The Coming Wave; Or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock — Context and Discussion

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In Category - Young Readers Enchanted Adventures

Authors: Optic, Oliver, 1822-1897 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2007 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Treasure troves -- Juvenile fiction; Shipwrecks -- Juvenile fiction; Ships -- Juvenile fiction Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 69,270

Reading time 302 min

Text sections 8

The source record for The Coming Wave; Or, The Hidden Treasure of High Rock — Context and Discussion measures this digital text at 69,270 words, 5 hr 2 min estimated reading time, and 8 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 17.7 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #23773

Oliver Optic's 1874 novel opens with a violent tempest on Penobscot Bay, then shifts to a land-based conflict over a mortgage and hidden treasure. The excerpts reveal a dual plot: a shipwreck survival story and a moral drama about eavesdropping, honesty, and financial pressure.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg23773

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THE TEMPEST IN THE BAY, 11

THE LAST OF THE WALDO, 30

HARVEY BARTH'S DIARY, 48

STUMPY AND OTHERS, 67

MISS SARAH LIVERAGE, 105

SOMETHING ABOUT THE HIDDEN TREASURE, 123

AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY, 142

DOUBTS AND DEBTS, 178

AN EXTENSIVE ARRIVAL, 216

THE EXCURSION TO HIGH ROCK, 235

THE WALDO'S PASSENGER, 273

THE FIRST OF JULY, 313

THE HIDDEN TREASURE OF HIGH ROCK.

THE TEMPEST IN THE BAY.

"Well, parsenger, we're likely to get in to port before long, if we only have a breeze of wind," said Harvey Barth, the cook and steward of the brig Waldo, in a peculiar, drawling tone, by which any one who knew the speaker might have recognized him without the use of his eyes.

The steward was a tall, lank, lantern-jawed man, whose cheek-bones were almost as prominent as his long nose. His face was pale, in spite of the bronze which a West India sun had imparted to it, and his hair was long and straight. He had a very thin beard of jet black, which contrasted strongly with the pallor of his face. His voice was hollow, and sounded doubly so from the drawl with which he uttered his sentences, and every remark he made was preceded by a single long-drawn hacking cough, which might have been caused by the force of habit or the incipient workings of disease. He was seated in the galley, abaft the foremast of the brig, and when the passenger showed himself at the door of the galley, he had been engaged in writing in a square record-book, which he closed the instant the visitor darkened the aperture of his den.

The passenger--the only one on board of the Waldo--was a short, thick-set man of about forty, whose name was entered on the brig's papers as Jacob Wallbridge, and his trunk bore the initials corresponding to this name. In his hand he had a pipe, filled full of tobacco, and it was evident that he had called at the galley only to light it, though the steward proceeded to infold his book in an ample piece of oil-cloth which lay upon the seat at his side. It was clear that he did not wish the passenger to know what he was doing, or, at least, what he had written, for he was really quite nervous, as he securely tied the book, and then locked it up in a box under the seat. Though Harvey Barth did not confess it then, it was, nevertheless, a fact that he had been writing in his book about the passenger who darkened his door, though what he wrote was not seen by any human eye until many months after the pen had done its office.

"I thought this morning we should get in to-night," replied the passenger, as he stepped inside of the caboose. "May I borrow a coal of fire from the stove, doctor?"

"Certain, if you can get one; but the fire is about out. You will find some matches in the tin box on your right," added the steward.

"I like to light my pipe in the old-fashioned way when I can. I don't mean to begin to suck in brimstone just yet," continued Wallbridge, as he succeeded in finding a coal, and soon had his pipe in working order. "What were you doing with that book, doctor? Do you keep a log of the voyage?"

"Well, ya-as," drawled the steward. "I keep a log of this voyage, and a log of the voyage of life. I've kept a diary ever since I taught school; and that's seven years ago, come winter."

"It must be worth reading. I should like to look it over, if we have to stay out here another day. I suppose you have seen a good deal of the world, if you have been to sea many years."

"No; I haven't seen much of the world. I never went but one voyage before this, and that was in a coaster, from New York to Bangor. The diary is only for my own reading, and I wouldn't let anybody look at it for all the world," answered Harvey Barth, with an even more painful cough than usual.

"Then you are not a great traveller," added Wallbridge, puffing away at his pipe, as he watched the sun sinking to his rest beyond the western waves.

"Bless you! no. I was brought up on a farm in York State. I used to keep school winters till the folks in our town began to think they must have a more dandified chap than I am."

"Where did you learn to cook, if you were a schoolmaster?"

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The first chapter, 'The Tempest in the Bay,' plunges readers into a sudden gale that wrecks the sloop Waldo. The storm is described with specific nautical details—'the squall struck her with terrible violence'—and the crew's desperate efforts to cut away the mast. This opening establishes the sea as a realm of immediate physical danger, where quick decisions and seamanship matter.

Yet the novel's subtitle, 'The Hidden Treasure of High Rock,' hints at a mystery that unfolds on land. The preface promises 'some breezy sailing' but also notes that 'the plot is as much of the land as of the sea.' Readers should expect the narrative to alternate between maritime action and domestic intrigue, with the fog and gale serving as catalysts for events ashore.

A Storm That Sets the Stage

The opening tempest is not merely atmospheric; it drives the plot. The Waldo is wrecked, and the survivors—including the hero Leopold Bennington—are cast into a struggle for survival. Optic describes the wind 'howling and shrieking through the rigging' and the waves 'breaking over the deck in masses of foam.' This sensory detail grounds the reader in the physical reality of a nineteenth-century sailing disaster.

The storm also introduces a key theme: the contrast between natural forces and human schemes. While the characters battle the elements, the reader learns that Leopold's father faces a mortgage foreclosure. The sea's unpredictability mirrors the financial threats on land. The wreck of the Waldo may be the event that sets the hidden treasure plot in motion, though the excerpts do not yet reveal the connection.

Optic's prose is brisk and action-oriented, with short sentences during crisis moments. The storm chapter establishes a pattern of using weather as both obstacle and narrative device.

Eavesdropping and Its Moral Weight

A later excerpt presents a sustained ethical conversation between Leopold and his friend Stumpy. Stumpy has overheard a private conversation between his grandfather, Squire Moses, and his uncle Ethan, in which they plot to foreclose on Leopold's father's property. Stumpy feels compelled to share this information, but Leopold initially resists: 'if the information don't belong to you,' he argues, it is wrong to repeat it.

This exchange reveals the novel's moral framework. The boys debate the limits of loyalty and the duty to act when a crime is being planned. Stumpy reframes the issue by asking whether one should report a plot to burn a house. Leopold concedes that 'it would be my duty to tell you.' The dialogue is precise and shows Optic's interest in teaching ethical reasoning through concrete scenarios.

The conversation also advances the plot: the mortgage deadline is July 1, and Squire Moses intends to 'foreclose the mortgage just as quick as the law will let him.' The hidden treasure may be the only way to save the family home.

Working Boys and Their Code

The preface describes Leopold and Stumpy as 'working boys, who earn their own living' and are 'fastidiously honest.' The excerpts bear this out. Leopold works at a hotel and is acutely aware of his family's financial straits. Stumpy, though related to the villainous Squire Moses, aligns himself with Leopold out of friendship and a sense of justice.

Their dialogue is marked by a formal politeness—'I'm much obliged to you for telling me'—that reflects the period's expectations for juvenile fiction. Yet the boys also show independence: they make decisions about right and wrong without adult guidance. Stumpy's decision to 'let on' about the plot is a deliberate moral choice, not a impulsive act.

The novel seems to position these boys as models for readers. They are not perfect; Leopold admits he 'dreaded the first of July almost as a condemned convict dreads the day of execution.' But they strive to act honorably under pressure.

The Hidden Treasure as a Narrative Engine

The title promises a hidden treasure, but the excerpts do not reveal its nature or location. The table of contents lists chapters such as 'Something About the Hidden Treasure' and 'An Important Discovery,' suggesting that the mystery unfolds gradually. The treasure is likely connected to High Rock, a landmark mentioned in the subtitle.

Readers should note that the treasure plot is intertwined with the mortgage crisis. The financial stakes are high: Squire Moses wants to seize the hotel and install his son Ethan as landlord. The treasure may be the means to pay off the debt and thwart the foreclosure. Alternatively, it could be a red herring or a moral test.

Optic's preface states that the characters 'make mistakes like other human beings' and that the story does not depend solely on 'experience in fog and gale.' The treasure hunt probably serves as a vehicle for lessons about honesty, perseverance, and the value of hard work over easy riches.

As you read, pay attention to how Optic balances the two strands of the plot. The storm and the mortgage are both forms of 'coming wave'—threats that build gradually and break suddenly. Notice also how the boys' ethical discussions prepare the ground for the treasure hunt. The novel rewards careful attention to dialogue and to the moral choices that drive the action forward.

That old Optic tale—all salt spray and mortgage worries—always made me think of how storms come inland, too, settling on ledger books. One novel’s wreck is another’s quiet poverty. For years I’ve kept Owen's Fortune; Or, "Durable Riches" — Text and Context on the shelf beside it, two boys learning that honesty, not hidden gold, is the real treasure. They whisper the same secret to each other.