Snug Harbor

On the shores of Lake Champlain, Dory Dornwood's new life at Beech Hill is already laced with danger, humor, and a hard-fought argument over what boys should be taught. In this second adventure of Oliver Optic's Boat-Builder Series, Captain Royal Gildrock's reform-minded industrial school stands against the town's faith in conventional schooling, as he champions carpentry, mechanics, navigation, and real work over polish and empty status. The action begins when Dory rescues a young stranger from a sinking sloop, only to discover the fugitive is Bolingbroke Millweed, a nervous, educated young man with an extravagant name and a troubling story. Hounded by a pursuing steam-launch, Bolly claims he has been framed for stealing money from a Burlington store and fled in panic, leaving Dory to decide whether he is guilty or merely desperate. As the mystery unfolds, the Millweed family's pride, debts, and refusal to embrace honest labor come into sharp focus. Captain Gildrock's answer is practical and uncompromising: send the boys to the industrial school, put responsibility first, and let useful training restore what vanity has ruined. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.