THE TWO CRUISERS WERE CHUG-CHUGGING OUT OF THE HARBOUR

"IT IS!" HE CRIED. "WE'VE GOT HER, FELLOWS!"

"THOSE WAVES WILL BATTER HER TO PIECES"

"THEY OFFER YOU--" MR. HYATT LEANED FORWARD IN THE PROTESTING CHAIR





CHAPTER I

HOW IT STARTED


The Adventure Club had its inception, one evening toward the last of
June, in Number 17 Sumner Hall, which is the oldest, most vine-hidden
and most hallowed of the seven dormitories of Dexter Academy. It was a
particularly warm evening, the two windows were wide open and the
green-shaded light on the study table in the centre of the room had been
turned low--Sumner prided itself on being conservative to the extent of
gas instead of electricity and tin bathtubs instead of porcelain--and in
the dim radiance the three occupants of the room were scarcely more than
darker blurs.

Since final examinations had ended that afternoon and Graduation Day was
only some twenty-eight hours away, none of the three was doing anything