The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash

L. P. Wyman

Description

The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash (1923) is an adventure novel by L.P. Wyman and one of seven books in his vastly underrated—and relatively unknown—Golden Boys series.

Each novel follows the adventures of Bob and Jack Golden, brothers from Maine with curious minds and adventurous hearts. Together, often alongside their trusted friend Rex Dale, the Golden Boys use their problem-solving skills and wilderness experience to overcome danger, discover strange places, and grow into fine young men.

In The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash, Bob and Jack Golden, with their friend Rex Dale, journey from the comfort of their home in Maine to discover the lost lake known only as Umsaskis. Along the way, they recruit their old friend and mentor Kernertok, a Native American trapper, who joins their expedition along with his trusted dog Sicum. Voyaging in a canoe and on foot, the adventurous group makes its way north to find the lake. On their way, they are forced to stage several daring rescues, as well as to survive a terrifying encounter with a vicious wildcat. As they near their destination, and as the Golden Boys and their two friends find they are not all alone in the deep, dark woods, they need both knowledge and luck not just to find Umsaskis, but to survive.

L.P. Wyman’s The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash is a timeless tale that is both easy to read and difficult to put down. Published several years before the debut of The Hardy Boys series, which would dominate young adult fiction for decades to come, The Golden Boys series is long overdue for the attention and appreciation it deserves. Although originally published for an audience of teenage boys, Wyman’s series is perfect for children of all ages and genders, as well as for adults looking to return to the simple, exciting fiction of their youth.

With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of L.P. Wyman’s The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash is a newly unearthed classic of young adult literature reimagined for modern readers.

Sujets

• Fiction Jeunesse
• Maine
• Indian
• Skowhegan
• Skowhegan, Maine
• Mysteries
• Jack Golden
• Juvenilee Fiction
• Detective Stories

Informations

• Publié par: Mint Editions
• Date de parution: 01 décembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781513266992
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash
L.P. Wyman
 

The Golden Boys Along the River Allagash was first published in 1923.
This edition published by Mint Editions 2020.
ISBN 9781513266558 | E-ISBN 9781513266992
Published by Mint Editions ®
minteditionbooks.com
Publishing Director: Jennifer Newens
Design & Production: Rachel Lopez Metzger
Typesetting: Westchester Publishing Services
 

C ONTENTS    1. M R . F IXIT    2. J ACK I NVESTIGATES A P RINCIPLE    3. T HE L EGEND OF THE U MSASKIS    4. R EX L EARNS H OW TO M AKE A C ARRY    5. A C RY IN THE N IGHT    6. R EX D ISAPPEARS    7. R EX E NCOUNTERS W ILD C ATS    8. A M YSTERIOUS M ESSAGE    9. B OB M EETS THE E NEMY 10. K ERNERTOK G ETS H IS 11. S TEBBINS IS F OUND 12. B ESIEGED 13. K ERNERTOK TO THE R ESCUE —C ONCLUSION
 

Chapter 1
M R . F IXIT
“What do you suppose can be the matter with the pesky thing?”
The speaker, a freckled faced boy about eighteen years old looked up from where he was kneeling on the bottom of the boat in front of the engine.
“Search me,” his companion, a tall lanky boy of about the same age, who was sitting in the stern, replied. “Gas’s all right, spark’s all right, everything’s all right and still she won’t go. Can you beat it?”
“And I’ll bet I’ve cranked it enough to run her the length of the lake,” the first speaker declared, wiping the sweat from his face. “It’s the queerest thing. An automobile engine can have a dozen things the matter with it and still run but you can get one of these little dinky marine engines all in perfect order and then it’s ten to one she won’t more than give a kick or two.”
“Reckon that’s just because it’s a motor boat engine,” and the boy in the stern laughed.
“It’s all right to laugh, but suppose you come here and give her a few spins. Mebby it won’t seem quite so funny then.”
“Gladly, Sweet Cherub, and you just watch her go.”
The two boys exchanged places and the lanky one, kneeling in front of the refractory engine was soon spinning the fly wheel while the freckled faced boy sat back and grinned.
“There, she coughed six times. That beats your record by one.”
“Keep it up and you may get her up to seven.”
But six seemed to be the limit of the engine’s willingness and soon he gave it up.
“No use to crank your head off,” he panted as he got to his feet. “She just won’t go that’s all, and—”
The freckled faced boy, who happened to be looking toward the shore, interrupted him:
“There’s Jack Golden on the hotel porch. He can fix about anything that’s fixable. Hello, Jack. Come out here a minute, will you?”
Jack Golden, a sturdy well set up boy of about the same age as the others, glanced up from the paper he was reading, and, seeing who was calling him, ran down the steps.
“Hello, Cherub. What seems to be the main difficulty?” he asked as soon as he reached the end of the pier.
“There’s no ‘seems’ about it. It just won’t go that’s all.”
“Where there’s a result there’s always a reason,” Jack declared as he jumped into the boat. “Sure your gas and spark are all right?”
“Yep, and so’s everything else except that she won’t go.”
“This is a make and break engine isn’t it?”
“Yep, but mostly break,” the lanky boy laughed.
Jack was busy removing a brass plate from the top of the engine which covered the timing gear. He then opened the pet cocks and slowly turned the fly wheel.
“She seems to explode all right, but wait a minute till I get this side plate off so I can see when the pistons are up. There, that’s better. Number one is hitting at just the right time but number two is a trifle too soon,” he declared after turning the engine over a few more times. “That timing arm has been bent a little. Guess we’ll have to take it off and straighten it.”
It took but a minute to take the piece out and with a strong pair of pliers Jack carefully bent the arm very slightly.
“There, now let’s see what she’ll do,” he said as soon as he had replaced the lever.
He gave the wheel a couple of turns and the engine began purring as though it had never had the slightest intention of stopping.
“Well, what do you know about that?” the lanky boy gasped.
“It’s no more than I expected,” the Cherub grinned. “Didn’t I tell you he could fix it if it could be fixed. He’s the original Mr. Fixit around these parts.”
Jack Golden laughed.
“I just happened to hit it right that’s all,” he declared modestly.
“Well, mebby so, but I wish I could happen to hit something like that once in a while. Usually the more I tinker with this old tub the worse she runs. But we’re awfully obliged.”
“You’re very welcome, I’m sure. Any time you get stuck again just call out, but I may not be so lucky next time.”
The two boys unfastened the boat and headed it down the lake after bidding Jack good-bye and again thanking him, and Jack walked slowly back toward the hotel. He had reached the porch steps when the front door opened and his brother Bob stepped out.
“Hello, there, sleepy head. Had your breakfast.”
“Breakfast nothing. But what you been doing?”
“Oh, Cherub’s engine balked again and I fixed it for him. Timing lever was bent.”
“Cherub has more trouble with that old two cylinder of his than Mrs. Murphy had with her pig,” Bob Golden laughed.
“I guess that’s about right. But if you’re ready at last we might as well start for the cottage.”
“Just as soon as I get a couple of pounds of sugar. I won’t be but a minute.”
He was back in but little more than the time stated and the two boys walked out to the end of the pier where their boat, The Sprite, was tied. While Jack was unfastening the rope Bob took from his pocket a brass cylinder about eight inches long which he slipped into place beneath one of the side seats.
“Let her go,” Jack cried from his place in the bow.
Bob touched a small lever and the boat began moving through the water. There was no sound save that of the water as it was thrown from the bows, for the Sprite was equipped with an electric motor instead of a gas engine. The brass cylinder which Bob had taken from his pocket was a powerful storage cell which the two boys had invented.
“I’m glad we don’t have an engine to tinker with half the time,” Bob said as the boat gained speed.
“Oh, it’s not so bad at that,” Jack laughed. “That is when you can get them to go.”
The two boys, Bob and Jack Golden had come up to the lake from their home in Skowhegan the night before intending to go at once to their cottage on the other side of the lake. But a heavy thunder storm, which continued far into the night, had caused them to change their plans and so they had spent the night at the little hotel in the grove.
“There’s the Jenkins boys in their new speed boat,” Jack said when they were a little more than half way across the lake.
“And she’s sure coming. Look at the way she throws the water. She must be making twenty-five.”
“Well, we’ll give her a wide berth. Fred ran into me once and while perhaps he didn’t exactly try to do it I never could believe that he tried very hard not to.”
“He can be pretty mean but I hardly think he’d do a thing like that on purpose.”
“Mebby not. Anyhow we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”
While they were talking the other boat had been coming rapidly toward them and now was only a short distance off.
“Out of the way with that old tub,” a voice called across the intervening space.
“Don’t answer him,” Bob cautioned.
He saw that they intended to cut across their bow so he turned back the switch and the Sprite immediately began to loose headway, and had nearly stopped by the time the other boat was about fifty feet off their port side and as far ahead of them.
Suddenly Jack uttered a cry of surprise for, instead of keeping straight on her course, the speed boat made a turn and the next minute was coming directly for them.
“Back her quick,” he shouted.
Bob at once threw his boat into reverse but too late. The speed boat, still going at high speed, struck the Sprite directly amidships and the light boat went over like an egg shell. Fortunately it was a glancing blow and not a head on collision.
Jack was thrown clear and struck the water sprawling. His first thought was of Bob. Had he gotten clear? As he shook the water from his eyes he saw the Sprite, about ten feet away, settling rapidly and before he could reach her she was gone. But where was Bob? Not a thing was in sight where the boat had gone down. For an instant he trod water and gazed about him. Then, taking a long breath, he dove.
The water was very clear and he had no difficulty in seeing the Sprite as she lay in about twenty feet of water. Then, just as he reached the boat, he saw that for which he was searching. Bob lay just back of the stern and Jack could see that his foot was caught in the tiller rope. He was making no effort to free himself and the thought flashed through the boy’s mind that he must have been stunned.
In a frenzy of fear he tugged at the rope. Would it never yield? If he only had time to get his knife out but he did not dare attempt it. Already his lungs seemed nearly at the point of bursting. With a prayer in his heart he gave a final desperate pull and the foot was free. He had just strength enough left to give a kick against the bottom of the lake as he grabbed his brother in his arms. In spite of his weakness it was a good strong kick and they shot rapidly upward although, as Jack afterward said, it seemed about a week before his head popped out of the water. Eagerly the boy drank the life-giving air into his lungs all the while making a desperate effort to keep his brother’s head above water. He knew that Bob was still unconscious and the thought that he might be dead nearly overcame him. But, as he realized that their safety depended upon his not losing his head, he forced himself to keep calm. But it was hard work supporting that dead weight and he was tiring rapidly.
“We’ll have you in a minute,” he heard the voice as from a great distance but almost instan