 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "And as Shakespeare said before him. Your 
 father was a reader of Shakespeare," said Mrs. Tink- 
 ham. After a pause, she added : " But, oh, boys ! it 
 does seem as if there must be some way to settle 
 these troubles without a resort to brute force ! 
 What did your uncle advise.'" 
 
 " To keep within the law, and get along peaceably 
 if we can, but to fight it out if we must." 
 
 " Exactly our p-p-position all the time," said Lute. 
 
 " He thinks we should try to influence public 
 opinion by talking with prominent men, and by 
 making a candid statement of our case in the news- 
 papers." 
 
 " Excellent advice," said the widow. " I am sure 
 the prejudice against us all arises from a misunder- 
 standing. We will begin with that." 
 
 " We may as well reason with the w-w-wind," said 
 Lute. "Though it won't do any harm to try. If 
 we knew how to g-g-go to work." 
 
 "I'll think it over," his mother replied. "We 
 can do nothing now until Monday." 
 
 But before she slept that night the widow had 
 written for the two-headed local newspaper an appeal 
 to the public, full of plain facts and good sense, yet 
 burning with the eloquence of a mother pleading for 
 justice to her boys. 
 
WHAT THE LAWYER SAID. l8g 
 
 " One thing," Rush said to his brothers as they 
 went out together, " I forgot to mention. See 
 here ! " 
 
 He picked up a small bundle, which he had 
 dropped by the doorstep on returning home. 
 
 " What in time is it .? " said Mart. 
 
 " It 's the lasso Cousin Tom brought home from 
 Texas two years ago, and which he tried to teach us 
 how to throw, you remember." 
 
 " The lasso ! Ho, ho !" said Mart. " I do remem- 
 ber ; and I don't believe I 've forgotten our practice, 
 either." 
 
 " It 's the b-b-best hint yet," said Lute. " I won- 
 der it had n't oc-c-curred to us." 
 
 " He said it might come in play," laughed Rush. 
 
igO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 WHAT THE LOCAL EDITOR SAID. 
 
 1\ TRS. TINKHAM'S appeal to the public having 
 -^'-'- been read and approved by the boys, it was 
 decided that it ought to go into the next issue of 
 the Janus-faced newspaper. It was put into Rush's 
 hands, and early Monday forenoon he took it to the 
 printing-office in Dempford. 
 
 He found the editor in his shirt-sleeves, setting 
 type for his paper with his own hands. As that 
 guardian of the public interests of two towns seemed 
 inclined to finish his stick before attending to other 
 business. Rush could not help glancing at the 
 " copy " he was at work on, — a strip of manuscript, 
 stuck up before him on the case. 
 
 It was entitled, " A New Yacht and an Old Nui- 
 sance." 
 
 " Something for Mart's scrap-book," Rush said to 
 himself. And, since it was evidently designed for 
 the public eye, he ventured to read a little of it in 
 advance. 
 
WHAT THE LOCAL EDITOR SAID. IQI 
 
 He had skimmed along far enough to see that it 
 was extravagantly laudatory of Commodore Foote 
 and his yacht, and violently abusive of the dam, 
 " which proved a serious hindrance to that fine new 
 craft in its passage up the river last Friday," when 
 the type-setter looked up and saw what he was 
 doing. 
 
 But that personage did not appear in the least dis- 
 pleased ; on the contrary, he smiled at Rush's indis- 
 cretion, remarking, — 
 
 " Guess that '11 tickle the boys some, won't it .' " 
 
 "No doubt it will tickle a good many," replied 
 Rush. " But there are some it won't tickle." 
 
 "Who are they.'" inquired the editor, in some 
 surprise. 
 
 " The Tinkham boys," said Rush. 
 
 "Who cares for the Tinkham boys.'" said the 
 editor. "They've got no friends." 
 
 " They 're not overrun with them," said Rush. " If 
 they were, I suppose we should see fewer articles of 
 that sort." 
 
 "Well!" exclaimed the editor, turning, and for 
 the first time looking the visitor full in the face. 
 " I thought I knew you, but I see I don't. You 're a 
 curiosity ! " 
 
 "Am I, though.'" said Rush, smiling. 
 
192 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL, 
 
 "Yes!" said the editor, with good-humored frank- 
 ness. " You 're the first fellow I 've seen take their 
 part." 
 
 "You have n't seen me take their part," replied 
 Rush. " Though I don't know why I should n't." 
 
 " You know them ? " 
 
 " Pretty well. I ought to. I am one of them." 
 
 " Is it possible ! " said the astonished local editor. 
 " You ! I thought they were great rough rowdies ! " 
 
 " Am not I a great rough rowdy .' " Rush asked. 
 "Well, I have two brothers older and larger than I, 
 but not a bit rougher or more rowdyish. I felt sure 
 that you had been misinformed in regard to us, and 
 for that reason I have called to see you." 
 
 " Walk in here ; sit down," said the local editor, 
 showing a door that opened into a small, littered edi- 
 torial room. " I shall be glad to talk," removing some 
 newspapers from a chair. " What can I do for you .'' " 
 
 " Justice, I hope. That 's all we ask." 
 
 Rush smiled to see that his presence was embar- 
 rassing to this disseminator of local prejudices. 
 
 " Here is a brief statement of the facts in our 
 case," taking his mother's appeal from his pocket, 
 "which we should like to have you print. If you 
 will take the trouble to read it, you will see what I 
 mean." 
 
WHAT THE LOCAL EDITOR SAID. I93 
 
 The editor looked it through with a perturbed 
 countenance, then appeared to be bracing himself 
 for an act of firmness. 
 
 " Do you expect me to put such an article as that 
 into my paper ? " he asked, turning to Rush. 
 
 " We hoped you would. We supposed you would 
 wish to be fair to both sides." 
 
 " Fair — certainly ! But " — the editor struck the 
 paper on his desk — "I could n't print an article like 
 that for any consideration ! " 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 "Because — obviously — don't you see.'* it wouldn't 
 do!" 
 
 Rush persisted in wishing to know why it would n't 
 do. 
 
 " You never had experience with a local weekly, or 
 you would n't need to be told," said the editor, showr 
 ing some irritation. " My readers would n't stand it, 
 and it would make a hum about my ears that / 
 could n't stand." 
 
 " Then you print only what you think will please 
 your readers .' " said Rush. 
 
 "In one sense, yes," replied the editor, frankly, 
 
 "Excuse me," said Rush. "I thought the busi 
 ness of a newspaper was to lead public opinion, and 
 to correct it where it was wrong." 
 13 
 
194 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 This was one of the phrases his mother had armed 
 him with, and it came in aptly here. The editor col- 
 ored deeply through his thick, sallow skin. 
 
 "That is incidental. We publish a newspaper 
 mainly for the same reason that you make dolls' car- 
 riages." 
 
 "We try to make good, honest dolls' carriages," 
 said Rush, "genuine in every part. We would n't 
 make any others." 
 
 The editor coughed, colored still more confusedly, 
 glanced once more at the article, and finally handed 
 it back. 
 
 " I should lose forty subscribers if I printed it ; 
 and of course you can't expect me to be such a 
 fool. I wish to be fair to both sides, as you say ; but 
 in this matter there is really but one side, — that of 
 the public interest. Ninety-nine persons out of 
 every hundred in this community wish the dam 
 away, and I am not going to swamp my business by 
 opposing them. I don't know anything about you 
 and your brothers ; I 've nothing against you, person- 
 ally. But you 're in an unfortunate position, and 
 you must get out of it the best way you can. 
 That 's my candid opinion." 
 
 " Thank you ! " Rush returned the paper to his 
 pocket, and was taking leave so quietly that the edi- 
 
WHAT THE LOCAL EDITOR SAID. I9S 
 
 tor followed him to the outer door, thinking he saw 
 a chance for a little stroke of business. 
 
 " I believe your family is not represented in my 
 list of subscribers." 
 
 " I rather think not ! " replied Rush, with a smile. 
 
 " You '11 find my columns full of matters of local 
 interest ; always fresh and timely. I should like 
 your subscription." 
 
 "We'll think of it," said Rush, dryly, and with- 
 drew in the midst of the editor's explanation that the 
 Tammoset Times and the Dempford Gazette were the 
 same paper, and they could have it, under either 
 name, at two dollars a year, in advance. 
 
 " I 've kept my temper, and that 's about all I have 
 done," thought Rush, as he walked away. 
 
 The editor meanwhile returned to his case of 
 type, and resumed work on the "fresh and timely" 
 article concerning "A New Yacht and an Old 
 Nuisance." 
 
 The Tinkhams made two or three more attempts 
 to combat the general prejudice, but succeeded only 
 in discovering how strong and how widespread it 
 was, and how completely men of influence were 
 under its control. Politicians and public officers 
 were, in fact, as fearful of losing place and votes as 
 the editor had been of losing subscribers, by seem- 
 
196 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 ing to favor in any way the cause of the widow and 
 her sons. 
 
 Then came a sudden interruption to these efforts. 
 A despatch was received announcing the death of 
 Cousin Tom ; and the boys must attend his funeral. 
 
 " We '11 risk the dam for an afternoon," said Mart, 
 " no matter what happens." 
 
 The Argonauts had continued so very quiet, and 
 the brothers had got the idea so firmly fixed in their 
 minds that the next attack would be in the night- 
 time, that they did not consider the risk very great. 
 
 All the family accordingly attended Tom's funeral, 
 except the mother, who stayed at home on account of 
 her lameness. 
 
 She afterward had reason to wish that she had 
 gone, too. Better have been anywhere that after- 
 noon, she declared, than at home without her boys ! 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. 1 9/ 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. 
 
 THE children had been gone about three hours, 
 when their mother, sitting at her window, 
 which looked toward Tammoset village, noticed an 
 unusal number of boys hurrying down the road toward 
 the river. 
 
 Reflecting that it was the first of May, and prob- 
 ably a holiday in the schools, she thought little of 
 the circumstance, until she saw groups of men also 
 going in the same direction. She then hobbled to 
 the front part of the house, where she could get a 
 view of the bridge. 
 
 It was thronged with people, and more were com- 
 ing from both ways, — from Dempford as well as 
 Tammoset ; some stopping on the bridge and look- 
 ing off toward the mill, while others climbed over 
 the rails at each end, ran down the shores, and dis- 
 appeared under the high bank by which the view of 
 the river below was shut off from the house. 
 
 At the same time the kitchen girl began to call, — 
 
igS THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Mrs. Tinkham ! Mrs. Tinkham ! What are aL 
 these people doing out here by the mill .' " 
 
 The widow hobbled to another window, and saw 
 an amazing sight. Neither boy nor man had entered 
 the yard in the regular way ; but the upper bank was 
 now alive with youngsters scrambling up from below. 
 Some threw themselves on the turf, and sat with 
 their backs toward the house and their legs hanging 
 down the slope. Others stood behind them or 
 looked about for better positions. A dozen or more 
 got into the great willow, where they filled the seats 
 or leaned upon the branches. All appeared eager to 
 witness some great spectacle taking place below. 
 
 The mother of the Tinkhams knew very well what 
 that was. " O my boys ! my boys ! " she exclaimed, 
 " why are you not here ? " And without waiting to 
 cover her feeble shoulders and gray hair, she hobbled 
 out of the house. 
 
 She heard suppressed cries of, "Look behind 
 you ! " " There comes the old lady ! " and for a 
 moment saw the faces of the intruders all turned her 
 way. There was much silly tittering among them ; 
 and the next moment every boy was intently gazing 
 down the slope again. 
 
 " What does this mean ? What are you here for ? " 
 she cried, approaching the nearest group. 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. IQQ 
 
 " We just wanted to see the fun ! " was the grin- 
 ning response. 
 
 " What fun ? " she demanded, sharply. 
 
 " To see the dam tore away ; for that 's what they 
 are doing," somebody answered, in a loud, insolent 
 voice from the willow. 
 
 " Is that Dick Dushee ? " 
 
 " Yes, that 's Dick ; he told us we could come up 
 here." 
 
 " He would n't have dared show his face if my 
 sons were home ! " said the widow. " I should 
 think he might be in better business, and the rest 
 of you, too ! Make room for me, will you ? Whose 
 ground is this, yours or mine .' " 
 
 The loungers on the turf had not offered to move 
 out of her way, but the lively movement of a crutch 
 among their elbows and ears made them scatter, and 
 sh.e stood on the top of the bank. 
 
 This is what she saw. 
 
 Both shores of the river swarmed with spectators, 
 boys and men, and even women and girls here and 
 there. The platform at the corner of the mill was 
 black with the crowd. There were boats, also, held 
 against the current by young men aboard, probably 
 Argonauts. In the midst of all, the centre of attrac- 
 tion, stood a line of stout laborers leg-deep in the 
 
200 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 water, with picks and iron bars demolishing the 
 dam. 
 
 The work had evidently but just begun. The 
 first planks were yielding to sturdy blows. There 
 was little noise besides ; no loud talking nor shout- 
 ing of commands. Never was disorderly crowd so 
 orderly and well behaved. There were even police- 
 men present, — Dempford men in blue coats oti one 
 shore, and Tammoset men in gray on the other, — 
 keeping the peace. The whole thing had been thor- 
 oughly planned and organized beforehand, as the 
 local newspaper boastfully informed its readers on 
 both sides of the river in its next issue. 
 
 The crippled woman, supported on her crutches 
 at the summit of the high bank, her gray head bare, 
 — a strange, pathetic figure, — called aloud to the 
 laborers to desist from their work of destruction.; 
 Not one of them heeded her ; but all other eyes 
 were turned upward, while her voice continued to 
 ring out, tremulous yet clear, entreating yet com- 
 manding, — 
 
 " Must I stand here alone, and see my property 
 destroyed ? Is there not one who will take my part 
 and stop this lawless proceeding.? Are you all on 
 the side of injustice and brute force ? " 
 
 There was a brief silence ; then a Dempford man 
 
Witli picks anrl iron bars 
 {iLMTiolisliint; the dam." 
 rac'r -200. 
 
 ' It was thronged with people and more were coming.'' 
 Page 197. 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. 20I 
 
 n blue — our old acquaintance, in fact — made an- 
 swer from the opposite shore, — 
 
 " It is not a lawless proceeding, madam. You 
 were duly notified that the dam must be removed. 
 As you have not done it yourself, the people have 
 taken it in hand." 
 
 "The people who do it, or witness it without pro- 
 test, are a mob ! The only law they have on their 
 side is mob law, and they know it. There is no 
 other law that can touch my poor little property here. 
 I see grave-looking men in this crowd, men who no 
 doubt call themselves respectable citizens. Are they 
 aware that, by their presence, if not by their acts, 
 they are making war on a defenceless woman and 
 her absent children ? Well for you, well for you all," 
 cried the widow, lifting a crutch and shaking it pas- 
 sionately over the heads of the crowd, " that my 
 boys are not here to-day ! You breaking the dam 
 there, and you assisting by looking on, would not 
 be where you are ! But you chose a safe time for 
 your brave deed ! " 
 
 She stopped to subdue the passion that was swell- 
 ing in her voice ; then, as nobody answered her, and 
 as the planks and stakes were still giving way before 
 the picks and bars, she went on, — 
 
 " If this dam, which we have a right to maintain. 
 
202 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 — for I have taken legal counsel on the subject, and 
 I know, — if it troubles you, why don't you go to 
 work like honorable men and get rid of it ? I hear 
 that some of you, who are not Argonauts, have yet 
 subscribed large sums toward building the club-house. 
 Why have n't you subscribed something toward abat- 
 ing this nuisance you complain of .'' A few hundred 
 dollars would have bought off the previous owner ; 
 or my boys would have come to any just agreement 
 with you. But, ah ! " she cried, scornfully, " this is 
 not the popular side ! You can well afford to give 
 money for a new boat-house ; but one poor woman's 
 mill-dam, that is in the way of a few pleasure-boats, 
 must be ruthlessly destroyed ! Oh, what men you 
 are ! " 
 
 Nobody answered her again. But, if there were 
 not in that assemblage of two or three hundred 
 people, young and old, a few hearts that felt and 
 remembered long afterward her thrilling words and 
 the tears that now came streaming down her cheeks, 
 it was a pitiless mob indeed. 
 
 " I have had my say," she added, " and now you 
 will do as you please." 
 
 Her cheeks still wet with unwiped tears, she stood 
 in silence and saw the work of demolition proceed. 
 
 The planks and stakes, as they were broken away, 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY, 203 
 
 were sent floating down the stream ; and soon not a 
 vestige of the dam remained visible. The end of the 
 platform, with the fish-way attached, was left hang- 
 ing in the air. The laborers seemed to think their 
 work done, and started to wade ashore. 
 
 Then a little fellow about the size of Web Foote, 
 standing in one of the boats, swung his hat and 
 called for three cheers. The spectators responded, 
 though not very heartily, their feeling of triumph 
 being sadly chilled by the sight of the pale face and 
 feeble form supported by crutches on the bank. 
 
 But now there was a singular movement on the 
 farther shore, 
 
 A man with coarse, sandy features, of vast terri- 
 torial dimensions, who had been watching the show 
 with manifest satisfaction, said something in a low 
 voice to somebody else, who whispered it to a third 
 person, who in turn ran to the edge of the bank and 
 called to the men wading ashore, — 
 
 " Go back ! There 's one thing you 've forgotten ! " 
 
 "What's that. Milt ?" asked the little commodore 
 from his boat. 
 
 " The mud-sill ! " said Buzrow, for it was indeed 
 our amiable friend, the cow-smiter's son. " Dushee 
 says they can rebuild the dam without any trouble, if 
 we leave the mud-silL" 
 
204 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "Is that SO, Dushee?" cried Web Foote, in a 
 loud voice. 
 
 " Certainly it is," Dushee replied in a much lower 
 tone, after some hesitation. 
 
 Even he must have felt the ignominy of openly 
 giving counsel for the destruction of a dam he had 
 formerly had to defend, and which he had dishonestly 
 passed into other hands. Perhaps, also, his old 
 hatred of the Argonauts made the situation awkward 
 for him. But his present hatred of the brothers he 
 had wronged outweighed other considerations, and 
 he spoke out, — 
 
 " They have only to drive new stakes and nail on 
 fresh boards. But rip up the mud-sill and spilin's, 
 and they can't rebuild so easy, in the present state of 
 high water." 
 
 "That's so!" exclaimed Buzrow. "Up with the 
 mud-sill!" 
 
 So the men went back into the water, and with 
 their picks and bars attacked the long strip of timber 
 which, with what Dushee called the " spilin's," — 
 sharpened boards driven down several feet into the 
 river-bed, — had served to keep the water and those 
 pioneers of the water, the eels, from finding their 
 way under the dam. 
 
 It was the hardest part of their job. The spilings 
 
WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. 20$ 
 
 had been driven to stay ; and they were nailed to the 
 sill. The tops of some of them broke off, however, 
 while the old, rusty nails in the rest gave way ; then 
 up came the heavy, water-soaked timber, one end 
 first, and, slowly lifted and swung around, scarcely 
 floating, went down the strong current after the 
 stakes and planks. 
 
 So much the Tinkham boys had gained by making 
 one superfluous enemy. 
 
206 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 TO RESCUE THE MUD-SILL. 
 
 \ FTER the funeral, Mart and Lute stopped to do 
 ■^~*- some business in town, while Letty and the 
 three younger brothers hastened to take the first 
 train for Tammoset. 
 
 " I 've the strangest feeling," Letty said, " that 
 something is n't right with mother." 
 
 " I don't see what can have happened to her," 
 replied Rush. " But I can't help feeling skittish 
 about the dam." 
 
 Starting to walk home from the Tammoset station, 
 they were surprised to meet a number of people 
 coming up the road, who gave them curious, excited 
 looks. They hurried on, meeting more and more; 
 and passing the brow of the hill, saw two scattered 
 throngs moving slowly up both shores of the river, 
 converging at the bridge, and from there streaming 
 off thinly, in groups and pairs, toward Tammoset and 
 Dempford. 
 
 " The dam ! the dam ! " exclaimed the boys, mak- 
 ing a sudden onward rush. 
 
TO RESCUE THE MUD-SILL. 207 
 
 All was over when they reached home. The last 
 of the youngsters was slipping from the tree down 
 the bank, on the summit of which the widow still 
 stood, with gray head uncovered, propped upon her 
 crutches. 
 
 " Mother ! mother ! " Rush exclaimed, springing to 
 her side before the rest. " What is it .' " 
 
 She was very pale, but quite calm now, until his 
 coming caused her emotions to surge up again. 
 
 " You see what has been done," she said, pointing 
 at the spot where the dam had been. 
 
 He gave a savage cry of grief and rage. 
 
 "There's nothing to be said," she continued, 
 checking a sob, " but much to be done. Where are 
 the boys > " 
 
 " They are coming in a later train. Oh ! " ex- 
 claimed Rush, his face in a spasm of fury and pain, 
 " if we had only been here ! " 
 
 " It 's well you were not. Better suffer wrong 
 than to have killed some one or have been killed 
 yourselves. For I am sure one of these two things 
 would have happened ! " 
 
 " Something would have happened ! " said Rush. 
 " Oh ! to think you were here alone ! You saw it 
 all?" 
 
 " I saw it all ! " 
 
208 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " And do you know who did it ? " 
 
 " How could I ? There were only two faces I 
 ever saw before, — the Dushees." 
 
 Dick had already been discovered as he tumbled 
 down the slope at sight of the boys ; and Rupert 
 and Rodman had been for giving him chase and 
 throwing him into the river. 
 
 " Was the old reprobate here looking on .' " de- 
 manded Rush. 
 
 " He was not only looking on, but you owe it to 
 him that the mud-sill was torn up." 
 
 The wrong seemed too great to bear. Rush 
 struggled with his bursting heart for a moment, then 
 said, -— 
 
 " Never mind ! this is n't the end ! Bring the 
 clothes-line, boys ! we '11 save what we can. Letty, 
 help mother into the house ! " 
 
 Letty, whom the boys had outrun, had now come 
 up, and was clinging to her mother's side. Rush 
 left them, and hurried down the path to the lower 
 story of the mill, where he met our old acquaintance, 
 the gray-coated Tammoset policeman. 
 
 The policeman smiled, — not at all like one caught 
 in bad business, but rather as if he had been en- 
 gaged in some praiseworthy action. 
 
 "I think," he said, "you will find your property 
 
TO RESCUE THE MUD-SILL. 20g 
 
 has been carefully protected. I have n't allowed 
 anybody to go into the mill or to damage anything." 
 
 Rush regarded him with wrathful amazement. 
 
 " Perhaps you expect some reward from us ? " 
 
 " I don't ask it," replied the man in gray, bowing 
 complacently, with a look which implied that a re- 
 ward would not be unwelcome. " I have only done 
 my duty. The dam had to go, you know. We 've 
 seen the last of that." 
 
 " The last of it ? " echoed Rush, with angry scorn. 
 
 "The last of it ! " the man in gray repeated, pos- 
 itively. "An injunction will be applied for at once, 
 to prevent you from rebuilding it." 
 
 " Why did n't you have the mill torn away, too .' " 
 said Rush. "Don't you see it projects twenty feet 
 into the river ? It may be in the way of some nice 
 little pleasure-skifE, some time ! " 
 
 He did not wait to hear the man's reply to this 
 fierce scarcasm, but, having bent into a hook-like 
 shape the end of a long iron rod which he found in 
 the back shop, he hastened with it down the river, 
 accompanied by Rupert with a pole and Rodman 
 with the clothes-line. 
 
 They descried the mud-sill lodged in a bend, 
 and some Argonauts in a boat poking one end of it, 
 as if to set it afloat again. 
 
 14 
 
2IO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL, 
 
 " Let that timber alone ! " 
 
 Rush sent his voice before him, while running 
 with full speed. The Argonauts poked and pulled 
 with their oars harder than ever. 
 
 " I warn you ! " he shouted. " That timber be- 
 longs to me ! " 
 
 As they did not desist, but seemed hastening to 
 get the sill out of reach from the shore, he caught up 
 a stone weighing three or four pounds, and, running 
 up within hurling distance, flung it with all his 
 might. 
 
 It struck the boat between wind and water, with 
 a crash and a splash which sent the Argonauts pad- 
 dling off in a hurry. Rupe and Rod, following along 
 the shore, let fly smaller stones, one of which fell 
 into the boat, while another went whizzing over two 
 swiftly ducking heads. 
 
 " Thieves ! robbers ! cowards ! " Rush shouted, 
 having first thrown the hook-like end of his rod over 
 the timber. " You do your dirty work in the night- 
 time, or when only women are at home, but you run 
 from two or three boys ! Come back here if you 
 want your boat smashed ! " 
 
 "We've nothing to do with you," a big-voiced 
 Argonaut shouted back "Our business was with 
 the dam." 
 
TO RESCUE THE MUD-SILL. 211 
 
 " My business is with the dam, too ! " cried Rush. 
 " I know you, Milt Buzrow ; and if I see you touch 
 one of those planks by the shore down yonder, I '11 
 follow and stone your boat all the way to Dempford ! " 
 
 Buzrow exhibited his courage by bellowing back 
 some heavy threat ; but for some reason he and his 
 fellow-Argonauts did not think it worth their while 
 to meddle with any of the drift-wood. 
 
 Rush called to his brothers, and with their help 
 soon had the timber hauled alongside the bank 
 
 "We won't try to get it home now," he said. 
 " The tide will turn in_ a little while and help us. 
 Stay here and hold on to it, while I go and borrow 
 Mr. Rumney's boat." 
 
 He hurried backup the river to the bridge, crossed 
 over, and found the farmer walking leisurely toward 
 his barn. Rush did his breathless errand. 
 
 "My boat.' What do you want it for?" Mr. 
 Rumney replied, good-naturedly. 
 
 " Does it make any difference what I want it for .' " 
 Rush asked rather sharply, thinking his rustic neigh- 
 bor was also in sympathy with the enemy. 
 
 " Wall, mabby ! " said the farmer. " If you want 
 it for any ordinary purpose, I say you can take it. 
 But if you want it to save your timbers and put back 
 your dam — " 
 
212 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "That's just what I want it for!" said Rush, with 
 headlong frankness. 
 
 " In that case, I don't care to stir up the prejudice 
 of the Argue-nots agin me. So I sha'n't say you 
 can take it. But see here ! " the farmer added, con- 
 fidentially, as Rush was turning away in furious dis- 
 gust ; " if anybody should come and take the boat 
 without leave, and never say I let 'em, they would n't 
 be prosecuted. They'll find the oars behind the 
 hen-house." 
 
 " Thank you," said Rush. 
 
 " Don't thank me, for I don't know nothin' about 
 it, you know. I 've seen how you boys have been 
 treated, and I should n't blame ye if you took any 
 boat you could lay hands on." 
 
 The farmer was entering his barn. But he now 
 turned back and added, — 
 
 " Or anything else, for that matter. By the way, 
 did you know the Argue-nots are preparing to build 
 a platform around the side of their boat-house.'' 
 They've got the posts and lumber on the spot. 
 Don't tell anybody I said that to you, neither ! ' ' 
 
 " I don't see what that is to us," Rush replied. 
 "Though they rob us of our dam, we can't go and 
 steal their stuff in return." 
 
 " Of course not," said the farmer, with a broad 
 
TO RESCUE THE MUD-SILL. 213 
 
 and somewhat significant smile, — " of course not." 
 And he entered the barn. 
 
 " He thinks we can destroy their property as they 
 have destroyed ours," thought Rush, as he walked 
 slowly back to the road. " And I am mad enough 
 to ! I should like to put a keg of powder under 
 their boat-house, and blow it to the moon ! Or sink 
 the commodore's yacht in the deepest part of the 
 lake ! " 
 
 For the first time in his life he felt how revenge- 
 ful, how desperately wicked, even an honest, well- 
 meaning boy could be .when fired by wrong. He 
 wanted to go that night, and, by the help of a match 
 and a few shavings, send the new boat-house roaring 
 up into the sky in a wild cloud of smoke and flame. 
 
 But he had a steadfast, prudent nature, which 
 helped him to put all such evil fancies quickly out of 
 his mind. Beside, he had something else to think of 
 now. 
 
 He had not wished to be seen going directly from 
 Mr. Rumney's barn to the boat. He therefore 
 walked back to the bridge ; then, appearing suddenly 
 to change his mind, he leaped the fence, ran to the 
 hen-house for the oars, and a minute later might 
 have been seen pushing off in the boat and rowing 
 rapidly down the river. 
 
214 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THAT EVENING. 
 
 RUSH had taken his younger brothers on board, 
 met the turning tide, and recovered much of 
 the floating debris, — picking up the stakes and 
 smaller pieces, and driving or towing the planks with 
 the slowly backing current, — when Mart and Lute 
 appeared, hurrying down toward the shore. 
 
 On reaching home and learning what had hap- 
 pened, they had made a hasty change of clothing, 
 and Mart had put on what they called the " Dushee 
 dug-outs," — a pair of enormous rubber boots, inher- 
 ited from the former owner, and used, hitherto, 
 chiefly in working about the dam in high water. 
 They came up to the hips, and, having been de- 
 signed for much stouter limbs, they made the lank 
 Martin look, as he waded into the river, as if he were 
 walking in a pair of churns. 
 
 Not a word of the great disaster ; but Mart simply 
 said, " You 're doing well, boys ! " in quiet tones of 
 approval, which it always did the younger ones good 
 to hear. 
 
THAT EVENING. 2IS 
 
 No language, as Lute said afterward, would have 
 done any sort of j-j-justice to the occasion. So, in- 
 stead of wasting breath over the injury they had 
 received, they set earnestly about repairing it. 
 
 The end of the clothes-line was passed on from 
 Mart wading in the river to Lute on the shore ; and 
 boat and planks were towed back to the mill. There 
 the fragments of the dam were heaped on the bank, 
 and the mud-sill was also hauled up out of the water. 
 
 Bits of the spilings remained nailed to the side of 
 the sill here and there. But they were few and 
 small, the nails, when it was wrenched away, having 
 in most cases broken or been drawn through the 
 soft boards, — a fact which Lute observed with keen 
 interest. 
 
 " What are the spilings f " Rod inquired. 
 
 Mart, who believed in explaining things to inquir- 
 ing young minds, explained accordingly, — the more 
 willingly now, because he wanted the younger boys 
 to understand the sort of work in which they might 
 be required to assist. 
 
 " In building a dam of this kind, the first thing put 
 in place is the mud-sill, laid level across the river-bed. 
 Then all along by that, on the up-stream side, they 
 drive a row of boards, set closely edge to edge, the 
 tops left even with the top of the sill, and nailed 
 
2l6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 fast to it. Those are the spilings, and they help hold 
 the sill in place." 
 
 " Except when p-p-parties come and r-r-rip it out," 
 suggested Lute, still studying and examining. 
 
 " The spilings are mainly useful," Mart went on, 
 " to keep other parties, like muskrats and eels, from 
 working under the dam. Eels are a kind of Argue- 
 nots ; they claim a right of way, and when they 
 can't wriggle through or over, they try to burrow 
 beneath." 
 
 '?One little hole in the b-b-bed of the river," said 
 Lute, " the water makes it bigger, and the first you 
 know there 's no b-b-bottom to your dam." 
 
 Mart then explained that the stakes were driven 
 on the down-stream side of the sill, and that the 
 boards of the superstructure rested on the edge of it, 
 running lengthwise with the timber, and nailed to 
 the stakes. The sill also served as a floor for the 
 flash-boards to shut down on. All which the younger 
 boys had some notion of before, and were to know 
 pretty thoroughly by experience in future. 
 
 " Lucky for us the spilings were driven deep and 
 half rotten," said Lute. " If they had n't been, they 'd 
 have p-p-pulled up. I believe we can get the mud- 
 sill back and make 'em do for a t-t-time." 
 
 " We could, if the tops of so many had n't been 
 
THAT EVENING. 2lJ 
 
 broken," said Mart. "It will be hard fitting the 
 pieces." 
 
 "We needn't fit the pieces," said Lute. "I've 
 an i-d-d-dea." 
 
 As Lute's ideas were always worth listening to, 
 the others listened intently. 
 
 " Dig a trench," he said, " and sink the mud-sill 
 eight, inches. That will cover the broken p-p-parts 
 of the spilings, and the ragged ends left sticking up 
 over it won't do any hurt." 
 
 " Capital ! " Rush exclaimed. " The row of spil- 
 ings will guide us in digging the trench and replacing 
 the sill." 
 
 Mart said nothing, but walked with a peculiarly 
 earnest, expectant look straight into the river, and 
 began to feel his way among the spilings with his 
 clumsy boots. 
 
 " I believe you 're right. Lute .■' " he said. " If it 
 was a time of low water, we could do it at ebb-tide 
 without any trouble." 
 
 The tide was but just coming up now, and yet, 
 owing to spring rains, the water where he stood was 
 nearly two feet deep. 
 
 "It's a bad-looking job," said Rush, "with only 
 one pair of Dushee's dug-outs among us ! The watei 
 is awfully cold yet. I wish it was later in the season." 
 
21 8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " We can build a temporary dam, just a light fence 
 to keep the most of the water off, while we 're at 
 w-w-work," suggested Lute. 
 
 " If we had boards enough," said Mart. 
 
 "Plenty of b-b-boards." 
 
 " I don't see that. These old planks are so split 
 and broken that only a few will do to use again. 
 And though we have looked out for having boards 
 enough on hand to rebuild the dam, we have n't 
 enough for a temporary dam at the same time." 
 
 "Plenty of b-b-boards," Lute repeated, confidently. 
 " Rip the siding off the sheds." 
 
 " So we can ! " exclaimed Rush. " And put it back 
 again when the temporary dam comes away." 
 
 But Mart raised objections. 
 
 " The old dam," he said, " was fifty feet long. The 
 mill projects into the river twenty feet. That makes 
 something like seventy feet from bank to bank. 
 And the temporary dam would have to be three or 
 four boards high, to keep the water from pouring 
 over." 
 
 " I don't propose to build from bank to bank," Lute 
 explained. " I would start the temporary dam at the 
 corner of the mill, just above the permanent one, and 
 run it across a little diagonally, to give us room to 
 work between them." 
 
THAT EVENING. 2I9 
 
 " But the water will come tearing under, I know ! " 
 said Rush. 
 
 " Yes, it will b-b-bother us. But we can stop it 
 with more boards, and relieve the pressure by letting 
 it through the mill-sluice. That 's one advantage of 
 starting the temporary dam at the corner of the mill. 
 It won't take long to drive stakes and string it across." 
 
 Still Mart objected, believing that the temporary 
 dam would cause more trouble than it would save, 
 and preferring to work in the water. 
 
 The difficulties in the way of either plan were for- 
 midable enough. The brothers were still arguing the 
 question, when Letty came to tell them that, for 
 their mother's sake, they must come in to their 
 supper, which had been a long while waiting. 
 
 " Well," said Mart, " it 's so late we can't do much 
 more, as I see ; and we can talk over plans in the 
 house as well as here." 
 
 The supper-table conversation that evening was 
 wonderfully cheerful and quiet, considering the cir- 
 cumstances. The wrong which had been done them 
 knit more closely the sympathies of mother and 
 children ; they were never before so united, hardly 
 ever so happy. The spirits of the young men had 
 risen to meet the emergency ; their hearts had grown 
 great. 
 
220 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL, 
 
 " The more I think of it," said the widow, with 
 glistening eyes, " the more thankful I am that you 
 were not at home this afternoon. If you had been, 
 we should not be sitting here together now, all safe 
 and well, with clear consciences and sound limbs, — 
 I am sure we should not ! " 
 
 " I am frightened when I think what might have 
 happened ! " said Letty. " What if one of you had 
 been hurt, as I know you would have been, before 
 the dam could ever have been torn out ! " 
 
 "We shouldn't have looked on with our hands in 
 our p-p-pockets," said Lute, soaking a crust of dry 
 toast in his chocolate. " That is n't the T-T-Tinkham 
 style." 
 
 " Or suppose you had hurt somebody else ? " said 
 the mother ; " perhaps fatally, and were now in jail, 
 with the terrible prospect of a trial ! Oh ! how much 
 better we can afford to lose a little of our property, 
 or even all, and begin the world again with clean 
 hands. We have suffered a great wrong, but that is 
 better than to have done even a little wrong. We 
 won't complain of Providence as long as our hope and 
 strength and love remain, and we are left to one 
 another." 
 
 " I don't know what makes me so glad ! " exclaimed 
 Letty. " I never was so proud of my brothers. I 
 
THAT EVENING. 221 
 
 never felt so sure that they would come out all right 
 at last ! " 
 
 " It 's no use giving in to t-t-trifles," said Lute. 
 " We mean to have our dam again, and k-k-keep it, 
 next time." 
 
 " We 've been pretty indulgent to the Argonauts," 
 said Mart. "We've allowed them two chances at 
 us, — one when we were asleep and one when we 
 were away. That's about enough. Now let 'em 
 look out ! Piece of gingerbread, please, Letty." 
 
 " How long will it take to rebuild the dam ? " Letty 
 asked, as she passed the dish. 
 
 Mart was explaining that it would depend upon 
 circumstances, when Rush spoke up, — 
 
 "That reminds me of what the policeman said, — 
 some nonsense about an injunction being applied for 
 at once, to prevent our rebuilding it. They can't, 
 can they .■• " 
 
 " Say it again," replied Mart. He paused, holding 
 the gingerbread he was about to break, and listened 
 seriously while Rush repeated the officer's words. " I 
 don't exactly like that ! " he drawled. 
 
 " Is there anything in it } " cried Rush, in a tone 
 of alarm. 
 
 " I don't know, but that 's very likely their game. 
 Now the dam is torn away, the court may possibly 
 
222 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 clap on an injunction to prevent our rebuilding it. 
 Then we may have to wait for a long course of law 
 to decide the matter. I don't know about it ; and 
 while we are waiting to consult Mr. Keep, their 
 trap may be sprung. I prefer to be on the safe 
 side." 
 
 " What is the safe side .' " Rush inquired. 
 
 "An injunction," said Mart, "is a writ to prohibit 
 your doing something which somebody complains 
 will damage public or private interests. Now, sup- 
 pose, before such a writ is issued, the thing is done .■' 
 That 's what I call the safe side for us." 
 
 "You mean to rebuild the dam before we are 
 ordered not to rebuild it ! " said Rush. " But can 
 we .'' The order may come to-morrow morning!" 
 
 "Yes, or a notice that it has been applied for. 
 Then the rebuilding would be at our own cost and 
 peril. Boys," said Mart, starting up, " we have n't 
 a minute to lose ! " 
 
 "No," said Lute! "There'll be a moon, We 
 must w-w-work to-night ! " 
 
 The brothers were on their feet in a moment, 
 eager, even to the youngest, to begin the tremendous 
 task of circumventing the enemies of the dam. 
 Amidst the sudden clatter of chairs and clamor of 
 voices, the mother uttered her remonstrance. 
 
THAT EVENING. 223 
 
 " Oh, boys," she said, " rest to-night and do your 
 work to-morrow ! That will be better, I 'm sure." 
 
 " No, mother ! " replied Mart, with a quiet laugh. 
 "To-morrow may be too late. We '11 work to-night, 
 and rest when our work is done." 
 
224 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 RUSH HAS AN IDEA, 
 
 A BUSY night began. A lantern was lighted, 
 ■^^ and lamps were carried to the mill. The two 
 younger boys were sent to the village for a pickaxe 
 and a spade and some galvanized nails, while the two 
 older ones began at once to saw joists and sharpen 
 stakes. 
 
 Rush left them sawing and trimming, and arguing 
 again the question of a temporary dam ; and taking 
 the lantern, with a hammer and a hatchet, went out 
 to the pile of fragments below the mill. 
 
 He set the lantern on the ground, and was occu- 
 pied in clearing the mud-sill of old nails and bits of 
 broken spilings, when a sound of oars working in 
 their row-locks told him that a boat was coming up 
 the river. 
 
 He heard voices, too ; and these words, though 
 spoken in a low tone, were borne to him distinctly 
 over the water : — 
 
 " It will take 'em at least three days to rebuild it, 
 
RUSH HAS AN IDEA. 22$ 
 
 even if they have a chance. But they won't have a 
 chance." 
 
 " No, sir ! There 's no dam to bother us to-night, 
 and there never will be again ! " 
 
 " Keep quiet ! There 's a light in the mill, and 
 there 's one of 'em with a lantern ! " 
 
 The voices ceased suddenly, and Rush, who all 
 the while kept quietly at work, heard no more until 
 the boat drew near the mill. Then some one on 
 board called out derisively, — 
 
 "Where 's your dam .'' " 
 
 "It will make good fire-wood," said another, 
 "what there is left of it." 
 
 " Stop your nonsense, boys ! " said a third. " Don't 
 hit fellows when they 're down." 
 
 Thereupon Rush straightened himself up from his 
 work, and stood beside his lantern, hatchet in hand, 
 and gave the passing boat a haughty look, with 
 these words, — 
 
 "If you think the Tinkham brothers are down, 
 you '11 wake up some fine morning and find your- 
 selves mistaken. Don't keep any of your insolence 
 corked up on our account. We can stand it." 
 
 He got no reply ; but heard low voices again, after 
 the boat had passed a few rods up the river. 
 
 "That's the bloodthirsty one that was gomg to 
 'S 
 
226 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 knock Milt on the head with a bean-pole, and hove 
 the big rock at his boat this afternoon." 
 
 "Yes! and he looked just now as if he'd a little 
 rather fling his hatchet at us than not ! " 
 
 Rush went on prying off the broken ends of the 
 spilings. He fancied the boat passing the bridge, 
 and wished for a moment that he was there with 
 another "big rock," to drop down gently and softly 
 on the Argonautic heads. 
 
 Then suddenly a startling thought flashed upon 
 him. He rose, gazed excitedly up the river, then, 
 stooping again, drew out and hammered down the 
 last of the nails. 
 
 This done, he stepped into Mr. Rumney's boat, 
 which had been hauled up beside the mill, placed the 
 lantern low in the stern, with some broken boards to 
 hide it, pulled into the current, and followed the 
 other boat at a cautious distance. 
 
 His absence was soon noticed by Mart and Luke ; 
 and as he did not return for nearly half an hour, they 
 grew more and more surprised at his going off in 
 that mysterious way, when time was precious. 
 
 At length he returned and walked into the mill, 
 where he found them still preparing material for 
 rebuilding, and discussing plans. When asked where 
 he had been, he replied with a counter-question, — 
 
RUSH HAS AN IDEA. 22/ 
 
 " Have you decided about the temporary dam 
 yet?" 
 
 " I rather think Mart agrees to it," answered Lute, 
 " though he has n't said as much yet. I know he 
 hates the n-n-notion." 
 
 " If we 're going to lay the mud-sill in the night, I 
 suppose we must manage somehow to keep the water 
 back," Mart admitted. " But I 'm afraid Lute's plan 
 won't work well, and I hate to strip the siding off the 
 sheds." 
 
 " Well ! cried Rush, with a joyous countenance, 
 " you need n't ! We '11 get along without Lute's 
 temporary dam. And we'll plant the mud-sill 
 without having much water to work in, either! 
 The Argonauts are going to help us ! " 
 
 "This is a poor time for a j-j-joke," said Lute, 
 reproachfully. 
 
 "It's no joke at all," Rush replied, with eager 
 confidence. " I 've looked the thing all over, and I 
 know what I 'm talking about." 
 
 Mart laid down a piece of joist he was shaping 
 into a stake, and regarded his brother with solemn 
 scrutiny, saying, after a pause, — 
 
 " The boy is certainly crazy ! " 
 
 "Hear my plan first," cried Rush; "then, if you 
 don't say we can get the mud-sill in without trouble 
 
228 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 or danger from the water, and have the dam all built 
 before high-tide to-morrow morning, I '11 give you 
 leave to put me into a strait-jacket." 
 
 "Some folks say the age of m-m-miracles isn't 
 over," was Lute's cool comment ; " and now Rocket 
 is going to p-p-prove it." 
 
 " Go ahead," said Mart, " before I make any more 
 stakes. We 've got enough for the permanent dam 
 already." 
 
 " You won't need any more, I promise you." 
 
 The brothers listened, at first incredulously, then 
 with a respect which quickly grew to admiration, as 
 Rush proceeded to convince them that he was not 
 crazy, and that the plan he proposed was in no sense 
 miraculous. 
 
 " Well, I declare. Rocket ! " exclaimed Lute, 
 "you're a chip of the T-T-Tinkham block ! How 
 did you ever happen to think of it .' " 
 
 " Why, just as either of you would, if you had been 
 in my place," Rush replied, not at all anxious to gain 
 extraordinary credit for a scheme which his older 
 and more ingenious brothers had failed to hit upon. 
 " I was trying to think of some trick I could play off 
 on the Argonauts when it popped into my head." 
 
 " It never would have p-p-popped into a foolish 
 head ! " exclaimed Lute. 
 
KUSH HAS AN IDEA. 229 
 
 " Nor into a very crazy one, for that matter," Mart 
 added. " I owe you a humble apology. Rocket." 
 
 " Pshaw ! " laughed Rush. " It 's all right, since 
 you see it as I do." 
 
 The three were earnestly talking over details of 
 the plan, when the younger brothers returned, bring- 
 ing the pickaxe and spade and the rust-proof nails. 
 
 "They knew at the store what we wanted of 'em," 
 said Rupert. "One of the men asked if we were 
 going to build up the dam again to-morrow, and I 
 told him I did n't know." 
 
 " That 's right, for you don't know," said Mart. 
 " Nobody can tell what may happen then, or between 
 now and then. Now you youngsters go to bed." 
 
 " Oh, no ! " Rupe exclaimed, in astonishment. 
 
 " We are going to stay up and help," said Rodman. 
 "Why can't we.'" 
 
 " There '11 be nothing you can help about for three 
 or four hours," Mart explained. " All we can do be- 
 fore ebb-tide is to get ready. If you stay up, you '11 
 be all tired out by that time, and good for nothing. 
 But go to bed now, and I '11 have you called at twelve 
 or one o'clock. It will be moonlight then ; you '11 
 be fresh after your nap, and I promise you some 
 fun." 
 
 " Will you surely call us ? " asked Rupert. 
 
230 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL, 
 
 "Surely, unless the bottom drops out of our 
 scheme, which does n't look likely now. Have your 
 old rubber boots ready to put on, — for you may have 
 to stand in mud and water, — and your worst old 
 clothes. We are going to put ours on." 
 
 " Well, don't forget to call us. Come, Rod ! " 
 
 The two youngest returned reluctantly to the 
 house, and went to bed. Excitement kept them 
 awake for a time, and they seemed hardly to have 
 fallen asleep when they felt somebody shaking them, 
 and heard a voice exclaim, — 
 
 " Wake up ! wake up, boys ! You 're wanted at 
 the dam ! " 
 
 Opening their sleepy eyes, they saw in the moon- 
 lit room a dim figure bending over them. It was 
 Letty, who had sat up with her mother, waiting for 
 a signal from the mill to call the sleepers. 
 
 "We've only just come to bed," yawned the con- 
 fused Rodman. 
 
 "You've been in bed four hours," cried Letty. 
 " Now make haste, or the dam will be built before 
 you get there." 
 
 They were well aroused by this time ; and quickly 
 putting on their old clothes and rubber boots, they 
 ran out to the bank of the river, where they looked 
 down on what appeared a scene of enchantment. 
 
RUSH HAS AN IDEA. 23 1 
 
 It was a night of wonderful .stillness and beauty. 
 The moon was high in the cloudless eastern heavens, 
 flooding the valley with its mild radiance, by which 
 they could see, beyond the black shadow of the 
 mill and in strange contrast with it, a sheet of water, 
 flashing with snake-like curves and streaks of silver 
 fire. It was not much more than ankle deep to three 
 figures that now appeared in the moonlight, crossing 
 the plashy and glimmering river-bed. 
 
 Rupe and Rod ran down the bank, marvelling 
 more and more. There was no temporary dam to be 
 seen ; and yet that pool, or rather series of pools, 
 connected by little runnels, shining here and there 
 amidst the black and oozy bottom, was all that was 
 left of the Tammoset River. The appearance of 
 fiery snakes was caused by the sparkling wakes and 
 ripples of hundreds of alewives, with perhaps a few 
 eels and other fish, darting and writhing about, in 
 the endeavor to escape into deeper channels. 
 
 " Where's all the water ? " cried Rupert, splashing 
 in where the older boys were at work. 
 
 " Be quiet !" said Rush, in a low voice. "The 
 Argonauts are keeping it back for us." 
 
232 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 HOW THE ARGONAUTS HELPED. 
 
 'T^HE older boys had evidently been busy while 
 -^ the younger ones were asleep. They had, in 
 fact, not only got everything in readiness for rebuild- 
 ing the dam at low water, but, after putting out the 
 lights in the mill, they had embarked on what Rush 
 called an Argonautic expedition. 
 
 There was no regular meeting of the club that 
 night ; but it was to have been expected that a good 
 many members would get together, to enjoy the 
 triumph they had that day achieved in the destruc- 
 tion of the dam. The upper windows of the boat- 
 house were lighted and open, and loud talk and 
 laughter resounded within, when the Tinkham 
 brothers rowed noiselessly by in the Rumney boat, 
 making careful observations, and waiting for the 
 Argonauts to disperse. 
 
 The tide had turned before they left the mill. It 
 would soon be going out rapidly. The time had 
 come for them to begin their secret night's work. 
 
HOW THE ARGONAUTS HELPED. 233 
 
 Yet nothing could be done until the last of the 
 Argonaut's boats had gone down the river. 
 
 The boys grew exceedingly anxious and impatient, 
 as they floated about under the shadow of the high 
 shore, and counted the wasting moments. 
 
 " They never stayed so late before," said Rush. 
 
 " They must crow and crow again over the old 
 dam," replied Mart. " Don't begrudge 'em that 
 short-lived satisfaction." 
 
 " There goes a b-b-boat," said Lute. 
 
 In fact, one, two, three boats put out from the 
 shadow of the club-house, crossed the moonlit arm 
 of the lake, and disappeared at the outlet. 
 
 " There were only three moored at the float," said 
 Rush. " The way will soon be clear now." 
 
 At the same time the Argonauts could be heard 
 leaving the house on the shoreward side, and talking 
 and laughing as they went up the lane to the road. 
 Still, lights were seen and voices heard within. 
 
 "See here, boys," said Mart, "we're losing too 
 much time. It won't do ! " 
 
 " We must r-r-risk something or miss our chance," 
 said Lute. " Don't the fools know it 's time all hon- 
 est folks were abed .' " 
 
 A bold stroke was finally resolved upon, and the 
 boys paddled silently up to the side of the club- 
 
234 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 house, where the platform lumber of which Mr. 
 Rumney had told Rush lay half in moonlight on the 
 bank. 
 
 While the lamps still shone and voices were heard 
 from the open windows overhead, one by one, eight 
 boards, each twelve feet long and a foot in width, 
 were slid down into the water, placed one upon 
 another, and lashed together. Then three . stout 
 poles were selected from a pile designed for posts to 
 be driven down into the mud for the platform to rest 
 on, and launched in like manner without noise. 
 This done, the boat was pushed silently off, boards 
 and poles following darkly in tow. 
 
 A shout of laughter from the windows rang out 
 over the water as the Tinkham brothers, now in 
 their turn, emerged from the shadow of the boat- 
 house and rowed across the moonlit arm of the lake. 
 
 Reaching the outlet, they pulled with strong 
 strokes, in the full, slow current, down to the bridge. 
 Under that they paused, and drew the boards and 
 poles alongside. 
 
 " So far, so g-g-good ! " chuckled Lute. 
 
 The abutments had been already examined, and 
 the bed of the channel explored and cleared of loose 
 stones. A pole was now drawn forward and set in 
 an upright position, slightly leaning, against the 
 
HOW THE ARGONAUTS HELPED. 235 
 
 upper side of the bridge. Rush and Lute held the 
 boat against the stream, while Mart thrust the 
 pointed end down into the gravelly bottom. 
 
 A second pole was then placed still more slant- 
 ingly, a few feet nearer one of the solid granite abut> 
 ments. To these two uprights the boat was made 
 fast, broadside to the stream, and all hands were free 
 to work. 
 
 A board was now forced down edgewise, extend- 
 ing from the first post to the abutment, to be sup- 
 ported by them against the pressure of the current. 
 The second post was just outside of the board ; it 
 served as a guide in placing it, and held it fast when 
 it was down. A heavy sledge-hammer was used in 
 the water, with a sort of churning stroke, in driving 
 the lower edge of the board into the bed of the river. 
 
 A second board was placed in like manner as the 
 first, a third on that, and finally a fourth put into 
 position ; the upper edge of the last rising four or 
 five inches above the surface of the water. 
 
 The entire span of the bridge measured not more 
 than twenty feet, so that now the boys had only to 
 extend a similar set of boards from the first post to 
 the other abutment in order to have a complete gate 
 across the channel. 
 
 They had worked cautiously at first, listening often 
 
236 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 for footsteps approaching the bridge. As none 
 came, and it was getting late, they grew bold in 
 their movements, and worked rapidly, until, as Mart 
 was setting his third post in place, somebody looked 
 over the edge of the bridge and called out, 
 " Halloo ! " 
 
 All was still in a moment, except the gurgle of 
 the water against the side of the boat. The boys, 
 hidden by the shadow beneath the bridge, kept 
 quiet until another head peeped over, and another 
 voice said, — 
 
 " What are you doing down there .■' " 
 
 Then Mart answered back, in as gruff and care- 
 less a tone as he could assume, — 
 
 " Did n't you ever see anybody spear eels ? " 
 
 "It's a queer place to be spearing eels, and a 
 queer way to do it," said one of the voices above. 
 " Look at that big pole ! " 
 
 " There 's two more ! " said the other voice. 
 " They 're setting some sort of trap to catch alewives. 
 Come along ! it 's awful late ! " 
 
 The voices went off with the sound of hurrying 
 footsteps, and died away in the distance. The 
 brothers breathed again. 
 
 " They are Dempford Argonauts footing it home," 
 said Rush. 
 
HOW THE ARGONAUTS HELPED. 237 
 
 " Good fellows ! " said Mart, resuming his work. 
 "They help us best by lending their lumber and get- 
 ting out of our way. Now give us a board." 
 
 The current was growing stronger and stronger 
 all the while, and by the time the third board of 
 the second set was in place, the water poured over 
 it in a cascade. A fourth shut it off ; and then the 
 sledge-hammer was used again to drive each set of 
 boards firmly together and settle them still deeper 
 into the level river-bed. The water under the bridge 
 fell away rapidly, the boat dropping with it, and the 
 brothers had the satisfaction of seeing their extem- 
 porized gate emerge before them like a dark wall. 
 
 As the pressure of water held the boards in place, 
 the two outside posts were now set inside, in a row 
 with the first, as assistant supports ; and Mart, get- 
 ting upon the bridge, drove one after another with 
 all his might into the bed of the channel. 
 
 " Now, boys ! " he said, jumping down from the 
 abutment, " we must make the most of our time ! 
 I won't warrant either of those posts to stand long, 
 after the water begins to tear its way under." 
 
238 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 REBUILDING THE DAM. 
 
 'T^HEY hastened to the mill, and floated the mud- 
 -'■ sill in place while there was yet water enough 
 in the fast-draining channel. It was a foot deep 
 when they began ; it was not much more than ankle- 
 deep by the time they had got ready to make the 
 trench for it. 
 
 On the arrival of the younger boys, Mart and 
 Lute and Rupert began at once, with pick and spade 
 and hoe, to dig out the gravel beside the old spilings ; 
 while Rush, with Rodman's assistance, carried out a 
 plan suggested by Lute for getting rid of more of 
 the water. 
 
 It was a modification of Lute's first idea of a tem- 
 porary dam. The mill-sluice was opened, and the 
 water that came down from above drained into it by 
 means of a diagonal line of boards set up edgewise 
 and supported by short stakes. A hatchet and a 
 hoe in lively hands made a quick job of it ; and some 
 of the same boards served which were afterwards to 
 be used in the dam. 
 
REBUILDING THE DAM. 239 
 
 " We sha'n't care much for the water, you know, 
 after the mud-sill is laid," said Rush ; " then those 
 boards can come up." 
 
 Meanwhile, the simple device was found exceed- 
 ingly useful. For though the water came down for 
 a time in a constantly dwindling stream, it began at 
 length to increase in volume, showing a consider- 
 able escape at the bridge. The drain turned it easily 
 into the sluice, however ; so that in throwing out the 
 loosened gravel the spade and hoes kept the trench 
 also tolerably free from water. 
 
 The moon shone brightly. It was not very hard 
 digging, and in an unexpectedly short time the new 
 bed was made ready for the mud-sill. This was then 
 pried into it, one side being set close against the 
 spilings, and secured in its position by stakes driven 
 close against the other side. Each stake was then 
 firmly nailed to the sill. 
 
 "This is j-j Jolly," said Lute. "Now- if we can 
 only get the spilings nailed before there 's a 
 d-d-deluge ! " 
 
 To do that the boys had first to dig out some of 
 the gravel on the upper side of the spilings. These 
 they found in quite as good condition as they had 
 expected, and the sill being laid below the line of 
 broken tops, only two or three had to be patched. 
 
240 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Never did young fellows work with greater energy 
 and speed. As they were now engaged on the shady 
 side of the row of spilings, Rod held the lantern ; and 
 the digging done, Rupe handed nails for the older 
 ones to drive. 
 
 A strange sight they must have been in their rub- 
 ber boots, splashed clothes, and brigandish hats, 
 there in the glimmering river-bed, by moonlight and 
 lantern light, if only Dempford and Tammoset had 
 been awake to see ! But all around them the two 
 towns lay fast asleep, while the secret night-work 
 went on. 
 
 The rapid hammering made merry music to the 
 boys' ears ; for they now felt that the most difficult 
 part of their task would soon be over. Rush kept 
 the water scooped out of the new trench in -advance' 
 of the nailers, and filled in the gravel after them. 
 The sill, which had originally rested on the river 
 bottom, was now sunk to a level with its surface, 
 only the notched ends of the line of spilings being 
 left sticking out, " Like the back fin of a b-b-buried 
 sea-serpent," Lute said. 
 
 More than once in the mean time Rush had to 
 spring to his line of boards, which an ever-increasing 
 flow of water threatened to wash away. He, how- 
 ever, managed to keep them in place until the sill 
 
REBUILDING THE DAM. 
 
 241 
 
 SECTION OF DAH AS ORIGINALLY 
 BUILT, SHOWING STRUCTURE. 
 
 I. End of the mud-sill, eight 
 inches square. 2. Edge o£ row 
 of spilingS or boards driven down 
 several feet into the river-bed be- 
 side the mud-sill, and nailed to 
 it. 3 . Stake driven down on the 
 other side of the mud-sill, and 
 also nailed to it. 4, 5. Ends of 
 planks nailed to stakes, forming 
 the breast of the dam. a is the 
 bed of the river. The arrows 
 show the flow of the stream. 
 
 SECTION OF DAM AS REBUILT 
 BY THE BOYS. 
 
 The mud-sill is here shown 
 sunk below the level of the bed 
 of the river, with the top of the 
 spilings left sticking up. An 
 eight-mch board at the bottom, 
 a foot board at the top, and the 
 old plank between, now form the 
 breast of the dam, of the original 
 height. 
 
 16 
 
242 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 and spilings were safe, and the mud and gravel 
 packed against them. 
 
 Then the boards were to be nailed to the stakes. 
 And though that part of the work might have been 
 done in the water, it could be done much faster out 
 of it ; and no time was lost in running on the first 
 tier. 
 
 There had been originally two tiers of foot-wide 
 planks above the sill. But now the sill had been 
 sunk, and in order to make the dam as high as be- 
 fore, three tiers would be necessary. For the first, 
 the boys used some narrower stuff they had, running 
 it clear across the flash-board opening. The best of 
 the old planks served for the second. Finally, for 
 the upper tier, the boards were taken from the diago- 
 nal drain. And it was time. A rush of water was 
 sweeping them away. 
 
 " There must be a big wash-out under the Argo- 
 nauts' gate ! " Rush said. " Do you suppose there 's 
 any chance of the abutments being undermined, or 
 that the bridge will be in danger ? " 
 
 " Let 'em be undermined ! " exclaimed Lute, " and 
 let the b-b-bridge be in danger ! What 's that to 
 us.?" 
 
 " Good enough for Tammoset and Dempford, for 
 tearing our dam away ! " said Rupe. 
 
REBUILDING THE DAM. 243 
 
 " Besides," said Mart, with a nail in one corner of 
 his mouth, " after the bridge is gone, the little com- 
 modore's yacht can pass with the mast up. That 's 
 to be considered." 
 
 No serious fears for the bridge were entertained, 
 however ; and it was hoped that the gate would hold 
 until the flood-tide came to carry the borrowed lum- 
 ber back up into the lake. 
 
 As soon as the spilings were nailed, the two 
 younger boys had got a basket and a garden rake, 
 and gone to catching fish. The rake served to 
 snatch them out of the shallows in which they were 
 still flopping, and the basket was before long filled 
 with fine alewives, measuring nearly a foot in length. 
 As they were taken on their way up into the lake to 
 spawn, they were in excellent condition. Eels, too, 
 might have been secured, if the boys had known how 
 to hold the slippery creatures or to keep them in the 
 basket after they were caught. 
 
 One thing of interest they fished out of a puddle; 
 it was neither an eel nor an alewife, but a small 
 sledge-hammer which had been missing from the 
 back shop ever since the night when the blades of 
 the mill-wheel were broken. This discovery con- 
 firmed their belief that it had been stolen for the 
 occasion, and afterward flung into the river. 
 
244 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Birds were now singing, and the brothers had the 
 growing daylight to finish their work by. The plat- 
 form and fish-way were repaired. The dam had no 
 "apron," as Lute declared it ought to have, and 
 should have some day, to prevent the water that 
 poured over from washing out the river-bed below, 
 Dushee's way having been to fill with stones and 
 gravel any holes thus formed. 
 
 It was sunrise by the time the last plank was 
 sawed, and the end of the dam against the Dempford 
 shore stanched with stakes and earth. Then the tide 
 came up, meeting the water that came down, and for- 
 cing it back. The boys put away their tools and stood 
 on the platform, splashed and muddied, but picturesque 
 and triumphant, regarding their completed work. 
 
 " Now let 'em come on with their writs to prohibit 
 us from doing what is already done ! " exclaimed Rush. 
 
 " Writ or no writ," replied Mart, wiping his bespat- 
 tered face, "it's something to say the dam was back 
 again by daylight the morning after the two towns 
 had their big jubilee tearing it away." 
 
 "Besides," said Lute, "it will let 'em know the 
 T-T-Tinkham brothers are no t-t-triflers. Now hurry 
 in, boys, with your fish, and tell mother we and the 
 dam are right-side up with c-c-care." 
 
 The widow had been up nearly all night, keeping 
 
REBUILDING THE DAM. 245 
 
 Aer chair or her lounge, and sleeping little, while 
 anxiously awaiting the result of her sons' extraordi- 
 nary undertaking. Great, therefore, was her joy 
 when the younger ones came in, announcing its suc- 
 cess, and lugging their basket of fish. 
 
 Letty had gone to bed, but she, too, was now 
 awake, and had to get up and rejoice with her mother 
 over the good news. Then the three older boys ap- 
 peared, begrimed and streaked from head to foot, 
 from old slouched hats to rubber boots ; haggard but 
 hilarious, hardly knowing they were tired, but know- 
 ing very well they were hungry, and eager for con- 
 gratulations and gingerbread. 
 
 The pride and happiness of the little household did 
 not, it is to be presumed, prove extensively epidemic 
 in the two towns, when it was discovered and told 
 swiftly from mouth to mouth that the dam, after 
 being destroyed with such pomp and circumstance, 
 had been replaced as if by magic in a single night. 
 
 What the Argonauts thought of it after their late 
 jubilation does not appear. Some glimmer of light 
 is perhaps thrown upon the subject by an article 
 from the local newspaper, which I find pasted in 
 Mart's interesting scrap-book. 
 
 Much the larger part of it was evidently written 
 and set up in the silent hours of that same moonlit 
 
246 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 night when the Tinkham brothers were busy with 
 their magic. A glowing description is given of the 
 magnificent uprising of the sister-towns, and the 
 inspiring spectacle of their united people gathering 
 in majesty and might, and putting an end to a griev- 
 ance which had been too long endured. 
 
 Only brief allusion is made to the appearance of 
 the crippled mother on the bank, — "a somewhat 
 painful incident, which marred the otherwise perfect 
 satisfaction which must have filled every patriotic 
 heart on this glorious occasion." 
 
 Then follows this postscript : — 
 
 " Since the above was put in type, we have learned 
 with very great surprise that the dam has been re^ 
 built ! Unable to credit so astonishing a rumor, we 
 despatched our reporter to the spot early the next 
 , forenoon, not doubting that those who started it were 
 deceived by some illusion. He found it only too 
 true ! The dam had been entirely reconstructed 
 within twelve hours of the time when at least two 
 hundred people looked on and saw it, as was sup- 
 posed, finally and forever destroyed ! 
 
 "How the feat was accomplished is a complete 
 mystery. There is evidence that the water was 
 stopped at the bridge. Persons were heard at work 
 under it late that night, — ' spearing eels,' they said. 
 
REBUILDING THE DAM, 247 
 
 Some lumber belonging to tne Argonauts was found 
 adrift in the lake the next morning, bearing such 
 marks of rough usage that there is no doubt it had 
 played an important part in this strange drama. It 
 is believed that it was placed across the channel, be- 
 tween the abutments, by means of posts, one of 
 which still rerriained in position against the upper 
 railing of the bridge at ten o'clock the next morning. 
 The rest of the temporary gate, if there was one, had 
 been carried up into the lake at flood-tide. The 
 posts — the ends of which "were found battered, like 
 the edges of some of the boards — had also been 
 borrowed of the Argonauts. To make the members 
 of our honored boat-club contribute in this way to the 
 rebuilding of the dam was a piece of impudence 
 which may be termed simply colossal. 
 
 " Our reporter states that many Tammoset and 
 Dempford people visited the locality in the morning, 
 to assure themselves, by the testimony of their own 
 eyes, that the dam was indeed there. Comments were 
 various. If the young mill-owners worked all night 
 in replacing it, it would seem as if they must have 
 required rest the day after ; but at ebb-tide the mill 
 was going, and they were busy at work as if noth- 
 ing unusual had happened. The general impression 
 seems to be that, whatever else may be said of them, 
 they are smart." 
 
248 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 CALM BEFORE STORM. 
 
 TT was true enough that the mill was going again 
 -^ that forenoon "as if nothing unusual had hap- 
 pened." Such rest as the boys got must have been 
 taken before ten o'clock ; for at that hour, the tide 
 favoring, flash-boards were set and wheels and lathes 
 merrily whirling. 
 
 "The editor ought to have added," Mart pencilled 
 at the bottom of the article in his scrap-book, " that 
 the T. brothers did not lose the use of their water- 
 power for even five minutes in consequence of the 
 dam's having been torn away. It was ready again, 
 and so were we, long before the water was " 
 
 To add to their triumph, the court refused to 
 grant the injunction against rebuilding, which was 
 actually applied for before it was known that the 
 rebuilding was an accomplished fact. 
 
 Their position appeared now to be stronger than 
 ever. They were running their mill in open de- 
 fiance of all the power and influence that could be 
 brought to bear against them by the Argonaut Club 
 
CALM BEFORE STORM. 249 
 
 and the authorities of both towns, yet not in defiance 
 of what they firmly believed to be law and justice. 
 
 Tranquil days followed. The boys were able to 
 keep their engagements, and also to start some new 
 projects. In the midst of all, Mart found time to 
 finish a wheeled chair he had for some time been 
 making for his mother; while Lute and Rush gave 
 their leisure moments to building a boat. 
 
 The chair was a comfortable as well as a very 
 ingenious affair; and never was there a happier 
 family than when, one Monday morning in May, the 
 widow took her first airing in it, attended by all her 
 children. She could easily work the levers and 
 propel the wheels herself ; but, bless you ! the boys 
 would not allow that, while they were there to com- 
 pete for the pleasure of pushing it. And oh, what a 
 day it was ! The air was soft and fragrant with 
 blossoms. The door-yard turf was starred with 
 bright dandelions. The pear-trees were like white 
 bouquets ; the apple-trees pink with just opening 
 buds. And the great willow was, as Letty said, 
 " one glory of young leaves and yellow tassels." 
 
 The edge of the still river below — for it was full 
 tide — was laced with the golden pollen which 
 every breeze shook down, and the boughs were filled 
 with the summer-like hum of bees. 
 
2SO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 To and fro, along the edge of the high bank and 
 then about the garden, the widow rode, "like a 
 queen in state," she said, enjoying every sight and 
 sound and sweet scent wafted by the wind, yet 
 taking more delight in the society of her children 
 than in all beside. Letty wished her to see the 
 bed of pansies ; but she found more pleasure in 
 the rows of peas, now well up, because they were the 
 first things ever planted by the younger boys, and 
 they were, oh, so proud of them ! 
 
 Then she returned to the bank above the river, 
 and sat there, looking at the water and the land- 
 scape, and hearkening to the bees and the talk of 
 the young folks, until the church -bells began to 
 ring. 
 
 " It 's a long time since I have been to church," 
 she said, with a sigh. 
 
 "Well, you can go, now you have your c-c-car- 
 riage," said Lute. 
 
 "Any of us will be proud to be your horses," 
 Rush added. " Will you try it next Sunday .'' " 
 
 " I '11 see. I should like to have the Tammoset 
 and Dempford folks know that we are not such 
 heathens as they seem to take us for." 
 
 " There are some Dempford heathens for you," 
 said Mart, from the tree, looking down the river. 
 
CALM BEFORE STORM. 251 
 
 " Members in good and regular standing of the 
 Argonaut Club," said Rush. 
 
 "It's the B-B-Buzrow," remarked Lute, adjusting 
 his spectacles. " I wonder if he has got his c-c-crow- 
 bar with him." 
 
 Buzrow did not have his bar ; or, if he had, he did 
 not attempt to use it, under the eyes of the young 
 Tinkhams in the tree. His boat, containing two 
 young Argonauts besides himself, passed quietly up 
 the river, to the widow's great relief. 
 
 "They don't ask me where our dam is, as they 
 did that night," laughed Rush. " They must love 
 the sight of it ! " 
 
 " However that may be," said the widow, " I hope 
 and pray that they have made up their minds to let 
 it alone ! " 
 
 "You hope too m-much, mother," said Lute. 
 " They 've no more concluded to let it alone than we 
 have to let it be t-t-taken away." 
 
 "What's that under your feet, Martin.'" the 
 widow suddenly asked. 
 
 From her chair at the end of the plank she had 
 discovered that the hollow formed by the circle of 
 branches at the top of the immense willow trunk 
 was filled with pebbles and stones, — many of them 
 as big as boy's fists. 
 
252 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "These?" drawled Mart, looking down, with his 
 knee on one of the seats. " They are the boys' am- 
 tnunition." 
 
 " Ammunition ! " exclaimed Mrs. Tinkham. 
 
 " Of course, mother ! " cried Rupert. " And this 
 tree is our fort. "If there 's another attack on the 
 dam, you '11 see ! Rod and I brought the stones up 
 here in baskets, to be all ready." 
 
 " This is the way ! Look, mother ! " said Rod, in 
 the. tree. And catching up one of the pebbles, he 
 flung it at an imaginary enemy. 
 
 He peered eagerly between the branches till it 
 struck the water just below the dam ; then dodged 
 behind a seat, as if expecting a shot in return, at the 
 same time catching up more pebbles. 
 
 " Stop, stop, child ! " said the widow, smiling in 
 spite of herself at his lithe attitudes and alert spirit. 
 "If people should see you, they'd think we were 
 heathens indeed ! " 
 
 Meanwhile Buzrow was saying to his companions 
 in the boat, — 
 
 "That dam makes me mad as I can be every 
 time I pass it. To see it still there, after all that 's 
 been said and done, and the sassy fellers on the 
 bank laughing in their sleeves at us, — it 's a disgrace 
 to the club ! it 's a disgrace to the town ! " 
 
CALM BEFORE STORM. 253 
 
 "You promised to tear it away yourself," said Ned 
 Lufford. " We all supposed you would." 
 
 There was a tinge of sarcasm in the tone in which 
 th's was spoken, and the cow-smiter's son noticed on 
 Ned's face a smile he did n't like. 
 
 " So I would, if I had n't waited for the club to 
 take action," he replied, his course features reddening 
 to the complexion of a dingy, overgrown beet. 
 
 " You waited for the club, and the club waited for 
 the two towns, and the two towns waited till the 
 mill-owners were away and only a crippled woman at 
 home," said Ned, with a laugh. 
 
 "Then a gang of hired men did the work," added 
 George Hawkins. " And see what it all amounts to ! 
 The dam was back again in ten or twelve hours, and 
 there it 's likely to stay." 
 
 " No, sir ! " said Buzrow, bringing down that 
 brawny fist of his with an emphatic blow on the 
 gunwale of the boat. He felt that he was losing 
 influence with his companions, and that some deci- 
 sive step must be taken. " I 've stood it long enough ! 
 If we Ccin't tear that miserable dam away as fast as 
 five boys can rebuild it, we 're a lot of figgerheads 
 and don't merit the title of a club anyway." 
 
 " We have n't gained much by swapping commo- 
 dores, as I see," Ned LufFord said. " Web can brag, 
 but what does brag amount to ? " 
 
254 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 As Buzrow had been rather louder than anybody 
 else in the said matter of brag, he felt himself lashed 
 over Web's shoulders. 
 
 " And what 's the use of a mill-dam committee ? " 
 said George Hawkins. " Is it going to take all sum- 
 mer to talk over measures, as they call it, for getting 
 rid of a dam the owners rebuilt in one night ? " 
 
 " The owners did n't stop to talk," Ned Lufford 
 added, " but went to work like plucky fellows ! Are 
 the committee afraid of 'em ? Scuse me. Milt ! I 'd 
 forgot you was one of the committee." 
 
 Whether he had forgotten it or not, Lufford evi- 
 dently, like Hawkins, took pleasure in goading their 
 companion. 
 
 " I am one of the committee ! " Buzrow exclaimed. 
 " And I 've tried my best to bring the boys to de- 
 cide on something. Now, I don't wait no longer 
 for them, nor for the club, nor for the towns. If I 
 can get ten or a dozen fellers to go with me some 
 night, I '11 engage to have that dam away before the 
 Tinkhams can wake up and rub their eyes open. Of 
 course, you '11 agree to be one, Ned .' and you, 
 George .' " 
 
 After such remarks as they had indulged in, the 
 two could not reasonably decline. 
 
 " Now, here are three of us pledged ! " said Buz- 
 
CALM BEFORE STORM. 255 
 
 row. " And we can get seven or eight more easy 
 enough. We must go in strong force, so as to do 
 our work up in good shape and make it a sure thing." 
 
 " I suppose it will be as well to get the committee 
 to move, if we can," suggested Lufford, with rapidly 
 cooling zeal. 
 
 "And hit upon some plan for ripping out the 
 whole thing, and not simply breaking a few boards 
 and stakes," added Hawkins. " There 's no use o' 
 that." 
 
 "Not without we do it often enough to make the 
 Tinkhams sick of their bargain," Buzrow admitted. 
 " But I 've got an idea. No noise — no danger — just 
 a little preparation — then, presto ! out goes the dam 
 in a jiffy ! We don't leave the mud-sill to be put 
 back again, neither ! " 
 
 " Tell us about it ! " both friends exclaimed, their 
 zeal kindling again at the thought of the work being 
 accomplished so melodramatically, yet without peril 
 to themselves.^ 
 
 And Buzrow proceeded, with solemn charges of 
 secrecy, to unfold his plan. 
 
2S6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 AN ATTACK. 
 
 TF the plan was a good one, and a sufficient num. 
 -*■ ber of volunteers were found for putting it in 
 execution, then they must have had to wait some 
 time for a night favorable to their enterprise. Two 
 weeks went by, and the Tinkham brothers were still 
 left in tranquil enjoyment of their water-power. 
 
 Lute was generally the one who slept in the mill, 
 not only because a peculiar sensitiveness to sounds 
 seemed to have been given him to compensate for 
 his nearness of sight, but also because, as he averred, 
 he had got used to his bed of shavings, and rather 
 liked it. 
 
 He had one night lain down, as was his custom, 
 with his clothes on, — merely kicking off his shoes 
 and placing his spectacles on the end of the work- 
 bench, — and had slept, comfortably about three 
 hours, when he was awakened by a sound like the 
 clanking of a chain. 
 
 He was on his feet in a moment ; but in his eager- 
 
AN ATTACK. 257 
 
 ness to get his glasses, he knocked them off the 
 bench into the bed of shavings. He lost no time 
 searching for them, tut hastened to the open win- 
 dow on the side of the dam, and softly put out his 
 head. 
 
 There was a moon somewhere in the sky, but it 
 was a cloudy, drizzling night, and without the help 
 of his glasses he could not distinguish one object 
 from another. But again he heard, though not so 
 plainly as before, a sound like the muffled clanking 
 of a chain. 
 
 It seemed to be on the farther bank of the river ; 
 and, listening intently, he believed he could hear 
 footsteps moving about. Then came a little splash- 
 ing of the water, quite different from the murmur of 
 the outgoing tide where it poured through the open- 
 ing in the dam. 
 
 Lute stepped quickly to the end of the bench, 
 found the twine looped over its nail, and drew it 
 tight with a single firm but gentle pull. That was 
 the signal for secrecy and haste. 
 
 A responsive pull, not quite so gentle, assured him 
 that Mart was roused. He then groped in the shav- 
 ings for his spectacles, found them, and put them on. 
 By that time. Mart had awakened Rocket, who in 
 turn shook the sleep out of Rupe and Rod ; and such 
 
2S8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 a scrambling for clothes, and such a tumbling out-of- 
 doors ensued, as that old house had never before 
 known. 
 
 Lute was at the window again, with all his senses 
 alert, when Mart, half dressed, in shirt and trousers 
 and shoes, came swiftly and without noise into the 
 mill and glided to his side. 
 
 " What 's going on over there ? " Lute whispered. 
 " Do you see something ? " 
 
 Din- objects could be vaguely discerned on the 
 opposite bank, and a dull tramping sound was heard, 
 heavier than that made by any ordinary human foot- 
 steps. Then a light clicking or jingling, as of a 
 ■ trace or some part of a harness. 
 
 " Horses ! " breathed Mart. 
 
 " Horses and men ! " whispered Rush, who was at 
 the window almost as soon as his brother. "The 
 shorfe is covered with 'em ! " 
 
 Then once more the splashing at the farther end 
 of the dam ; and Lute told of the clanking soiind by 
 which he had been awakened. 
 
 " I believe they 're trying to hitch on to the mud- 
 sill and drag the whole thing out t-t-together ! " was 
 his shrewd comment. 
 
 " That 's their game ! " said Mart. 
 
 He turned to the two younger ones, who were also 
 
AN ATTACK. 2Sg 
 
 crowding to the window by this time, and gave them 
 swift orders what to do. While they hastened to ex- 
 ecute them, he reached for an old shop-coat that 
 hung over the work-bench, and put it on. This he 
 did that he might be a less conspicuous object to the 
 enemy, when the time should come to expose him- 
 self, than he would be if seen in his white shirt-waist. 
 
 Lute had guessed well the design of the Argo- 
 nauts. Their plot had been well laid, thanks to 
 wiser heads than Buzrow's ; and it might easily 
 have succeeded but for an unforeseen circumstance. 
 To get a log-chain around the mud-sill, hitch to it 
 the powerful truck-horses hired for the occasion, and 
 then, by one strong, steady pull in the right direc- 
 tion, tear away the whole structure at once, breaking 
 stakes and spilings, or pulling them up, — a bright 
 idea, was n't it ? Well, this was what Buzrow had 
 heard somebody say should have been done before 
 when the dam was destroyed, and which it had been 
 determined to do now. 
 
 Then the wreck, so the Argonauts reasoned, could 
 be dragged off down the bed of the river by the 
 horses, still attached, taken to some convenient spot, 
 and there broken up and burned or set adrift, at leis- 
 ure. Any number of volunteers might have been 
 enlisted in what promised to be so glorious an enter- 
 
26o THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 prise. But in order to insure secrecy beforehand 
 and silence on the spot, only a dozen picked Argo- 
 nauts had been let into the scheme. 
 
 They were now on the Dempford shore, with the 
 three draught-horses and their driver, a spade, an 
 auger, and a chain, and bars and axes to be used in 
 an emergency. The tools had been brought in a boat, 
 which was hauled ashore a little below the dam. 
 The spade was for digging under the mud-sill, the 
 auger for boring holes in the boards above and the 
 spilings below, and the chain for passing through 
 and locking around afterward. 
 
 This was to be done near the end of the sill, but 
 not too near, lest the chain, in hauling, should slip 
 off. A spot was selected about four feet from the 
 bank. The spilings were found, and gravel enough 
 got away from them to give the auger room to work. 
 To bore a hole or two under water had been thought 
 easy enough, and a much more silent operation than 
 knocking away the boards with axe or bar. 
 
 But now the unforeseen circumstance played its 
 little part. 
 
 Buzrow, booted and clad for the occasion, like the 
 rest, stooped in the water, which was not now nearly 
 so high as when the dam was first torn away, and 
 plied the long-stemmed auger. 
 
AN ATTACK. 261 
 
 But neither Buzrow nor any of his fellow-Argo- 
 nauts had fully taken in the fact that the mud-sill, 
 which before lay on the bed of the river, was now 
 sunken well into it. Consequently, he bored his 
 first hole into the timber, instead of simply boring 
 through the spiling under it. A second hole was 
 no more lucky. Then the spade had to be used 
 again, to get out more gravel. At last, however, 
 he hit the right place. Another hole was made 
 in the board that rested on the sill. Then the 
 chain was worked throuo^h both holes and locked 
 about the timber. 
 
 At last everything was ready. The horses, har- 
 nessed tandem, were to start on the bank, in ordel 
 to give the sill an upward slant that might draw out 
 the spilings with it ; they were then to be turned into 
 the bed of the river, and driven off down-stream, 
 hauling after them the dam, or as much of it as should 
 hold together. 
 
 The driver waited for the word. Buzrow took hold 
 of the heavy rope, which extended from the last 
 whiffletree, in order to hook it to the chain. But the 
 delay had caused the horses to grow impatient in 
 their strange situation. Having started a few steps 
 forward, they had now to be backed up again. Buzrow 
 was straining at the rope with one hand and holding 
 
262 THE TINKHAM BRCs^ERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 the chain with the other, and two or three Argonauts 
 were helping him, — six inches more and the rope 
 would have been hooked, ^- when thud ! patter ! 
 splash ! came a volley of stones. 
 
 One hit Buzrow on the back. But he still held out 
 and would have hooked the chain, had not another 
 struck the rear hor^e. That started him up again ; 
 and Buzrow, even if he had had the strength of the 
 man whose fist knocked down a cow, could not have 
 clung to both rope and chain at once, without having 
 those burly shoulders of his dislocated. He dropped 
 the chain, and tugged at the rope until it was jerked 
 from his hands, and he found himself hurled head- 
 long against the bank in a heap with the assisting 
 Argonauts. 
 
 " Whoa ! whoa ! " he muttered. " Can't you hold 
 your horses .■' " 
 
 Evidently the driver could not, or did not care to, 
 with more stones striking the animals' flanks and 
 hurtling mysteriously about his own head. 
 
 There was an ignominous retreat, in which Buzrow 
 himself was glad to join ; and, in less than half a 
 minute, not a figure of man or bea,st was to be seen 
 by the Tinkham boys from the other shore. 
 
 There was a rally at the boat, where Buzrow and 
 the boldest of his followers tried to induce the truck- 
 
AN ATTACK. 263 
 
 man to go back with his team and make another 
 trial. 
 
 " We can hook on in a second," Milt said. " Then 
 let the horses run, if they want to ! Who cares for 
 a few stones ? " 
 
 The stones had in fact ceased coming, and every- 
 thing was quiet in the direction of the mill. 
 
 " If you care so little for the stones," the teamster 
 finally said, " go and make a diversion by attacking 
 the other end of the dam ; draw their fire, so my 
 bosses will stand till we get hitched on. I '11 agree 
 to that." 
 
 A confused discussion followed. Some were for 
 gathering " rocks " to throw at the mill ; to which 
 others objected that the volley which drove them off 
 did not come from the mill at all, and that breaking 
 a few windows would not do much toward breaking 
 the dam. Their business was with that. 
 
 " We must decide on something," said Ned Luf- 
 ford, " or we may as well give up and go home." 
 
 " Go home and leave that dam there ! " exclaimed 
 Buzrow, stung to fury by the hurts he had received 
 and by the thought of such failure. " Never ! Come 
 on, boys ! " 
 
264 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 THE BATTLE OF THE DAM. 
 
 ""TTTHAT are you going to do?" asked George 
 ' ' Hawkins. 
 
 " Make a diversion, as Balch says. Two of you 
 help him hitch on to the chain. I and four or five 
 more will pitch into the dam with our axes and bars, 
 while the rest of you find out where the rocks come 
 from — if any more come — and have some to fire 
 back." 
 
 Immediately all the Argonauts, except Buzrow 
 himself, began to search for projectiles along the 
 shore. To choose one's position and skirrriish with 
 stones seemed a much more attractive part than to 
 walk boldly up to the dam and be stoned. Naturally, 
 almost any boy would prefer it ; and the Argonauts 
 were human. 
 
 Then, when Buzrow put a stop to that nonsense, 
 as he called it, and appointed only four skirmishers, 
 all the rest wanted to assist in attaching the horses 
 to the chain. But that would n't do, either. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE DAM. 265 
 
 " Let George Hawkins and Frank Veals go with 
 Balch," he said. "They understand it. The rest 
 come with me ! " 
 
 While the others were gathering stones, Buzrow 
 had taken the opportunity to stuff a big boat-sponge 
 into the crown of his felt hat. They had no such 
 defence against dangerous missiles, nor did they 
 know what made him so ready to lead them into 
 battle. No doubt they supposed it was the native 
 Buzrow courage. But I suspect it was the boat- 
 sponge. 
 
 " It won't take half a minute ! " he declared. " As 
 soon as the team starts and the dam begins to crack, 
 we 're out of the way ! " 
 
 Those he called upon could not well refuse to fol- 
 low his heroic example. They armed themselves 
 with axes and bars, buttoned their coats, turned up 
 the collars, and pulled their hats over their eyes. 
 The water was nowhere leg-deep, and all had rubber 
 boots on. 
 
 " All ready ? " said Buzrow. 
 
 All were ready. They stood in the rain, facing 
 the dam, and waiting for the word to charge. 
 Nothing could be seen before them but the dim out- 
 line of the shore, the pale glimmer of the river, and 
 the gloomy mass of the high bank beyond. In that 
 
266 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 deep shadow the shape of tlie mill could hardly be 
 discovered. 
 
 Balch and his team made a detour. The skir- 
 mishers advanced noiselessly up the bank. Then 
 Buzrow, having allowed the horses time to get 
 abreast of the dam, gave the word, — 
 
 "Now, boys!" 
 
 And the intrepid six rushed into the river. To 
 attract attention, they made all the noise they could 
 on their way to the dam, hoping it would begin to go 
 before they had a chance to attack it. But Balch 
 and his assistants were not quick enough for that. 
 
 Carrying his head well before him, conscious of 
 the boat-sponge, Buzrow made a lunge at the dam 
 with his bar, — not at the end nearest the mill (per- 
 haps out of deference to Rush and his well remem- 
 bered bean-pole), but yet far enough from the Demp- 
 ford shore to divert the expected volley of stones 
 from that quarter. 
 
 Excellent strategy in that respect it proved ; 
 though the credit of suggesting it belonged not to 
 the warlike Argonauts, but to the dull-witted driver 
 of draught-horses. 
 
 Buzrow's followers fell in at his right, consider- 
 ately leaving him the honor of standing at the post 
 of greatest danger, on the side of the mill. At the 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE DAM. 267 
 
 first Stroke upon the dam the stones began to come, 
 all in the direction of the attacking party in front, 
 not one straying far enough to interfere with the 
 more important movement on the flank. 
 
 Whiz ! thump ! splash ! crash ! 
 
 The sounds made by the missiles mingled wildly 
 with the noise of bars and axes smiting the dam. 
 At the same time, the skirmishers, perceiving by the 
 way the stones struck the water that they must 
 come from the shore above the mill, opened a heavy 
 return fire in that direction, without, however, 
 silencing the Tinkham battery. 
 
 Still the mud-sill did not start, although in the 
 excitement of battle it seemed to Buzrow that there 
 had been time enough to pull the whole thing 
 away. 
 
 At the very beginning of the attack he had 
 been hit on the shoulder. A second stone struck 
 his left arm, — a stinging but not a disabling shot, — 
 the perverse projectiles appearing to alight any- 
 where except on the sponge-stuffed cushion prepared 
 for them. 
 
 "Why don't they hitch on.'" he furiously ex- 
 claimed. " We must fall back if they don't ! " 
 
 Ned Lufford had already fallen back, dizzy and 
 staggering from the effect of a well-aimed pebble 
 
268 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 which found no boat-sponge inside his hat. One or 
 two others were faltering. 
 
 Meanwhile, something quite different from a peb- 
 ble had once or twice touched the back of Buzrow's 
 upturned coat-collar, and slipped away so lightly that 
 he thought nothing of it. 
 
 It came from the doorway of the mill, and was 
 quickly drawn back in that direction. Then it shot 
 out again invisible, the long arm also invisible which 
 projected it over the platform. 
 
 Then two hands hauled in, — with something to 
 haul this time. 
 
 The lightly flying, unseen object was a lasso, which, 
 after twice missing the mark, had dropped its insin- 
 uating, supple noose over the sponge-protected head 
 and tightened at the chin below. 
 
 Buzrow gave a suppressed yelp, dropping his bar 
 and throwing up both hands, and in an instant 
 started toward the mill in a most astonishing 
 fashion. 
 
 The two hands hauling were Mart's. To them 
 was now added another pair ; and never did huge, 
 floundering fish emerge more suddenly or more help- 
 lessly from the deep than Buzrow the valiant tum- 
 bled out of the shallow river upon the platform and 
 into the clutches of his captors. 
 
THE BATTLE OF THE DAM, 269 
 
 In vain his hands caught and struggled at the 
 lasso. It had found a tender spot just above the 
 coat-collar and under the chin, and to avoid instan- 
 taneous choking he had been only too ready to follow 
 whither it led. 
 
 The Argonaut who stood beside him heard the 
 short and quickly choked yell, and observed his sud- 
 den strange movements. Not knowing the cause, 
 he drew the too hasty inference that Milt had been 
 seriously hurt and that he was plunging to the shel- 
 ter of the mill. 
 
 He started to follow. A third Argonaut followed 
 him. But just as the two latter neared the platform, 
 crack ! crack ! fell something more substantial than 
 a lasso on their unprotected heads. Flashes of fire 
 were instantly knocked out of them, together with 
 all ideas of seeking shelter in a quarter which dis- 
 pensed hospitalities of that sort. 
 
 They recoiled, reeling and stumbling, into the 
 river. One dodged under the platform, just as the 
 gasping and flopping Buzrow was hauled headlong 
 over it into the mill. The other recovered himself 
 and took to flight, keeping step to a vigorous tattoo on 
 his back and shoulders, played by a bean-pole in- 
 stead of a drumstick. 
 
 Then Rush stood alone on the platform (not 
 
270 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 knowing what was under it), brandishing his weapon, 
 ready for fresh comers. 
 
 No fresh comer appeared, the remaining Argo- 
 nauts at the dam also plashing off in a panic-stricken 
 way down the river. 
 
 Still the mud- sill did not move ! The reason for 
 this was that the boys could not hitch to the log- 
 chain. The reason why they could not hitch to it 
 was that that there was no log-chain there ! For 
 this, also, there was a very excellent reason. 
 
 The strategem by which the fire of the Tinkham 
 battery was to be diverted was good, as I have said, 
 as far as it went. But a counter strategem had gone 
 beyond that. 
 
 While the Argonauts were rallying at the boat 
 and gathering stones on the beach. Lute had crossed 
 the stream under cover of the dam, found the chain 
 in the water, unlocked it, and pulled it away. He 
 had then pushed back the loose gravel against the 
 sill with his feet, and afterward recrossed in safety 
 and silence before the final attack began. 
 
 Much time was lost by Hawkins and Veals in' 
 searching for the chain ; then a good deal more in 
 exploring for the bored holes, which Lute had. 
 covered. For they now hoped to get the rope 
 around the timber in place of the chain, and haul it 
 off in that way.. 
 
THE BAT'TLE OF THE DAM. 2^1 
 
 But things happened too fast for them. The 
 Argonauts had retreated from the dam, and Buzrow 
 was a captive in the mill, bound hand and foot, and 
 admonished still further to keep quiet by a noose 
 about his neck, which could be so easily tightened 
 in an emergency ! Rupe and Rod were thus left 
 free to turn their attention to the men and horses on 
 the bank, who were soon glad enough to retreat 
 again out of range of the pelting stones. 
 
 Meanwhile, the skirmishers, finding their pockets 
 nearly empty of ammunition, had reserved their last 
 volleys until they perceived, from their position 
 above the dam, that some action was taking place at 
 the corner of the mill. 
 
 " There 's where the rocks come from ! " said one. 
 " Let drive, boys ! " 
 
 The action was already over, however. At the 
 first stone. Rush stepped quietly inside and closed 
 the door. A second came through the open win- 
 dow, but hurt nobody. A third struck the platform ; 
 while others, aimed too low, seemed to take effect 
 under it. For now the poor fellow crouching there 
 ran out, wildly shrieking, " It 's me, boys ! it 's me ! " 
 and made off with a great splashing, amidst the last 
 volleys fired by his brother-Argonauts. 
 
272 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS'. TIDE-MILL.-- 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII.' 
 
 VICTORY. 
 
 'RS. TINKHAM had been awakened by the 
 ^^■^ boys leaving the house, and much of the noise 
 of the conflict had reached her ears. She was up 
 and dressed, with lamp lighted, waiting in extreme 
 anxiety, when Rupert came running into the house. 
 He was breathless with haste and excitement. 
 Before he could tell his news, she knew it was good 
 news. 
 
 " We 've beat 'em off ! " he panted. " They 've 
 hurt the dam a little. But we don't care for that. 
 We 've got one prisoner, — Buzrow, — the worst 
 rowdy of 'em all ! " 
 
 " Anybody hurt .' " was the widow's anxious in- 
 quiry. 
 
 " Nobody on our side ; only one stone glanced 
 from a limb and hit me on the leg. But I did n't 
 mind it a bit ! Rod and I were in the tree, and we 
 let 'em have about a bushel of stones. Nearly all 
 they fired at us came too low ; we could hear 'em 
 
VICTORY. 273 
 
 Strike the trunk under us, or thump against the 
 bank." 
 
 " And your prisoner ? " 
 
 "Mart caught him by the lasso over his neck. 
 He and Lute got him into the mill, and kept him 
 well choked till he gave up. Then he begged like a 
 good fellow ; but they would n't let him off. And 
 what do you think we found in his hat, after we got 
 the lantern lit .' A sponge as big as your head, such 
 as they use for sopping out leaky boats ! His hat 
 had dropped off on the platform, where Rocket 
 found it." 
 
 "Have the rest gone away ? " asked the mother. 
 
 " We don't know. They may come around again, 
 and try to rescue Buzrow. I must hurry back, to 
 help fight 'em if they do. The boys are on the. look- 
 out ; but they told me to run in and tell you we 're 
 all safe. Mart has got his lasso ready to catch 
 another Argonaut if they give him a chance." 
 
 " Are any of tkeir side hurt ? " 
 
 " I hope so ! Buzrow got a jolly choking, anyway. 
 And Rocket thrashed two with a bean-pole. And 
 I '11 bet our stones hit a few heads and shoulders ! 
 Oh, I tell you, it 's the greatest fun you ever saw ! " 
 
 And before she could ask any more questions, the 
 wild youngster rushed out again. 
 18 
 
274 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Meanwhile, the lantern was placed on the plat- 
 form, and lighted lamps were set in the windows of 
 the threatened tide-mill, to shine up and down the 
 river. 
 
 " We may as well let folks know we are at home 
 and prepared to receive company," said Mart. 
 
 This bold course disconcerted the Argonauts, who 
 were even then planning an assault, with the view of 
 carrying off the captive. Still they did not give him 
 up; but instead of making a fierce onset, they 
 advanced within range of the misty rays, as if for a 
 parley. Rush, posted in shadow, saw them coming 
 up the Tammoset shore. Mart went out promptly 
 and demanded what they wanted. 
 
 " We want the fellow you 've got there in the 
 mill," said Ned Lufford, halting at a safe distance, a 
 little in advance of his comrades. 
 
 "You make a rather cheeky request," Mart re- 
 plied. " We came honestly by him, — as the woman 
 said when she found a frog in the milk, — and we 
 mean to keep him. Not that we really care any 
 more for him than the woman did for the frog ; but 
 she thought he would do to show to the milkman." 
 
 " If you won't give him up peaceably," said Luf- 
 ford, " we will break in the mill and take him by 
 force." 
 
VICTORY. 275 
 
 "That's a trick you're quite welconle to try," 
 Mart answered, his drawl sounding oddly in con- 
 trast with the Argonaut's blustering tone. " We 've 
 handled you chaps as tenderly as a cat carries her 
 kittens, so far ; but attempt to break doors, and 
 you '11 wake up in a hospital and find something else 
 broken. Meanwhile, you are respectfully informed 
 that we have room for three or four more quiet and 
 well-behaved prisoners, and can take 'em, too, if as 
 many of you should care to set foot on our prem- 
 ises ! " 
 
 Mart stood where a lamp at the window shone 
 upon his shoulder and side, and the Argonauts 
 could see that he held something like a coil of stout 
 cord in his left hand. The mysterious manner of 
 Buzrow's headlong plunge into the mill required no 
 further explanation. 
 
 "Do you want anything more .' " Mart asked, after 
 they had remained a few moments in consultation. 
 " If not, excuse me if I don't waste any more time in 
 the mere forms of politeness." 
 
 He went back into the mill, and, after a Httle de- 
 lay, the Argonauts disappeared behind a clump of 
 willows. 
 
 They still lingered near their boat, and presently 
 had the satisfaction of seeing him and Lute come out 
 
2/6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 on the platform, get down into the river, and with 
 stakes and boards proceed to repair the dam by the 
 light of the lantern. 
 
 It was soon patched. Then the flash-boards were 
 set, and the water being shut back, the Tinkhams, 
 lantern in hand, appeared to be looking for some- 
 thing in the draining bed of the stream. At the 
 same time, the boat was becoming hopelessly 
 grounded. 
 
 " I can't stand this any longer ! " exclaimed 
 George Hawkins. 
 
 " Nor I ! " said Frank Veals. 
 
 And yet the Argonauts did stand it long enough 
 to see the brothers pick up two axes and a crow-bar 
 and heave them in at the mill door. 
 
 "We ought to have swooped in and stopped 
 that ! " said Ned Lufford. 
 
 And now that it was too late, he did make a feeble 
 movement toward the mill, followed by his comrades. 
 Mart turned and faced them, in the halo made by 
 the lantern in the drizzling rain. 
 
 " Stop there ! and tell me what you want ! " 
 
 Hawkins stopped, and finding himself in an awk- 
 ward position, said, — 
 
 " Take out your flash-boards and give us water, so 
 we can float our boat." 
 
VICTORY. 277 
 
 "That's a humble and not very unreasonable 
 request," Mart replied. "We 've taken out our 
 flash-boards for you, with all the good-nature in the 
 world, on various occasions. Very likely we shall 
 do it again, but not at this hour of the night, now or 
 any time. We '11 give you water, though, in anothei 
 way." 
 
 He had re-entered the mill, and the humble peti- 
 tioners were wondering what he meant, when the 
 water-wheel began to splash and turn, and a scanty 
 stream came gurgling down toward the stranded boat, 
 
 "The mill is going!" said the astonished Argo- 
 nauts. 
 
 It was going, indeed, and it continued to go during 
 the remainder of the night ; the Tinkhams, with char- 
 acteristic " impudence " (the local newspaper's word), 
 having resolved to make the most of their time while 
 guarding their premises and their prisoner. 
 
 Buzrow, seated on the floor, with his back against 
 Lute's work-bench, to which he was fast bound, 
 had an excellent opportunity of seeing how extremely 
 impudent they were. 
 
 " If you 're b-b-bright," Lute remarked to him 
 pleasantly, " you may pick up a little of our trade. 
 It 's a very good trade when it is n't interf-f-fered 
 with." 
 
278 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Buzrow, in his sullen rage, did not look as if he 
 cared to pick up anything but himself just then, or 
 to interfere with anybody's trade in future. 
 
 The younger boys kept their mother informed of 
 what was going on, and it was not long before they 
 announced that they had heard the Argonauts drag- 
 ging their boat away down the river. Balch had 
 gone off with his team long before. 
 
 In fact, no rescue was attempted, — a wise deter- 
 mination, as Buzrow himself was obliged to admit 
 afterward, having seen how dangerous it would have 
 been to attack the brothers in their own mill. 
 
 Daylight came, the tide turned, the mill stopped, 
 the lights were extinguished, and the Tinkhams had 
 not only their dam in good repair, but some useful 
 work and a prisoner to show, as a reward for their 
 trouble. 
 
 It seemed a great triumph. Yet the sequel must 
 be told. 
 
THE PRISONEK. 279 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 THE PRISONER. 
 
 AFTER congratulations and rejoicings, and a 
 deliberate breakfast, Mart and Rush set off 
 in a slow, dull rain to march the cow-smiter's son 
 (his hands still tied behind him) to Tammoset vil- 
 lage and the house of Judge Hanks. 
 
 Early and rainy as it was, they had a lively follow- 
 ing of youngsters at their heels before they reached 
 the door ; and Buzrow, who was only too well known 
 to them as a Dempford boaster, was greeted with, 
 " Turn up your cuffs ! " " Scratch your nose, Milt ! " 
 (the nose, by the way, was battle-smeared) ; " What 
 be ye goin' to do with them two chaps ? " " Does 
 your mother know ? " and other like soothing 
 remarks. 
 
 Judge Hanks was a conscientious justice of the 
 peace ; yet he, too, was under the influence of the 
 popular prejudice against the dam. He was much 
 disturbed when called from his breakfast-table into 
 his office-room and informed of his visitors' business. 
 
«80 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 But he could not refuse to hear the complaint 
 against Buzrow. 
 
 " Untie his hands first," he said. " Proceed in 
 the proper way." 
 
 " If we catch a marauder destroying our property 
 in the middle of the night, is n't the proper way to tie 
 him and take him before the nearest magistrate ? " 
 Mart inquired. 
 
 " You have a right to capture him," Judge Hanks 
 replied, " but you have no right to hold him a pris- 
 oner any longer than is necessary. Untie him ! " 
 
 " I hate to do it about as badly as the old miser 
 hated to buy his wife shoes," Mart dryly remarked ; 
 " but we'll have everything proper, judge." 
 
 Manifestly the knots were not made to untie, and 
 he used his knife. He then made his formal com- 
 plaint, while Buzrow stood by, gloomily rubbing his 
 wrists. 
 
 " Whereabouts in the river do you say he was ? " 
 Judge Hanks stopped writing, to inquire. 
 
 " Not far from the middle, but I should think a lit- 
 tle nearer the Tammoset side," Mart answered. 
 
 " Are you sure .■' " 
 
 " Well, I 'm not positive as to that. I only know 
 he came to our side pretty quick after he was 
 noosed ! " 
 
THE PRISONER. Z8l 
 
 Buzrow, being asked if he wished to make any 
 statement, began with the old hackneyed denuncia- 
 tion of the obstruction in the river. The judge in- 
 terrupted him. 
 
 "On which side of the centre of the river were 
 you ? I wish to know " — this was spoken very sig- 
 nificantly — " which town the offence was committed 
 in. Was it Tammoset or Dempford.' " 
 
 Buzrow took the hint "In Dempford," he an- 
 swered, stoutly. 
 
 Could he swear it? He could swear it. Judge 
 Hanks then said, — 
 
 " The complainant is uncertain which town the 
 offence was committed in, but thinks it was in Tam- 
 moset. The defendant is positive it was in Demp- 
 ford. Dempford being in another judicial district, 
 this court has no authority in the case. It is accord- 
 ingly dismissed." 
 
 " Is this — what you call — the proper thing, 
 judge?" Mart asked. "Ain't it a funny kind of 
 law ? " 
 
 " How so ? " said the judge, severely. 
 
 " Why," Mart explained, " if it could be proved he 
 did the act with one foot in Tammoset and the other 
 in Dempford," — he illustrated his point by setting 
 two fingers astride a crack in the judge's table,— 
 
282 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 "then, I suppose, you would have jurisdiction over 
 one leg," — lifting a finger, — " while the Dempford 
 court would have jurisdiction over the other leg," — 
 comically crooking up finger number two. "Funny 
 kind of law, judge, I should say!" 
 
 Even the court had to smile, and there was a broad 
 grin on the blood-smeared Buzrow countenance, as 
 the bearer, who had, perhaps, the best reason to 
 laugh of anybody, walked Out of the door a free man. 
 
 The Tinkhams had still further, experience of the 
 curiosities of the law when, complaint having been 
 duly made before a Dempford magistrate, warrant 
 issued, and offender arrested, they confronted him on 
 the evening set for his examination. 
 
 Lawyer Snow, employed by Buzrow, cross-ex- 
 amined Mart. 
 
 " Which side of the river was he on when you saw 
 and captured him ? " 
 
 "Very near the centre," said Mart; "but he says 
 he was on the Dempford side." 
 
 " No matter what he says. I want to know what 
 you, say." 
 
 " He swore before Judge Hanks — " 
 
 " I don't care what he swore before Judge Hanks ! 
 Which side of the centre of the river do you say he 
 
 was on { 
 
 ?" 
 
THE PRISONER. 283 
 
 " I am willing to take his word in this matter," said 
 Mart ; " though perhaps I would n't in anything else." 
 
 " We want your word, and no hearsay evidence," 
 said the lawyer. " Did n't you swear, in your com- 
 plaint made to Judge Hanks, that you thought the 
 defendant was nearer the Tammoset than the Demp- 
 ford shore .-' Did you or did you not .'' " 
 
 " I did," said Mart. " But he swore — " 
 
 " No matter what he swore there ! He will have a 
 chance to swear here, if he wishes to." 
 
 But it turned out that Buzrow did not wish to 
 swear at all, now that he was in a Dempford court 
 of justice. Consequently, as there was no evidence 
 that he had committed any offence in that town (the 
 Tinkhams being unable to summon any of his com- 
 panions as witnesses), the case was again dismissed. 
 
 Yet the brothers enjoyed a moral, if not a legal 
 triumph. Mart had an opportunity to describe in 
 open court, in the presence of spectators, the man- 
 ner in which Buzrow was lassoed and bound, how 
 the sponge was found in his hat, and how he was 
 marched into Tammoset village that rainy morning ; 
 which, with other particulars, related in the oldest 
 brother's droll way, covered with ridicule the brag- 
 gart Buzrow, and did not greatly help the cause of 
 the Argonauts. 
 
284 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 One point especially served to extinguish the 
 boaster's pretensions. 
 
 " I suppose I ought to have been afraid of his 
 fists," Mart said, incidentally, describing the cap- 
 ture ; "for I had heard they were like his father's, 
 and that his father once knocked down — " 
 
 " Never mind about that ! " broke in Lawyer Snow, 
 amidst an uproar of laughter. 
 
 Mart had said enough. Buzrow never liked to 
 hear the feat of the paternal fist alluded to after that. 
 
 Seeing that the public enjoyed a good laugh %t the 
 burly pretender, the local editor had the tact to print 
 a pretty full report of the trial, which now lies before 
 me, filling a page and a half of Mart's scrap-book. 
 
 The same number of the paper contained an adver- 
 tisement of articles found by the Tinkham brothers : 
 
 " The boat-sponge Mr. . Buzrow carried in his hat. 
 '^eft on the premises. 
 
 " Two axes and a crow-bar, picked up in the river. 
 One axe badly damaged. 
 
 " Also a log-chain, found locked about the mud- 
 sill. In good condition. 
 
 "All which the owners can have by calling at the 
 Tinkham Brothers' mill, proving property, and pay- 
 ing for this advertisement." 
 
 Needless to say, the articles were never called for. 
 
A BOAT-LOAD OF GIRI^. 28$ 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 A BOAT-LOAD OF GIRLS. 
 
 AND now the dam got into politics. Crow-bar 
 and log-chain measures had so far failed. The 
 injunction business had fallen through. Strenuous 
 but futile efforts had likewise been made, as the 
 brothers learned, to have it indicted as a nuisance by 
 a grand jury. 
 
 So now, Tammoset and Dempford were clamoring 
 to have it abolished by statute ! 
 
 The next election of representatives to the State 
 Legislature was to turn upon this important question. 
 All other issues were to be sunk, and no candidates 
 countenanced who were not pledged to "some 
 measure for promoting the free navigation of our 
 beautiful river." 
 
 " An act defining navigable streams in terms 
 broad enough to cover our beloved Tammoset is 
 what we demand, and what we are bound to have. 
 Look to it, voters of Tammoset and Dempford ! 
 Who shall carry our banner the coming year V 
 
 The local newspaper furnished a good many para- 
 
286 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 graphs of this sort, which the Tinkham brothers read 
 with amusement and cut out for their scrap-book. 
 
 And the tide-mill was still going 
 
 Business was good. The pin-wheels, rocket-sticks, 
 and other wooden fixtures were finished and de- 
 livered to Cole & Co., to be manufactured into 
 fire-works for the "glorious Fourth." From dolls' 
 carriages, the brothers advanced to baby carriages ; 
 and Lute was inventing an improved seed-sower, of 
 which he got a hint while watching the farmers at 
 their work. 
 
 The boat was also completed and launched, and 
 named the "Letty"; and on a still evening, just at 
 sunset, Letty, with Mart and Rush and Rupe, made 
 a trial trip in it on the lake. They floated under the 
 overhanging trees ; they landed to pick ferns and wild 
 flowers ; even Letty tried her hand at the oars ; and 
 all agreed that no better boat ever sailed on a lovelier 
 sheet of water. 
 
 And now, in the fine June weather, the widow 
 spent many an hour with Letty in the willow-tree, 
 and enjoyed more than one enchanting row, at sun- 
 down, on river and lake. 
 
 The Tinkhams were beginning to be respected. 
 Mrs. Tinkham went to church in her wheeled chair, 
 with Lute and Letty, and the minister called on her. 
 
A BOAT-LOAD OF GIRLi 287 
 
 " Perhaps he expected to convert you from the evil 
 .nT your ways in maintaining a d-d-dam," said Lute, 
 
 But the conversion was on the other side. "I 
 y'ound her a remarkably intelligent, fine-spirited 
 woman," the parson was reported as saying. "As 
 for the mill question, she is in the right from her 
 point of view. She has a very interesting family." 
 
 Then the wife of a prominent physician called. 
 "Partly in the way of business, I suppose," Mrs. 
 Tinkham smilingly explained to her children. " We 
 are naturally looked upon as the doctor's possible 
 patients." 
 
 The mill troubles had kept the younger children 
 from entering school. But since the rebuilding of 
 the dam — admired as a heroic feat even by its ene- 
 mies — the acquaintance of Rupe and Rod had been 
 sought by neighboring boys not in the club. Their 
 popularity now extended even to Tammoset village, 
 where the capture of Buzrow melted many hearts. 
 
 Then what a day it was when Tilly Loring came 
 up from Dempford in a boat, at flood-tide, with three 
 other girls, stopped at the mill, and inquired of Rush 
 — who went out to them, with joyful trepidation — 
 if Letty was at home. 
 
 Letty was at home. He made the boat fast to the 
 platform, and steadied it while they got out. And 
 
288 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 what a happy, foolish, blushing boy he was, in his 
 paper cap, with paint on his hands, which he 
 awkwardly wiped on his workman's frock, and yet 
 did not dare offer, by way of help, to one of those 
 light-footed, disembarking girls ! 
 
 He was not afraid of Miss Loring. Oh, no ! 
 Nor of her friend, Sarah Ball, whom he had seen 
 with her once or twice in the city. But there was 
 something about the other two girls which made him 
 almost think they regarded him as a joke. 
 
 A dazzling vision of one of them had appeared to 
 him before in that old mill. How well he remem- 
 bered the charming Syl Bartland, who had brought 
 her brother's message ! The other was her compan- 
 ion of that day, whom he did not see, and who was 
 so piqued at having missed seeing him. 
 
 If Rush had known how much they had talked of 
 him and his brothers and their exploits, and how 
 nervously eager, yet half afraid. Miss Mollie Kent 
 had been to meet him, he would have guessed why 
 they looked so amusingly conscious of hidden fun, 
 and he, too, would have wanted to laugh. 
 
 Tilly Loring took her companions up the path 
 over the bank, and then what little screams and 
 kisses and joyful exclamations there were, as Letty 
 met them at the door ! 
 
A BOAT-LOAD OF GIRLS. 28g 
 
 They were not gone long. They could stay but 
 five minutes, they said. But Letty would not let 
 them off so. She took them to the seats in the 
 willow-tree, after they left the house ; and the charm 
 of the place or of their own society was such that 
 there they remained for at least half an hour longer, 
 making a picture to the eyes and music to the ears 
 of the boys behind the open windows of the mill. 
 
 The mill was not going, and if the brothers had 
 stopped hammering they might have heard every 
 word that was said. They were, indeed, tempted to 
 listen, when the talk grew lively and loud on the 
 subject of the Argonauts and the dam. 
 
 " Well, I vow ! " exclaimed Lute, " that sister of 
 the late c-c-commodore actually stands up for 'em." 
 
 " Was it she who said the most of 'em are good 
 fellows and want only what is right ? " Mart asked. 
 " Well ! that may be so, but they 've an odd way of 
 showing it." 
 
 Rush would n't believe it was Miss Bartland who 
 said it. But Lute was sure. 
 
 " The r-r-rest," he insisted, " are all on our side. 
 I 'm confident they are. I g-g-guess Tilly has talked 
 'em over." 
 
 At length the girls left the tree, and Letty took 
 them into the mill to appeal to her brothers on some 
 
ago THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 point in dispute and to show where Buzrow had been 
 
 caught. 
 
 Once in the mill, they became interested in other 
 things. Rush was painting a doll's carriage ; and 
 Syl Bartland, with the prettiest arch smile, asked 
 him to explain how the wheels were made, — merely 
 to make him talk for MoUie Kent, he half believed. 
 
 Then some of Lute's toys attracted attention, one 
 especially which he was at work on at the time. 
 
 He called it a water-glass. It was like a big tun- 
 nel, two feet long, except that the smaller end was 
 shaped to fit a pair of eyes, and in the large end a disk 
 of plain glass was fitted. On one side was a handle. 
 
 It was not exactly a t-t-toy, he said, and he was 
 not making it to sell. It was for use in examining 
 objects beneath the surface of the water. 
 
 " Plunge the glass below the r-r-ripples and reilec- 
 tions," he explained, "then shut out the light from 
 this other end as you look in, and you '11 be ast-t-ton- 
 ished to find how distinctly you can see objects at 
 the b-b-bottom, even of a deep pond." 
 
 " It 's nothing but a toy, after all," said Syl Bart, 
 land. " I did n't know young men cared for toys ! " 
 
 She laughed. Lute smiled behind his spectacles, 
 and said, simply, " P-p-perhaps ! " not deemmg it 
 expedient to explain further what the "toy " was for. 
 
A BOAT-LOAD OF GIRLS. 29I 
 
 He had lately hung a little bell under his work- 
 bench, and had connected with it a copper wire run- 
 ning down under the mill floor, and extending the 
 whole length of the mud-sill in such a way that any 
 tampering with the foundations of the dam would 
 instantly give a signal tinkle. The water-glass was 
 designed for the occasional rapid examination of this 
 wire, to see that it remained in place. 
 
 A toy, indeed ! But whether it was to prove use- 
 ful or not in providing against the machinations of 
 the Argonauts, it was destined soon to serve a more 
 serious purpose, little suspected now by the laughing 
 Syl, or even by Lute himself. 
 
 The brothers, especially Lute and Rush, were a 
 little nervous under the fire of the visitors' bright 
 eyes. But their diffidence became them well ; they 
 could hardly have appeared to better advantage in 
 swallow-tail coats, at a ball, than they did there in 
 the mill, with their simple, modest manners, and in 
 their working-day clothes. What a quaint, unpre- 
 tending, noble fellow was Mart ! Where was there 
 another boy of seventeen so frank, fresh-looking, and 
 sensible as Rush ? And Lute ; how earnest, sympa- 
 thetic, and interesting, with his delightful stammer ! 
 How proud Letty was of them all ! 
 
 " And these," said Tilly Loring, when once more 
 
2g2 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 afloat with her three companions, returning to Demp- 
 ford with the ebb, — " these are the mean, obsti- 
 nate men who take all the water for their factory and 
 don't leave any for the boats ! Oh, what a goose I 
 was!" 
 
 " But you must admit," Syl Bartland replied, " that 
 sometimes, when it is low water, they do shut it off 
 so there is very little left, and that the dam is in the 
 way ! " 
 
 " I don't care if it is ! " cried Mollie Kent, merrily, 
 as with gloved hand she pulled her oar. " I hope 
 they '11 keep it ; and I think it will be fun to come up 
 some time, just we girls, and make them pull up 
 their flash-boards for us 1 Will you ? " 
 
 " O Mollie ! Mollie ! you are incorrigible ! " said 
 Syl. But she, too, looked as if she thought it would 
 be fun. 
 
"in strictest confidence. 293 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 "IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE." 
 
 HAVING seen the girls off, Mart went straight to 
 his work-bench and pulled a folded bit of 
 paper out of a crack. 
 
 "What's that.?" cried Rush. "Where did it 
 come from .' " 
 
 " It came from a pretty pair of fingers," Mart an- 
 swered. " I 'm going to see what it is." 
 
 He unfolded the paper and read these words, pen- 
 cilled in a pretty, school-girl hand : — 
 
 " In strictest confidence. Look out for your dam on 
 the night of the Fourth." 
 
 He showed it to Lute and Rush, who read it with 
 puzzled surprise, wondering whether it were meant 
 for a serious warning or a joke. 
 
 " Which pair of p-p-pretty fingers left it .'' " Lute 
 asked. " I think it was that Miss Kent, and she is a 
 little b-b-bundle of mischief ! " 
 
 " No, it was n't Miss Kent." 
 
 " It could n't be that demure Sarah Ball ! " ex- 
 claimed Rush. Mart shook his head. " Nor Tilly .? " 
 
294 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TtDE-MILL. 
 
 " Nor Tilly ! Guess again." 
 
 " There 's only one more guess, and that 's absurd. 
 Miss Bartland defends the Argonauts ; and if she 
 left it, why," Rush exclaimed, " then I 'm sure it 's a 
 joke!" 
 
 " She left it," replied Mart ; " and if you had seen 
 the look she gave me at the time, you would be as 
 sure as I am that it's no joke at all." 
 
 " She 's d-d-deep ! " commented Lute, reading 
 again the words of warning. 
 
 "Anyhow," said Mart, "she's no light feather of a 
 girl, to be blown this way and that in her opinions 
 by the people she happens to be with. To tell the 
 truth, I thought all the more of her for standing up a 
 little stifBy for the Argonauts, when Letty and Tilly 
 were abusing 'em." 
 
 " Well, I forgive her ! " said Rush, with a radiant 
 look at the billet. "We'll act as if it was no joke, 
 anyway! They mustn't catch us napping on the 
 night of the Fourth." 
 
 "Nor any night, for that m-m-matter. I've fan- 
 cied all along they were getting ready for something 
 sudden and t-t-tremendous," said Lute. " I 've an 
 Wea ! " 
 
 " Something new ? " said Mart. 
 
 " R-r-rather new. I 've been c-c-considering it. 
 
"in strictest confidence. 29S 
 
 There's that old pump-log we got with Dushee's 
 rubbish. We can make a c-c-cannon of it." 
 
 "A cannon!" exclaimed Rush. "How so?" 
 What for .? " 
 
 " Plug one end ; put iron b b-bands around the but. 
 Then load with sawdust mixed with sand, to sweep 
 the d-d-dam in case of any v-v-very sudden attack." 
 
 " O Lute ! " said Rush, almost dancing with de- 
 light. " We '11 get it all ready, and fire it off on the 
 Fourth to try it ! " 
 
 " Are n't you afraid you '11 hurt some of the Argo- 
 nauts, or frighten their horses .■' " said Mart, with 
 drawling seriousness ; but there was a twinkle in 
 his eye which boded danger to marauders. " You 're 
 a reckless fellow, Lute ! Let 's go and look at your 
 log." 
 
 It was, indeed, no false word of warning which the 
 brothers had received. This time, the little commo- 
 dore had taken the matter in charge ; he had con- 
 sulted a mining engineer, and with his help had 
 formed a plan which could hardly fail to succeed. 
 
 There was to be no stealthy attempt at carrying it 
 out. On the contrary, the Argonauts were to come 
 down the river in a fleet of boats on the night of the 
 Fourth, making a great noise of singing and cheer- 
 ing and laughter and splashing' of oars ; under cover 
 
296 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 of which, quick and precise preparation was to be 
 made by scientific hands for blowing up the dam. 
 
 " That 's the way to do it ! " said Web Foote to the 
 committee on obstructions, flinging back his hair. 
 
 " That 's the way to do it ! " one of the said com- 
 mittee repeated to his friend Lew Bartland, one 
 evening, at the late commodore's home, — " in strict- 
 est confidence," as he declared. 
 
 Lew was not pleased with the plot, yet felt him- 
 self in honor bound not to divulge it. But a part of 
 the conversation had been accidentally overheard by 
 one who had fewer scruples. 
 
 Sylvia had learned of her brother to respect the 
 attitude of the mill-owners. And though she be- 
 lieved the Argonauts had a right to the river, she 
 was equally sure that in their manner of enforcing 
 that right they had put themselves outrageously in 
 the wrong. She had not wished to hear the disclos- 
 ure of their latest plot ; she had tried to shut her 
 ears against it. But she had been compelled to 
 listen to it, and it had filled her with indignation. 
 
 " Can't they carry on their little war against those 
 boys, — fifty against five," she said to herself (for 
 the club was now so large), — " without getting help 
 from professional men outside .' I 'm ashamed of 
 them ! " 
 
"IN STRICTEST CONFIDENCE." 297 
 
 Then came the opportunity to go up the river 
 with her friends ; and sitting with them in the willow- 
 tree, hearing Letty's eloquent story of her brothers' 
 wrongs, the impulse seized her to scribble those 
 words of warning on the blank leaf of a letter, "in 
 strictest confidence," quoting the Argonautic phrase. 
 She trembled afterward to think what she had done. 
 But how could she be sorry ? 
 
 This was on the first. By the fourth, arrange- 
 ments on both sides, for attack and defence, were as 
 complete as they could be made, while the Tinkhams 
 remained ignorant of the details of the plot, and the 
 Argonauts knew nothing of the alarm-wire and the 
 wooden cannon loaded with sawdust and sand. 
 
298 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THE TUB-RACE. 
 
 THE Fourth was a great day on the lake ; a great 
 day especially for Commodore Web Foote 
 If he was n't the pivot on which the world turned, 
 until about twelve o'clock, I should like to know who 
 was ? 
 
 It was a bright, breezy morning, — indeed, almost 
 too breezy for the rowing matches. But what were 
 they compared with the grand race in which a dozen 
 sail-boats were to take part? It was a good wind 
 for them, — a good wind particularly for the commo- 
 dore's new yacht, which (not to keep the reader in 
 suspense) won easily not only the prize-cup, but 
 almost too much glory for one little man. 
 
 After the drama, the farce. After the regattas, 
 the tub-race. 
 
 That was for small boys ; and the Tinkhams 
 were interested in it, Rod having been induced by 
 some of his young Tammoset friends to join in that 
 rough sport. Three prizes had been offered by the 
 club, indiscriminately to all competitors ; and if even 
 
THE TUB-RACE. 299 
 
 the /east of them could be won by a Tinkham, 
 would n't it (as Lute said) be j-j golly ? To get any- 
 thing out of the Argonauts ! 
 
 The youngsters were ranged along one side of the 
 float, each with his tub, — Rod amongst them, bare- 
 legged and bare-armed, in shirt and tights, with 
 Rupe at his back, to assist in launching him or in 
 pulling him out of water. His companions kept 
 him in countenance ; yet he could n't help feeling 
 a little abashed in that rig, before so many people. 
 
 A gay-colored throng covered the shore. The bal- 
 cony, full of pretty girls in holiday dresses, looked 
 like a hanging-basket of flowers. Doorway and win- 
 dows were crowded ; and the float was half the time 
 under water, borne down by its weight of Argonauts. 
 Outside of all was a circle of boats full of spectators. 
 
 One of the boats belonged to the Tinkham 
 brothers, and in it were Mrs. Tinkham and Letty, 
 with Lute and Rush. Lute had his water-glass with 
 him, and while waiting for the tub-race to begin, 
 amused himself by looking down into the depths of 
 the lake. 
 
 " She is laughing at you ! " whispered Rush, who 
 could not keep his eyes from glancing up at the bal- 
 cony, where a good many eyes were looking down. 
 The pair he alluded to belonged to a certain young 
 
300 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 girl in a white straw hat, light blue scarf, and pink 
 dress, with a rose-bud mouth which did indeed blos- 
 som in a mirthful smile when she saw Lute leaning 
 over the boat with his " toy." 
 
 Lute held it up with a gesture of inquiry, —would 
 she like to try it .' She answered with a laughing 
 " I 'II see ! " sort of nod, and gave another, still more 
 decided, when Letty motioned her to come down 
 and take a seat beside her in the boat. 
 
 " They 're going to start ! " said Mrs. Tinkham. 
 " I wish they would make haste, for Rod's sake ; he 
 does n't like making a show of himself ! " 
 
 Rush could have wished the tub-race in Jericho 
 until after they had got Miss Bartland into the boat. 
 He was longing to ask her a question or two regard- 
 ing the Argonauts' plot. 
 
 Commodore Foote, standing on a chair, to get well 
 above the crowd on the float and to keep his feet out 
 of the water, which occasionally washed over it, 
 swung his cap, tossed back his hair, and gave the 
 signal. The half-naked youngsters had been ready 
 and waiting some time, impatient to start ; but he 
 had delayed, in order to let Tammoset and Demp- 
 ford know that nothing could be done without him. 
 
 Amidst hand-clapping and cheers, five boys in five 
 tubs started to paddle around a ilag-buoy not more 
 
THE TUB-RACE. 3OI 
 
 than twenty yards off. It looked to be an easy feat ; 
 and so it might have proved for some of them in 
 calm weather. One turned round and round in a 
 ludicrously helpless fashion. Another, too big for 
 his tub, capsized at the start, and was greeted with 
 roars of laughter as he scrambled out of the water. 
 The other three made progress ; but a little way from 
 the float the wind struck them and the waves tossed 
 them, and over went a sandy-haired lubber, who 
 managed in his plunge to upset the next tub, which 
 was Rodman's. 
 
 " It 's Dick Dushee ! He did it on purpose ! " 
 exclaimed Rush. 
 
 Whether Dick did it purposely or not. Rod was in 
 the water, and there was nothing for him to do but 
 to get back to the float with his tub and try again. 
 
 Before he made another start, the only tub that 
 had not upset was rounding the buoy ; and it looked 
 as if the lucky navigator must win the first prize. 
 But the wind, which had been in his favor when out- 
 ward bound, was aminst him on the return voyage. 
 He sat with legs hanging over the side of the tub, 
 and bearing it down ; so that, in meeting the waves, 
 it soon took in water enough to founder, and he who 
 had been first in the race must now begin again as 
 the last. 
 
302 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Rod knelt in his tub, balancing it well, and pad- 
 dling steadily with a pair of wooden scoops. Some 
 used little coal-shovels, attached by strings to the 
 handles of their tubs, so that they might not lose 
 them when they capsized and had to swim. One 
 lost his, nevertheless. That left only four competi- 
 tors. Of these, the two who next passed the buoy 
 were Rod and Dick Dushee. 
 
 The strife between these two became exciting. 
 The trick by which Rod was upset had been noticed, 
 and it won him the sympathy of the spectators. 
 
 " Who is that fine-looking boy } " the mother heard 
 some one ask. 
 
 " It 's a Tinkham ! It 's one of the Tinkhams I " 
 went from mouth to mouth in reply. 
 
 As the two neared the float almost abreast, they 
 were greeted by loud cries from some of the small 
 fry present, — "Scratch water, Dick!" "Put in, 
 Tinkham ! pay him for that tip-over ! " followed 
 soon by a chorus of shouts from small and great. 
 Dick, in his hurry, had gone down within two yards 
 of the float. 
 
 Looking straight before him, heeding nobody, 
 paddling steadily, Rod quickly came within reach 
 of Rupe's outstretched hand, and a burst of applause 
 told that the first prize, a handsome hammock, had 
 
THE TUB-RACE. 20$ 
 
 been won. Thereupon the little commodore disap- 
 peared in the boat-house, frowning with huge dis- 
 gust ; and a man on the shore, with a vast, sandy 
 desert of a face, uttered a dismal groan. 
 
 But others took a more cheerful view of the 
 result. 
 
 " I declare ! " said Mrs. Tinkham, wiping bright 
 tears from her eyes, " I would n't have believed a bit 
 of foolishness could ever interest me so much ! " 
 
 " It 's the honor of the T-T-Tinkhams that 's at 
 stake ! " said Lute, radiant behind his spectacles. 
 "I wish Mart was here to enj-j-joy it! " But Mart 
 had stayed at home to guard the premises. 
 
 Rush and Letty were in the gayest spirits ; nor 
 was their happiness lessened when they looked up at 
 the balcony and saw Syl Bartland clapping hands 
 with delight at Rod's triumph. 
 
 They took little interest in the rest of the race, 
 except to see that Dick Dushee did not win a 
 prize. 
 
 " Now get her to come down into our boat," said 
 Rush. 
 
 "She's coming," replied Letty. 
 
 There was a movement on the balcony. Sylvia 
 disappeared. The Tinkhams pushed in between two 
 yachts that lay beside the float. 
 
304 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " Make room here ! make room for the ladies .' " 
 cried a shrill, authoritative voice within the lower 
 doorway. 
 
 The crowd there opened, and Sylvia's rosy face 
 was seen emerging. With her came Mollie Kent, 
 laughing as at some merry adventure. Rush stepped 
 out upon the float, and placed a board so that they 
 could reach the boat without wetting their feet. 
 But behold ! three other young girls were following ; 
 and now the same peremptory voice called out 
 again, — 
 
 " Haul the commodore's yacht a little ahead ! " 
 
 It was the voice of the commodore himself ; and 
 if ever a boy's heart was stepped on and flattened out 
 by mighty disappointment, elephantine chagrin, that 
 heart was Rush Tinkham's when the girls tripped 
 past him, lightly holding their skirts, and titteringly 
 catching at each other as they stepped aboard the 
 yacht. 
 
 The owner followed and took the helm. The yacht 
 was shoved off, the sheet was hauled, the flap- 
 ping canvas filled, the commodore's broad pennant 
 streamed in the wind, and away went Web with his 
 lovely cargo of girls, Sylvia and Mollie smiling and 
 fluttering their handkerchiefs (in mockery. Rush an- 
 grily thought) at their friends in the boat. 
 
THE TUB-RACE. JOS 
 
 " I never saw anything so provoking," whispered 
 Letty, as Rush jumped aboard and pushed away. 
 
 " You could n't expect a Dempford girl to go over 
 openly and publicly to the enemy, could you ? " said 
 Mrs. Tinkham, "under the eyes of all the Argo- 
 nauts ! " 
 
 "I was a fool !" muttered Rush, imagining every- 
 body was laughing at him. " Let 's get out of this ! " 
 
 There was to be a swimming-race after the tub- 
 race. But the Tinkhams took no interest in it ; and 
 leaving Rod with Rupe to dress and get the ham- 
 mock, they took a row up the lake. 
 
306 THE TINKLHAM BROTHERS* TIDE-MILL. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 WHAT LUTE SAW IN HIS WATER-GLASS. 
 
 "O USH was not in a happy mood. To see the 
 ■^^ yacht go flying over the water under her 
 broad sail, with her stern conspicuously lettered, 
 " The Commodore," was irritating to a boy of good 
 taste and fine feelings. ' And the nervous, laughing 
 screams of the girls as she careened to the breeze 
 were not soothing pounds. 
 
 "The commodore carries too much c-c-canvas," 
 said Lute. 
 
 " It will do for racing," said Rush. " Fellows can 
 take risks when they've only themselves aboard. 
 But look at that ! " 
 
 " Oh, dear ! They will go over ! " exclaimed Letty. 
 
 "He 1-1-luffed just in time," said Lute. "The 
 girls don't trim her as the fellows did he had with 
 him in the race." 
 
 " She took in water over the rail, even with them 
 aboard ; I saw it," replied Rush. 
 
 "I declare," said Mrs. Tinkham, indignantly, "it 
 
WHAT LUTE SAW IN HIS WATER-GLASS. 3O7 
 
 is criminal to trifle with the hves of young girls in 
 that way ! " 
 
 " Only a conceited blockhead would do it," said 
 Rush. "The commodore thinks nobody can sail a 
 boat like him, — that an accident can't possibly hap- 
 pen with him at the helm. His looks shrfw that." 
 
 " He is n't like me," remarked Lute. " I should 
 be the biggest c-c-coward in the world in his place 
 now." 
 
 " He 's coming for us, to show how smart he is," 
 said Rush. 
 
 The yacht went rushing past, ripping the water 
 with a loud noise, and sped on her course, leaving 
 the prosaic little row-boat lying like a log in her 
 wake. Not a glance from the girls, who had ceased 
 to giggle, and appeared to be begging the commodore 
 to take them back. 
 
 It was very provoking. Rush resolved not to look 
 at the yacht any more. He was rowing steadily 
 along, with Lute behind him in the bow, and his 
 mother and sister in the stern, when suddenly Mrs. 
 Tinkham started forward with a frightened scream, 
 in which Letty joined. 
 
 The five girls had been seated on the yacht's 
 windward side, which ran high and higher with every 
 gust. Then all at once the wind, made fitful by the 
 
308 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 high, wooded shores, veered about, the sail jibed sud- 
 denly and violently, and the boat gave an unexpected 
 roll, the enormous sail going over in the buffet of the 
 flaw. 
 
 Rush looked in time to see the gunwale dip, 
 carried down by the weight of girls. They threw 
 up their arms with wild gestures, starting to their 
 feet, and their screams came over the water. 
 
 In an instant all was confusion, the iron-ballasted 
 yacht filling and settling rapidly, and the wind still 
 playing with the upper part of the sail, while the 
 lower part was disappearing in the lake. Down, 
 down it went, until at last only the mast-head was 
 seen, like a slanting stake, with the pennant still fly- 
 ing above the surface, where two or three vague 
 objects tossed. 
 
 Letty sobbed and laughed hysterically. 
 
 " They '11 all be drowned ! " said her mother, with 
 white lips. 
 
 " Pull ! pull ! " muttered Lute, snatching an oar 
 from Rush and striking it into one of the forward 
 rowlocks. " Wait a moment ! Now ! " 
 
 " Not another boat in sight ! " said Mrs. Tinkham, 
 casting a swift glance around. "Boys, it all de- 
 pends on you ! " 
 
 Screams were heard again. That was encourag- 
 
WHAT LUTE SAW IN HIS WATER-GLASS. 3O9 
 
 ing. Lute and Rush pulled as no champion oarsmen 
 had pulled on the lake that day. They could not 
 take time to glance over their shoulders ; their 
 mother told them how to row. 
 
 " Not quite so hard. Lute ! You 're too much for 
 Rocket. There ! there ! Now straight ahead ! " 
 
 " Do you see them ? " Lute asked. 
 
 " There 's somebody clinging to the mast," said 
 Letty, with a convulsive laugh. "And somebody 
 swimming. Row ! row, boys ! And a head above 
 water. No ! it 's a floating bonnet." 
 
 " Only two ? " Rush breathed between strokes. 
 
 "That's all I see," said Mrs. Tinkham. "Hold 
 your oar, Lute ! That 's it. Rocket ! Now straight 
 ahead again ! " Then, as they drew nearer, " There 
 are two swimming ! " 
 
 " One must be the commodore," said Letty, " Oh ! 
 he is saving somebody ! He is helping her get hold 
 of the mast. No, not the mast, but the halyards." 
 
 " Bravely, boys ! cried the mother. " You '11 
 soon be there ! Two girls now at the mast ! One 
 has hold of the pennant. Look where you 're going, 
 Lute ! " 
 
 " Oh ! " said Letty, in wild despair, " I saw two 
 hands come up and go down again ! If we had only 
 been a little sooner ! " 
 
3IO THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 " It was while he was saving the other," said Mrs. 
 Tinkham. "Now he is swimming where we saw 
 that one go down. Too late ! Careful ! careful, 
 boys ! " 
 
 "Hold, Rocket i" cried Lute. "Take the oar!" 
 He sprang to the bow as the boat, with slackening 
 speed, neared the tragical scene, and called out, 
 " We '11 have you in a m-m moment ! " Even at such 
 a time the poor fellow had to stammer. 
 
 " Don't mind us ! " said one of the gasping crea- 
 tures at the mast. " We can hold on. Look for the 
 others ! " 
 
 It was Mollie Kent, recognizable even with her ag- 
 onized face and dripping hair. 
 
 " There are three more ! " said her companion, an 
 older girl whom the Tinkhams had never seen until 
 that day. " Three drowned, — unless you can save 
 them ! " 
 
 " One went down right here ! " cried the little 
 commodore, paddling helplessly about, wild-eyed, his 
 black locks washed over his brows. " Can you dive .' 
 For Heaven's sake ! I can't ! " 
 
 He had hitherto supposed he could, and had taken 
 from a platform many a plunge which he thought 
 the world ought to admire. But he could no more 
 go down fifteen or eighteen feet, even to save a life 
 
WHAT LUTE SAW IN HIS WATER-GLASS. 3 II 
 
 he had so recklessly imperilled, than he could fly in 
 the air. 
 
 Neither were the Tinkham boys at all expert at 
 diving. In their limited swimming experience, their 
 endeavor had generally been to keep as near the 
 surface as possible. 
 
 Yet Rush had already kicked off his shoes and 
 thrown down his hat and coat. And now he stood 
 ready to leap, while he kept the boat in place with a 
 single oar. 
 
 "There! there!" shrieked Letty. 
 
 Something like floating hair appeared on the 
 opposite side of the boat from the poor, paddling 
 commodore. It was slowly settling down again, 
 when Rush saw it, and, using his one oar as a lever, 
 tried to force the boat over broadside toward it. 
 Failing in that, and seeing it about to disappear, he 
 gave a headlong jump, which nearly threw Lute 
 overboard. 
 
 Lute saved himself, however. He seized the oar 
 and brought the boat around just as Rush, after a 
 brief struggle in the water, emerged with blinded 
 eyes and dripping face, swimming with one free hand 
 and drawing up something entangled in the other. 
 
 " Here I here I " cried Letty, reaching to help 
 him. " I 've got boM of her ! " 
 
322 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 notion that we 've tried war long enough. I believe 
 there 's something better. You 've had a chance to 
 try that to-day, boys, — you and mother, — and 
 you've done well. Now, after what has happened, 
 if there are Argonauts who want to meddle with our 
 dam to-night, I say let 'em ! " 
 
 " And let the w-w-world know it ! " said Lute. 
 
 " It 's the best way ! " Rush declared. "We have 
 had fighting enough. I 'm sick of it ! " 
 
 Even the younger boys were satisfied with this 
 decision. When it was announced to Mrs. Tinkham, 
 she exclaimed, fervently, — 
 
 " I am thankful, boys ! I said to myself, in the 
 presence of death to-day, when praying that we might 
 be able to save those precious lives, I said then I 
 would never repine at petty trials after this, but ac- 
 cept the ways of Providence in all things, as I had 
 never done before. What if the dam is destroyed } 
 You can still rebuild it. Or you can do something 
 else. We will live in peace, and be just to all men ; 
 and if we cannot prosper, we will at least deserve 
 to." 
 
 " I know we shall prosper ! " said Letty, overjoyed. 
 " I would n't have had the boys stop fighting from 
 cowardice. But if they stop from a better motive, 
 we shall never be sorry, I am sure ! " 
 
THE TIDE TURNS. 323 
 
 Thus the events of the day had softened and deep- 
 ened all their hearts. 
 
 The boys went down at dusk and fired off their 
 wooden gun, well satisfied to see the charge tear the 
 water and throw over a post they had set up against 
 the dam. 
 
 " What if that had been an Argonaut .' " said Rod, 
 with a chuckle of triumph. 
 
 " I 'm rather glad, on the whole, it was n't," said 
 Mart. 
 
 " There 's a wire-alarm to sell or to let ! " laughed 
 Rush. But the boys did not regret the labor that it 
 had cost. 
 
 "If it hadn't been for that," said Lute, "I 
 should n't have made the w-w-water-glass. And if it 
 had n't been for that — " 
 
 It was terrible to think what might have happened 
 but for that " toy " ! 
 
 The boys then shut the mill, and soon after went 
 to bed, leaving the dam to its fate. 
 
 In the morning it was still there, and there it re- 
 mained. 
 
 The Argonauts were coming to their senses. The 
 light of Buzrow's influence had been extinguished in 
 ridicule, and Web Foote's brand-new popularity, 
 which carried so much sail of self-conceit, had sud- 
 
314 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Rush looked, and was overboard the next moment, 
 in a headlong plunge. 
 
 Lute watched him through the glass, and saw 
 with dismay that he did not descend half-way to the 
 drowning girl, but soon began to swim off in a lat- 
 eral direction, coming up while he still believed he 
 was going down. 
 
 " I can't see in the water ! " said Rush, blowing at 
 the surface. " If I could only keep my eyes open ! 
 I '11 try again ! " 
 
 "It won't d-d-do!" said Lute. "Put the boat 
 ahead, will you ? " to the little commodore. " This is 
 the rope she has hold of ! " 
 
 It was one of the halyards to which Mollie and 
 her companion were clinging above. Sylvia, with 
 the blind desperation of a drowning person, had 
 caught hold and was clinging fast below. Thus the 
 very effort she was instinctively making to save her 
 life was destroying it. 
 
 " Maybe I can shake o£E her hold," said Lute, " or 
 b-break the rope." 
 
 The two at the mast were taken aboard. He then 
 shook and pulled, but in vain. The unconscious girl 
 held fast, and the unstable skiff afforded but a poor 
 support when he tried to free the halyard from its 
 fastening at the deck. 
 
WHAT LUTE SAW IN HIS WATER-GLASS. 315 
 
 " Wait ! " Rush exclaimed. " I can get her." 
 
 He could n't dive far ; but, laying hold of the hal- 
 yard, he could go down hand under hand to the 
 yacht. 
 
 This he did, sliding his fingers along till they 
 reached those of the drowning girl. He endeavored 
 to unclasp them with one hand, holding one of her 
 wrists with the other. To do so without violence 
 was not so easy „ a task as he had supposed. His 
 breath, which he was unable to retain, rose in bub- 
 bles to the surface. But he was resolved not to loose 
 his hold of that wrist, and never to return to the 
 upper world alone. 
 
 He was struggling and groping, believing that 
 something still held her down, when there came a 
 rushing sound in his ears, and behold ! he was at the 
 surface with Sylvia Bartland in his arms. 
 
3l6 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL, 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 FROM THE SUNKEN YACHT. 
 
 THE place where the yacht went down was hid- 
 den from the boat-house by a curve of the 
 shore. But the news had reached there in the midst 
 of the excitement over the swimming-race. The 
 crowd separated in a panic, and now boats were com- 
 ing to the rescue. 
 
 Mrs. Tinkham had never before had any experi- 
 ence in resuscitating the drowned. But she did not 
 need to be taught that less water and more air was 
 in such cases the immediate necessity, and she knew 
 something of the right theory of producing that 
 result. 
 
 The commodore's young sister was already so far 
 restored as to be able to care for herself. She went 
 over to the other two rescued girls in the bow, while 
 Mrs. Tinkham and Letty took Sylvia in hand. Letty 
 had quite got over her first hysterical emotion, and 
 she now obeyed and helped her mother in a manner 
 worthy of a Tinkham. 
 
FROM THE SUNKEN YACHT. 317 
 
 They first turned Sylvia on her face, depressing 
 her head, and opening her mouth to let the water 
 run out. At the same time they compressed her 
 lungs gently, to expel the exhausted air, allowing 
 the chest to expand again and inhale fresh, by its 
 own elastic force. While they continued these move- 
 ments at intervals, trying to give her life with artifi- 
 cial breath, the boys were searching with the water- 
 glass for the other missing girl. 
 
 They discovered her under the shadow of the sail 
 on the other side of the yacht. By this time the 
 first boats had arrived. They had swimmers and 
 even divers aboard. The Tinkhams, therefore, left 
 them, with Commodore Foote, to recover the last of 
 his victims, and with the other four pulled for home. 
 
 How they pulled ! People in boats or running 
 wildly up the shore shouted at them ; but they gave 
 no heed. What Mollie Kent answered they hardly 
 heard or cared. 
 
 Suddenly a boat, rowing furiously, turned in their 
 wake, and the boys had a glimpse of a face they 
 knew — a sternly anxious face, white and terrible in 
 its excitement, sending after them looks of entreaty, 
 with wild words, — 
 
 "Tell me, I say ! is she dead ?" 
 
 " No ! no ! I think not ! I hope not ! " replied 
 
3l8 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 Mollie Kent, excitedly. " It 's Lew Bartland and 
 my brother ! " she said, sobbing again. 
 
 The boat came alongside, and, after a few words 
 exchanged, darted off toward the shore. The Tink- 
 ham boys all this time neither spoke word nor 
 missed stroke, but continued to row their heavily 
 freighted boat as if more than their own lives were 
 at stake. 
 
 Into the outlet they pulled, then down the river 
 with the tide, to the mill. There, fortunately, they 
 found Mart, who had remained to guard the prem- 
 ises and prepare still further for the Argonauts' 
 expected attack. 
 
 How quickly and utterly all thoughts of that were 
 put out of his mind by the arrival of the boat with 
 the shipwrecked girls ! Sylvia was by this time 
 recovering consciousness, in great bodily distress. 
 He took her from his mother and sister, and bore 
 her in his arms to the house ; Lute and Rush and 
 Letty following up the path over the bank with Mrs. 
 Tinkham, in her wheeled chair, and the other 
 drenched ones on their own feet. 
 
 They had hardly entered the house when Charley 
 Kent and Lew Bartland arrived with a doctor they 
 had picked up on the lake shore. Rupe and Rod 
 came running after, carrying their tub, with the 
 
FROM THE SUNKEN YACHT. 3I9 
 
 hammock, between them, and behind them flocked a 
 crowd of people. Many of the spectators of the 
 races had gone up toward the sunken yacht ; others 
 followed the rescued girls ; so that in a few minutes 
 there were on and about the premises more people 
 than had ever been there before, except on the day 
 when it seemed as if half Dempford and Tammoset 
 assembled to see the dam destroyed. 
 
 Very different motives brought them now, — not 
 curiosity merely and the love of sensation, but 
 anxious sympathy and eagerness to help. 
 
 Women offered their services. These were wel- 
 come, Mrs. Tinkham being well-nigh exhausted as 
 well as lame, and the servant being away. Hot 
 drinks were soon prepared, dry clothing was got for 
 the wet ones, and Sylvia was warmed in bed. 
 
 " The worst is over," the doctor had said, as soon 
 as he touched her wrist. And now only good nurs- 
 ing was necessary to her complete restoration. 
 
 Assured of this, Bartland and Kent and the two 
 older Tinkhams embarked in Lew's boat and rowed 
 with speed up the lake. 
 
 They v/ere too late to render any assistance to the 
 lost girl. This was Kate Medway, one of the hap- 
 piest of the five who were seen to set off so gayly in 
 the commodore's yacht less than an hour before. 
 
320 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 She had been taken from the water and borne to 
 the nearest house, followed by a throng of horrified 
 spectators, many of whom knew her and loved her ; 
 among them the little commodore, capless, drenched, 
 his wet hair not yet tossed back from his brow, — a 
 stricken, despairing man. 
 
 A physician was on the spot. But either she had 
 remained too long in the water, or the right thing 
 had not been done for her the moment she was taken 
 out. Neither skill nor love nor pity nor remorse, 
 could help her now. She was an only child ; her 
 father and mother were yet to be sent for. Who 
 could bear to tell them the heart-rending news .' 
 
 The Tinkhams returned home with Bartland and 
 Kent, having a little talk by the way. It was 
 strange that not one of them spoke harshly of the 
 author of the catastrophe. Only Lew said, " I 
 always thought Web knew how to sail a boat." 
 Nothing more. 
 
THE TIDE TURMS. 32I 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 
 THE TIDE TURNS. 
 
 WHEN all was over, and the four girls who were 
 saved had been taken home by their grateful^ 
 friends, and she who perished had also been taken 
 home ; when the lake was deserted, and a strange 
 quiet reigned where there had been so much move- 
 ment and merriment in the morning ; then Mart, 
 late that afternoon, said to his brother, as they sat 
 together in the willow-tree, — 
 
 " I was intending to put a lamp in the upper mill- 
 window, where it would shine all night across the 
 dam. I was going to be on hand myself, below, with 
 the door open and the wooden cannon in position, 
 and fire that charge of sand and sawdust at the first 
 marauders that came within range. I meant to let 
 Dempford and Tammoset know that we were getting 
 the least mite tired of being trifled with." 
 
 " It seemed to be about t-t-time," said Lute. 
 
 " But I 've changed my mind," Mart continued. 
 " We '11 stop in the house to-night. I 've a sort of 
 
322 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 notion that we 've tried war long enough. I believe 
 there 's something better. You 've had a chance to 
 try that to-day, boys, — you and mother, — and 
 you 've done well. Now, after what has happened, 
 if there are Argonauts who want to meddle with our 
 dam to-night, I say let 'em ! " 
 
 " And let the w-w-world know it ! " said Lute. 
 
 " It 's the best way ! " Rush declared. " We have 
 had fighting enough. I 'm sick of it ! " 
 
 Even the younger boys were satisfied with this 
 decision. When it was announced to Mrs. Tinkham, 
 she exclaimed, fervently, — 
 
 " I am thankful, boys ! I said to myself, in the 
 presence of death to-day, when praying that we might 
 be able to save those precious lives, I said then I 
 would never repine at petty trials after this, but ac- 
 cept the ways of Providence in all things, as I had 
 never done before. What if the dam is destroyed ? 
 You can still rebuild it. Or you can do something 
 else. We will live in peace, and be just to all men ; 
 and if we cannot prosper, we will at least deserve 
 to." 
 
 " I know we shall prosper ! " said Letty, overjoyed. 
 " I would n't have had the boys stop fighting from 
 cowardice. But if they stop from a better motive, 
 we shall never be sorry, I am sure ! " 
 
THE TIDE TURNS. 323 
 
 Thus the events of the day had softened and deep- 
 ened all their hearts. 
 
 The boys went down at dusk and fired off their 
 wooden gun, well satisfied to see the charge tear the 
 water and throw over a post they had set up against 
 the dam. 
 
 " What if that had been an Argonaut .' " said Rod, 
 with a chuckle of triumph. 
 
 " I 'm rather glad, on the whole, it was n't," said 
 Mart. 
 
 " There 's a wire-alarm to sell or to let ! " laughed 
 Rush. But the boys did not regret the labor that it 
 had cost. 
 
 "If it hadn't been for that," said Lute, "I 
 should n't have made the w-w-water-glass. And if it 
 had n't been for that — " 
 
 It was terrible to think what might have happened 
 but for that " toy " ! 
 
 The boys then shut the mill, and soon after went 
 to bed, leaving the dam to its fate. 
 
 In the morning it was still there, and there it re- 
 mained. 
 
 The Argonauts were coming to their senses. The 
 light of Buzrow's influence had been extinguished in 
 ridicule, and Web Foote's brand-new popularity, 
 which carried so much sail of self-conceit, had sud- 
 
324 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS TIDE-MILL. 
 
 denly sunk deeper than ever yacht went down. On 
 the other hand, the true characters of the Tinkhams 
 were beginning to be appreciated. 
 
 The yacht was raised ; but it quietly disappeared, 
 and was never seen again on Tammoset waters. 
 Web likewise tried to lift his lost reputation, — a 
 more difficult task. He did not have the grace to 
 resign his office ; but at the annual meeting of the 
 club, which took place in August, he was quietly 
 dropped. Lew Bartland being re-elected commodore 
 by a unanimous vote. 
 
 Not long after, what new members do you suppose 
 were proposed by him, and admitted with scarcely 
 any opposition ? The three older Tinkham boys ! 
 
 " I don't know that they will consent to join us," 
 Lew said, in advocating their election. " But I hope 
 they will ; and if they do, it will be more an honor to 
 us than to them. At any rate, I want the club tc 
 pay them this tribute." 
 
 The Tinkhams did consent, the more readily as 
 they were made aware that they had done the Argo- 
 nauts, in one particular, great injustice. 
 
 The mischief done that night when the mill-wheel 
 was broken was not, after all, the work of any mem- 
 bers of the club, but of vicious youngsters outside, 
 ambitious of getting into it. He who had shown his 
 
THE TIDE TURNS. 325 
 
 zeal by creeping into the shop, stealing the sledge- 
 hammer, and using it to smash the paddle-blades 
 before throwing it into the river, was — who do you 
 think? 
 
 Dick Dushee ! 
 
 That fact having been discovered by Rupert in his 
 growing intimacy with Tammoset boys, and the dam- 
 age to the wheel having been paid by Dick's utterly 
 disgusted papa, the older Tinkhams became Argo- 
 nauts ; and those whom a conflict of interests had 
 made enemies found that they ought all along to 
 have been friends. 
 
 The dam was as much in the way as ever. But 
 the readiness of the Tinkhams to pull up their flash- 
 boards for passing boats, and a little patience and 
 forbearance on the part of the boatmen, made the 
 difficulty, which had once loomed so great, dwindle 
 to a very small matter, — like so many things in 
 life over which hatred and selfishness may fight, or 
 reason and good-will clasp hands. 
 
 Not that all opposition to the dam was ended, by 
 any means. Curiously enough, it was at last abol- 
 ished by statute, a law having been enacted placing 
 all such waters as the Tammoset, as far as the tides 
 from a harbor rise and fall two feet, under the au- 
 thority of harbor commissioners, and declaring them 
 
326 THE TINKHAM BROTHERS' TIDE-MILL. 
 
 to be navigable streams. But this was after the buS' 
 iness of the Tinkham Brothers had outgrown their 
 old quarters, and they had bought a large factory, 
 with steam-power, nearer town. 
 
 Meanwhile, a delightful intimacy had grown up 
 between the Tinkhams in Tamrrioset and the Bart- 
 lands and Kents in Dempford, the story of which 
 has not much to do with the Tide-Mill, and so need 
 not be related here. 
 
 THE END. 
 
The Tide-Mill Stories 
 
 Qy J. T. TROWBRIDOB 
 
 BteFb t iwi CT . Oloflk. mtUbnOei, Prtoepermiliume,$lM 
 
 Phil and His Friends. 
 
 The her* is the son of a man \rbo from drink got Into debt, and, after hav 
 ing given a paper to a creditor authorizing hua to keep the son as a se- 
 curity for his claim, ran away, leaving poor Phil a bond slave. The story 
 involves a great many unexpected incidents, some of which are painful and 
 some comic, f hil manfully works for a year cancelling his father's debt, 
 and then escapes. The characters are strongly drawn, and the story is ab- 
 sorbingly interesting. 
 
 The Tlnkham Brothers' Tide-Mill. 
 
 " * The Tinkham Brothers * were the devoted sons of an invalid mother. The 
 Btory tells how they purchased a tide-mill, which afterwards, by the 111-wiU 
 and obstinacy of neighbors, became a source of much trouble to tkem. It 
 tells also how, by discretion and the exercise of a peaceable spirit, they at 
 last overcome all difficulties." — Cluristian Observer, LouiavMe, £$. 
 
 The S^tln-wood Box. 
 
 "Mr. Trowbridge lias always a pnrpose in Us writings, and this time he 
 has undertaken to show how very near an Innocent boy can come to the 
 guilty e<^e and yet be able by fortunate circumstances to rid himself of all 
 suspicion of evil. There is something winsome about the hero ; but he has 
 a singular way of falling into bad luck, although the careful reader will 
 never feel the least disposed to doubt his honesty."— /Syracuse Staiadard, 
 
 The Little Master. 
 
 This is the story of a schoolmaster, his trials, disappointments, and final 
 victory. It will recall to many a man bis experience in teaching pupils, and 
 In managing their opinionated and self-willed parents. The story has the 
 Charm which is always found in Mr. Trowbridge's works. 
 
 " Many a teacher could profit by reading of this plooky Uttla school- 
 master.'' — Jowmal qf Uducatitm. 
 
 tUa One Fault. 
 
 " As for the hero of this story' His OneFatilt'vas abssnt-mindediiess. 
 
 He forgot to lock his uncle's stable door, and the horse was stolen. In 
 seeking to recover the stolen horse, he unintentionally stole another. In 
 trying to restore the wrong horse to his rightful owner, he was himself ar- 
 rested. After no end of comic and dolorous adventui'es, he surmounted all 
 his misfortunes by downright pluck and genuine good feeling. It is a noble 
 contribution to juvenile literature." — iromaa'a Joumai. 
 
 Peter Budstone. 
 
 " Mr. J. T. Trowbridge's ' Peter Budstone ' is another of those altogether 
 
 food and wholesome books for boys of which it is hardly possible to speak too 
 igUy. Tnis author shows us convincingly how juvenile reading may be 
 made vivacious and interesting, and yet teach sound and clean lessons, 
 ♦Peter Budstone ' shows forcibly the folly and crime of * hazing.' It is the 
 Btory of a noble young fellow whose reason is irreparably overthrown by 
 the savage treatment he received from some of his associates at college. 
 It is a powerful little book, and we wish every schoolboy and college yoiUb 
 'i read it."— PAiJodeipAia Jmericcm. 
 
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 The Silver Medal, and other Stories. 
 
 There were some sohoolboys who had tamed housebreakerB, and among their 
 plunder was a fiilrer medal that had been given to one John Harrison by the 
 Hnmane Society for rescuing from drowning a certain Benton Barry. Now Benton 
 Barry was one of the wretched housebreakers. This is the summary of the opening . 
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 His Own Master. 
 
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 the road to fortune an unpleasantly rough one." — I^mladel^Ma Inquirer, 
 
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 that it Is easy to take." — GhriaUa/n Intelligence, 
 
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 " Toung Joe," who lived at Bass Cove, where he shot wild -ducks, took some to 
 town for sale, and attracted the attention of a portly gentleman fond of shooting. 
 This gentleman went duck shooting with Joe, and their adventures were more 
 amusing to the boy than to the amateur sportsman. 
 
 .There are thirteen other short stories in the book which wUl be sore to please 
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 START IN LIFE 
 
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 A Start in Life : a story of -nn 
 
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 Biding Ms Time* 
 
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 Farnell's Folly. 
 
 All the sterling qualities which have placed Air. Trowbridge among 
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 hour, but, as the number of its pages testify, a full-blooded tomanee, alive 
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 pathos. Not even In " Coupon Bonds " nor in " Neighbor Jackwood " baa 
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 Winning His Shoulder Straps 
 
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 VENNING HIS 
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 NCKMANBRADOD 
 
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 Winning the Eagle Prize 
 
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 hard for a lad of his make-up to do the requisite 
 studying, besides working and taking a prominent 
 part in athletics, and he is often in trouble, for, 
 unlike some others, who are naturally antagonistic 
 to the frank, impulsive Billy, he scorns to evade 
 responsibility. His four friends are loyal to the 
 fullest extent, and all comes right in the end. 
 
 '* Athletics play a prominent part in the story and the whole is delightfully 
 stimulating in the fine ideals of life which it sets before its young readers," — Chi- 
 cago News, 
 
 " The workmanship of the author is up to his high mark and this book is one 
 to be appreciated by any active reader who has not forgotten his boyhood, or, if he 
 is a boy yet, has the real boy spirit, clean, and wholesome and natural." — Buff^alo 
 Neios. 
 
 Pot sale by alt booksellera or teat postpaid on receipt at 
 price by the publlsbera 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON 
 
 NORMAN BRADOO 
 
THE BOYS OF BROOKFIELD ACADEMY 
 
 By WARREN L. BLDRED 
 
 Illustrated by Arthur O. Scott Large 12mo Cloth $1.50 
 
 THIS story tells of a boys' school, with a 
 glorious past, but an uncertain future, 
 largely due to the wrong kind o{ a secret 
 society, a vital problem in hundreds of schools 
 to-day. 
 
 The boys, after testing his patience in every 
 way that youthful ingenuity can suggest, come 
 to rally about an athletic and brainy young 
 graduate in the splendid transformation of the 
 society, and soon of the entire academy, in one 
 of the best school and athletic stories yet written, 
 
 "Things are doings all the way througfh the story, 
 which is clean, manly and inspiring." — Christian 
 Endeavor World, 
 
 THE LOOKOUT ISLAND CAMPERS 
 
 By WARREN L. BLDRED 
 Iliotstrated by Arthur O. Scott Large 12nio Cloth $1.50 
 
 "T^HIS is a story of active boys of fifteen or so. 
 *■ They are very fortunate in the friendship of 
 the principal of their school and his friend, an 
 athletic young doctor. Under the care of these 
 two they go into camp on an island well suited 
 to the purpose, and within easy distance of a 
 thronged summer resort. A series of exciting 
 ball games and athletic contests with the boys 
 at the hotel naturally follows, and the boys display 
 as many varieties of human nature as could their 
 elders. 
 
 " Mr. Eldred's book is almost certain to meet with 
 a ready response from young readers, for not only are 
 the boys filled with life and vigor of a tmo youthful 
 and appreciable variety but their experiences are 
 
 entertaining in themselves and may perhaps give the young readers ideas for 
 
 summer plans of their own."— Ci/co^o Tribune. 
 
 Wl 
 
 THE 1 
 
 LOOKOUT ISLAND 
 CAMPERS 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 WARREN L ELDRED | || 
 
 For sale by all booksellars, or sent postpaid on Tscelpt of price by the publishers 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON 
 
stories of the Triangular League 
 
 By A. T. DUDLEY 
 Illustrated by Charles Copeland 12mo Cloth $1.25 each 
 
 THE SCHOOL FOUR 
 
 THE SCHOOL FOUR 
 
 THE events of the story centre in the West- 
 cott School, one of three which have 
 formed a new league. The leading forms of 
 athletics, including rowing, figure in the gain- 
 ing of points towards a championship cup, and 
 the rivalry is most intense. At Westcott's, 
 the crowning student honor is the captaincy 
 of the school four, and the way in which the 
 succession to the coveted position falls to the 
 one best deserving it forms the climax. Foot- 
 ball is no less prominent in the progress of 
 the story than rowing, and both general school 
 life and competitive relations with other 
 schools are set forth to the life. 
 The tone of the book is manl7, holding' up the honesty and true simplicity 
 of the true athlete and setting up a high standard to the sport-loving boy. — 
 Public Ledger^ Philadelphia, 
 
 Mr. Dudley takes easy lead in strong, vigorous books for young America. — 
 Interior, Chicago, 
 
 At the Home Plate 
 
 THE scene of this book is at a public 
 school, "Newbury," which seeks to win 
 a prize cup held by its rival, " Westcott's," 
 the winner during the first year of the ' ' Tri- 
 angular League." This is hard to accomplish, 
 and an important factor is a new student who 
 had to overcome the handicap of being the 
 brother of an unpopular teacher. There is 
 good baseball in this book, but it is hardly 
 more prominent than football and hockey. 
 
 No boy who is interested in sports can fail to find 
 both pleasure and profit in this lively school story. — 
 Portland (Me.) Express. 
 
 A clean, wholesome and thoroughly entertaining tale that every boy ought 
 to like. — Cincinnati Times. Star. 
 
 The writer has a vigorous and vivid way of telling his story, and it has every 
 excellence that such a book should contain. — Buffalo News, 
 
 For tala by all booksellers or seat postpaid on receipt ol 
 price by the publishers 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., Boston 
 
THE CRIMSON RAMBLERS 
 
 By WARREN L. ELDRED 
 
 First Volume of "St. Dunstan Series" Illustrated by 
 Arthur O. Scott Large 12mo Cloth $1.50 
 
 •yniS is a stoiy of jolly life at St. 
 *■ Dunstan's School, supposed to be in 
 a village on the Hudson River. During 
 an eventful school year, five close friends 
 in the freshman class, and a teacher of 
 the best sort, plan for a summer-vacation 
 camp in Maine, and being encouraged in 
 a fondness for that best of all exercises, 
 walking, they adopt the name which gives 
 the title to the book, and having gone to 
 Boston by water, complete their journey 
 on foot, with plenty of adventures along 
 the way. 
 
 The boys are active, fun-loving, friendly fellows, not averse to run- 
 ning risks, but always landing on their feet after a fall. Their adventures 
 and experiences form the material of a good story, told with animation 
 and an evident understanding of boy nature. — Tie Christian Register. 
 
 The narrative is not only full of incident, but is written in a 
 thoroughly entertaining fashion. We do not often come upon a boy's 
 book go wholesome in tone and at the same time so admirably written. — 
 Boston Herald. 
 
 A book for boys that has the merit of combining humor with whole- 
 some adventure and excellent moral tone. Eldred knows boy nature and 
 has put a lot of it into this volume. — Cincinnati Times-Star. 
 
 The book has many pages of lively conversation that is always 
 entirely wholesome in tone, and while the boys are entertaining them- 
 selves the leader is entertained in reading the account of their adventures. 
 — Springfield Republican. 
 
 It is a boy's story of the best type; keenly alive; astir with action; 
 interesting from start to finish. — Christian World, 
 
 Por sale by Mil bookstUers or teat postpaid on receipt ot 
 price by the publltbers 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., Boston 
 
Larry Burke, Freshman 
 
 By FRANK I, ODELL 
 Illustrated by H. C. Edwsrds $1.25 
 
 THIS book bristles with activity; baseball, foot- 
 ball, ice-hockey, basketball, track and field 
 events, and a regatta appearing, and each sport 
 brought in with expert accuracy of detail, and 
 realism that makes one live over his own most 
 thrilling athletic experiences. Along with this is 
 a charming narrative of student life and comrade- 
 ship — the golden days that have no others like 
 them. Every boy and man who ever heard of a 
 college can take delight in this book. 
 
 "The high tone of mostof the boys, their comradeship and good will toward 
 one another are felt through the whole book. And if ever a boy deserved friends or 
 success, it was the noble-hearted hero of the story, Larry Burke." — Louisville 
 Courier- Journal, 
 
 ** A boys* book that is filled with healthy adventure and action from cover to 
 cover." — Cincinnati Times-Star, 
 
 Tim and Roy in Camp 
 
 By FRANK PENDLETON 
 Illustrated by J. W. Kennedy Large 12nio $1.50 
 
 IN this book is crowded a wealth of sport, adven- 
 ture, Indian stories, hunting and camping, facts 
 about animals encountered, and all that will please 
 a boy's heart. A skilful hunter and trapper takes 
 his son, nephew, and two close friends on such a 
 hunting and camping trip as their most vivid 
 
 J imagination could not have improved upon. They 
 are supremely happy in their enjoyment in all that 
 
 ( pertains to the woods, and his camp-fire stories of 
 experiences with Indians. Each of the boys has a 
 
 I chance to show his bravery and resourcefulness, 
 and each is equal to the occasion. 
 
 " The story is fascinating and contains not oae 
 thrill too manv." — Chicago News, 
 
 *• This is a great book for live, active boys, vigorous, wholesome, instructive 
 and entertaining, written by a man who certainly understands and knows boys, 
 and who knows how to give them the best kind of a vacation." — Portland Express, 
 
 For Male by all booksellers or seat posipaU on receipt ot 
 price by the publishers 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON 
 
NORMAN CARVER SERIES 
 By C. B. BURLEIGH 
 
 Cloth Large izmo Illustrated $1.50 each 
 
 All Among the Loggers 
 
 NORMAN CARVER is a bright, vigorous youth, whose father feels 
 that a winter of practical affairs will be better for his son than getting 
 into scrapes at school, where, though clean and honest, his social position 
 and active nature make other things easier than hard, old-fashioned study. 
 So he is sent to the deep woods of Maine, where his father owns lumber- 
 ing interests, and set to work as company's " clerk." An eventful winter 
 follows which does much for him. 
 
 With Pickpole and Peavey 
 
 NORMAN CARVER, having had a winter as a clerk in a lumber camp, 
 is given a somewhat similar position with a crew of river-drivers, and 
 with him is his faithful friend, Fred Warner. The athletic, well-educated 
 city boy and the earnest rural youth, " a born woodsman " as he is called, 
 share in some very exciting adventures, and they bear themselves in a way 
 that is a pleasure to read about. 
 
 The Young Guide 
 
 ■NJORMAN accompanies his father on a vacation 
 trip to the deep woods in the ' ' open' ' season. 
 In addition to the natural excitement of hunting, 
 further adventures are supplied by a band of 
 undesirable citizens who steal deer left hanging 
 in the woods and sell them to "yarding crews." 
 Norman Carver, and friend, Fred Warner, 
 who wins laurels as a guide, are instrumental in 
 having some of these villains brought to justice. 
 
 For tale by all booktellert or seat postpaid on receipt 
 0/ price by the publlebert 
 
 LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD CO., BOSTON