irman."

"Who will be coxswain?" asked Charles, with a look of inquiry at Frank.

"You will choose him by vote, as well as the clerk," answered Captain
Sedley.

"But the regulations, father?"

"You must have no profanity, no lying, no vulgar language; and no boy
must be permitted to neglect his school, or his duties at home, on
account of the boat."

"We can fix all that," said Charles.

"I intend that this club shall be a society for the promotion of your
moral welfare, as well as a means of amusement. In your club-room I am
going to place a library for your use; and next winter, when the lake
is frozen over, you can meet there for amusement and instruction."

"That will be first-rate," added Charles.

"What time shall we meet this afternoon, father?"

"Two o'clock, say. Now go to your breakfasts, and get ready for school.
Be careful and not let the pleasure you anticipate in the boat
interfere with your studies," said Captain Sedley, as the boys bounded
away to their respective homes.

Frank and Charles, on their way to school, decided upon the boys whom
they should invite to join the club; and in the course of the forenoon
they were asked to assemble on the beach, without being told the
precise object of the meeting.

The boys' heads were so full of the club boat that it required a great
deal of courage to enable them to study in school that day; but so
closely had Captain Sedley connected the idea of improvement with the
club, that they struggled hard, and succeeded in getting "perfect
lessons."

CHAPTER VI

THE EMBARKATION

At half-past one the members of the embryo boat club were on the beach.
Those who were not informed before their arrival of the nature of the
"time" in store for them were in ecstasies when they beheld the
beautiful boat reposing so lightly and gracefully on the tranquil bosom
of the clear lake. None of them had ever seen such a fairy bark before,
and it more than realized their idea of the airy and graceful craft of
which they had read and thought.

Uncle Ben had not arrived yet; but he had evidently been there during
the forenoon, for the boat had been taken from her moorings, and was
now secured by a line attached to a stake driven in the sand.

The boys, as a matter of course, were very impatient to take their
first lesson in rowing, and to skim over the glassy lake in the
splendid barge before them.

"Where is Uncle Ben?" asked Charles, hardly able to control