Other editions of book The Great Quest

One morning early in the summer of 1826; I brushed the sweat from my forehead and the flour from my clothes; unrolled my shirt-sleeves to my wrists; donned my coat; and; with never a suspicion that that day was to be unlike any other; calmly walked out into the slanting sunshine. Rain had fallen in the night; and the air was still fresh and cool. Although the clock had but just struck six; I had been at work an hour; and now that my uncle; Seth Upham; had come down to take charge of the store; I was glad that some business discussed the evening before gave me an excuse to go on an errand to the other end of the village.

The story opens in fictional Topham, Massachusetts, in 1826. After the man Cornelius "Neal" Gleazen unexpectedly returns to town, he involves childhood friend Seth Woods and Seth's nephew, twenty-year-old protagonist Josiah "Joe" Woods, in a dangerous sea journey to retrieve a hidden treasure. Accompanying them are Seth's two store-clerks, Arnold Lamont and Sim Muzzy, and farmer Abraham Guptil, on whose mortgage Neal forced Seth to foreclose in order to raise money to outfit the expedition. When the travelers reach Cuba it is revealed that there is no hidden treasure, and that Neal's actual intent is to kidnap native Africans from Guinea to sell as slaves. However, it is not until they reach Africa that Joe, Seth, and the others find an opportunity to take control of the expedition from Neal. While in Africa, they rescue from danger a white missionary's daughter, who is accompanied by a native African slave or servant (his status is unclear) belonging to the Fantee nation. Both of these accompany them back to Massachusetts via South America. Arnold Lamont, however, stays behind in Valparaiso. The experiences of Josiah Woods of Topham, and of those others with whom he sailed for Cuba and the Gulf of Guinea.

CHAPTER ITHE STRANGEROne morning early in the summer of 1826, I brushed the sweat from my forehead and the flour from my clothes, unrolled my shirt-sleeves to my wrists, donned my coat, and, with never a suspicion that that day was to be unlike any other, calmly walked out into the slanting sunshine. Rain had fallen in the night, and the air was still fresh and cool. Although the clock had but just struck six, I had been at work an hour, and now that my uncle, Seth Upham, had come down to take charge of the store, I was glad that some business discussed the evening before gave me an excuse to go on an errand to the other end of the village.Uncle Seth looked up from his ledger as I passed. "You are prompt to go," said he. "I've scarce got my hat on the peg. Well, the sooner the better, I suppose. Young Mackay's last shipment of oil was of poor quality and color. The rascal needs a good wigging, but the best you can do is tell the old man my opinion of his son's goods. If he gets a notion that we're likely to go down to nine cents a gallon on the next lot, he'll bring the boy to taw, I'll warrant you. Well, be gone. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come, and we're like to have a busy day."I nodded and went down the steps, but turned again and looked back. As Uncle Seth sat at his desk just inside the door, his bald head showing above the ledgers,[Pg 4] he made me think of a pigeon-holed document concerned with matters of trade—weights and measures, and dollars and cents. He was a brisk, abrupt little man, with keen eyes and a thin mouth, and lines that cut at sharp angles into his forehead and drew testy curves around his chin; and in his way he was prominent in the village. Though ours was a community of Yankees, he had the reputation, in which he took great pride, of being an uncommonly sharp hand at a bargain. That it could be a doubtful compliment, he never suspected.He owned property in three towns besides our own village of Topham; he kept a very considerable balance in a Boston bank; he loaned money at interest from one end of the county to the other, and he held shares in two schooners and a bark—not to mention the bustling general store that was the keystone of his prosperity.

One morning early in the summer of 1826, I brushed the sweat from my forehead and the flour from my clothes, unrolled my shirt-sleeves to my wrists, donned my coat, and, with never a suspicion that that day was to be unlike any other, calmly walked out into the slanting sunshine. Rain had fallen in the night, and the air was still fresh and cool. Although the clock had but just struck six, I had been at work an hour, and now that my uncle, Seth Upham, had come down to take charge of the store, I was glad that some business discussed the evening before gave me an excuse to go on an errand to the other end of the village. Uncle Seth looked up from his ledger as I passed. "You are prompt to go," said he. "I've scarce got my hat on the peg. Well, the sooner the better, I suppose. Young Mackay’s last shipment of oil was of poor quality and color. The rascal needs a good wigging, but the best you can do is tell the old man my opinion of his son’s goods. If he gets a notion that we're likely to go down to nine cents a gallon on the next lot, he'll bring the boy to taw, I'll warrant you. Well, be gone. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll come, and we're like to have a busy day." I nodded and went down the steps, but turned again and looked back. As Uncle Seth sat at his desk just inside the door, his bald head showing above the ledgers, he made me think of a pigeon-holed document concerned with matters of trade—weights and measures, and dollars and cents. He was a brisk, abrupt little man, with keen eyes and a thin mouth, and lines that cut at sharp angles into his forehead and drew testy curves around his chin; and in his way he was prominent in the village. Though ours was a community of Yankees, he had the reputation, in which he took great pride, of being an uncommonly sharp hand at a bargain. That it could be a doubtful compliment, he never suspected. He owned property in three towns besides our own village of Topham; he kept a very considerable balance in a Boston bank; he loaned money at interest from one end of the county to the other, and he held shares in two schooners and a bark—not to mention the bustling general store that was the keystone of his prosperity. If anyone had presumed so far as to suggest that a close bargain could be aught but creditable, Uncle Seth would have shot a testy glance at him, with some such comment as, "Pooh! He’s drunk or crazy!" And he would then have atoned for any little trickery by his generosity, come Sunday, when the offering was taken at church.

The Great Quest: A romance of 1826, wherein are recorded the experiences of Josiah Woods of Topham, and of those others with whom he sailed for Cuba and the Gulf of Guinea by Charles Boardman Hawes, author of “The Mutineers”Illustrated by George Varian Copyright, 1920, 1921First Impression, September, 1921Second Impression, January, 1922 CONTENTSPart 1. An Old AcquaintanceChapter 1. The StrangerChapter 2. My Uncle Behaves QueerlyChapter 3. Higgleby’s BarnChapter 4. Swords and ShipsChapter 5. A Mysterious ProjectPart 2. Hands Across the SeaChapter 6. Good-Bye to Old Haunts and FacesChapter 7. A Wild NightChapter 8. The Brig AdventureChapter 9. An Old Sea SongPart 3. A Low Land in the EastChapter 10. MattersonChapter 11. New Light on an Old FriendChapter 12. Captain North AgainChapter 13. Issues Sharply DrawnChapter 14. Land Ho!Part 4. Three Desperate MenChapter 15. The IslandChapter 16. Strangest of AllChapter 17. The Man from the JungleChapter 18. A Warning DefiedChapter 19. Burned BridgesPart 5. The House on the HillChapter 20. Up StreamChapter 21. A Grim SurpriseChapter 22. SiegeChapter 23. SortiePart 6. For Our Very LivesChapter 24. Spears in the DarkChapter 25. Cards and ChessChapter 26. An Unseen FoeChapter 27. The Fort FallsChapter 28. Down the CurrentChapter 29. The Fight at the LandingPart 7. The Long Road HomeChapter 30. The CruiserChapter 31. A Passage at ArmsChapter 32. Westward BoundChapter 33. The Door of DisasterChapter 34. An Old, Old StoryChapter 35. Eheu Fugaces!