186
XVII. BLOWN OFF 198
XVIII. BUOY OR BREAKER 208
XIX. ON THE WHISTLER 221
XX. SQUARING AN ACCOUNT 233
XXI. OLD FRIENDS 243
XXII. PERCY SCORES 255
XXIII. WHITTINGTON GRIT 269
XXIV. CROSSING THE TAPE 283

ILLUSTRATIONS

HE PLUNGED INTO THE SEA AND DRAGGED HIMSELF
TOWARD THE ROCK TO WHICH HIS FATHER WAS
FASTENED _Frontispiece_

THE CAMP AT SPROWL'S COVE _Facing p._ 56

LEANING AGAINST THE MAST-HOOP THAT ENCIRCLED
HIS WAIST, HE LIFTED THE LONG LANCE AND
POISED IT FOR THE BLOW " 166

KNEES BRACED TIGHTLY AGAINST THE SIDES OF THE
STERN, HANDS LOCKED ROUND THE STOUT BUTT
OF THE LANCE, HE FOILED RUSH AFTER RUSH OF
THE BLACK-FINNED, WHITE-BELLIED PIRATES " 172

THEY STOOD CLOSE TOGETHER ON THE CIRCULAR TOP,
HOLDING ON TO THE CROSSED BAILS, WAIST-HIGH " 222

"WE NEED THAT SLOOP AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE
HER!" " 252

JIM SPURLING, FISHERMAN

JIM SPURLING
FISHERMAN

I

SMASHED UP

"Here comes J. P. Whittington, Junior, Esquire, in his new Norman! Some
speed--what?"

The three Graffam Academy seniors, Jim Spurling, Roger Lane, and
Winthrop Stevens, who were sitting on the low, wooden fence before the
campus, earnestly discussing the one thing that had engrossed their
minds for the past two weeks, stopped talking and leaned forward.

On the broad, elm-lined street beyond the Mall suddenly appeared a cloud
of dust, out of which shot a gray automobile. Its high speed soon
brought it to the academy grounds, and it came to an abrupt stop before
the fence.

"Pile in, fellows!" shouted the driver, a bareheaded youth in white
flannels, "and I'll take you on a little spin."

He was a slim, sallow lad of seventeen, with a straw-colored pompadour
crowning his freckled forehead. The sleeves of his outing shirt were
rolled up above his elbows, revealing his bony, sunburnt arms. He wore a
gay red tie, and a tennis blazer, striped black and white, lay on the
seat beside him.

"No, thanks, Percy," replied Lane. "Sorry we can't go; but we're too
busy."

Spurling and Stevens nodded as Whittington's light-blue eyes traveled
inq