and dismay, found that
young gentleman so ill that there was no hope of his being allowed to
take the long-contemplated trip.

He remained there, however, until perfectly certain of this unpleasant
fact, and then returned home to the house which had been left in charge
of one servant, and, as he expressed it, "just to spite himself,"
refused to join the remainder of the family.

Of course this was a most foolish proceeding; but Teddy was in that
frame of mind where a boy of seventeen is prone to foolish deeds, and
there he stayed in a frame of mind very nearly approaching the sulks,
until he received a letter from Neal Emery, another schoolmate, whose
father lived in Bridgeport.

Mr. Emery owned a large factory in that city, and Neal had intended to
spend his vacation at home where he could enjoy the use of a small
sloop-rigged yacht his mother had presented him with the year previous.

The letter contained a very pressing invitation for Teddy to visit
Bridgeport, since his trip to the Adirondacks had been postponed, and
concluded with the startling announcement:

"Father has just bought the Sea Dream, a beautiful steam yacht of an
hundred feet in length, and I don't know how many tons. He proposes to
cruise around three or four weeks while mother is at Bar Harbor, and is
perfectly willing I should invite you to join us. We will have a jolly
time, and if nothing prevents I want you to come at once. We are to
start Wednesday morning."

The letter had been received Monday afternoon, therefore Teddy had but
little time for preparation.

He first sent a long telegram to his father, repeating the substance of
what Neal had written, and asked permission to enroll himself on the Sea
Dream's passenger list.

Not until late in the evening did he receive a favorable reply; but his
traps, including the gun and fishing tackle, were packed, and on the
first train Tuesday morning he started, all traces of ill-humor having
vanished, for a cruise on a steam yacht promised quite as great pleasure
as had the stay in the woods, with not so much certainty of hard work.
Neal met him at the depot, and after going to the former's home only
long enough to leave the baggage, the two set out to view the yacht
which, in all the bravery of glistening paint and polished metal, lay at
anchor in the harbor.

Although not an expert in matters pertaining to marine architecture,
Teddy could appreciate the beauty of the little craft while she