ASIATIC BREEZES

OR

STUDENTS ON THE WING

BY

OLIVER OPTIC

AUTHOR OF "THE ARMY AND NAVY SERIES" "YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD FIRST ANDSECOND SERIES" "THE BOAT-CLUB STORIES" "THE GREAT WESTERN SERIES" "THEWOODVILLE STORIES" "THE ONWARD AND UPWARD SERIES" "THE LAKE SHORESERIES" "THE YACHT-CLUB SERIES" "THE RIVERDALE STORIES" "THE BOATBUILDER SERIES" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY AFLOAT" "THE BLUE AND THE GRAY ONLAND" "STARRY FLAG SERIES" "ALL-OVER-THE-WORLD LIBRARY FIRST AND SECONDSERIES" "A MISSING MILLION" "A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN" "A YOUNGKNIGHT-ERRANT" "STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD" "AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT" "THE YOUNGNAVIGATORS" "UP AND DOWN THE NILE" ETC.

LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS

10 MILK STREET

BOSTON

1895

Copyright, 1894, by Lee and Shepard

All Rights Reserved

Asiatic Breezes

Electrotyping by C. J. Peters & Son, Boston U.S.A.

Presswork by S. J. Parkhill & Co.

To

MY APPRECIATIVE FRIEND AND BROTHER

FOSTER A. WHITNEY Esq.

OF SOUTHINGTON CONN.

This Volume

IS FRATERNALLY AND RESPECTFULLY

DEDICATED

[Pg v]

PREFACE

"ASIATIC BREEZES" is the fourth volume of the second series of the"All-Over-the-World Library." Starting out from Alexandria, Egypt, afterthe adventures and explorations of the Guardian-Mother party in thatinteresting country, which included an excursion up the Nile to theFirst Cataract, the steamer sails out upon the Mediterranean, closelyfollowed by her little consort. The enemy who had made a portion of thevoyage exceedingly disagreeable to the watchful commander has beenthwarted in all his schemes, and the threatened danger kept at adistance, even while those who are most deeply interested areunconscious of its existence.

But the old enemy immediately appears on the coast, as was expected, andan attempt is made to carry out a plan to escape from further annoyance.The little steamer sails for the island of Cyprus,[Pg vi] as arrangedbeforehand, and reaches her destination, though she encounters a smartgale on the voyage, through which the young navigators carry theirlively little craft. Plans do not always work as they have beenarranged; and by an accident the young people are left to fight theirown battle, as has happened several times before in the history of thecruise.

A considerable portion of the volume is taken up with the record of somevery stirring events in a certain bay of the island of Cyprus, where thelittle steamer had made a harbor after the gale, and where theGuardian-Mother had failed to join her, as agreed upon. The storyrelates the manner in which the young captain, actively seconded by hisshipmates, extricates his little craft from a very perilous situation,though it involves a disaster to the piratical enemy and his steamer.The conduct of the boy-commander brings up several questions ofinterest, upon which everybody has a right to his own opinion.

The steamer

...

All-Over-the-World Library—Second Series