CHAPTER XXV
BEATING THE “STREAK O’ LIGHT”
The race Dan referred to was the actual trial of the big craft, and those rigged with motors. The course was to Karnac Lake and return. If the wind held light and fair it was anybody’s race; if it fell calm, undoubtedly the motor iceboats would have an advantage. If the wind increased to a gale there was no knowing who would be the successful one.
Since the big snow nobody knew the course well. The river’s surface was like a rolling plain—a prairie. There was known to be no open water; but otherwise the course was uncertain.
There were five starters. Monroe Stevens would not race his Redbird, nor did the Curlew start. The Speedwells’, Barry Spink’s, Mr. Darringford’s Betty B., an entry from Meadville, and one from Barrington, made up the “card.”
It was a long course, and it called for very good handling to go straight up the river, turn, and make the downward course in any sort of time. The five boats drifted out of the cove under sail and got in some sort of a line so that the referee could start them.
At once Spink’s mechanic started his engine; but the motors on the Betty B. and on the Speedwell craft remained silent. The signal was given and they all got off in some sort of time.
The Speedwells paid strict attention to their own work, and did not watch their rivals. If one is going to race, the way to do so is to attend strictly to one’s own business.
Dan and Billy knew that there was one bad obstacle—the Long Bridge. Although the masts all cleared the under-timbers of the high structure, the canvas was almost sure to lose the wind while going under.
Spink had gone at it just as he went at everything—with marvelous confidence. With motor sputtering and his big sail, bellied full, he shot ahead of the other four boats in the race and was quickly at the Long Bridge.
Here he had to drop the sail, for it interfered with the Streak o’ Light getting through. His motor coughed and the iceboat went ahead jerkily enough.
Dan and Billy had taken a rather long shoot to windward; now the Follow Me came up to the bridge on the other tack, and Dan started the motor just before his sail began to shake.
The momentum they had gathered carried the boat under the structure. At once the sail filled on the upper side, and the Follow Me proved her name to be good. She led the five iceboats, and the crowd of spectators that crowded the bridge cheered the Speedwell boys as their craft darted up the river.
It was not until then that she began to really move.
The boys had sailed pretty fast in her before. But now the whole stretch of the river lay before her. There was nothing in the way, and the wind was fair. Under the pressure of both wind and claw-wheel under the main beam, she hit only the high places, as Billy declared.
Dan tried to steer clear of the higher drifts; but sometimes she would run up the long slope of a hummock and shoot right out into the air. Those on shore could see the daylight between the runners of the Follow Me and the crust of ice.
At such times Dan was glad he had rigged his sprocket wheel so that he could raise her. The motor raced, but the moment the runners connected with the ice again, Dan drove the wheel down and the added impetus of the whirling claws aided in the speed of the boat.
Billy hung to the end of the crossbeam and laughed back at the other boats. He could afford to. Even Barry Spink’s wonderful craft was being left behind. Before they passed the end of Island Number One, the Follow Me was a mile and more in the lead.
And the boys kept this lead for the entire distance to Karnac Lake. When they turned the stake and started to beat back, the pace was more moderate. But here was where Dan’s invention “made good.”
The wind was against them. To tack from side to side of the river as the sailboats did was to lose precious time. They furled the sail, unstepped the mast, and speeded up the engines of the Follow Me.
The machinery worked splendidly. Sometimes, when there was a catspaw of good wind, one or another of the other contestants would get somewhere near Dan and Billy; but the moment the wind shifted, or died down, the motor iceboat scurried ahead.
They never saw Spink’s boat after passing her at Karnac Lake. Mr. Darringford’s Betty B. clung to the Follow Me for a long while; but finally she fell back. The boys were far, far ahead when they came down to the Long Bridge again.
In spite of the extreme cold, there was a goodly crowd to greet them. The Academy boys and girls “rooted” loudly for the brothers and their craft. The Follow Me slid under the bridge and so down to the starting point amid the plaudits of half of Riverdale and, as Billy said, “a good sprinkling of the rest of the county.”
Mr. Darringford, when he came in, a poor second, wanted to make a thorough examination of Dan’s invention, and the boys were glad to have him do so. He at once advised Dan to cover his ingenious work with a patent, and helped the boy do this at once.
“For people are bound to see and steal your idea,” said the gentleman, convinced that young Speedwell was quite a genius in mechanics.
“Huh! they’ve done that already—but it didn’t help ’em much,” scoffed Billy.
“You mean that Spink and his foreigner?” asked Mr. Darringford, with a queer little smile.
“Yes. He stole those plans from Dan.”
Mr. Darringford looked at the older Speedwell and smiled again. “I guess you saw what he did?” he said. “I can see that he tried to steal your idea; but he seems to have got it hind-end foremost—eh?”
“That’s what I noticed,” laughed Dan. “So I wasn’t much afraid of his beating us out.”
The story of what Barry Spink had done, and how he had overreached himself, leaked out, and the boys and girls of Riverdale fairly laughed the fellow out of town. Barry never entered the Riverdale Academy; but Bert Biggin did.
And Bert proved himself to be a pretty smart fellow, despite the nickname of “Dummy” that had clung to him for so many years.
That winter on the Colasha may never be repeated; but while the ice lasted, Dan and Billy, with their friends, managed to enjoy every hour they could get upon the frozen surface of the stream.
And none of those who bore a part in the incident will forget how they were lost in the great blizzard.
THE END
THE SADDLE BOYS SERIES
By CAPTAIN JAMES CARSON
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
All lads who love life in the open air and a good steed, will want to peruse these books. Captain Carson knows his subject thoroughly, and his stories are as pleasing as they are healthful and instructive.
THE SADDLE BOYS OF THE ROCKIES
or Lost on Thunder Mountain
Telling how the lads started out to solve the mystery of a great noise in the mountains—how they got lost—and of the things they discovered.
THE SADDLE BOYS IN THE GRAND CANYON
or The Hermit of the Cave
A weird and wonderful story of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, told in a most absorbing manner. The Saddle Boys are to the front in a manner to please all young readers.
THE SADDLE BOYS ON THE PLAINS
or After a Treasure of Gold
In this story the scene is shifted to the great plains of the southwest and then to the Mexican border. There is a stirring struggle for gold, told as only Captain Carson can tell it.
THE SADDLE BOYS AT CIRCLE RANCH
or In at the Grand Round-up
Here we have lively times at the ranch, and likewise the particulars of a grand round-up of cattle and encounters with wild animals and also cattle thieves. A story that breathes the very air of the plains.
THE SADDLE BOYS ON MEXICAN TRAILS
or In the Hands of the Enemy
The scene is shifted in this volume to Mexico. The boys go on an important errand, and are caught between the lines of the Mexican soldiers. They are captured and for a while things look black for them; but all ends happily.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
THE WEBSTER SERIES
By FRANK V. WEBSTER
Mr. WEBSTER’S style is very much like
that of the boys’ favorite author, the late
lamented Horatio Alger, Jr., but his tales
are thoroughly up-to-date.
Cloth. 12mo. Over 200 pages each. Illustrated.
Stamped in various colors.
Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
Only A Farm Boy
or The Hardy’s Rise in Life
The Boy From The Ranch
or Roy Bradner’s City Experiences
The Young Treasure Hunter
or Fred Stanley’s Trip to Alaska
The Boy Pilot of the Lakes
or Nat Morton’s Perils
Tom The Telephone Boy
or The Mystery of a Message
Bob The Castaway
or The Wreck of the Eagle
The Newsboy Partners
or Who Was Dick Box?
Two Boy Gold Miners
or Lost in the Mountains
The Young Firemen of Lakeville
or Herbert Dare’s Pluck
The Boys of Bellwood School
or Frank Jordan’s Triumph
Jack the Runaway
or On the Road with a Circus
Bob Chester’s Grit
or From Ranch to Riches
Airship Andy
or The Luck of a Brave Boy
High School Rivals
or Fred Markham’s Struggles
Derry The Life Saver
or The Heroes of the Coast
Dick The Bank Boy
or A Missing Fortune
Ben Hardy’s Flying Machine
or Making a Record for Himself
Harry Watson’s High School Days
or The Rivals of Rivertown
Comrades of the Saddle
or The Young Rough Riders of the Plains
Tom Taylor at West Point
or The Old Army Officer’s Secret
The Boy Scouts of Lennox
or Hiking Over Big Bear Mountain
The Boys of the Wireless
or a Stirring Rescue from the Deep
Cowboy Dave
or The Round-up at Rolling River
Jack of the Pony Express
or The Young Rider of the Mountain Trail
The Boys of the Battleship
or For the Honor of Uncle Sam
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
THE KHAKI BOYS SERIES
BY CAPT. GORDON BATES
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Jacket in full color.
Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
All who love the experiences and adventures
of our American boys, fighting for the
freedom of democracy in the world, will be
delighted with these vivid and true-to-life
stories of the camp and field in the great
war.
THE KHAKI BOYS AT CAMP STERLING
or Training for the Big Fight in France
Two zealous young patriots volunteer and begin their military training. On the train going to camp they meet two rookies with whom they become chums. Together they get into a baffling camp mystery that develops into an extraordinary spy-plot. They defeat the enemies of their country and incidentally help one another to promotion both in friendship and service.
THE KHAKI BOYS ON THE WAY
or Doing Their Bit on Sea and Land
Our soldier boys having completed their training at Camp Sterling are transferred to a Southern cantonment from which they are finally sent aboard a troop-ship for France. On the trip their ship is sunk by a U-boat and their adventures are realistic descriptions of the tragedies of the sea.
THE KHAKI BOYS AT THE FRONT
or Shoulder to Shoulder in the Trenches
The Khaki Boys reach France, and, after some intensive training in sound of the battle front, are sent into the trenches. In the raids across No-Man’s land, they have numerous tragic adventures that show what great work is being performed by our soldiers. It shows what makes heroes.
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS
SERIES
BY ROY ROCKWOOD
Author of “The Dave Dashaway Series,” “Great Marvel Series,” etc.
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
All boys who love to be on the go will welcome the Speedwell boys. They are clean cut and loyal lads.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS ON MOTOR CYCLES
or The Mystery of a Great Conflagration
The lads were poor, but they did a rich man a great service and he presented them with their motor cycles. What a great fire led to is exceedingly well told.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR RACING AUTO
or A Run for the Golden Cup
A tale of automobiling and of intense rivalry on the road. There was an endurance run and the boys entered the contest. On the run they rounded up some men who were wanted by the law.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR POWER LAUNCH
or To the Rescue of the Castaways
Here is an unusual story. There was a wreck, and the lads, in their power launch, set out to the rescue. A vivid picture of a great storm adds to the interest of the tale.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS IN A SUBMARINE
or The Lost Treasure of Rocky Cave
An old sailor knows of a treasure lost under water because of a cliff falling into the sea. The boys get a chance to go out in a submarine and they make a hunt for the treasure.
THE SPEEDWELL BOYS AND THEIR ICE RACER
or The Perils of a Great Blizzard
The boys had an idea for a new sort of iceboat, to be run by combined wind and motor power. How they built the craft, and what fine times they had on board of it, is well related.
CUPPLES & LEON CO., Publishers, NEW YORK
THE RUTH FIELDING SERIES
BY ALICE B. EMERSON
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 50 cents, postpaid.
Ruth Fielding was an orphan and
came to live with her miserly uncle. Her
adventures and travels make stories that
will hold the interest of every reader.
RUTH FIELDING OF THE RED MILL
or Jasper Parloe’s Secret
RUTH FIELDING AT BRIARWOOD HALL
or Solving the Campus Mystery
RUTH FIELDING AT SNOW CAMP
or Lost in the Backwoods
RUTH FIELDING AT LIGHTHOUSE POINT
or Nita, the Girl Castaway
RUTH FIELDING AT SILVER RANCH
or Schoolgirls Among the Cowboys
RUTH FIELDING ON CLIFF ISLAND
or The Old Hunter’s Treasure Box
RUTH FIELDING AT SUNRISE FARM
or What Became of the Raby Orphans
RUTH FIELDING AND THE GYPSIES
or The Missing Pearl Necklace
RUTH FIELDING IN MOVING PICTURES
or Helping the Dormitory Fund
RUTH FIELDING DOWN IN DIXIE
or Great Days in the Land of Cotton
RUTH FIELDING AT COLLEGE
or The Missing Examination Papers
RUTH FIELDING IN THE SADDLE
or College Girls in the Land of Gold
RUTH FIELDING IN THE RED CROSS (New)
or Doing Her Bit for Uncle Sam
RUTH FIELDING AT THE WAR FRONT (New)
or The Hunt for a Lost Soldier
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES
BY CLARENCE YOUNG
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 75c, postpaid.
The Motor Boys
or Chums Through Thick and Thin
The Motor Boys Overland
or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune
The Motor Boys In Mexico
or The Secret of The Buried City
The Motor Boys Across the Plains
or The Hermit of Lost Lake
The Motor Boys Afloat
or The Cruise of the Dartaway
The Motor Boys on the Atlantic
or The Mystery of the Lighthouse
The Motor Boys In Strange Waters
or Lost in a Floating Forest
The Motor Boys on the Pacific
or The Young Derelict Hunters
The Motor Boys In the Clouds
or A Trip for Fame and Fortune
The Motor Boys Over the Rockies
or A Mystery of the Air
The Motor Boys Over the Ocean
or A Marvelous Rescue in Mid-Air
The Motor Boys on the Wing
or Seeking the Airship Treasure
The Motor Boys After a Fortune
or The Hut on Snake Island
The Motor Boys on the Border
or Sixty Nuggets of Gold
The Motor Boys Under the Sea
or From Airship to Submarine
The Motor Boys on Road and River
or Racing to Save a Life
THE MOTOR BOYS SECOND SERIES
BY CLARENCE YOUNG
Ned, Bob and Jerry at Boxwood Hall
or The Motor Boys as Freshmen
Ned, Bob and Jerry on a Ranch
or The Motor Boys Among the Cowboys
Ned, Bob and Jerry at College (New)
or The Motor Boys and Their Rivals
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE BASEBALL JOE SERIES
BY LESTER CHADWICK
12mo. Illustrated. Price per volume, 75 cents, postpaid.
BASEBALL JOE OF THE SILVER STARS
or The Rivals of Riverside
Joe is an everyday country boy who loves to play baseball and particularly to pitch.
BASEBALL JOE ON THE SCHOOL NINE
or Pitching for the Blue Banner
Joe’s great ambition was to go to boarding school and play on the school team.
BASEBALL JOE AT YALE
or Pitching for the College Championship
Joe goes to Yale University. In his second year he becomes a varsity pitcher and pitches in several big games.
BASEBALL JOE IN THE CENTRAL LEAGUE
or Making Good as a Professional Pitcher
In this volume the scene of action is shifted from Yale college to a baseball league of our central states.
BASEBALL JOE IN THE BIG LEAGUE
or A Young Pitcher’s Hardest Struggles
From the Central League Joe is drafted into the St. Louis Nationals. A corking baseball story all fans will enjoy.
BASEBALL JOE ON THE GIANTS
or Making Good as a Twirler in the Metropolis
How Joe was traded to the Giants and became their mainstay in the box makes an interesting baseball story.
BASEBALL JOE IN THE WORLD SERIES
or Pitching for the Championship
The rivalry was of course of the keenest, and what Joe did to win the series is told in a manner to thrill the most jaded reader.
BASEBALL JOE AROUND THE WORLD (New)
or Pitching on a Grand Tour
The Giants and the All-Americans tour the world, playing in many foreign countries.
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE CURLYTOPS SERIES
BY HOWARD R. GARIS
Author of the famous “Bedtime Animal Stories”
12mo. Cloth. Beautifully Illustrated. Jacket in full color.
Price per volume, 50 cents, net
Splendid stories for the little girls and boys, told by one who is a past master in the art of entertaining young people.
THE CURLYTOPS AT CHERRY FARM
or Vacation Days in the Country
A tale of happy vacation days on a farm. The Curlytops have many exciting adventures.
THE CURLYTOPS ON STAR ISLAND
or Camping out with Grandpa
The Curlytops were delighted when grandpa took them to camp on Star Island. There they had great fun and also helped to solve a real mystery.
THE CURLYTOPS SNOWED IN
or Grand Fun with Skates and Sleds
Winter was a jolly time for the Curlytops, with their skates and sleds, but when later they were snowed in they found many new ways to enjoy themselves.
THE CURLYTOPS AT UNCLE FRANK’S RANCH
or Little Folks on Pony Back
Out West on their uncle’s ranch they have a wonderful time among the cowboys and on pony back.
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE PATSY CARROLL SERIES
BY GRACE GORDON
12mo. Illustrated. Beautiful cloth binding, stamped in gold with
cover inlay and jacket in colors.
Price Per Volume $1.25 Net.
This fascinating series is permeated with the vibrant atmosphere of the great outdoors. The vacations spent by Patsy Carroll and her chums, the girl Wayfarers, in the north, east, south and west of the wonderland of our country, comprise a succession of tales unsurpassed in plot and action.
PATSY CARROLL AT WILDERNESS LODGE
Patsy Carroll succeeds in coaxing her father to lease one of the luxurious camps at Lake Placid, in the Adirondack Mountains, for the summer. Once established at Wilderness Lodge, the Wayfarers, as they have decided to call themselves, find they are the center of a mystery which revolves about a missing will. How the girls solve the mystery makes a splendid story.
PATSY CARROLL UNDER SOUTHERN SKIES (New)
Patsy Carroll and her three chums spend their Easter vacation in an old mansion in Florida, where an exciting mystery develops, which is solved by a very curious acrostic found by Patsy, and which leads to very exciting and satisfactory results, making a capital story.
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
THE JANE ALLEN COLLEGE
SERIES
BY EDITH BANCROFT
12mo. Illustrated. Beautiful cloth binding, stamped in gold with
cover inlay and jacket in colors.
Price Per Volume $1.25 Net.
This series is a decided departure from the stories usually written of life in the modern college for young women. They contain a deep and fascinating theme, which has to do with the inner struggle for growth. An authoritative account of the life of the college girl as it is lived to-day.
JANE ALLEN OF THE SUB TEAM
When Jane Allen left her beautiful Western home in Montana, sorely against her will, to go East, there to become a freshman at Wellington College, she was sure that she could never learn to endure the restrictions of college life. But she did and the account of Jane’s first year at Wellington is well worth reading.
JANE ALLEN: RIGHT GUARD (New)
Jane Allen becomes a sophomore at Wellington College, but she has to face a severe trial that requires all her courage and character. The meaning of true soul-nobility is brought out in the development of the trying experience. The result is a triumph for being faithful to an ideal.
Send For Our Free Illustrated Catalogue.
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY, Publishers, New York
Transcriber’s Notes:
The cover image has been created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Minor spelling, punctuation and typographic errors were corrected silently, except as noted below.
On page 36, changed "Bromely" to "Bromley" to be consistent with other instances of that name in the book.
On page 44, removed sentence break hyphenation from "star-lit", based on usage frequency of "star-lit" and "starlit" during 1900-1920 period.
On page 102, "to" was inserted into the sentence, "“What’s happened him now?” asked Dan."
In the ad pages, the publishers line at the bottom of each page has been normalized with respect to the comma after the word "Publishers".