The Project Gutenberg EBook of Nautilus, by Laura E. Richards

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Title: Nautilus

Author: Laura E. Richards

Release Date: March 13, 2005 [EBook #15355]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration]

NAUTILUS

BY
LAURA E. RICHARDS
AUTHOR OF "CAPTAIN JANUARY," "MELODY," "MARIE," "QUEEN HILDEGARDE,"
ETC., ETC.

Illustrated

TENTH THOUSAND

BOSTON
ESTES AND LAURIAT
1895

_Copyright, 1895,_
BY ESTES AND LAURIAT
_All rights reserved
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London._

_Typography and Printing by_
_C.H. Simonds & Co._
_Electrotyping by Geo. C. Scott & Sons_
_Boston, U.S.A._

TO MY DEAR FRIENDS,
THE MEMBERS OF THE
HOWE CLUB,
OF GARDINER, MAINE,
THIS STORY IS AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATED.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER Page

I. THE BOY JOHN 13

II. THE SKIPPER 18

III. A GREAT EXHIBITION 33

IV. ABOARD THE "NAUTILUS" 48

V. MYSTERY 56

VI. MR. BILL HEN 68

VII. THE CAPTIVE 75

VIII. IN THE NIGHT 86

IX. FAMILY MATTERS 93

X. IN THE VALLEY OF DECISION 105

XI. SAILING 113

NAUTILUS

[Illustration: NAUTILUS]

CHAPTER I.

THE BOY JOHN.

The boy John was sitting on the wharf, watching the ebb of the tide. The
current was swift, for there had been heavy rains within a few days; the
river was full of drifting logs, bits of bark, odds and ends of various
kinds; the water, usually so blue, looked brown and thick. It swirled
round the great mossy piers, making eddies between them; from time to
time the boy dropped bits of paper into these eddies, and saw with
delight how they spun round