"I want to go out of town."

The driver drove his horse to the other side of the street, and hailed a short, stout man, who was passing at the time.

"Do you want a guide, sir?" asked the stranger.

"Yes," promptly replied Clyde.

"Where do wish to go?"

"Over there," replied Clyde, pointing again in the direction he wished to go.

"To Sandviken?"

"Yes; that's the place," added the youth, who did not care where he went, if he could only get out of the city.

"It is more than eight miles," suggested the guide.

"I don't care if it is eighty; that's where I want to go. Are you a commissionaire?"

"Yes. I belong to the Victoria Hotel."

"All right; jump in."

The man made a bargain with the driver, and in a few moments Clyde was on his way to Sandviken, confident that he had escaped any further pursuit. He had already come to the conclusion not to see his mother until after the Young America had left Christiania.

In the mean time, Peaks had given up the chase. Paul assured the principal that Clyde would come back as soon as his mother arrived. Mr. Lowington did not care to have the new scholar see his mother again if he was to be a student in the Academy; but as Clyde could not be found, there appeared to be no alternative.

In a couple of hours, the fugitive reached Sandviken, where he informed his astonished guide that he intended to proceed to Christiansand by land. His courier was willing to go with him so long as he was paid; and as Clyde had plenty of money, and disbursed it freely, there was no difficulty. Though the next day was Sunday, the young traveller continued his journey, and on Monday afternoon arrived at Apalstoe, at the head of one of the inland lakes, where he intended to sleep; but the station-house was full. Clyde was tired, and did not feel like going any farther. While he was sending his courier to look up a bed for him, about a dozen boys wearing the uniform of the Academy ship flashed upon his view. He was astonished and alarmed. He suspected that this party had been sent to the interior to head him off. He was determined not to be an easy victim.

One of the party had a good-sized salmon in his hand, which indicated that they had been a-fishing.

They took no notice of him, though they could not help seeing him, and Clyde took courage from this circumstance.

The fishing squad was composed of the crew of the second cutter—the unfortunates who had been run down by the steamer.



CHAPTER IX.

THE EXCURSION WITHOUT RUNNING AWAY.

The second cutter was a wreck on the water, and the crew saved themselves by climbing up the bow of the steamer which had run down the boat. They received prompt assistance from those on board, and, as the cutter did not sink, and would not have done so, having no ballast, even if she had been cut in two, the crew were so well trained that not one of them was guilty of the absurdity of jumping overboard, and therefore no one was even very wet.

It appeared to be one of those cases where both parties had struggled to avoid the catastrophe, but the more they struggled the worse was the situation. If the cutter, on the one hand, had continued on her course, she would have escaped. If the steamer, on the other hand, had not changed her course when the calamity was threatened, the boat could have avoided her. The change of purpose in each had confused the other, and rendered unavailing the attempt to avoid the collision. The boat would have gone clear of the steamer if the latter had not put her helm to starboard. But the catastrophe was accomplished so quickly that there was not much time to philosophize; and as nothing worse than a stove boat had resulted from it, there was not much reason to complain. We are not aware that any one did complain; and we only state the appearances, not the facts.

The steamer started her wheels again after the cutter had been secured and made fast astern. The captain spoke only a few words of English, and Sanford found it quite impossible to hold a conversation with him. But Ole Amundsen was at hand in this emergency.

"Tell him he needn't stop for us, Ole," said the coxswain.

"Don't you want to return to the ship?" asked the astonished waif.

"No, no," replied Sanford, in a low tone, so that some of the doubtful members of his crew might not hear him. "Where is the steamer going, Ole?"

"To Christiania, stopping at all the ports on the coast," answered Ole, when he had obtained the information from the captain.

"All right; we will go to the first place where she stops," added Sanford. "Don't say a word to the rest of the fellows, Ole."

"The first port she stops at is Lillesand," said Ole.

"Very well; we will go there."

Ole explained to the captain that the boys he had picked up wished to go to Lillesand, where they could join their ship. This plan exactly suited the young Norwegian, for he did not like the idea of being landed at Christiansand, or taken back to the ship.

"Where are we going? Why don't he put us on shore, or on board of the ship?" demanded Burchmore.

"It's a mail steamer; she is very late," replied Ole.

"But is she going to carry us off, because she is in a hurry?"

"Only to a port up here a little ways. We can come right back in another steamer," Ole explained; and Burchmore was satisfied.

Now, the captain had certainly declared that he was in a great hurry, and was not willing to wait for the boat which had put off from the ship; but he proposed to hail a boat which was passing, and send his involuntary passengers to the town in her. Ole assured him his companions wished to go to Lillesand, and he was too glad to avoid any delay. As the first cutter followed the steamer, it was decided, after consultation with the captain, to turn the stove boat adrift, so that it could be towed back to the ship by the first cutters. Sanford cast off the painter, and the pliant master of the steamer was glad to get rid of this check upon the speed of his boat. The boys watched the water-logged craft till it was picked up by the first cutter, and then passing behind an island, the squadron was out of view.

"How came you here, Ole?" asked Rodman.

"Came in the boat; but I didn't think you were going to smash her. I thought I was killed that time, sure," laughed the waif.

"But how came you in the boat?" inquired Wilde.

"I got in, of course; nobody put me in."

"When?"

"When it hung at the davits in the ship, just before the pilot came on board."

"What do you get in there for?"

"My education has been neglected, and I have to do a great deal of thinking to make up for it. I don't like to be disturbed when I'm thinking; so I got into the boat, and covered myself with the sail."

"Tell that to the fishes," snuffed Wilde.

"You can, if you wish; I don't speak their language," laughed Ole.

"But really, Norway, what did you get into the second cutter for?" said Sanford.

"The pilot was a first cousin of mine, and I was afraid he would whip me for making faces at him when I was a baby. He never forgets anything."

"Nonsense!"

"Well, if you know better than I, don't ask me any more about it."

Ole was no more inclined to explain how he came in the second cutter than he had been to solve the mystery of being in a water-logged bateau, out of sight of land. It only appeared that while the students covered the rail and crowded the rigging to see the land, he had put himself into the boat. When the hands were called to man the braces, he, having no duty to perform, had not answered the call, and was left alone in the cutter. At sea, every precaution was taken to provide for the safety of the crew in case of any calamity. Each boat was provided with a sail, a mast, a compass, and several breakers of water, and a quantity of provisions was ready to be put in when needed. Ole stowed himself beneath the sail, which lay under the middle board, extending fore and aft. Before De Forrest took his place in the stern-sheets, Stockwell had discovered the absentee, and communicated the fact of his presence to those near him. The crew of the second cutter were entirely willing to keep his secret, as they were that of any one who needed their help. Among such boys it was regarded as dishonorable in the highest degree to betray any one; and, indeed, the principal discountenanced anything like "tale-bearing," to which the students gave a very liberal construction. Sanford had proposed that De Forrest should take a walk on shore, in order to give Ole an opportunity to escape from his confinement, which, on account of the singular obstinacy and suspicion of that officer, had threatened to be indefinitely continued, till the collision came to his aid.

"How's this?" said Stockwell, as he seated himself by the side of the coxswain, on one of the settees on the quarter-deck of the steamer.

"How's what?" asked Sanford.

"It seems to me that we are clear of the ship, and without running away."

"Don't say a word. We got spilled out the boat, and it was not our doing. We obeyed De Forrest's orders to the very letter, so that no fault can be found with us."

"Of course not."

"If De Forrest had not ordered me to shove off, I shouldn't have done so."

"Then the boat might have been ground up on the rocks."

"Do you see anything green in my eye?" replied Sanford, suggestively.

"You don't mean to say that you smashed the boat on purpose?"

"Certainly I don't mean to say anything of the sort. I obey orders if I break owners, or boats either, for that matter."

"What are you going to do next?"

"I don't know. The programme is to go back in the steamer that returns to Christiansand to-morrow night."

"O, then you mean to go back."

"Your head's as thick as the broadside of an iron-clad. Of course I mean to go back."

"Immediately?"

"In the next boat."

Stockwell did not exactly like the sharp way with which Sanford dealt with his innocence. Certainly the coxswain and himself had talked about an excursion to the interior of Norway without running away; but now, though the circumstances favored the plan, his friend plainly announced his intention to return to Christiansand and join the ship. But it could be said of the coxswain that his ways were dark, and Stockwell was more inclined to wait than to question him. In two hours the steamer arrived at Lillesand, and the party went on shore. The place was only a small village, but they found accommodations for the night.

"What time does the steamer for Christiansand leave this place?" asked Sanford, as the party gathered at the station-house, which is the hotel, post-office, and establishment for furnishing horses to travellers.

"To-morrow evening," replied Ole.

"To-morrow evening!" exclaimed the coxswain. "That will never do! What time?"

"About eight o'clock," answered the waif, whose devotion to the truth did not prevent him from stating the time two hours later than the fact warranted. "She may be two or three hours later."

"The squadron sails for Christiania to-morrow afternoon," added Sanford. "The ship will be gone before we can get there."

"She will not go without us," suggested Burchmore.

"Yes, she will," said Stockwell, who was beginning to fathom the dark ways of the coxswain. "The principal will suppose we have gone on to Christiania."

"That's so."

"But what are we to do?" demanded Tinckner.

"That's the question," added Sanford, with a blank look, as though he considered the situation as utterly hopeless.

"We are not so badly off as we might be," said Boyden.

"I don't see how it could be any worse," replied Sanford. "But I don't know that it is our fault. The captain of the steamer would not stop, after he had picked us up; at least, I don't know anything about it; but Ole said he wouldn't stop."

"He could not stop," protested the waif, vehemently. "He had only just time enough to reach Frederiksvaern in season for the other steamer. If he lost her, he would be turned off. He wouldn't stop for love or money."

"No matter, for that; here we are, and what are we going to do? It's no use to cry for spilled milk," continued Stockwell. "The ship will go to Christiania, and won't come near this place. Mr. Lowington will expect to find us there when he arrives, and all we have to do is to make good his calculation. We have plenty of money, and we can get there somehow or other."

Involuntarily, every fellow put his hands into his pocket; and then, if not before, they recalled the suggestion of the coxswain, made before they took their places in the cutter, that they should bring their money and their pea-jackets; but then, it seemed simply absurd that the boat had been smashed by his contrivance.

"Was it for this, Sanford, that you told us to bring our money?" said Burchmore.

"I should say a fellow ought always to carry his money with him. No one can tell what will happen to him when he goes away from the ship," replied the coxswain. "You can see that it's lucky you have it with you. We might have to spend the summer here if we had no money. When will a steamer go from here to Christiania, Norway?"

"Next Friday—just a week from to-day," replied the Norwegian, very seriously.

"A week!" exclaimed Burchmore.

"That is not long; a week is soon gone."

"But we can't stay here a week," protested Tinckner.

"I don't want to do it," added Sanford; "but if we have to do it, I suppose I can stand it as well as the rest of you."

"We can't any of us stand it," said Wilde. "Who's going to stay a week in such a place as this? I'm not, for one. I'll swim up to Christiansand first."

"Can't we hire a boat, and go back to Christiansand?" Burchmore proposed. "It is not more than twenty miles, and it would be a fine sail among these beautiful islands."

"All right; look up a boat, Norway," replied Sanford, as though entirely willing to adopt this plan.

Ole walked about the place for half an hour, accompanied by three of the boys. Perhaps he was careful not to find what he wanted; at any rate, no boat seemed to be available for the purpose desired, and when the excursionists met again, it was reported that no boat suitable for the accommodation of the party could be found.

"Then can't we engage horses, and go round to Christiansand by land?" inquired Burchmore.

"In carioles?" queried Ole, with an odd smile.

"Carioles or wagons; anything we can find."

"You can, but it will take you a day and a half," replied Ole.

"A day and a half to go twenty miles."

"About seventy miles by land," added Ole. "You must go almost up to the north pole before you can cross the river."

"O, nonsense!" exclaimed Burchmore, who could not help feeling that Ole was not altogether reliable on his figures and facts.

"If you don't believe it, go and ask the postmaster, or any one in the town," continued the waif.

"That's all very well to talk about asking any one, when no one speaks a syllable of English."

"I will do the talking for you."

"Of course you will; you have done it all thus far."

"I don't mean to say that you must really double the north pole, or that it is just seventy miles by land; but it's a long distance," Ole explained.

"No matter how far it is; we will go," added the pliant coxswain. "I'm willing to do whatever the fellows wish. It shall not be said that I was mulish."

"But if it is seventy miles, or anything like it, we couldn't get to Christiansand before the ship left."

"That's just what I was thinking," answered Sanford, with a puzzled expression on his face. "Ole says it is a long way, and I have been told that these Norwegians are very honest, and will not lie; so I suppose he has told the truth."

It was barely possible that the waif had learned to lie in England, where he had acquired his English.

"I suppose we must give up the idea of going in a boat, or going by land. We can only wait till the steamer comes," continued Burchmore, putting on a very long face.

"We can't stand that," protested Wilde.

"Well, what are you going to do?" demanded Burchmore.

"Can't you tell us, Norway?" said Tinckner.

"I know what I should do if I were in your situation, and wanted to make a sure thing of it."

"Well, what?" asked Burchmore, gathering a hope from the words of the waif.

"I should go to Christiania."

"But how?"

"By land, of course."

"It's up by the north pole."

"It is about a hundred and fifty miles from here by water, and it can't be any more by land," said Sanford. "But I don't care what you do; I will do as the others say."

"I like the idea," added Stockwell. "It is the only safe thing we can do. If we go back to Christiansand, we shall be too late for the ship. If we wait for a steamer to Christiania, she will be gone when we get there."

"How much will it cost to go to Christiania in this way?" inquired Wilde, who did not feel quite sure that his funds would stand such a drain.

"Here are the prices in the post-house," said Ole, as he led the way to a partition on which the posting was put up. "For one mile, one mark six skillings."

"We know all about it now," laughed Rodman. "What's a mark, and what's a skilling?"

"Twenty-four skillings make a mark, and a skilling is about a halfpenny English," Ole explained.

"About a cent of our money," continued Rodman. "One mark and six skillings would be thirty skillings, or about thirty cents."

"That will never do," interposed Wilde, shaking his head. "One hundred and fifty miles, at thirty cents a mile, would be forty-five dollars; and I suppose we have to pay for our grub besides."

"It would come to ten or twelve pounds, and Wilde has only ten pounds," added Rodman.

"No, no; you are all wrong. That means a Norwegian mile—about seven of ours. It would be only four and two sevenths cents a mile; say, six or seven dollars to Christiania; and the grub would cost as much more," said Stockwell. "Three pounds will cover the whole expense, and that won't break any body."

After considerable discussion, it was agreed to adopt the plan proposed, and Ole was instructed to make the necessary arrangements with the station-master. The party went out to the stable to examine the carioles. They were a kind of gig, without any hood or top, with a small board behind, on which stands or sits the boy who drives the team back to the station after it has left the passenger. Tourists generally purchase the carioles in which they ride, and are not bothered with the boys. The students were not very nice about their accommodations; and finding that when two persons went in the same vehicle only half a fare extra was charged, they decided to engage but five carioles. As the law did not require the station-master to keep this number of horses in waiting, it was necessary to send "forbud" before the party started. This was an order to all the stations on the road to have five horses ready, and may be forwarded by mail or by special messenger, the expense of which was paid by the young tourists.

It was solemnly agreed that the expense should be equally divided, and Burchmore was elected cashier and paymaster. With the assistance of Ole, he changed twelve pounds into Norwegian money, and found himself heavily loaded with the small coins of the country, which would be needed in making change at the stations. After all this important business had been disposed of, the party walked all over the town and its suburbs, and were duly stared at by the astonished people.

"We ought to write a letter to Mr. Lowington, and tell him how we are situated," suggested Churchill, as they were returning to the station.

"Exactly so; and carry it to him ourselves," replied Stockwell. "I move you that Burchmore be appointed bearer of despatches."

"I mean to have the letter sent by mail," added Churchill.

"We shall be in Christiania as soon as any mail, if there is no steamer for a week," said Sanford.

"True; I didn't think of that," continued the proposer of this precaution. "The principal will be worried about us."

"Let him worry," replied the coxswain; "that is, we can't do anything to relieve his mind."

"I don't see that we can," added Churchill.

For the want of something better to do, the students turned in at an early hour in the evening, and turned out at an early hour in the morning. They all slept in the same room, some of them in beds, and the rest on the floor; but those who slept on the floor were just as well satisfied as those who slept in the beds. After a breakfast consisting mainly of fish, they piled into the carioles. They were all in exceedingly jolly humor, and seated themselves in and on the vehicles in various uncouth postures. One boy in each cariole was to drive the horse, and he was carefully instructed to do nothing but simply hold the reins, and let the well-informed animal have his own way. The horses were rather small, and very shaggy beasts; but they went off at a lively pace. At the first hill they insisted upon walking up, and most of the boys followed their example. Behind three of the carioles were the small boys who were to bring the teams back. These juvenile Norwegians were as sober and dignified as though they had been members of the Storthing, refusing to laugh at any of the wild tantrums of the crazy students.

At the first station, where the road from Lillesand joins that from Christiansand to the north, the horses ordered by "forbud" were in readiness, and the party had only to pass from one set of carioles to another. The grim post-boys did smile faintly when they received their perquisites, and others, just as immovable, took their places for the next post. The road now lay along the banks of a considerable river, and the scenery was rather interesting, though by no means grand. They passed an occasional farm; but generally the buildings were of the rudest and shabbiest description, though occasionally there was a neat residence, painted white or yellow, with roof of red tile. The boys walked up all the hills, leaving the sagacious horses to take care of themselves. All the students voted that it was jolly to travel in this manner, and there was no end to the sky-larking and racing on the road. At noon, they stopped long enough to dine, and at night found themselves at Tvetsund, at the foot of Nisser Lake, where they lodged. As this was as far as they had sent their "forbud," they decided to proceed by boat through the lake, a distance of about twenty miles.

The next day was Sunday, which was always observed with great strictness on board of the ship, no play and no unnecessary work being permitted. There was a little church in the village, but none but Ole could understand a word of the preacher's prayer or sermon; so that the students voted it would be useless for them to go there. Four of the party, still controlled by the influences which prevailed on board of the ship, did not wish to travel on Sunday; but when it was represented that the ship might leave Christiania before the party arrived, they yielded to the wishes of the other five, and procuring boats, they proceeded on their way. At the head of the lake they took the road, and walked about seven miles to Apalstoe.

"We are stuck here," said Sanford, after they had taken supper at the station-house. "This posting is a first-class fraud."

"Why, what's the matter?" demanded Burchmore, alarmed by the manner of the coxswain.

"No horses to be had till Tuesday morning."

"That's a fraud."

"Well, it can't be helped," added Sanford, philosophically. "I'm willing to walk, if the rest of the fellows say so."

"We can't walk to Christiania."

"That's so; and we should not find any more horses at the next station than here. Norway says we didn't send 'forbud,' which must be done when more than three horses are wanted."

"Why didn't Ole send 'forbud,' then?"

"He said we had better go by boat part of the way; it would be easier. But part of us can take the three horses that are ready, and go on with them."

"I don't believe in separating."

"We are only a day and a half from Christiania, and we shall arrive by Wednesday noon. The ship won't leave before that time."

So Burchmore was persuaded to submit to his fate like a philosopher, which, however, was not considered very hard, when it was announced that there was excellent fishing in the vicinity. It is to be feared that Ole and the coxswain had created this hinderance themselves, for the law of the country allows only three hours' delay in the furnishing of horses. The farmers are compelled to supply them, and doubtless twenty could have been provided in the time allowed, though the young tourists were able to give twelve hours' notice. This, however, did not suit the coxswain's purposes, and as he and Ole had occupied the same cariole, there was no want of concert in their words and actions. On Monday the students went a-fishing, paying a small sum for a license to do so, though this is not necessary in all parts of Norway. The united catch of the whole party was one salmon, taken by Burchmore, and weighing about eight pounds. It was voted by the party, before this result was reached, in the middle of the afternoon, that fishing in Norway was "a first-class fraud." We heard of a party of three, who fished two weeks, and caught eight salmon, though this want of luck is the exception, rather than the rule, in the north.

As the party returned from their excursion, bearing the single trophy of their patience, Clyde Blacklock discovered them. He was alarmed at first, but when he recognized no one among them whom he had seen on board of the ship, he concluded they did not belong to her.

"Good evening, sir," said he, addressing Sanford, who seemed to be the chief of the excursionists. "You have been a-fishing?"

"Yes; and ten of us have one fish to show for a whole day's work," laughed the coxswain.

"Poor luck; but you seem to be sailors," continued the Briton.

"We belong to the ship Young America."

"Ah, indeed!"

"That's so."

In half an hour Clyde and Sanford were on excellent terms. The former, when he learned that his new acquaintance had not been sent after him, was quite communicative, and even told the story of his experience on board of the ship, and of his escape from bondage. Sanford laughed, and seemed to enjoy the narrative; but straightway the coxswain began to tremble when he learned that Clyde had with him a Norwegian who spoke English. It was necessary to get rid of so dangerous a person without any delay. The Briton liked Sanford so well that he was not willing to leave him; and, indeed, the whole party were so jolly that he desired to join his fortunes with theirs. Sanford wrote a brief letter to Mr. Lowington, stating the misfortunes of the party, and that they expected to arrive in Christiania on Wednesday or Thursday.

"Now, Mr. ——, I don't know your name," said Sanford, when he found Clyde, after he had written the epistle.

"Blacklock," replied the Briton—"Clyde Blacklock."

"Well, Blacklock, if you want an up-and-down good time, come with us."

"Where? To Christiania? into the lion's den?"

"Not yet, but—don't open your mouth; don't let on for the world," whispered the coxswain, glancing at his companions.

"Not a word," added Clyde, satisfied he had found the right friend.

"We are going to the Rjukanfos to-morrow, but only one or two of us know it yet. Your man will spoil all. Send him back to Christiania this very afternoon. Here's a blind for him; let him take this letter."

Clyde liked plotting and mischief, and as soon as his guide had eaten his supper, he was started for his home in the capital, glad enough to go, for he had been paid for all the time agreed upon; and Sanford ceased to tremble lest he should expose to his companions the mistake in regard to horses, or another blunder which was to be made the next morning.



CHAPTER X.

GOTTENBURG AND FINKEL.

On Saturday night, as Clyde had anticipated, his mother arrived at Christiania; and the people at the Victoria informed her of the disappearance of her son. The next morning she hastened on board of the ship, and heard the principal's story. Mrs. Blacklock wept bitterly, and was fearful that her darling boy was forever lost; but Mr. Lowington assured her that no serious harm could befall him. He spoke very plainly to her in regard to Clyde's character and his ungovernable passions, assuring her that he must certainly come to an evil end within a few years, if he was not restrained and controlled. The poor mother felt the truth of all he said, and was willing that he should continue the beneficent work upon which he had commenced. She spent the forenoon on board, and was introduced to Kendall and Shuffles and their ladies. The principal illustrated what he had said about Clyde by relating the history of the present captain and owner of the Feodora, and Mrs. Blacklock went away even hopeful that her boy might yet be saved to her.

On Monday, the first secular day of the month, the new list of officers was announced in each vessel of the squadron. The changes on board of the ship were not very violent, though the third lieutenant became captain, while Cumberland became the commodore.

"I congratulate you, Captain Lincoln," said Dr. Winstock to the new commander, when he appeared in the uniform of his new rank.

"Thank you, sir," replied Lincoln.

"I have been satisfied for some time that you would attain this position."

"I am only sorry to be promoted over Judson and Norwood, for they have always been good friends of mine."

"If they are good and true friends they will rejoice at your success, though it places you over them. You have worked very hard, and you are fully entitled to your rank."

"Thank you, sir. I have tried to do my duty," replied Lincoln, modestly.

"When I see a young gentleman use the library as freely as you do, I am always tolerably confident that he will attain a high rank. We go on shore this forenoon, I believe."

"I heard we were to make an excursion to-day, and another to-morrow."

"You will see something of the interior of Norway, after all, though it is not quite possible to transport two hundred boys over a country where the facilities for travel are so meagre," added the surgeon.

"For my part, I should like to walk, even a hundred miles."

"That is not practicable. How could such a crowd be lodged and fed, in some of the small villages where you would be compelled to pass the night?"

"I suppose it would not be possible, and I shall be satisfied with whatever the principal thinks best," replied the captain.

The students were called to muster, and Mr. Lowington explained that he proposed to spend the day, in picnic style, at Frogner Saeter, and that the party would walk. The boats were then prepared, and the crews of the several vessels went on shore. Captains Kendall and Shuffles procured carriages, for the ladies were not able to walk so far. Passing out of the more densely settled portions of the city, the excursionists came to a delightful region, abounding in pleasant residences, some of which were grand and lofty. For a time the landscape was covered with small cottages, painted white or yellow; but as they proceeded they came to a country very sparsely settled, and very similar to that of New England. The road lay through woods of pine and fir, and had been constructed by Mr. Heftye, a public-spirited citizen, who owned a large estate at the summit of the hill.

"This looks just like Maine," said Captain Lincoln, who walked at the side of Dr. Winstock.

"Exactly like it. There is a house, however, which is hardly so good as those you see in Maine," replied the doctor.

"It isn't any better than a shanty, and the barn is as good as the house. I wonder what that is for;" and Lincoln pointed to a bunch of straw, on the top of a pole, at the entrance of the barn. "I have seen two or three of those here, and near Christiansand."

"It was grain placed there for the birds during the winter."

"That's very kind of the people, I must say."

"They are very kind to all their animals."

Near the summit of the hill, the party came to the summer-house of Mr. Heftye, a very neat structure of wood, with a piazza, from which is obtained a beautiful view of the surrounding country. Another half hour brought them to the top of the hill, where the proprietor had erected a wooden tower, or observatory. It was some sixty or seventy feet high, and was stayed with rope guys, extending to the trees on four sides, to prevent it from being blown over. Only twenty of the boys were permitted to go up at one time, for the wind was tolerably fresh, and the structure swayed to and fro like the mast of a ship in a sea. From the top, mountains fifty miles distant could be seen. Christiania Fjord lay like a panorama in the distance, stretching as far as the eye could reach. To the west the country looked wild and desolate, and was covered with wood-crowned mountains, though none of any considerable height could be seen. It was a magnificent view, and some of the most enthusiastic of the students declared that it was worth a voyage to Norway; but boys are proverbially extravagant.

A couple of hours were spent on the hill, the lunch was eaten, and the boys declared that they were well rested. The return walk was not so pleasant, for the novelties of the region had been exhausted. The road passed through private property, where there were at least a dozen gates across it in different places; and as the party approached, a woman, a boy, or a girl appeared, to open them. Kendall or Shuffles rewarded each of them with a few skillings for the service. When their two and four skilling pieces were exhausted, they were obliged to use larger coins, rather than be mean; but it was observed that the Norwegians themselves, though able to ride in a carriage, never gave anything. It was amusing to see the astonishment of the boys and girls when they received an eight skilling piece, and the haste with which they ran to their parents to exhibit the prize.

The party reached the vessels at five o'clock, and after supper the boats were again in demand for a visit to Oscarshal, the white summer palace, which could be seen from the ship. Mr. Bennett had provided the necessary tickets, and made the arrangements for the excursion. It is certainly a very pretty place, but there are a hundred country residences in the vicinity of New York, Boston, or any other large city of the United States, which excel it in beauty and elegance, as well as in the expense lavished upon them. Before returning to the anchorage, the boat squadron pulled about for a couple of hours among the beautiful islands, and when the students returned to the fleet, they felt that they had about exhausted Christiania and its environs.

The next day they went by the railroad train to Eidsvold, and there embarked in the steamer Kong Oscar for a voyage of sixty-five miles up the Mjosen Lake to Lillehammer, where they arrived at half past five in the afternoon. The scenery of the lake is pleasant, but not grand, the slope of the hills being covered with farms. Near the upper end, the hills are higher, and the aspect is more picturesque. Some of the western boys thought it looked like the shores of the Ohio River, others compared it with the Delaware, and a New Hampshire youth considered it more like Lake Winnipiseogee.

Lillehammer is a small town of seventeen hundred inhabitants. M. Hammer's and Madame Ormsrud's hotel were not large enough to accommodate the party, and they began to experience some of the difficulties of travelling in such large numbers; but Mr. Bennett had done his work well, and sleeping-rooms were provided in other houses for the rest. The tourists rambled all over the town and its vicinity, looked into the saw-mills, visited the farms, and compared the agriculture with that of their own country; and it must be added that Norway suffered very much in the comparison, for the people are slow to adopt innovations upon the methods of their fathers.

Early in the morning—for steamers in Norway and Sweden have a villanous practice of starting at unseemly hours—the students embarked for Eidsvold, and were on board the vessels long before the late sunset. On the quarter, waiting for the principal, was Clyde's courier, who had arrived that morning, after the departure of the excursionists. He evidently had not hurried his journey, though he had been told to do so. He delivered Sanford's brief note, which was written in pencil, and Mr. Lowington read it. The absentees were safe and well, and would arrive by Thursday. He was glad to hear of their safety, but as the squadron was now ready to sail, he regretted the delay.

"Where did you leave the boys?" asked the principal of the courier.

"At Apalstoe," replied the guide, whose name was Poulsen.

"Do you belong there?"

"No, sir; I live in Christiania. I went down there with a young gentleman last Saturday."

"Who was he?"

"Mr. Blacklock, sir; a young English gentleman."

"Ah! did you? And where is Mr. Blacklock now?"

"I left him at Apalstoe with a party of young gentlemen who were dressed like the people here; and he sent me back with this letter," replied Poulsen, who proceeded to explain that Clyde had engaged him as courier for Christiansand, but had changed his mind when he met the party belonging to the ship, and had concluded to return to Christiania with them.

This was precisely what he had been told to say by the young Briton, and probably he believed that it was a correct statement. The principal saw no reason to doubt the truth of it, for Clyde must be satisfied that his mother was in Christiania by this time, and would naturally wish to join her. Anxious to console Mrs. Blacklock, Mr. Lowington called for a boat, and hastened on shore to see her. He found her, her daughter, and Paul Kendall and lady, in the reading-room at the Victoria—a unique apartment, with a fountain in the centre, a glass gallery over the court-yard, and lighted with many-colored lamps. The principal communicated the intelligence he had received of her son to Mrs. Blacklock, whose face lighted up at the news.

"Then you have heard from the absentees, Mr. Lowington," said Paul Kendall.

"Yes; they are on their way to Christiania, and Sanford says they will arrive to-morrow, at farthest; but they may be delayed," replied the principal.

"No one need worry about them if they are safe and well," added Paul, glancing at Clyde's mother.

"They are safe and well, but I intended to sail for Gottenburg to-morrow morning. I have almost concluded to do so, and leave some one to accompany the boys to Gottenburg in the steamer. I do not like to delay the whole fleet for them."

"It would take a long time to beat out of the fjord against a head wind," added Paul.

"If the wind is fair to-morrow morning, I shall sail, whether they arrive or not."

"A steamer leaves for Gottenburg on Saturday morning, and she may arrive as soon as your ship," added Paul.

"Very true. I think I will leave Peaks to look out for the absentees. Are you sure the steamer goes on Saturday?"

"Yes, sir; here is the time table," replied Paul, producing a paper he had obtained at Mr. Bennett's. "Dampskibet Kronprindsesse Louise."

"That's Norwegian, Paul. Can you read it?" laughed Mr. Lowington.

"A little. 'Hver Loeverday;' that means on Saturday; 'at 6 fm.,' which is early in the morning. She arrives at Gottenburg about midnight."

"That will answer our purpose very well. We shall get under way early in the morning, Paul."

"Then I will go on board of the yacht to-night, sir; but you need not wait for me, for I think I can catch you if you should get two or three hours the start of me. I haven't used my balloon jib yet, and am rather anxious to do so."

"I shall not wait for you, then, Paul."

After a long conversation with Mrs. Blacklock, in which he assured her again that nothing but firmness on her part could save her son from ruin, the principal left the hotel, and returned to the ship. In the evening Mr. and Mrs. Kendall went on board of the Grace. On the following morning, the wind being a little north of west, the signal for sailing was displayed on board of the Young America, and at six o'clock the fleet were under way. The weather was beautiful, and the fresh breeze enabled all the vessels to log eight knots an hour, which brought them fairly into the Skager Rack early in the afternoon.

"I suppose we are off the coast of Sweden now," said Norwood, as he glanced at the distant hills on the left.

"The pilot said Frederikshald was in this direction," replied Captain Lincoln, pointing to the shore. "It is at the head of a small fjord, and is near the line between Norway and Sweden."

"Charles XII. was killed there—wasn't he?"

"That's the place. The fortress of Frederiksteen is there, on a perpendicular rock four hundred feet high."

"I wish we went nearer to the Swedish coast," added Norwood.

"We shall see enough of it before we leave the Baltic," said Lincoln.

"Probably we shall not care to see it after we have been looking at it a week."

"According to the chart, this part of the coast is fringed with islands, but they don't look so bare and desolate as those of Norway. I had an idea that everything on this side of the ocean was entirely different from what we see on our side," added the captain.

"That was just my idea."

"But it isn't so. It is almost the same thing here as the coast of Maine. The shore here is hilly, and through the glass it looks as though it was covered with pine forests."

"I expect to see something different before we return."

"Not in the Baltic; for I fancy most of the southern coast looks like that of our Middle and Southern States."

"Up here, even the houses look just as they do at home."

"I don't believe we shall find it so in Denmark."

As there was little to be seen, the regular routine of the squadron was followed, and those who were in the steerage, attending to their recitations, did not feel that they were losing anything. Later in the day, the wind was light, and the vessels made very little progress, though the course brought them nearer to the coast, where on the port bow appeared a high promontory, extending far out into the sea. The wind died out entirely just before sunset, and the sails hung motionless from the spars; for there was no swell to make them thrash about, as at sea. It was utter silence, and it was hard to believe that very ugly storms often made sad havoc in this channel.

When the sun rose the next morning it brought with it a light breeze from the west, and the fleet again skimmed merrily along over the water. Its course was near the town of Marstrand, a noted Swedish watering-place, situated on an island. Soon after, pilots were taken, and the vessels stood into the harbor of Gottenburg, which is formed by the mouth of Goeta River. Along the sides of the channel were posts set in the water, for the convenience of vessels hauling in or out of the harbor. The fleet came to anchor in a convenient part of the port, and those on board proceeded to take a leisurely survey of the city. The portion of the town nearest to them was built on low, flat land, and they could see the entrances of various canals. Farther back was a series of rugged hills, which were covered with pleasant residences and beautiful gardens. After dinner the students were mustered on deck, to listen to a few particulars in regard to the city, though it was understood that the general lecture on Sweden would be reserved until the arrival of the squadron at Stockholm.

"What city is this?" asked Mr. Mapps.

"Gottenburg," replied a hundred of the students.

"That is plain English. What do the Swedes call it?"

"G-oe-t-e-b-o-r-g," answered Captain Lincoln, spelling the word.

"Perhaps I had better call on Professor Badois to pronounce it for you."

"Yāt-a-borg," said the instructor in languages, repeating the pronunciation several times, which, however, cannot be very accurately expressed with English characters. "And the river here is Ya-tah."

"The French call the city Gothembourg. It is five miles from the sea, and is connected with Stockholm by the Goeta Canal, which is a wonderful piece of engineering. Steamboats ply regularly between Gottenburg and the capital through this canal, the voyage occupying three or four days."

"I intend to make a trip up this canal as far as the Wenern Lake, with the students," said Mr. Lowington.

A cheer greeted this announcement, and then the professor described the canal minutely.

"The principal street of Gottenburg," he continued, "is on the canal, extending through the centre of the city. There are no remarkable buildings, however, for the city is a commercial place. It was founded by Gustavus Adolphus, and, like many other cities of the north, being built of wood, it has several times been nearly destroyed by fire. The buildings now are mostly of stone, or of brick covered with plaster. The environs of the city, as you may see from the ship, are very pleasant. Now a word about the money of Sweden. The government has adopted a decimal system, of which the unit is the riksdaler, containing one hundred oere. The currency in circulation is almost entirely paper, though no bills smaller than one riksdaler are issued. The silver coins in use are the half and the quarter riksdaler, and the ten-oere piece; the latter being a very small coin. On the coppers, the value in oere is marked. A riksdaler is worth about twenty-seven cents of our money. Sweden is a cheap country."

The signal was made for embarking in the boats, and in a few moments the Gottenburgers, as well as the people on board of the foreign vessels in the harbor, were astonished by the evolutions of the squadron. The students landed, and dividing into parties, explored the city. Their first care was to examine the canal, and the various craft that floated upon it; but the latter, consisting mainly of schooners, were not different from those they saw at home. They visited the exchange, the cathedral, the residence of the governor of the province, and other principal edifices.

"How do you feel, Scott?" asked Laybold, after they had walked till they were tired out, and it was nearly time to go to the landing-place.

"Tired and hungry," replied the wag. "I wonder if these Swedishers have anything to eat."

"Probably they do; here's a place which looks like a restaurant."

"I feel as though I hadn't tasted food for four months. Let's go in."

They entered the store, which was near the Bourse. A neatly-dressed waiter bowed to them, and Scott intimated that they wanted a lunch. The man who understood English, conducted them to a table, on which a variety of eatables was displayed, some of which had a familiar look, and others were utterly new and strange. The waiter filled a couple of wine-glasses from a decanter containing a light-colored fluid, and placed them before the boys.

"What's that?" asked Scott, glancing suspiciously at the wine-glass.

"Finkel," replied the man.

"Exactly so; that's what I thought it was," replied Scott, who had never heard of the stuff before. "Is it strong?"

"No," answered the waiter, shaking his head with a laugh. "Everybody drinks it in Sweden."

"Then we must, Laybold, for we are somebody."

Scott raised the glass. The fluid had the odor of anise-seed, and was not at all disagreeable. The taste, too, was rather pleasant at first, and Scott drank it off. Laybold followed his example. We must do them the justice to say that neither of them knew what "finkel" was. Something like strangulation followed the swallowing of the fluid.

"That's not bad," said Scott, trying to make the best of it.

"No, not bad, Scott; but what are you crying about?" replied the other, when he recovered the use of his tongue.

"I happened to think of an old aunt of mine, who died and left me all her money," added Scott, wiping his eyes. "But you needn't cry; she didn't leave any of the money to you."

"What are you going to eat?"

"I generally eat victuals," replied Scott, picking up a slice of bread on which was laid a very thin slice of smoked salmon. "That's not bad."

The waiter passed to Laybold a small plate of sandwiches, filled with a kind of fish-spawn, black and shining. The student took a huge bite of one of them, but a moment elapsed before he realized the taste of the interior of the sandwich; then, with the ugliest face a boy could assume, he rushed to the door, and violently ejected the contents of his mouth into the street.

"What's the matter?" demanded the waiter, struggling to keep from laughing.

"What abominably nasty stuff!" exclaimed Laybold. "It's just like fish slime."

"Don't you like it, Laybold?" asked Scott, coolly.

"Like it? I don't like it."

"Everybody in Sweden eats it," said the waiter.

"What's the matter with it? Is it like defunct cat?" asked Scott.

"More like defunct fish. Try it."

"I will, my lad," added Scott, taking a liberal bite of one of the sandwiches.

"How is it?" inquired Laybold.

"First rate; that's the diet for me."

"Very good," said the waiter.

"You don't mean to say you like that stuff, Scott."

"The proof of the pudding is the eating of the bag. I do like it, even better than 'finkel.'"

"I don't believe it. No one with a Christian stomach could eat such stuff."

"You judge by your own experience. I say it is good. Yours isn't a Christian stomach, and that's the reason you don't like it."

"You are a heathen, Scott."

"Heathen enough to know what's good."

"Some more finkel, sir?" suggested the waiter.

"No more finkel for me," replied Scott, whose head was beginning to whirl like a top.

"Better take some more," laughed Laybold, who was in the same condition.

"I can't stop to take any more; I'm hungry," replied Scott, who continued to devour the various viands on the table, till his companion's patience was exhausted.

"Come, Scott, we shall be late at the landing."

"We won't go home till morning," chanted the boozy student.

"I will go now;" and Laybold stood up, and tried to walk to the door—a feat which he accomplished with no little difficulty.

"Don't be in a hurry, my boy. Come and take some finkel."

"I don't want any finkel."

"Then come and pay the bill. I shall clean out this concern if I stay any longer."

"How much, waiter?" stammered Laybold.

"One riksdaler."

"Cheap enough. I should have been broken if they charged by the pound for what I ate."

"That's so," added Laybold, as he gave the waiter an English sovereign, and received his change in paper.

"Now, my boy, we'll go to sea again," said Scott, as he staggered towards the door. "See here, Laybold."

"Well, what do you want?" snarled the latter.

"I'll tell you something, if you won't say anything about it to any one."

"I won't."

"Don't tell the principal."

"No."

"Well, then, we're drunk," added Scott, with a tipsy grin.

"You are."

"I am, my boy; I don't know a bob-stay from a bowling hitch. And you are as drunk as I am, Laybold."

"I know what I am about."

"So do I know what you are about. You are making a fool of yourself. Hold on a minute," added Scott, as he seated himself on a bench before a shop.

"Come along, Scott."

"Not for Joseph."

"We shall be left."

"That's just what I want. I'm not going to present myself before the principal in this condition—not if I know it."

Laybold, finding that it was not convenient to stand, seated himself by the side of his companion. Presently they discovered a party of officers on their way to the boats, and they staggered into a lane to escape observation. The two students, utterly vanquished by "finkel," did not appear at the landing, and the boats left without them.



CHAPTER XI.

ON THE WAY TO THE RJUKANFOS.

"What may the Rjukanfos be?" asked Clyde Blacklock, after his courier had started on his return to Christiania.

"O, it's a big thing," replied Sanford. "You can bet high on it."

"Doubtless I can; but is it a mountain, a river, or a lake?"

"'Pon my word, I don't know. Here, Norway!" he shouted to Ole, who was with the rest of the party.

"I'm here, Mr. Coxswain," replied the waif.

"What's the Rjukanfos? You told me we ought to go there; but I'll be hanged if I know whether it's a lake or a river."

"Neither a lake nor a river," replied Ole. "It's a big waterfall. Fos, on the end of a word, always makes a waterfall of it. There's another, the Voeringfos; but that's too far away."

"How far is it?"

"I don't know; but it's a long distance," added Ole. "All the other fellows think we are going to Christiania in the morning."

"All but Stockwell and Rodman," answered Sanford, who had told Ole about the new recruit.

"So you are going to play it upon them—are you?" laughed Clyde.

"Just a little. We don't want to leave Norway without seeing something of the country, and the rest of the fellows won't go. So we are going to take them along with us."

"Excellent! That will be a magnificent joke," exclaimed Clyde. "I'm with you. I suppose you all ran away from the ship when you found the tyranny was too much for you."

"O, no! We didn't run away. We wouldn't do that. Somehow, by an accident, our boat was stove, and we were carried off by a steamer. Then we couldn't get back to Christiansand before the ship sailed, and we were obliged to come across the country to Christiania, you see."

"I see," replied Clyde, knowingly. "But you don't mean to go back to the ship—do you?"

"Certainly we do," protested Sanford.

"Then you are bigger spoonies than I thought you were."

"But we are afraid the ship will be gone before we can reach Christiania."

"O, you are afraid of it."

"Very much afraid of it."

"You wouldn't cry if you found she had gone—would you?"

"Well, perhaps we should not cry, for we think we ought to be manly, and not be babies; but, of course, we should feel very bad about it."

"O, you would!"

"Certainly we should; for if we were caught running away, staying away longer than is necessary, or anything of that sort, our liberty would be stopped, and we should not be allowed to go on shore with the rest of the fellows."

"You are a deep one, Mr. Coxswain," added Clyde.

"O, no! I'm only a simple-minded young man, that always strives to do his duty as well as he knows how."

"I dare say you think it is your duty to visit the—what-ye-call-it?—the waterfall."

"You see it is just as near to go that way as the other."

"Is it?"

"Well, if it isn't, we shall not know the fact till after we have been there."

"I think I understand you perfectly, Mr. Coxswain; but I don't intend to return to the ship under any circumstances."

"You can do as you please, but if we should happen to miss the ship, why, we shall be obliged to travel till we find her."

"Exactly so," laughed Clyde.

"But don't understand me that we mean to run away, or to keep away from the ship any longer than is absolutely necessary; for we are all good boys, and always mean to obey our officers."

"I don't mean to do any such thing. After I hear that the ship has left Christiania, I shall go there, find my mother, and travel where I please."

The next morning the party started on their journey, and by the middle of the afternoon arrived at a station between Lysthus and Tinoset, where the road to the Rjukanfos branched off from that to the capital. They were compelled to wait an hour here for a change of horses. Rogues rarely believe that they are suspected, and Sanford was confident that his companions, with the exception of Rodman and Stockwell, had no idea of his intentions. Burchmore had not failed to notice the repeated conferences between those who were plotting the mischief. He was not quite satisfied with the delay which had enabled the party to catch that solitary salmon at Apalstoe. He was one of the first to enter the station-house where the carioles stopped. On the table he found "The Hand-book of Norway," which contained a large map. He was anxious to possess this book.

"Hvor?" said he, using a word he had learned of Ole, which meant "how much," at the same time holding up the book, and exhibiting his money.

"Tre," replied the woman in the room; by which he understood her to mean three marks, for at the same time she laughingly held up three fingers.

Burchmore paid the money, and put the book into his pocket. Retreating behind the stable with Churchill, who rode in the cariole with him, he produced the volume, and spread out the map. Without much difficulty he found the road by which the party had come. Everything was right so far, and he was satisfied that they should arrive at Kongsberg that night.

"Can you make out what's up, Burchmore?" asked Churchill, with whom the former had discussed his doubts and fears.

"No; everything is right. Here we are, at the branching off of these two roads," replied Burchmore, indicating the locality with the point of his knife.

"But Sanford is up to something. He, and Ole, and Stockwell are whispering together half the time. Perhaps they mean to leave us somewhere on the road."

"They can, if they like," added Burchmore. "I am cashier, you know. Each fellow has paid me seven pounds, which I have changed into species and marks. No other one has any Norwegian money, or, at least, not more than a specie or two. They won't leave me."

"They wouldn't make anything by it."

"And Sanford runs with that English fellow, who seems to be a little fast."

"He's a hard one," added Churchill, shaking his head.

"Let them go it; I can keep the run of them now," said Burchmore, as he folded up the map, and put the Hand-book in his pocket. "Don't say anything about this book, Churchy."

"Not a word."

"I know where we are now, and I think I shall know better than to wait a whole day for horses again. That was a sell."

"Do you think so?"

"I thought so at the time, but I didn't want to make a fuss. I changed a sovereign for Ole yesterday, and I believe Sanford has bought him up. Never mind; we take the right hand road here, and as long as we keep moving I haven't a word to say."

In less than an hour the horses were ready, and the procession of carioles moved off. Ole and Sanford led the way, and turned to the left, instead of the right.

"That's wrong," said Burchmore, very much excited.

"But what do they mean by going this way?" added Churchill.

"I don't know, and I don't care; I only know it is the wrong way. Hallo!" he shouted to Sanford, and stopped his pony, which compelled three others behind him to stop also.

"What's the matter?" called Sanford.

"You are going the wrong way," replied the cashier.

"No, this is right; come along;" and the coxswain started his team again.

But Burchmore refused to follow him, and continued to block the way against those behind him.

"Out of the way!" cried Clyde, who was in the rear.

"This is not the right way to Kongsberg," said Burchmore.

"Out of the way, or I'll smash you!" added the imperious Briton.

The cashier was a peaceable young gentleman, and turned his horse out of the road. The cariole of Sanford was now out of sight.

"Why don't you go ahead?" demanded Tinckner. "How do you know it is the wrong road?"

"I am certain of it. Those fellows are up to some trick."

As a portion of the procession did not follow its leader, Sanford and his companions turned back.

"What's the matter, Burchmore? Why don't you come along?" cried the coxswain, angrily.

"This is not the right road."

"Isn't it, Ole?" added the coxswain, turning to his companion in the cariole.

"Certainly it is."

"I know it isn't," protested the cashier, vehemently. "You are up to some trick."

"What trick?" asked Sanford, mildly, as he put on his look of injured innocence.

"I don't know what; but I know this is not the right road to Kongsberg."

"Who said anything about Kongsberg? We intend to go by the shortest way. Don't we, Ole?"

"To be sure we do," replied the ready waif. "We are not going way round by Kongsberg."

"You can't bluff me."

"Don't want to bluff you. Go whichever way you like; and the one who gets to Christiania first is the best fellow. That's all I have to say."

Sanford turned his pony, and drove off again, followed by Clyde, Stockwell, and Rodman.

"How do you know this isn't the right way?" inquired Tinckner.

"I'll tell you," replied the cashier, jumping out of the cariole, and taking the Hand-book from his pocket.

The others soon joined him, and exhibiting the map, he explained his position to his friends.

"Here's another road to Kongsberg," said Summers, indicating its direction on the map. "They may be going that way."

"It is possible," added Burchmore, puzzled by this discovery. "It is farther that way than by Lysthus."

"Not much; there's hardly any difference. I'm in favor of following Sanford."

So were nearly all of them, and the cashier finally yielded. The tourists resumed their seats, and soon overtook the coxswain, who had evidently expected to be followed. Burchmore was annoyed by the discovery he had made, but as the pony attached to the cariole slowly climbed the hills, he studied the map and the text of the book he had bought.

"We can't go much farther on this tack," said he, as he folded up his map.

"What's to prevent us from keeping on to the north pole?" asked Churchill.

"It is almost night, in the first place, and in the second, we shall come to a lake in the course of an hour, where we must take boats."

"I don't believe anything is wrong about the matter."

"Don't you? Then what are we doing up here?"

"Never mind; we shall soon come to that other road, and then we shall know whether Sanford means to go to Kongsberg or not."

"He has stopped ahead of us. He is waiting for us to come up," added Burchmore.

"Yes; and there is the road which turns off to the right."

"Why don't he go ahead?"

Sanford and those who had arrived with him left the carioles, and gathered at the junction of the two roads. Burchmore followed their example.

"What's the matter? What are you stopping here for?" demanded Clyde Blacklock, rather imperiously.

"Some of the fellows think we are going to play them a trick," said Sanford, with his sweet and innocent smile.

"Who thinks so?" asked Clyde.

"Burchmore."

"Which is Burchmore?"

"That's my name," replied the cashier, rather indifferently.

"Are you the fellow that wants to break up the party?" blustered Clyde.

"No, I'm not. I'm the fellow that wants to go to Christiania. We ought to have kept to the right at the last station."

"I insist on going this way."

"I don't object; you can go whichever way you please," added the cashier, very gently.

"But we mean to keep the party together; and we might as well fight it out here as in any other place."

Clyde threw off his overcoat, as though he intended to give a literal demonstration of his remark.

"I don't consider you as one of the party," added Burchmore.

"Don't you?"

"No, I do not. You don't belong to our ship, and I don't pay your bills."

"No matter for that. If you are not willing to go the way the rest of us wish to go, I'll pound you till you are willing."

"No, no, Old England; we don't want anything of that sort. Burchmore is a first-rate fellow," interposed the politic Sanford.

"You leave this fellow to me; I'll take care of him. I can whip him out of his boots."

"I shall stick to my boots for the present," replied Burchmore, who did not seem to be intimidated by the sharp conduct of the Briton. "I am willing to listen to reason, but I shall not be bullied into anything."

"What do you mean by bullied? Do you call me a bully?" foamed Clyde.

"You can draw your own inferences."

"Do you call me a bully?" demanded Clyde, doubling his fists, and walking up to the cashier.

"Enough of this," said Sanford, stepping between the Briton and his intended victim. "We shall not allow anybody to lick Burchmore, for he is a good fellow, and always means right."

"I don't allow any fellow to call me a bully," replied Clyde.

"He didn't call you a bully. He only said he would not be bullied into anything."

"It's the same thing."

"No matter if it is, Old England. You volunteered to pound him if he wouldn't go with us; and it strikes me that this is something like bullying," added the coxswain, with a cheerful smile.

"I shall thrash him for his impudence, at any rate."

"It isn't exactly civil to tell a fellow you will pound him if he won't go with us; and who shall thrash you for your impudence, eh, Old England?"

"I mean what I say."

"We shall allow no fight on this question, my gentle Britisher. If you should happen to hit Burchmore, I have no doubt he would wallop you soundly for your impudence."

"I should like to see him do it," cried Clyde, pulling off his coat, and throwing himself into the attitude of the pugilist.

"No, you wouldn't, Albion; and if you would you can't have that pleasure. There will be no fight to-day."

"Yes, there will," shouted Clyde.

"Not much;" and Sanford, Rodman, and Stockwell placed themselves between Burchmore and Clyde.

"Dry up, Great Britain!" added Wilde.

"We have a point to settle here," continued Sanford, taking no further notice of the belligerent Briton. "The right hand road goes to Kongsberg; but there is no hotel in that direction where we could sleep to-night. I propose, therefore, that we go on to—what's the name of the place, Norway?"

"Tinoset," replied Ole.

"To Tinoset, where there is a big hotel."

"How far is it?" asked Churchill.

"Only two or three miles. Then to-morrow we can go on to Kongsberg, unless you prefer to go a better way. I'm always ready to do just what the rest of the fellows say," added Sanford.

The matter was discussed in all its bearings, and even Burchmore thought it better to sleep at Tinoset.

"All right," said Sanford, as he moved off towards his cariole.

"Not yet," interposed Clyde, who still stood with his coat off. "I haven't settled my affair with this spoony."

Burchmore and Churchill walked leisurely towards their vehicle, while Rodman and Stockwell covered the retreat.

"If you thrash him, you thrash the whole of us, Great Britain," said Rodman.

"What kind of a way is that?" demanded the disgusted Briton.

"We won't have any fight over this matter," added Stockwell. "Jump in, and let us be off."

"We'll settle it when we get to that place," replied Clyde, seeing that this opportunity was lost.

The procession resumed its journey, and in half an hour arrived at Tinoset. As it was early in the season, the hotel was not crowded, as it sometimes is. The town is at the foot of Lake Tins, upon which the little steamer Rjukan made three trips a week each way. The boat was to depart the next morning for Ornaes, which is only a few miles from the Rjukanfos. Sanford declared that the most direct route to Christiania was by steamer through this lake, and then by cariole the rest of the journey. Ole, of course, backed up all he said, and most of the boys wished to go that way. For some reason or other, Burchmore kept still, though he did not assent to the coxswain's plan, and the question was still open when the tourists were called to supper.

"Ole, I want to see you alone," said the cashier, after the meal was finished.

"What for?" asked Ole.

"I have some money for you."

"For me?"

"Come along."

Burchmore led the way to the lake, where they found a retired place.

"What money have you for me?" demanded the astonished Norwegian.

"How much did Sanford give you for humbugging us?"

"For what?"

"For playing this trick on us?"

"I don't know what you mean."

"The coxswain gave you a sovereign for fooling us. I'll give you five species, which is more than a sovereign, if you do what I want."

"I will," replied Ole, promptly.

"In the first place, where are you taking us?"

"To Christiania."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed the cashier, producing his book. "I know all about it. You ought to have gone to Lysthus, instead of taking the left hand road. We are two Norwegian miles out of our way now. Sanford has paid you a sovereign to lead us to some place he wishes to visit. Where is it?"

"I only do what's right," protested Ole.

"Bah! I know better! The story that no horses could be had at Apalstoe was a humbug. I'll give you five species if you will do as I tell you."

Ole looked complacent, and held out his hand for the money.

"I don't pay till the work is done; but my word is as good as my bond."

The waif had an "itching palm," and, after considerable discussion, the terms of payment were settled.

"Now, where are we going?" asked the cashier.

"To the Rjukanfos. It is a big waterfall, with high mountains—one of the finest places in Norway."

"Exactly so; but we are not going there," added Burchmore, decidedly. "You will engage the carioles for to-morrow morning, and we must be in Kongsberg by noon, and near Christiania by night."

"Sanford will kill me," replied Ole.

"No, he won't; we will take care of him."

"I can manage it, first rate. I will tell Sanford that we can go up quicker on the other side of the lake, and then cross over."

"Tell him what you please, but my plan must be carried out," answered Burchmore, who, perhaps, believed that he should be justified in fighting the coxswain with his own weapons.

"Here you are; I've been looking for you," said Clyde, presenting himself sooner than he was wanted. "You thought you would keep out of my way—did you?"

"I have not given that subject any attention," replied Burchmore, coolly.

"Yes, you have; you sneaked off here to keep out of my way."

"As you please," replied Burchmore, who began to walk slowly towards the road.

"You don't escape me this time," added Clyde, placing himself in front of the cashier.

"I have no wish to escape you."

"Yes, you have; you are a Yankee coward!"

"Perhaps I am; but I'm not afraid of a British bully."

"Do you call me a bully?"

"Most distinctly I do, and I can prove my words."

Clyde was rather startled by this exhibition of pluck, which he had not expected.

"You call me a bully—do you?"

"I do."

"Then we'll settle it here. Off with your coat," blustered Clyde, as he divested himself.

"I never fight if I can help it; but I always defend myself," replied Burchmore, resuming his walk towards the road.

"Do you mean to run away?" demanded Clyde.

"No; I mean to walk very leisurely back to the station-house."

"No, you don't!" said the Briton, again placing himself before the cashier.

Ole, who did not care, under the circumstances, to be seen with Burchmore by any one of the party, had disappeared by this time; but meeting Sanford near the lake, he had informed him what Clyde was doing. The coxswain hastened to the spot, with Stockwell and two or three others. But they were a little too late; for Clyde, feeling that he had gone too far to recede with honor, had struck Burchmore. When Sanford and the rest of the party reached the place, the belligerent Briton lay on the ground, where, after a sharp set-to and a black eye, he had been thrown by his cool opponent. He picked himself up, and was preparing for another onslaught, when the coxswain stepped between the combatants.

"Enough of that, Albion," said he.

Clyde made a rush towards Burchmore, but the others interfered, and held him back. In vain he struggled in his wrath, but the stout coxswain and his companions threw him upon the ground, and held him there till his anger had in a measure subsided.

"Be off, Burchmore," said Sanford. "We will take care of him."

"I am not afraid of him," replied the cashier.

"Of course you are not; but clear out, and let us have peace."

"He is afraid of me!" roared Clyde.

"Nonsense, Great Britain! He would have mauled you to death if we hadn't interfered. He can whip his weight in wildcats."

Burchmore walked away, and soon disappeared beyond the houses. Clyde foamed in his wrath for a while, but finally consented to be pacified, promising, very faithfully, to whip the cashier the next time he caught him alone.

"Don't you do it, Albion. You never will see your mother again if you attempt it. Wait a few days, and then, if you insist upon it, we will let Burchmore thrash you all you want," replied Sanford, as they walked back to the station-house.

Clyde had a bad-looking eye, and perhaps believed that he had had a narrow escape; but he still maintained his credit as a bully. At the hotel, the question of the route for the next day came up. Burchmore insisted upon going to Christiania by the way of Kongsberg, and Sanford, who had consulted Ole again, assented. The waif had assured him that they could reach the Rjukanfos quicker and better by the road than by the lake.

The next morning the carioles were ready, and the tourists renewed their journey, and went back on the road by which they had come, till they came to that which led to Kongsberg. The "forbud" had been duly forwarded, and there were no delays or interruptions.

"Where's the lake?" asked Sanford, when they had been riding about two hours.

"O, the road don't go near the lake, till we get to the place where we cross," replied Ole, who was carrying out in good faith the arrangement he had made with the cashier.

"How shall we cross the lake?"

"In a steamer which goes at seven o'clock in the morning."

"All right," replied the unsuspecting Sanford.

"We shall come to a large town at noon; and we musn't stop a minute there, or those fellows will find where they are. We can tell them it is Kongsberg, you know," added the wily waif.

"Just so," laughed Sanford; "we'll tell them it is Kongsberg, and they won't know the difference."

"I don't think they will."

At noon, agreeably to the promise of Ole, the travellers arrived at the large town, where they were obliged to change horses.

"This is Kongsberg, Burchmore," said the coxswain.

"Is it, really? or are you playing some trick upon us?" replied the cashier.

"'Pon my word this is Kongsberg. Isn't it, Ole?"

"Yes, certainly," answered the waif, winking slyly to Burchmore.

"All right, Sanford; if you are satisfied, I am."

"I know it is Kongsberg. I have been here before," added Clyde, wishing to give his testimony in carrying out the deception.

It was quite true that he had been in Kongsberg, but Ole took care that he should not go to the part of the town he had visited before. The road looked familiar to him; but as he rode alone, he had no opportunity to state the fact to others. Before night the party arrived at Drammen, where a regular line of steamers runs to Christiania.

"That's the lake—is it?" said Sanford, pointing to the Drammen River, which, below the town, is nearly two miles wide.

"That's it."

"What does Burchmore say? Does he know where he is?"

"Not yet; I shall tell him this is Drammen, and he will believe me."

"Good! and we will all stick to it that this is Drammen," added Sanford.

"But suppose we should meet some one here who knows about the ship? This is a large town—bigger than that other which we called Kongsberg."

"Whom can we meet?"

"I don't know."

"I should hate to have any one tell the principal that we have been to the Rjukanfos."

"Some of the officers may come up here."

"We must keep out of sight, then."

Others thought this would be good policy in a large town. As they were fatigued, they retired early, and did not come down the next morning till it was nearly time to leave in the steamer. They all went on board, and were soon moving down the river.

"Are we going across the lake, Ole?" asked Sanford.

"This is a kind of arm of the lake, about a dozen miles long. We shall come to the lake in a couple of hours," replied the waif.

"All right; but it must be a very large lake."

"The biggest in Norway."

In a couple of hours the steamer arrived at Holmsbo, on the Christiania Fjord.

"Now you can see that this is a large lake," said Ole.

"But where are we?" demanded Burchmore. "Is this the way to Christiania?"

"Certainly it is," replied Sanford, who did not yet recognize the fjord, though the truth could not be much longer concealed. "Don't you know this water?"

"No, I don't."

"This is Christiania Fjord."

"Is it, really?"

"Yes, it is; you can bet your life upon it."

"I am satisfied then."

In another hour the steamer was fairly in the fjord; Sanford and Stockwell began to rub their eyes; for the scenery looked strangely familiar, though they could not fully identify anything.

"What place is that ahead?" asked Sanford. "I am almost sure I have seen it before."

"So am I," replied Stockwell.

"That place?" added the cashier.

"Yes; what is it?"

"If this is Christiania Fjord, that must be Droebak. I have a map here," said Burchmore, producing his book, and displaying the map. "Here we are; there's Holmsbo, and this must be Droebak."

"I don't understand it," replied the perplexed coxswain.

"Don't you? Why, I think it is as clear as mud," laughed Burchmore. "We shall be in Christiania in a couple of hours. I thought you were playing some trick upon us, Sanford; but I see now that you were all right. There's the captain; he speaks English."

"What town is that, captain?" asked the coxswain.

"Droebak; we shall be in Christiania in about two hours," answered the master.

"Where's Ole?" demanded the coxswain, much excited.

"What does it mean?" said Clyde.

"I don't know. Where's Ole?"

The waif evidently considered discretion the better part of valor, for he could not be found; and the coxswain and those in his confidence realized that they had been "sold" in their own coin.



CHAPTER XII.

THE BOATSWAIN AND THE BRITON.

"Where's Ole? I don't understand it," repeated Sanford, after he had made another ineffectual search for the missing waif.

"We have been sold, instead of selling those fellows," added Stockwell.

"That's so; and I should rather like to know how it was done. Ole has sold us out."

"Is this your Rjukanfos?" demanded Clyde Blacklock, who had been looking for some one upon whom to pour out his wrath.

"Not exactly," answered Sanford, indifferently, for he did not particularly enjoy the airs of the Briton.

"But what do you mean by bringing me here?" added Clyde.

"I didn't bring you here. You came of your own free will and accord."

"No, I didn't; you said we were going to the waterfall."

"We thought so ourselves; but we have been deceived. Ole has sold out and made fools of us. You are no worse off than the rest of us."

"To whom did he sell out?" asked Clyde, appeased when he learned that he was not the only sufferer.

"I don't know. I don't understand it at all. We have been cheated out of the Rjukanfos, and brought to Christiania."

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" inquired Stockwell.

"We can't do anything about it. I suppose we shall be on board of the ship in an hour or two, telling the principal how hard we tried to be here before."

"But I'm not going back to Christiania," protested Clyde.

"I don't see how you can help yourself. This boat don't stop again till she arrives there."

"I will not go to the ship again, at any rate," added Clyde.

"Do as you like about that; it isn't our business."

Clyde was much disturbed by the situation. As he always regarded himself as the central figure of the group, he began to suspect that the apparent miscarriage of the plan was a trick to lure him back to the ship; but Sanford seemed to be honest, and to be entirely discomfited by the discovery. Burchmore and Churchill were highly elated at the success attending their scheme, which had, indeed, exceeded their expectations; but they were as much mystified by the disappearance of Ole as the victims of the trick. Being unable to speak the language, they could not inquire for the absentee; but they made a very diligent search for him. They were more successful than Sanford's party had been, for, in going forward, they heard some high words in the quarters of the steamer's crew, in the forecastle. Listening for a moment, they heard the voice of Ole, who appeared to have concealed himself in that part of the vessel, and was properly regarded as an intruder by the rightful occupants thereof.

"Come out here, Ole," shouted Burchmore. "We want you."

Ole turned from the Norwegian sailors, who were scolding at him for taking possession of their quarters, to his friends and allies.

"Where's Sanford?" he asked, rather timidly.

"On deck."

"He'll kill me."

"Nonsense! We will take care of you against any odds," said the cashier, laughing heartily at the fears of the waif. "They have only just ascertained where they are. Come up, Ole."

Thus assured, the young Norwegian climbed up the ladder, much to the satisfaction of the sailors. Burchmore was too well pleased with the trick he had played upon the conspirators to confine the knowledge of it to Churchill and himself, and had explained it to all who were not actually in the confidence of the coxswain. A majority of the party were thus arrayed on his side, though two or three of them would as readily have chosen the other side. The cashier was evidently the safer leader.

"Sanford and that Englishman will pound me for the trick," repeated Ole, as he glanced at the quarter-deck, where his victims were considering the situation.

"No, they won't; we are able and willing to protect you," replied Burchmore. "Come, we will go aft, and hear what they have to say."

The cashier led the way, and the waif reluctantly followed him.

"I believe you wanted to see Ole," said Burchmore, who could hardly look sober, he was so pleased with the result of his operations.

"Yes; I did wish to see him," answered Sanford, rather coldly. "I will see him some other time."

"O, I thought you wanted him now," laughed Burchmore. "I am satisfied that this is really Christiania Fjord."

"So am I," added the coxswain, with a sickly smile.

"And you were quite right, too, in saying that large place was Drammen," chuckled Burchmore.

"Certainly I was."

"Neither were you mistaken in regard to Kongsberg."

"I find that I was not."

"I suppose you remember the Irishman's turtle, that swallowed his own head, Sanford?"

"Of course."

"I don't mean to say that you swallowed your own head; but you found it just where you didn't expect to find it. Isn't that so?"

"We are going to talk the matter over with Ole by and by."

"Do it now. I know all about it. You and Ole arranged the first part of our journey, including the day's fishing we had at Apalstoe; and Ole and I arranged the last part of it. It is an even thing now, and if you won't complain of the last part, I won't say a word about the first."

"I don't understand it."

"Don't you! Well, you gave Ole a sovereign to arrange things for you in the beginning, and I gave him five species to arrange them for me afterwards. You can't complain of a fellow, who sells himself at all, for making as much money as he can. Ole only did that."

"He sold us out," growled Sanford.

"Of course he did; if you buy a man, you mustn't grumble when he does a second time what you encouraged him to do in the first instance. But you were going to take us off to the Rjukanfos, fifty or sixty miles out of our way, without our knowledge or consent. I smelt a mice, and turned the tables," laughed the cashier.

"Yes, and you cheated me," interposed Clyde.

"I had nothing whatever to do with you," answered Burchmore, mildly.

"You led me here when I wanted to go another way."

"You went where you pleased, so far as I was concerned. I never invited you to come with me, or even consented to your doing so."

"Did you say the place we came to yesterday was Kongsberg?"

"I did, and so it was. But I think it was Sanford who first proclaimed the fact, and I cheerfully assented to its correctness," chuckled Burchmore.

"But you deceived me, and I'll have it out with you," continued Clyde.

"Just as you please about that; but you had better let that black eye bleach out before you begin again."

"I can whip you!" blustered Clyde. "I'll meet you anywhere."

"No, I thank you. If we meet for any such purpose as you suggest, it will be by accident."

"See here, Great Britain; you needn't make another row," said Sanford.

"I'm going to whip this fellow for what he has done, and for calling me a bully."

"You are a bully," added Sanford.

"That's so," exclaimed Stockwell.

"Now you can lick the whole of us, if you insist upon it," continued the coxswain.

"Perhaps I will," retorted Clyde, shaking his head fiercely. "You have got me into a pretty scrape."

"You are in the same boat as the rest of us."

"The squadron isn't here," shouted Wilde; for the steamer had by this time arrived within sight of the harbor.

"Can the ship have sailed?" asked Sanford, after the party had satisfied themselves that not one of the vessels of the little fleet was there.

"I suppose she has," replied Burchmore. "To-day is Friday, and she didn't intend to lie here all summer."

"Good!" exclaimed Clyde. "That makes everything all right for me. I'm satisfied now."

Indeed, he was so delighted with the discovery that the ship had sailed, as to be even willing to forego the pleasure of thrashing his companions. The steamer went up to the wharf, and the party landed. Sanford and his friends appeared to be willing to take a reasonable view of the situation, and to accept it without grumbling, satisfied that they had been beaten with their own weapons. They were not sorry that the squadron had departed, for this circumstance gave them a new respite from the discipline of the ship, and enabled them to prolong "the trip without running away."

"What are you going to do now?" asked Clyde, as they landed.

"We shall follow the ship, and try to join her," replied Sanford. "That's what we've been trying to do ever since we left Christiansand—isn't it, Burchmore?"

"Certainly it is," replied the cashier; "though we were detained one day at Apalstoe, and narrowly escaped being carried by accident to the Rjukanfos."

"Are you going to blow upon us, Burch?" demanded Stockwell, warmly.

"Am I? Did you ever know me to do such a thing?" added Burchmore, earnestly.

"No! no!" replied the whole party.

"I don't think it was just the thing to cheat some of us as you did; but I believe we are about even on that now."