The High School Boys Canoe Club

The High School Boys' Canoe
Club

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The High School Boys' Canoe Club, by
H. Irving Hancock
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Title: The High School Boys' Canoe Club
Author: H. Irving Hancock
Release Date: June 25, 2004 [eBook #12728]
Language: English
Character set encoding: US-ASCII
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGH
SCHOOL BOYS' CANOE CLUB***
E-text prepared by Jim Ludwig

The High School Boys' Canoe Club or Dick & Co.'s Rivals on Lake
Pleasant

By H. Irving Hancock

CONTENTS
CHAPTERS
I. The "Splendid" War Canoe II. "RIP" Tries Out His Bargain III.
Buying Fuel for a Bonfire? IV. Hiram Pries a Secret Loose V. Birch
Bark Merchants VI. Meeting the Fate of Greenhorns VII. "Danny Grin"
is Silent VIII. What an Expert Can Do IX. Dick Trembles at His Nerve
X. Putting Up a Big Scheme XI. All Ready to Race, But----- XII. Susie
Discomfits a Boor XIII. The Ripley Heir Tries Coaxing XIV. The Liar
has a Lie Ready XV. At the Greatest of Feasts XVI. A Scalp-Hunting
Disappointment XVII. The Good Word by Wire XVIII. "Won't Win
Against a Mudscow" XIX. What Ailed Gridley? XX. "Dinky-Rat Hot
Sail!" XXI. Nature Has a Dismal Streak XXII. Fred is Grateful---One
Second! XXIII. Trentville, The Awesome XIV. Conclusion
CHAPTER I
THE "SPLENDID" WAR CANOE
"It's the wreck of one of the grandest enterprises ever conceived by the
human mind!" complained Colonel W.P. Grundy, in a voice broken
with emotion.
A group of small boys grinned, though they offered no audible
comment.
"Such defeats often---usually, in fact---come to those who try to
educate the masses and bring popular intelligence to a higher level,"
was the colonel's declaration, as he wiped away a real or imaginary
tear.
On a nearby lot stood a large show tent, so grayed and frayed, so
altogether dingy as to suggest that it had seen some summers of service

ere it became briefly the property of Colonel Grundy.
Near the entrance to the tent a temporary platform had been built of the
board seats taken from the interior of the tent.
Near the platform stood a grim-visaged deputy sheriff, conversing with
an auctioneer on whose face the grin had become chronic.
Some distance from the tent stood a group of perhaps forty men of the
town of Gridley.
"The whole outfit of junk won't bring five hundred dollars," predicted
one of these men. "How much did you say the judgments total?"
"Seventeen thousand four hundred dollars," replied another. "But the
man who attached the show has a claim for only six hundred and forty
dollars, so he may get most of his money."
Here the auctioneer stopped talking with the deputy sheriff long enough
to go over to the platform, pick up a bell and ring it vigorously. A few
more stragglers came up, most of them boys without any money in
their pockets.
Off at one side of the lot six boys stood by themselves, talking in low
tones, casting frequent, earnest glances toward the platform.
These youngsters were Dick Prescott, Dave Darrin, Greg Holmes, Tom
Reade, Dan Dalzell and Harry Hazelton. Collectively they were known
in the boydom of Gridley as Dick & Co.
Our readers are already familiar with every one of these lads, having
first been introduced to them in the "_Grammar School Boys Series,"
with its four volumes, "The Grammar School Boys of Gridley," "The
Grammar School Boys Snowbound," "The Grammar School Boys in
the Woods" and "The Grammar School Boys in Summer Athletics_."
The varied and stirring exploits of Dick & Co., as told in these books,
stamped the six chums as American boys of the best sort.

Then, in "The High School Freshmen," the first volume of the "High
School Boys Series," our readers went further into the history of Dick &
Co., and saw how even freshmen may impress their personalities on the
life and sports of a high school. The pranks, the fights, the victories and
achievements of that first year in high school had done much to shape
the characters and mould the minds of all six of our boys.
The present narrative deals with all that happened in the vacation after
Dick Prescott and his friends had finished their freshman year. The
summer now lay before them for whatever might come to them in the
way of work and pleasure. Though none of the six yet knew it, the
summer was destined to bring to them the fullest measure of wonder
and excitement.
And now let us get back to Dick