"Have you any five-dollar bills?" continued the detective.

"I have two five-dollar bills. The rest of the money is in tens."

"Will you show me the fives?"

Dory produced his wallet, and handed the two bills to the officer. Peppers passed them to Moody at once. The latter shook his head, and handed them back to the detective, who returned them to the owner. The skipper wondered what all this meant, and was very much surprised that Peppers did not ask him where he had got the money he paid for the Goldwing.

"That sets you all right, Dory Dornwood," said the landlord. "I am sorry we made you come back to Plattsburgh, but Hawlinshed was sure you were the one that stole the money from Moody's room. We are satisfied now that another person committed the robbery."

"Then you don't want to send me to jail?" added Dory, with a sensation of the most intense relief.

"Not at all. We didn't know so much about the case yesterday forenoon as we do now. The next man we want to see is Hawlinshed. You say he is aground somewhere in the steamer."

"On the Colchester Shoal: at least he was three hours ago," added Dory.

"That's in Vermont, but I will give you ten dollars to put Peppers in the same boat with him."

Dory was glad enough to do it. The tables had turned.



CHAPTER XVIII.

DORY LOCKS HIS PASSENGERS INTO THE CABIN.

Ten dollars! And this sum was to be made with the Goldwing. It would pay nearly one-fourth of what she cost, and add ten dollars to the sum he was to have the happiness of giving to his mother.

"I don't understand yet why I am let off," said Dory, after he had recovered from his amazement at the prospect of earning ten dollars.

"You are let off because you didn't do it," replied the landlord, laughing. "I am sorry we accused you, but it looked bad for you at the first of it. Peppers and Moody will tell you all about it after you get into the boat. We have an early dinner ready, and you must dine before you go."

In addition to all this, the landlord invited him to come to his house whenever he was in Plattsburgh, and make himself at home there. The hotel-keeper dined with them, and he asked Dory a great many questions about the boat. Was she a dangerous boat?

"Any boat will tip over if you don't handle her right," replied Dory sagely. "I sailed her across the lake yesterday when it blew a young hurricane, and she is as safe as any boat I ever was in."

The young skipper proceeded to explain what had made the Goldwing so unruly. He had overcome the difficulty, and he was sure that she was as safe as any boat on the lake. He had perfect confidence in her, and he was willing to have her tested in any weather by any boatman on the lake.

"Pearl Hawlinshed wanted to buy her; and he claims to be the greatest boatman on the lake, and knows his way all over it from Whitehall to St. Johns," added the hotel-keeper. "He knows just where the bottom is in every place."

"I think he does," replied Dory, laughing. "I know he found it yesterday and to-day. Any fellow knows just where the bottom is, but he don't always know how far it is from the top."

"I often have parties here who want a boat and a skipper; and I may be able to turn some business into your hands, Dory," added the hotel-keeper.

"Thank you, sir: that's what I want every day in the week, except Sunday," replied the skipper of the Goldwing.

After dinner Dory and his passengers went to the wharf, and in a few minutes they were standing up the lake. The wind was considerably fresher than it had been in the morning, and the Goldwing made about six miles an hour. The bad reputation of the boat had made some impression upon Peppers, and at first he was very shy when she heeled over under the influence of the smart breeze.

Dory soon satisfied him that the boat would not upset, with any thing like fair treatment. He explained and illustrated the lee-helm business. With the tiller fast in the comb, he allowed the craft to have her own way. At the next gust she threw her head up into the wind, and spilled all her sails. This satisfied both of the passengers, and they manifested no more timidity.

In an hour and a half the schooner was up with Stave Island. The detective had asked the skipper half a dozen times if he could see any thing of the Missisquoi; but the islands had concealed her from view, if she were still on the shoal. A few minutes more would enable him to answer the question. Dory's passengers had plied him so closely with questions since they started, that he had forgotten all about the matter the officer was to explain to him; but the expectation of soon seeing Pearl brought it back to his mind.

"You haven't told me yet why I was charged with taking Mr. Moody's money from his room," said he.

"One reason was, that you were seen about the hotel, near Mr. Moody's room; and the other was, that you had money enough to buy this boat," replied Peppers. "But I was satisfied that you didn't take the money as soon as I got the facts from Moody."

"It was a lucky thing for you, my boy, that I fixed things as I did," added Moody.

"How did you fix things?" asked Dory.

"I have just started the business of making tomato-wine for sickness. I sold two hundred dollars' worth of it in Plattsburgh, part of it to go to New York. The merchant gave me a check for the money, and I went to the bank to cash it. I received forty brand-new five-dollar bills," Moody explained, producing one of the bills. "I am trying to advertise my business all I can; and I had a rubber stamp made, which the agent delivered to me the day I got my money. I went to my room, and stamped every one of those new bills with my business card in red ink. That is the way I know the bills when I see them."

"And that is the reason why you wanted to see all the five-dollar bills I had," added Dory.

"But we had looked over the bills you paid for the boat before," said the detective. "We have been looking for bills with this red stamp upon it since yesterday noon."

"Have you found any?" inquired Dory with interest.

"I found two of them. We have got to the southward of Stave Island now. Can't you tell whether that steamer is in sight now?"

"Yes, sir: there she is, just where we left her this morning," replied the skipper, as he glanced in the direction of the shoal. "I think Pearl Hawlinshed has had a good time there all day."

"How far off is she?" asked Peppers.

"About two miles, but we shall reach her in twenty minutes. Where did you find the two bills with the stamp on them?" asked Dory.

"Can they see us on board of that steamer, Dory?" asked the detective, without heeding the question.

"They can see the boat; but of course they can't tell who is in her two miles off," replied Dory.

"I am afraid I shall have some trouble with Pearl, Dory," said Peppers anxiously. "The landlord was to give you ten dollars if you put me in the same boat with Pearl."

"I think I shall earn the money without any trouble," replied Dory, laughing with delight at the bright prospect before him.

"But, Dory, it makes some difference to me in what boat I happen to be put with him, though you will earn your money all the same," added the officer.

"All I can do is to put you on board of the Missisquoi. Of course I can't put Pearl Hawlinshed on board of this boat if he is not willing to come."

"But I don't want to be put on board of the Missisquoi," protested Peppers. "There is where the rub comes. I am an officer in Plattsburgh, but not in the State of Vermont. I can't arrest Pearl over here."

"Arrest him! Are you going to take him up?" asked Dory, not a little astonished at this revelation.

"I am not going to do it over here; and he may make me no end of trouble when he sees how the land lays," added Peppers; and at the same time he sat down in the bottom of the standing-room.

"What are you going to arrest him for?"

"For stealing Moody's money!" exclaimed the detective desperately. "I didn't mean to tell you the whole story just yet, but you have dragged it out of me. Drop down here, Moody."

The loser of the money obeyed, though he seemed to be as much in the dark as to the object of the movement as the skipper. Dory was worried at the words of the officer; for, if he would not go on board of the little steamer when he went alongside of her, he might not be able to earn the promised reward.

"What is all this for, Mr. Peppers?" asked Dory, quite as anxious to earn his money as the detective was to secure his prisoner.

"Can't we go into the cabin, and shut the doors, Dory?" asked Peppers.

"You can; but that would bring the boat down by the head so much that she won't work well. If you want to do that, I will shift the ballast," replied Dory.

"I don't want Pearl to see me until we get him into this boat. It won't do for me to take him out of the steamer over here. I am afraid to do it. Shift your ballast, and then I will fix it up with you," added the officer.

"Fix up the ballast!" exclaimed Dory, who did not care to have any one meddle with the ballast but himself.

"No, no! Fix up a plan to get Pearl into this boat. Don't try to be so thick, Dory," replied Peppers impatiently.

The skipper could not leave the helm to move the ballast, and neither of his passengers knew any thing about a boat. But the men shifted the fifty-sixes under the direction of the skipper. Five of them were carried farther aft, and the passengers took their places one in each berth in the cabin.

The doors opening into the standing-room were closed, but the slide was left open till the schooner came alongside the Missisquoi. The men declared that they were very comfortable in their quarters, and Dory could not see why they should not be. He did not think there was any better place in the known world than the cabin of the Goldwing.

"Now, how are we to get Pearl into this boat?" asked Peppers, with his head at the opening by the slide.

"I don't think you will have any trouble about that," replied Dory. "He wanted me to take him on board this morning, but I believe he will take the boat away from me as soon as he comes on board."

"Don't you be alarmed about that, Dory. I can take care of him when I get him within reach of my hand," added the detective.

"I believe he is as ugly as sin itself, and I think he hates me worse than he does the Evil One himself. I have given him a big run the last two days, and I gave him a chance to find the bottom twice."

"I will look out for you, Dory. I don't want him to know we are on board of the boat till we get over to the other side of the lake," added Peppers. "He will look into this cabin the first thing he does after he comes on board. Can't you give us the key, and let us lock ourselves in, Dory?"

"You can't lock the doors on the inside," answered Dory. "When the slide is drawn, a hasp comes down from it, and all the doors are fastened with a padlock."

"Then why can't you lock us in? You won't tip the boat over while we are in here, will you?" asked the detective, as he thrust his head out far enough to enable him to see the steamer, which was not more than a quarter of a mile distant by this time.

"I will agree not to tip you over; but I can't tell what else may happen, if I take such a fellow as Pearl Hawlinshed on board."

"If you have any trouble with him, all you have to do is to unlock the door, and let us out; and we will take care of you."

"All right! I am satisfied to do any thing you say," added Dory, as he went forward, drew the slide, and locked his passengers into the cabin.

By the change in the position of the ballast the boat was kept in good trim. She dashed merrily through the water, and in a few minutes more she was describing a circle around the grounded steamer.



CHAPTER XIX.

PEARL HAWLINSHED RESORTS TO VIOLENCE.

"Hallo! is that you, Dory Dornwood?" shouted Pearl Hawlinshed, as the Goldwing came within hail of the steamer. "Come alongside, and take me on board!"

"All right!" replied the skipper of the schooner, as he hauled in the sheets with all his might.

"Take me on board, and I will make it all right with you," continued Pearl, who did not seem to believe that Dory intended to take him on board.

The skipper had brought the boat about so that all her sails were shaking, but she had headway enough to carry her to the port quarter of the steamer.

"Be all ready to jump on board when I come up alongside," called Dory.

"Are you going off to leave us, now that you have got us into this scrape?" demanded Captain Vesey, springing to his feet; for he had evidently been asleep on the quarter-deck.

"I am going to get a steamer to drag you off this shoal," replied Pearl. "I will come back in a couple of hours or so."

"You may forget to come," added Mr. Button, the engineer. "I think you had better pay me the five dollars you owe me before we part company."

"And five dollars you owe me," added Captain Vesey.

"I don't owe you any five dollars, either of you," replied Pearl blandly, as he was about to leap on board of the Goldwing. "I was to give you five dollars apiece if you put me on board of this boat, and you haven't done it."

"We should have done it if we hadn't let you do the piloting," replied Captain Vesey. "You owe us the money, and you must pay it."

"I think not," added Pearl, as he sprang on the forward deck of the schooner. "You haven't done what I agreed to pay you for."

"Hold on!" shouted Button angrily. "If you don't pay me, I will take it out of your hide."

"You will catch me first, won't you?" jeered Pearl, as he leaped down into the standing-room of the boat.

"Don't carry him off, Dory," added Captain Vesey. "He is the biggest rascal that ever floated on Lake Champlain."

"Keep off, Dory, if you know when you are well off!" said Pearl in threatening tones.

But Dory was anxious to perform his part in the drama; and he filled away on the starboard tack, pointing the head of the boat towards Plattsburgh. His fellow-voyagers did not give Pearl a good character, but this was not a surprise to the skipper. He knew what Pearl was before he had seen him in the daylight.

"Here we are, Dory," said the villain, as he seated himself in the standing-room. "You have dodged me times enough yesterday and to-day, and I am glad to be alone on board of this craft with you."

The skipper did not express his satisfaction that they were not alone, but he felt it just the same. Pearl was ugly, and Dory did not like the looks of him. The new passenger gazed about him, and seemed to be examining the boat for some time. He looked under the seats in the standing-room, and opened a couple of lockers. Then he raised the floor-boards, and looked at the ballast.

When he had done this, he seated himself again. He looked at Dory, and then he glanced up at the sails. He watched the sailing of the schooner in silence for a few minutes. He evidently had something on his mind, and he appeared to be debating with himself as to the manner in which he should open the subject. As his eyes wandered about the boat, they rested upon the cabin-doors. He looked at them a moment, and then went forward, and tried to open them.

"You keep the cuddy locked, do you, Dory?" asked he, as he pulled several times at the doors.

"Just now I do," replied Dory, who had no skill in lying, and no inclination to practise it. "I wish you would come aft, Mr. Hawlinshed. When you are so far forward, it puts her down too much by the head."

"She works very well indeed, Dory Dornwood. What have you been doing to her?" asked Pearl.

"I changed the position of the foremast, and have shifted the ballast," replied Dory, wishing the third passenger would come aft; for he was afraid he might discover the presence of the others in the cabin.

"Do you happen to have the key to this padlock in your pocket, Dory?" asked Pearl in an indifferent tone.

Just then he saw the inquirer drop his head, and put his right ear very near the blinds in the doors of the cabin. But he did not act as if he had discovered any thing. The skipper thought he heard some kind of a noise in the cabin, as though one of its occupants had coughed or sneezed. But he was not sure of it, and the noise was just as likely to have been the dashing of the water against the bow of the boat.

"You spoil the sailing of the boat by staying so far forward," repeated the skipper, with his heart in his mouth.

"Perhaps I do, Dory Dornwood. I asked you if you happened to have the key of that padlock in your pocket," said Pearl, as he moved aft. "I should like to have you answer me if it isn't too much trouble."

"Of course I have the key," replied Dory.

"Suppose you give it to me? I should like to take a nap in the cabin while we are going down the lake," added Pearl.

"I just said it spoiled the sailing of the boat to have you so far forward. I slept on that seat here in the standing-room last night; and I think you can take your nap just as comfortably there as in the cabin," answered Dory.

There was something cunning and suspicious in the conduct of Pearl Hawlinshed that made the skipper very uncomfortable. He acted as though he was playing a part to accomplish a purpose. The skipper had made up his mind that it was time for him to open the cabin-doors, and thus obtain the assistance and protection of the officer.

"Don't say any thing more to me about spoiling the sailing of the boat, Dory. I know more about sailing a boat than you do," replied Pearl. "You are a cross-grained youth, and you know more than the law allows for a boy of your years. You beat me out of this boat; but you stole the money to buy her, and it was no trade."

The skipper concluded that it was best to make no reply to this charge.

"We will settle that matter at another time," continued Pearl. "I believe I hinted to you that I wanted to take a nap in the cabin."

"And I hinted to you that I did not want the boat loaded by the head any more," replied Dory, who was not at all disposed to be bullied, politely or otherwise.

"I prefer to sleep in the cabin, and I want the key of that padlock," said Pearl more decidedly than he had before spoken.

"You can't have it," replied Dory with quite as much decision.

"Do you wish me to throw you overboard, Dory Dornwood?" demanded Pearl, fixing his ugly look upon the skipper.

"No, I don't."

"Then I hope you won't make me do it, for I might be sorry for it; but I must have that key."

"I don't see what you want of the key," added Dory, whose sober second thought was, that he had better not provoke such a dangerous man. "This boat has a bad reputation, and I have to be very careful with her."

"You were very careful yesterday when you ran across the lake in her with the wind blowing a heavy gale," said Pearl with a sneer.

"I will fix a nice bed for you on that seat."

"I want the key!" exclaimed Pearl savagely.

Dory was silent. The key was in his trousers-pocket, where he kept his wallet, containing sixty dollars. His ugly passenger was evidently determined to have the key. Unless he had discovered that some one was in the cabin, he could not see why his persecutor was so strenuous to obtain the key. Pearl was not a large man; but he was very strong and quick, as he had learned in the affair in the woods, when the ruffian had hurled him away from him as though he had been nothing but a baby.

He could hardly get the better of him if Pearl resorted to violence. His companion in the standing-room claimed to be a skilful boatman, and was not dependent upon him to act as skipper. The situation began to look very serious. Though Peppers must have heard every word that passed between him and Pearl, he had not betrayed his presence on board of the boat. Perhaps it would have been foolish for him to do so, as he was as securely caged as though he had been locked up in the Clinton County jail.

Dory finally decided that the only thing for him to do was to open the cabin-doors, and thus secure the aid of the officer. But Pearl was watching him as a cat eyes a mouse. Whether the ruffianly passenger would permit him to open the doors was now the question. The skipper got his hand on the key in his pocket, though he did not venture to take it out. At a favorable moment, if any such was presented, he intended to make a rush to the forward deck to effect his purpose.

"There is a steamer bound to the north," said he, pointing to a vessel a mile to the windward of the Goldwing. "Perhaps she would run over, and pull the Missisquoi off the shoal."

"I don't want any thing more of the Missisquoi; and she may lie where she is till she rots," replied Pearl, without taking his gaze from Dory.

"Do you know what boat that is, Mr. Hawlinshed?" asked the skipper, very anxious to induce his companion to look away from him, even for an instant.

"I don't know what steamer that is; and I don't care, unless you should happen to go too near her. In that case, I should object," answered Pearl, without looking at her.

"Are you afraid of her, Mr. Hawlinshed? She looks peaceful enough," added Dory.

"You needn't talk any more. I know what you are trying to do; and you won't do it," said the passenger.

Dory saw that it was no use to wait any longer. Pearl was determined not to take his eyes off the skipper. Dory fussed a moment with the sheets, trying in this manner to distract the attention of the villain. Finally he let go the jib-sheet, and it ran out. With the key in his hand, he rushed forward, as if to secure the rope, but really to unlock the cabin-door.

Before he could reach the doors, Pearl threw himself upon his victim. Dory went down into the bottom of the boat in spite of his best exertions to save himself. His right hand was firmly grasped by his assailant, and the key wrenched from his hand. It was done almost as quick as a flash, and Dory was as powerless in the hands of the villain as though he had been only an infant.

Pearl did not offer to use any more violence than was necessary to obtain the key. When he had secured possession of it, he hurled his victim from him.



CHAPTER XX.

MR. PEPPERS FINDS THE TABLES TURNED.

Dory Dornwood gathered himself up after his defeat, and stood upon his legs again. He was mortified at the result of his attempt to release the officer, and improve his situation in the boat. He had thought of using the tiller as a weapon, and now he was sorry he had not done so. Doubtless it was better for him that he had not; for that would only have compelled his assailant to use greater violence, and he might have been seriously injured, for Pearl seemed to be desperate enough to do any thing.

"Now pick up your sheet, Dory," said Pearl, as he went to the helm, and took the tiller in his hand.

Dory did not feel so much interest in the sailing of the boat as he had a short time before, and he took no notice of the order of his conqueror. He looked at Pearl, and saw him deposit the key of the padlock in the depths of his trousers-pocket, which he buttoned up, as though he expected an attempt would be made to take it from him. The new skipper had kept the helm up until all the sails but the jib were drawing full.

"I think I told you to pick up that jib-sheet, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl, in what he doubtless intended for an impressive manner.

Dory had certainly exhibited a considerable degree of prudence under the trying circumstances in which he was placed; but now his stock of that virtue appeared to be exhausted, for he took no notice of the order repeated to him, and the impressiveness of Pearl was wasted. Dory was disgusted at his overwhelming defeat, and he had not philosophy enough to submit to it with good grace. In fact, he was downright mad at the treatment he had received from his last passenger.

He was looking about him for the means of resistance. The long tiller was in the cabin, and he had neglected to take the small one from the rudder-head. As the situation was now, he was disposed to fight; but, unprovided with any sort of a weapon, he realized that he was no match for the villain who had taken possession of the boat.

He looked at the blinds in the cabin-doors. He could put his foot through them; but, if he did, the aperture was not large enough for the officer to crawl through. He began to wonder that Peppers did not say or do something.

"If you don't pick up that jib-sheet, Dory Dornwood, it will be all the worse for you," said Pearl, not so impressively as before; for he had found that manner did not operate with the late skipper.

"If you are going to sail the boat, pick it up yourself," replied Dory with more grit than discretion.

At this particular moment the eye of the late skipper rested on a round hard-wood stick which lay on the floor of the standing-room. It was used in shoving down the centre-board when necessary. When he saw it he laid hold of it. He felt stronger in spirit and in muscle as soon as he had it in his possession.

"What are you going to do with that stick, you young cub?" demanded Pearl, rising from his seat.

"I am going to use it," replied Dory, filled with wrath.

If he had waited for some of his wrath to evaporate, he would have done better. With the club upraised, he rushed aft with the intention of attacking his persecutor. He calculated that one blow over the head with the heavy weapon in his hand would depose and dispose of the new skipper of the Goldwing, and restore him to his place again. Possibly it might if Dory had succeeded in delivering the blow. He was angry and excited, while Pearl was cool and self-possessed.

As he struck what was to be the finishing blow of the conflict, Pearl caught him by the arm, and in the twinkling of an eye wrested the club from his hand. He threw it on the floor, and then he jammed the belligerent young man down upon the seat very hard. Dory felt his bones quake as he came down on the board.

"You have got grit enough to fit out a flock of Bantam roosters," said Pearl, still holding his victim by the collar of his coat. "But I don't want any more of this thing, and I won't have it."

Taking a reef-pendant from under the seat, he proceeded to tie the hands of the late skipper behind him. When he had done this, in spite of Dory's struggles, he made him fast to the side of the boat.

"Now, young man, I think you will stay where I put you," said Pearl, as he looked his prisoner over, and saw that he was secure. "You won't make any thing by such stupid conduct."

"What's going on out there, Dory?" called Peppers, who could not help hearing the noise of the scuffle.

"Nothing particular going on just now: it is all over," said Pearl, as he resumed his place at the helm, though not till he had gathered up the truant sheet.

"Why don't you unlock the door, Dory?" continued the officer.

"I can't," answered Dory, whose tongue was not tied, if his arms were. "Pearl Hawlinshed has taken the key away from me, and tied my hands behind me."

"Are you there, Hawlinshed?" asked Peppers.

"Of course I am here. Ask Dory Dornwood if I am not," replied the skipper, chuckling at his own reply.

"What does this mean, Hawlinshed?"

"Well, it means any thing you please, Peppers. So you had passengers in the cabin, Dory; and that is the reason you didn't want to open the cabin," added Pearl.

"Open this door, and let us out, Hawlinshed, if you have the key," said the detective in a mild and good-natured tone, as though he expected the villain to do it.

"No: I think I won't," replied Pearl. "I am afraid you wouldn't behave yourself as well out here as you do in the cabin."

The officer said no more for several minutes. Dory concluded that he was looking over his chances of getting out of his prison. Probably he was willing to admit by this time that the tables had been turned upon him. The owner of the Goldwing could think of no way by which the prisoners could get out. The doors were made of plank, and he could not get at the hinges to operate upon them.

"I think we had better talk this thing over, Pearl," said Peppers, after a silence of several minutes. "We may be able to come to an understanding."

"I don't object to talking it over. I haven't got any thing else to do; but I am afraid we can't come to any understanding," replied the skipper. "You are a constable, police-officer, detective, and all that sort of thing; and I suppose you went over into Vermont on business. Did you finish it before you were locked into that place?"

Pearl chuckled, and was very good-natured in his remarks; and he plainly felt that he was master of the situation.

"I didn't finish my business; but, if you will open the door, I will end it in a very short time," answered the officer.

"Then I guess I won't open the door," laughed Pearl. "Perhaps you won't object to telling me what your business is in these parts."

"I can't do any thing till you let me out."

"Then you can't do any thing at all. You had better turn in, and take a nap for the rest of the day."

"Do you mean to keep us in here all day, Hawlinshed?"

"Yes: and all night if you don't behave yourself."

Another silence followed, in which the caged officer was probably considering what he should do next. It was broken by a sudden crash, which startled Dory. He found that something besides the silence was broken. All the blinds in one of the doors were smashed out at a single stroke from the shoulder of the detective. It hurt Dory's feelings to see the beautiful work of the boat reduced to splinters in an instant; but he realized that he was in the midst of a stirring adventure, and the blinds could be easily restored.

"Good!" exclaimed Pearl, as the opening appeared in the door. "You did that very well, Peppers. I was wishing I could leave the helm long enough to do it myself, for I wanted to see who the other fellow was that had taken passage with me. Besides, I think it is a good deal more sociable to see a man's face when you are talking to him."

"Of course you know, Hawlinshed, that you are resisting an officer, and obstructing him in the discharge of his duty?" demanded Peppers, beginning to be a little more demonstrative as he failed to appreciate the humor of the new skipper.

"Of course I understand that I am obstructing an officer,—a New-York officer over here in Vermont," chuckled Pearl. "By the way, Peppers, have you such a thing about you as a pistol of any kind,—a revolver, a seven-shooter, or any toy of this sort?"

"I haven't any such thing about me. If I had, I should shoot you the next thing I did," answered Peppers petulantly.

"Oh, no! You wouldn't do such a thing as that. It might hurt me," said Pearl with a laugh.

"That is to say"—continued Peppers; and it was plain to Dory that Moody had indicated to him that he had made a blunder in telling the rascal that he had no dangerous weapon.

"That is to say that you haven't any pistol, but the other fellow has one," added Pearl. "By the way, who is the other fellow? It would be a good deal more sociable if you would introduce him."

"His name is Moody, and he will be very glad to make your acquaintance, Hawlinshed."

"If he has got a pistol, it might go off, and hurt one of you in that narrow place; and I think you had better hand it out, and have it properly taken care of," continued Pearl.

"Moody has four pistols, all of them seven-shooters," said the detective, who seemed to be determined effectually to counteract the influence of the blunder he had made.

"Four seven-shooters!" exclaimed Pearl. "He is a walking arsenal. He would sink if he should fall overboard with such a weight of arms upon him; and I think he had better pass them out through the hole you have been so kind as to make."

"He concludes that he may want them, and he don't mean to fall overboard," replied Peppers.

"All right! but let him be very careful with them; for pistols are dangerous things in such a little hole as you now occupy," answered Pearl, who was no simpleton, and was confident that Moody had no pistol, to say nothing of four of them.

A silence of a full hour followed, for neither party seemed to have any plan to act upon. It was plain enough to Dory that the new skipper had discovered the presence of the detective on board of the boat, either before or soon after he went into her himself. A little later he saw a plaid overcoat lying on the forward deck. It was odd enough to betray the identity of its owner, who had forgotten to take it into the cabin with him.

It afterwards appeared that Moody had sneezed twice. This was the sound the skipper heard; and it informed the later passenger that the cabin was occupied, as the coat explained by whom. Two hours had elapsed since the capture of the boat; and the Goldwing was off Cumberland Head, hugging the Grand Isle shore.



CHAPTER XXI.

ANOTHER ELEMENT IN THE CONTEST.

"Where are we now, Dory?" asked Peppers, appearing at the aperture in the door, at which he had not been seen for the last half hour, though his voice was heard in consultation with Moody.

"Off Cumberland Head, and close to Grand Isle," replied Dory.

"Is there any thing in sight, Dory?" continued Peppers.

"There is a steamer coming towards the Head. I saw her above Valcour's Island two hours ago; and she has been in at Plattsburgh since that," answered Dory.

"Do you know what steamer it is?"

"I am not sure: she has not been within two miles of us."

"I can tell you all about her," interposed Pearl Hawlinshed with his frequent chuckle. "Why don't you apply at the captain's office when you want any information?"

"I don't think I can depend upon your information," added Peppers.

"I think you can. The steamer is the Sylph," added Pearl.

"I thought it was the Sylph," said Dory.

"She is the fastest boat of her inches on the lake," continued the skipper. "She has run by any of the big steamers, except the Vermont, which is good for eighteen miles an hour."

Dory had seen the steamer before, and he never saw her without having sad thoughts. He always kept away from her if she happened to be in any port where he was. But she was a beautiful craft, and her ordinary rate of sailing was twelve miles an hour; and it was said that she was good for two or three miles more if her owner would only "let her out."

"I don't think there is any comfort in her for you," chuckled Pearl. "She is a private yacht, belonging to Captain Gildrock; and he don't go out of his way to assist poor and distressed fellow-creatures like you."

"How far off is she, Dory?" asked the officer.

"She is half way across Cumberland Bay; and I should think she was four miles off, or thereabouts," answered Dory.

"Just about four: that was a good guess, Dory Dornwood," added the skipper.

"Can't you hail her if she comes near us?" suggested Peppers.

"No, he can't!" exclaimed Pearl sharply. "It would be cruel of you to ask him to do such a thing; for as sure as he makes a sign to that steamer, or to any other craft, I will throw him overboard, with his hands tied behind him."

"It would be cruel of you to do such a thing, Hawlinshed."

"I know it would, and I shall not do it unless you compel me to act in self-defence."

"Where is this thing to end?" demanded Peppers in a disgusted tone of voice.

"Somewhere up in Canada, I guess," replied Pearl. "I don't believe it will end before we get there, and I think we shall be over the line some time to-night."

"Then you intend to take us into Canada, Hawlinshed?"

"Yes: unless we can make some better arrangement. If you prefer to land at some point on Grand Island, I think we could fix it so as to accommodate you."

"How can we fix it?" asked Peppers rather anxiously.

"I have been thinking the matter over, and I believe I have a plan by which I might safely oblige you," said Pearl. "I have concluded not to go back to Plattsburgh: in fact, I don't believe I should be comfortable and happy there."

"I don't believe you would," added the officer significantly. "We should be apt to make it warm for you."

"Why so, Peppers? You and I have always been good friends, and we never quarrelled. Why should we now?"

"We shouldn't, and I don't intend to quarrel with you. But in my private opinion you will spend the greater part of the rest of your days within the stone walls."

"I don't intend to do any thing of the sort; and I don't believe I shall, if I only take good care of you while I have you as a passenger."

"But how can we fix this matter?" inquired the officer.

"If you will put your hands behind you, and then put them out through that hole you have made, I will fasten them together, as I have Dory Dornwood's. I will do the same with your roommate; and then I will land all three of you at Wilcox Cove, or some other good place. How does this plan strike you?"

"It don't strike me at all," protested Dory. "I won't agree to it."

"But, my dear little Bantam, I didn't ask you to agree to it. Your hands are already tied behind you; and, when I have done with you, I shall throw you overboard, if that happens to be the most convenient way to get rid of you. I was speaking to Mr. Peppers, whose hands are not yet tied behind him; and you should not interrupt the conversation of those who are older and wiser than you are."

"I don't agree to the plan. We will turn in and go to sleep, and you can take us where you please; but you will find in the end that this world isn't big enough to hide you from me," replied Peppers.

"Just as you please, Peppers. We shall not quarrel about a little matter like this. I suppose you came over after me. Allow me to suggest that you haven't stated the nature of your business with me," continued Pearl gayly in appearance, though Dory could see that he did not feel half so chipper as he talked.

"I think I won't talk any more at present," replied Peppers. "I can wait till we see this thing through."

"You won't have to wait many hours," answered the skipper, as he looked astern to see if any craft was coming near the Goldwing.

Dory was certain that the skipper was disgusted with the decision of the officer, and that he was very anxious to get rid of his troublesome passengers. But the owner of the boat was delighted with the conduct of the detective. He had been afraid that he would compromise with the villain, and that he should lose his boat, or at least be deprived of the use of her for a long time.

"Where is the Sylph now?" asked the officer half an hour later.

"She is not more than a mile astern of us," replied Dory.

"Is she coming near us?"

"She is headed directly for us."

"And where is this boat?" continued Peppers.

"We are approaching Long Point, and are within half a mile of it. We are inside of Sister Islands, and the Sylph seems to be taking the same course. She acts just as though she was following us," said Dory, who had been watching the progress of the beautiful steam-yacht ever since she first came in sight.

"She does act as though she was following us, don't she, Dory Dornwood?" added Pearl Hawlinshed.

"I have no doubt she is following us," replied Dory.

"Do you know of any reason why she should follow us?" asked the skipper, trying to conceal his anxiety.

"I don't," answered Dory.

"Do you know her owner, Dory?" inquired Pearl.

Dory hesitated. It was a disagreeable topic to him, and he would gladly have avoided it. It was plain enough that the Sylph was following the Goldwing, but Dory could think of no reason why she should do so.

"Do you know Captain Gildrock, her owner?" asked Pearl again, and with more energy than before.

"I do know him: he is my uncle," replied Dory, who could see no reason why he should conceal the disagreeable truth—for it was disagreeable to him—from the skipper.

"Your uncle!" exclaimed Pearl, apparently startled at the reply. "Do you mean to say that Captain Gildrock is your uncle, you young cub?"

"I mean to say it, and I do say it."

But Dory wished with all his might that the captain was not his uncle, or any other relation.

"He is one of the richest men in this part of the country," added Pearl, looking astern at the elegant steam-yacht.

"I know it; but I don't have any thing to do with him, and I don't think he is coming after this boat on my account," added Dory.

"I suppose you will be glad to get on board of her," suggested Pearl, who had now become quite nervous in spite of his fine philosophy.

"No, I shouldn't. I was never on board of the Sylph in my life; and I shall not go on board of her if I can help it," answered Dory.

"You and your uncle don't seem to be on the best of terms," continued Pearl, as he headed the boat to the eastward, after passing Long Point.

The skipper ran the Goldwing close to the point. The Sylph was within hailing-distance of her at this time; but the steamer had to go a quarter of a mile or more to the northward of the point in order to find water enough for her greater draught. In this way Pearl gained half a mile or more upon her. This enabled him to run the distance to the Gut, which is the strait, or channel, between North Hero and South Hero, or Grand Isle. It was about half a mile wide, between Bow-Arrow Point and Tromp's Point; though there is only a narrow channel, between a red and a black buoy, for vessels that drew over five feet of water at the lowest stage of the lake.

Pearl headed the Goldwing to the southward of the buoys. The Sylph was almost up with the schooner again; and, if the latter had gone between the buoys, the steamer would have overhauled her before she reached them. The skipper became more and more nervous. It was clear to Dory that Pearl was not familiar with the navigation of this difficult place; for he frequently looked over the side of the boat into the water, doubtless to see how deep it was.

"How deep is the water ahead, Dory Dornwood?" asked the skipper, when he seemed to be bewildered, and evidently expected the boat to take the bottom every moment.

"If you are going to sail the boat, you must do it alone," replied Dory after a little hesitation. "I won't do any thing to help you as things are now."

"Goldwing, ahoy!" shouted some one with a gruff voice in the forward part of the Sylph.

But the steam-yacht had stopped her propeller, and immediately began to back. Her pilot knew how deep the water was on the shoal. Pearl made no reply to the hail, and the schooner continued on her course. Off Tromp's Point she struck her centre-board; but, as she was going before the wind, she did not need it, and Pearl hauled it up so that the boat slid over the shallow place.

The man with the gruff voice hailed the boat again; but the skipper did not respond. Pearl hauled in his sheets, and headed the boat to the north-west. The steamer then went through the channel.

"I will play your game upon him, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl, as he put the boat about.

The Sylph stopped her propeller again.



CHAPTER XXII.

THE GAME AMONG THE SHALLOWS

The Sylph was bothered by the last movement of the Goldwing. No one knew what she wanted; but she had demonstrated that she was after the schooner, and had business with her. Pearl seemed to be delighted with the success of his manoeuvre. He had to drop the centre-board, and beat back. He gave the point a wide berth in standing to the north-west.

"We can keep her going back and forth through the channel till night," said Pearl in high glee. "This is really exciting business, and I enjoy it more than I should a game of cards. I am much obliged to you, Dory Dornwood, for showing me this little trick."

Dory said nothing; for he saw that the game was not the same that he had played early in the morning. There was an element in the contest which had not entered into that between the Goldwing and the Missisquoi; and he thought Pearl was very stupid not to see it. He did not point it out, or even hint at it. He hoped and expected that the interference of the Sylph would restore the schooner to him; and that was all he cared for, though he was quite willing that Peppers should capture and take his prisoner to Plattsburgh.

The steam-yacht started her screw again, and went ahead. In the Gut she came about, and passed between the buoys again. The schooner was almost up with the red buoy when the Sylph passed it, and again the man with the gruff voice hailed the boat. At this moment Pearl tacked, and stood to the south-west.

"I guess she will get tired of this game before a great while," said Pearl, elated with the success of his movements. "She had better give it up, and go about her business."

When the Sylph had passed the buoys, she put her head to the south, and ran down close to the shoal-water. Pearl was so delighted that he was becoming reckless, and he held on to his course until he came within a hundred feet of the steamer. Once more she hailed the boat. "Is Theodore Dornwood on board of that boat?" shouted the man with the gruff voice.

"If you answer, Dory Dornwood, I'll pitch you overboard!" exclaimed the skipper savagely.

Dory did not answer: he had no intention of doing so before Pearl used his threatening expression. He was not on the best of terms with his uncle; and he did not care to have any thing to do with him, or even to say to him.

There seemed to be a dozen persons on board of the Sylph. But she was a large craft for a steam-yacht, and doubtless some of them were the guests of the owner.

"That will do nicely," said Pearl, as he came about, and let off his sheets again. "The steamer has my permission to go through the channel again. This is better than a game of checkers."

To Dory it was getting rather monotonous. But he did not believe that the people on board of the Sylph would be willing to play at this game much longer. The man with the gruff voice had indicated in his tones, the last time he hailed the boat, that he was becoming impatient at the failure of the Goldwing to answer him.

Dory felt like one who stands between two fires, and he was sure to be hit by one of them. He was in the frying-pan now, and he did not at all like the idea of being compelled to jump into the fire by the Sylph. He did not like his uncle, her owner; and he did not care to be redeemed from his present unpleasant position by him.

It was bad enough to remain in the power of Pearl Hawlinshed, and to be subject to his caprice; but it seemed worse to be taken out of his hands by Captain Gildrock. If Pearl had not been a villain, in the very act of breaking the laws and committing an outrage upon him and the two passengers in the cabin, he would have been willing to assist him in keeping out of the way of the Sylph. He thought he knew just how this could be done; but, as he could not do any thing to help the rascal, he said nothing. He could not get himself out of the frying-pan, but he meant to keep out of the fire if he could.

"She is coming about," said Pearl, as the Sylph began to stir up the water again with her propeller. "She is going through the channel again to head off the Goldwing. I hope she will have a good time doing this thing."

Dory made no reply to this remark; but he felt that the end of the adventure was rapidly approaching. Captain Gildrock was not a man to be trifled with, or one to be balked by a sailboat like the schooner. The Sylph went through the Western Cut again. Pearl had run almost up to the red buoy, and was near it when the steam-yacht passed through.

The skipper of the Goldwing started his sheets, and stood off in the shoal-water, where the steamer could not follow him. He chuckled as he did so; and he did not appear to harbor a suspicion that his pursuer could do any thing but run back and forth through the cut.

"I think I shall take my passengers into Canada in spite of the opposition of that big steam-yacht. A mouse or a mosquito can make it uncomfortable for a lion," said Pearl, as he stood off from his pursuer. "Do you know how the water is in this bay beyond the next point, Dory Dornwood?" and the skipper indicated Simms's Point with his hand.

"I do," replied Dory.

"Well, how is the water?"

"It is wet," answered Dory.

"Is that so? How did you find it out?" asked Pearl.

"I felt of it one day."

"If you don't keep a civil tongue in your head, you will feel of it again to-day," added Pearl savagely.

Dory knew there was a half mile of shoal water, deep enough for the Goldwing, but not for the Sylph. But it was shallow off the point; and Dory thought the skipper would get aground before he reached Hyde's Bay. But the water was clear, and Pearl saw the bottom in season to avoid the danger. He stood to the southward then, watching the bottom all the time.

Dory saw that the skipper was making the worst possible move for his own case, and he was rejoiced to see him do it. The Sylph continued farther into the Gut, and finally stopped her screw half a mile east of Simms's Point.

"All right!" exclaimed Pearl, who had half a mile of shoal water between the steamer and the shore on either side of her. "I couldn't have put her in a better place myself."

The skipper looked about him anxiously, as though he was in doubt whether to go to the east or the west. But he had been around the two points west of him, and he seemed to think that his safest way was to stick to the ground with which he had become acquainted. The schooner was half a mile from Simms's Point by this time; but Pearl evidently thought that all he had to do was to return to the westward of the buoys by the way he had come into the Gut, and the Sylph could not come near his boat. He came about, and stood to the north-west.

"We are all right still, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl, as he glanced at the steamer. "She can't come any nearer to us than she is now, and a quarter of a mile is as good as a mile."

Dory kept his eye on the Sylph. The moment she stopped her screw, there was a lively movement on board of her. Orders were given in quick and sharp tones; and presently her two quarter-boats, which were swung on davits, were dropping into the water. This was what Dory had expected her to do before this time.

"What is she doing, Dory Dornwood?" asked Pearl, when he discovered that something was going on upon the deck of the steamer.

"She is doing the next thing," answered Dory, who was determined not to give the enemy any comfort.

"What is she about?" demanded the skipper.

"You have a pair of eyes, and you know how to use them."

By this time the boats began to drop into the water. They were lowered from the davits with the oarsmen on the thwarts, and an officer in the stern-sheets. Pearl could not help seeing what the steamer was doing now. He looked troubled, and he used some needless profanity in an under tone.

"What is going on now, Dory?" asked Peppers, who could not see the steamer through the aperture in the door.

"The steamer is getting out her boats," replied Dory. "She has just dropped one from each quarter into the water."

"Four boats!" exclaimed Peppers.

"No," answered Dory, laughing in spite of his situation. "I didn't say four boats."

"You said one from each quarter; and there are four quarters in any thing, according to my arithmetic," added the officer.

"A vessel has but two quarters, and she has dropped two boats into the water. There are five men in each of them," continued Dory.

"That will do! Dry up, and shut up, all of you!" interposed Pearl. "I am going to fight this thing out to the end, and I don't want any more talk."

The Goldwing was in behind the land, so that she did not feel the full force of the wind. The lake was calm and smooth behind the point, and the boat moved very sluggishly. Pearl began to be very impatient; but a short distance ahead the surface was ruffled, and she would soon have a better breeze.

The starboard quarter-boat pulled towards Simms's Point, and the port boat in the opposite direction. Whichever way the schooner went, she was sure to be intercepted by one or the other of them. The oarsmen of the boats appeared to be all young fellows. They were dressed in a blue uniform; and all of them wore white linen caps, without visors. The officers showed a profusion of brass buttons on their frock-coats, and wore yacht-caps of white linen.

The boats were white, and were very graceful in their build. The four rowers in each boat pulled a man-of-war stroke. The starboard quarter-boat was ahead of the Goldwing; and the officer in charge of her was urging his men to their best exertions, so as to come in ahead of the schooner. Before the Goldwing could reach the point, she was in position to intercept her.

Pearl scowled when he saw the boat directly in his course. He looked back, and saw the other boat beyond the steamer. He could not help realizing that the pleasant game he had been playing had ended in his being beaten.

"Goldwing, ahoy!" shouted the officer in charge of the starboard quarter-boat.

"In the boat!" replied Pearl in a surly tone: "what do you want?"

"Is Theodore Dornwood on board of your boat?" asked the officer.

"Yes, he is," answered Pearl. "If you want him, you can have him."

At this moment the skipper threw the Goldwing up into the wind, and sprang forward to the place where Dory was seated. Without saying a word, he dragged him off the seat, and proceeded to remove the cord that bound his hands behind him. The prisoner's wrists were numb from the pressure of the line, and he stood up to rub a little life into them. Pearl put the boat about, and headed her for the shore.



CHAPTER XXIII.

HEADED OFF ON BOTH SIDES.

"Hold on there! What are you about?" shouted the officer, as the Goldwing filled away on the starboard tack. "We want to see Theodore Dornwood."

"I can't sail dead to windward," replied Pearl.

"You needn't sail at all," replied the officer. "Captain Gildrock wished to see Dornwood on a matter of the utmost importance: it is a case of life and death."

Dory was startled by these words. What could his uncle want of him? If anybody was dead, who was it? It might be his mother. His blood seemed to freeze in his veins as he thought of the possibility of such a terrible event. He sprang upon the seat, and hailed the boat at once.

"Is my mother dead?" shouted he; and the agony of his tone was borne across the water with his words.

"No: your mother is not dead. She is quite well," replied the officer, who could not but have been impressed by the despairing tone in which the question was put to him; and he had not lost an instant in relieving the anxiety of the inquirer.

Dory dropped down upon the seat again. His mother was not sick or dead. The current of life began to flow through his veins again. A terrible load was removed from his mind almost as soon as laid upon it. He even began to think that the officer was playing a trick upon him to get him to see the captain of the steamer, whom he had so carefully avoided.

"Give way, my lads!" shouted the officer of the boat, as soon as he had answered Dory's question. "I want Theodore Dornwood. Will you give him up?"

This question was addressed to the skipper of the schooner, which was not more than a hundred feet from the boat.

"Yes, with the greatest pleasure," replied Pearl. "I will put him ashore in here, and you can take him on board."

Dory heard this reply with astonishment and indignation. Pearl intended to put him ashore, and then allow the boat from the steam-yacht to pick him up. If he could keep the boat from coming alongside, and thus prevent the officer from ascertaining the condition of things on board of the Goldwing, the Sylph would trouble him no more. If the business on which she came after Dory was a matter of life and death, Captain Gildrock would not be likely to molest him after he had accomplished his mission.

The Goldwing was now within a hundred yards of the shore. Through an opening in the land she was getting a better breeze, and was making at least four miles an hour. Dory saw that something must be done very soon. He had been released from his imprisonment so that the owner of the steamer should not see that he was in trouble. The boat from the steamer was not hurrying; for the officer seemed to be satisfied with the arrangement Pearl had proposed, to put the boy ashore.

When the steamer's port boat saw that the schooner was cornered, she began to pull towards the scene of action. It had gone but a short distance from the vessel before she changed her course; but she still kept in position to head off the schooner if she attempted to escape to the eastward.

"Get ready to go ashore, Dory Dornwood," said Pearl in one of his mild tones.

Dory made no reply. He was fully resolved not to do any thing of the sort. If he went on shore, and submitted to the villain's plan to escape from his pursuers, he could hardly expect ever to see the Goldwing again. But he considered it the safest way to say nothing about the purpose in his mind.

"You will tell the captain of the Sylph the state of things on board of this boat, Dory," said Peppers, who had no objection to the plan; for he thought Captain Gildrock would make a business of liberating him and his companion in the cuddy as soon as he was informed of their condition.

"Tell him any thing you like, Dory Dornwood, as soon as you get on board of the steamer," added Pearl. "Are you ready to go on shore?"

"If I must go on shore, I suppose I must," replied Dory in a non-committal way. "What is to become of my boat if I go ashore?"

"You can have her again when I have done with her," answered Pearl in a coaxing tone; for, if he could get rid of his pursuers, he cared for nothing else just then.

"Where shall I be likely to find her?" asked Dory in a tone which indicated his incredulity.

"You will find her in Missisquoi Bay, on the northern shore, Dory; and she will be in as good condition as she is now."

"Perhaps I shall find her there," added Dory.

"I will"—But, before Pearl could say what he would do, the centre-board of the boat dragged in the sand on the bottom.

The skipper hastened to raise it, but a few moments later it struck again. Pearl hoisted it up as far as he could, and then kept the schooner away a few points; for she would no longer lie up to the wind as closely as before. In this way he succeeded in getting the boat within about a hundred feet of the shore, and then the Goldwing grounded on her bottom.

The water was not more than three feet deep at the stem of the boat, and it was impossible to get her any nearer to the dry land on the beach. Pearl bit his lip; for both of the boats of the Sylph were pulling towards the schooner, and Peppers would soon have an audience to whom he could tell his story.

"I can't get any nearer the shore, Dory," said Pearl, not a little agitated. "You must jump into the water, and wade ashore."

Dory leaped upon the forward deck, and Pearl probably thought he intended to adopt his suggestion, and wade to the beach. But the owner of the Goldwing had no intention of "giving up the ship" in any such manner. The sails hid Dory from the skipper, so that he could not see what he was doing; and, while Pearl was waiting to hear the splash when he went overboard, Dory grasped one of the stays, and climbed half way to the mast-head before his persecutor discovered what he was about.

"What are you doing up there?" demanded Pearl fiercely. "What are you about?"

"I want to see how far off the shore is," replied Dory, for the want of something more sensible to say.

"Come down this instant, you young villain!" yelled Pearl, whose hope of saving himself was thus endangered by the unexpected freak of the owner of the boat.

"I think I can make myself very comfortable up here for a while," replied Dory, as he placed his feet on the foresail gaff, and passed his arm around the topmast.

"If you don't come down, I will shoot you!" stormed Pearl angrily, as he saw the two boats of the steamer coming nearer to him every moment.

Dory had the average aversion to being shot, and he did not like the sound of the threat. He did not know whether or not Pearl had a pistol, though it was not improbable that he had one. He looked at the approaching boats. One of them was not thirty yards from the schooner, and the officer could hardly have helped hearing the threat of the skipper. The port boat had come near enough by this time to enable Dory to see that his uncle was in the stern-sheets.

"Give way, my lads, with all your might!" said the officer of the nearer boat, speaking with great energy, as though he meant to take a hand in the business on board of the Goldwing.

"Are you coming down, Dory Dornwood?" demanded Pearl, as he stopped on the forward deck of the schooner.

"I think I will come down," replied Dory, who had made up his mind not to run the risk of being shot; but he was satisfied that one of the boats would be alongside the Goldwing before he could reach the deck. "But it isn't so easy to get down as it was to come up," he added, making it as an excuse for the slow movement in coming down to the deck. Dory descended with the utmost caution. He had gained time enough to enable the starboard boat to reach the schooner, and this was all he expected to accomplish by going aloft.

"Come, hurry up, Dory!" shouted the skipper, when he was about half way to the deck.

Dory immediately changed his movement, and began to ascend again.

"What are you about, you young cub? Are you going back again?" cried Pearl.

"You told me to hurry up," pleaded Dory, wishing to gain all the time he could.

"You are a natural fool! Come down, or I'll—do what I said I would," added Pearl, as he glanced at the nearer boat, which was not fifty feet from the schooner.

"All right! I will be with you in a moment," answered Dory, as he descended to the deck with a reasonable degree of celerity.

But the boat was alongside the Goldwing as soon as he reached the forward deck. The officer leaped on deck without waiting for any ceremony. Pearl dropped into a seat in the forward part of the standing-room. He evidently realized that he had lost the game he had been playing.

"Which is Theodore Dornwood?" asked the officer as he came on board.

"There he is, on the forward deck," replied Pearl. "He is the most obstinate young cub that ever floated on Lake Champlain. You can take him with you as quick as you please. I don't want any thing more of him."

"What in the world is going on aboard this boat?" asked the officer, as he looked from Pearl to Dory, and then from Dory to Pearl, unable to understand the appearance of things on board. "What have you got cooped up in that cuddy?"

"I thought you wanted Dory Dornwood. Why don't you take him, and not waste any more of your time and mine?" said Pearl impatiently.

"Captain Gildrock wants to see you very much, Theodore, and there is a place in my boat for you."

"I don't care about going in your boat, and I shall not go on board of the Sylph if I can help myself," replied Dory stoutly.

"There he is again!" exclaimed Pearl, as he glanced at the boat that contained Captain Gildrock. "He is a mule, a sulky dog. If you want him, I will pitch him into your boat for you, and make an end of this business."

Pearl leaped upon the forward deck, intent upon putting his threat into execution. But, as he went up on the starboard side, Dory leaped down into the standing-room on the port side. Pearl followed him, and seemed to have a hope, that, if he could drive Dory into the boat, he might get rid of his troublesome visitors.

"Don't you meddle with the boy, officer," said Peppers through the hole in the door; "and don't you let that man meddle with him."

"What does all this mean? Why are you in there? Why don't you come out?"

Before Peppers could explain, the port boat came alongside, and Captain Gildrock stepped on board the Goldwing.



CHAPTER XXIV.

THROUGH VARIED STRIFE AND STRUGGLES.

Captain Royal Gildrock was not over forty-five years of age. He was dressed in the uniform of his yacht. He was a good-looking man, of middling height, and rather stout. A single glance at his face would have assured any one skilled in reading expressions that he was a person of great force of character.

"What's going on here, Mr. Jepson?" said he, as he glanced curiously about the Goldwing.

"That is what I was trying to find out when you came on board, sir," replied Mr. Jepson. "Theodore and the man in charge of the boat appear to be at sword's points, and there are two men in the cuddy who seem to be fastened in there."

"What does all this mean?" asked Captain Gildrock. And it was apparent now that he was the owner of the gruff voice.

"I will tell you all about it, sir," replied Peppers, taking this duty upon himself.

"I shall be glad to know, for the skipper of the boat has behaved in the most unaccountable manner."

Dory had retreated to the forward deck again when his uncle came on board, though the captain did not seem to be such a terrible man as one might have supposed from the conduct of his nephew. He desired to keep as far as possible from his uncle.

"I wish you would let me out of this place before I tell the story," suggested the detective.

"Why don't you come out if you wish to do so?" asked Captain Gildrock.

"We are locked in. Hawlinshed took the key away from Dory Dornwood by force, and has kept us prisoners ever since. It isn't a bad place; but it is rather confined for a long stay," added Peppers.

"But I didn't lock them in there," added Pearl. "That was done by Dory."

"Have you the key?" asked the captain, turning to Pearl.

"If you want your nephew, there he is, Captain Gildrock," replied Pearl, pointing to the forward deck. "I don't think you have any right to interfere with my affairs. I will put Dory Dornwood into one of your boats, and you can take him away with you."

"All I want is my nephew; and I don't intend to meddle with what don't concern me," said Captain Gildrock.

"That's the sort of man you are; and I always knew you were as straightforward as a gun," added Pearl, delighted with this statement of the owner of the steamer. "Which boat shall I put the boy into?"

Pearl sprang upon the forward deck, and rushed towards Dory. The boy did not take kindly to this proceeding. He dodged around the foremast, and leaped down into the standing-room.

"Captain Gildrock, this boat belongs to Dory, and Hawlinshed has taken her from him by force," interposed the detective.

"My nephew stole the money with which he bought her," added Captain Gildrock. "I don't think he owns her any more than I do."

"You are mistaken, sir. I don't know where your nephew got the money with which he bought this boat, but the charge made against him in Plattsburgh is not a true bill. I came over here to arrest Hawlinshed, and that is the reason why I am a prisoner in this coop at this moment."

"You have no right to arrest me in the State of Vermont," protested Pearl, standing on the forward deck. "Captain Gildrock, this is a conspiracy. I had a little difficulty with my father, and this is a trumped-up charge to get me back to Plattsburgh."

This was an entirely new presentation of the case, and Captain Gildrock was confused by the differing statements.

"I am not disposed to interfere in this business. I came for my nephew, and I was astonished and surprised to hear that he was accused of robbery. All I want is my nephew."

"If you are willing to assist a robber to escape into Canada, Captain Gildrock, I have nothing further to say," said Peppers. "If you take your nephew away and leave things as you find them, that will be just what you will do."

"Of course, I don't mean to render assistance to any fugitive from justice," replied the captain, more perplexed than ever.

"If you will let us out of this place, I will prove to your satisfaction that Hawlinshed is a robber," added the detective.

"And I can prove that I am the victim of a conspiracy," protested Pearl. "I can prove it by Dory Dornwood, if he will only speak the truth, which he never does, except by accident."

"I am sorry to hear such bad stories about my nephew," added the captain. "I have been told that he was wild, and was going to ruin."

"He can't deny that he had a talk with my father," said Pearl; "and my father and I don't agree very well."

Dory thought they didn't agree at all, but he determined not to say a word on the forbidden topic. He had made up his mind in the beginning not to go on board of the Sylph, and the present aspect of things made him more decided than before. If his uncle and Pearl decided that he should go into one of the boats, he meant to jump into the water, and wade to the shore.

Captain Gildrock was silent, looking from the officer in the cuddy to Pearl. He was considering what he should do. Peppers thought it was a plain case. He desired the visitor to act for himself, after he had looked the case over, and listened to the facts.

"I think I will hear what you have to say, officer," said he, after a few moments' reflection. "It is none of my business; but I want my nephew, though I don't like to do any wrong in taking him away. The only way I can do to leave things as I find them is to let my nephew remain; and I can't do that under the present circumstances. Mr. Hawlinshed, will you unlock those doors?"

"No, sir: I will not!" replied Pearl haughtily. "You are interfering with my affairs, and giving me away to my enemies. If you want your nephew, I will help you get him on board of the Sylph; but you have no business to let those men out when they want to cut my throat."

"I only purpose to look into this matter; and, when I have done so, I shall act as I think my duty requires of me."

"That man is not an officer in the State of Vermont; and he has no right to arrest me here," added Pearl.

"I don't deal in quibbles, Mr. Hawlinshed. All I want to know now is, who has the right in the present situation? If I can ascertain the truth on this point, I don't care a straw whether we are in the State of Vermont or the State of New York. Will you open the doors of that cuddy?"

"No, sir: I will not! And I will not allow anybody else to interfere with my affairs," answered Pearl angrily.

"I am going to open those doors," added Captain Gildrock decidedly.

"I don't believe you will," said Pearl, as he took the key of the padlock from his pocket.

He held it up so that the captain could see it, and then jerked it into the lake. It struck the water about fifty feet from the boat. The next instant Dory dropped into the water, and waded in the direction the villain had thrown it. He had kept his eye on the spot where it had fallen; and the water was so clear that he could see the grains of sand on the bottom.

Pearl saw that his purpose was likely to be defeated by the prompt action of the boy; and, before any one could stop him, he had leaped into the water after Dory.

"That man will drown your nephew if you let him do it, Captain Gildrock!" exclaimed Peppers, as he saw Pearl leap into the water.

But the captain had no intention of being a passive observer of what was about to transpire in the water; for he leaped into his boat, and ordered his crew to back her. In an instant they were pulling with all their might; and the boat had nearly run over Pearl before the captain gave the order, "Way enough!"

"Lay hold of that man," said the captain to the two men who pulled the bow oars.

The young fellows unshipped their oars, and grabbed Pearl with no tender grasp. They threw him down, and then dragged him into the boat.

"Hold on to him, my lads!" added the captain. "Don't let him go."

Pearl struggled for his liberty; but the two young fellows jammed him down in the bottom of the boat, and held him there in spite of his efforts to shake them off.

"This is an outrage, Captain Gildrock!" gasped Pearl, out of breath from the violence of his exertions. "I did not think this of you! I have always heard you spoken of as a fair man; but you interfere with my business, and hand me over to my enemies!"



"Your enemies, as you call them, are willing to have the truth, whatever it is, shown out; but you are not," replied Captain Gildrock. "If the officer in the cuddy don't make out a case against you, I shall not meddle with you; and you can go to Canada, or wherever else you please. Give way," he added to the two after oarsmen.

The two men pulled the boat, and the captain steered it to the spot where Dory was looking for the key. He had taken no notice of what had been transpiring behind him, but had kept his eyes fixed on the spot where he had seen the key drop into the water. After a few minutes' search he saw it lying on the sand, and picked it up. By this time the boat had come up to him; but he paid no attention to it, and began to wade back to the schooner.

"Come into the boat, Theodore," said Captain Gildrock.

"No, I thank you, sir: I will wade back to the Goldwing. It won't take me but a moment."

The captain thought the boy behaved very strangely, as he had ever since the boats from the Sylph had come alongside the schooner. But he permitted his nephew to have his own way, and Dory soon climbed over the side of the boat into the standing-room. Taking the key from his pocket, he unlocked the padlock, and threw the doors open. Peppers and Moody crawled out of their prison, and stretched their limbs; for they were rather stiff after being kept so long in one position.

By the time Captain Gildrock's boat came along side, the two prisoners were at liberty. The two bow oarsmen were told to let their captive up. Pearl could not have been more wrathy if he had tried. The pleasant game over which he had rubbed his hands so felicitously had gone against him. He knew that Peppers would get the best of him in the argument, and he had lost all hope. He regarded Dory as the cause of all his misfortunes; and, as soon as he was released, he sprang into the standing-room of the schooner, and rushed upon him.

Very likely it would have gone hard with poor Dory, if Moody and Peppers had not seen what the villain intended. Both of them dropped upon him, and bore him to the floor. He struggled desperately, but foolishly; for he had no chance whatever against Moody, who was a powerful man.

While the maker of tomato-wine held him, Peppers put the irons on his wrists.



CHAPTER XXV.

WIND SOUTH-SOUTH-WEST, BLOWING FRESH.

"I think we have him now where we want him," said Peppers, after Moody, under his direction, had tied the prisoner, with the rope that had bound Dory, to the side of the boat.

Pearl Hawlinshed was panting from his effort to escape. He made no reply to the remark of the detective. He felt that he had lost the battle, and any further resistance would be useless.

"I am ready to hear any thing you have to say, officer," said Captain Gildrock, as he stepped into the standing-room from his boat. "If you haven't any case, I shall simply put things where I found them, with the exception of taking my nephew on board of the Sylph."

Dory had his doubts about this; for he was as determined as ever not to put himself into his uncle's hands. He had a sore grudge against him, and he did not want to have any thing to do with him. He had no doubt that the captain would decide against Pearl, for he knew enough of the case to understand that it was a good one. He was already considering in what manner he should get away from his uncle after the robbery question had been settled. He was likely to have a chance yet to use his skill and ingenuity in getting away from the Sylph.

"I am entirely willing to have you do what you think is right after you have heard the facts in the case," replied Peppers.

"Have you arrested my nephew for robbery, stealing, or any other crime?" asked the captain, glancing at Dory, who had retreated to the forward deck; for he wished to be in a situation for action when he felt that it was required of him.

"No, sir: I have not, and he has not been arrested. But I will tell you the whole story, and you will see in what manner Dory is connected with the robbery," answered the detective.

Peppers narrated all that had occurred at the hotel in Plattsburgh, giving all the details that were known in regard to the robbery of Moody's room. He added to it the particulars of the two days' chase of the Missisquoi after the Goldwing, with the landlord's statement in regard to Dory's supposed connection with the robbery.

"Then Theodore was charged with the robbery?" asked Captain Gildrock.

"By Hawlinshed, he was; but that was to cover up his own tracks. As soon as the landlord told me that Pearl accused your nephew of the crime, declaring that he had bought this boat with the money he stole from the room, I got an idea," continued the detective. "I found Moody, and he frankly told the facts. He will excuse me; but he makes temperance wine, though he drinks whiskey himself."

"I don't believe I shall ever drink any more," interposed Moody. "I have been in the habit of drinking considerable whiskey when I went to Plattsburgh: and, after I had done my business, I felt pretty good; for I had sold two hundred dollars' worth of my goods, and I felt like celebrating the event with a little tear. But I was afraid that I might lose my money; and I put one hundred and fifty dollars of it in my bag, keeping the rest in my pocket. I guess that scoundrel saw me put it there."

"It was not till after the Missisquoi had gone off on her cruise that Moody told me he had marked his money with the rubber stamp," continued Peppers. "Then the landlord told me that Dory had taken the money, and had been seen about the hall, near the room. He had bought and paid for the boat that morning, and I went to the auctioneer. I wanted to see the money the boy had paid. It was five ten-dollar bills; and that settled it that Dory had not paid for the boat with the money taken from Moody's room."

"I am glad to hear that," added Captain Gildrock.

Dory had thought he would be sorry to hear it; but there was a bad misunderstanding between him and his uncle.

"When Dory came back, he showed me the money he had, about sixty dollars," continued Peppers.

"Sixty dollars, besides what he had paid for the boat?" queried the captain.

"That is what he had; but he got eight dollars back from the auctioneer," replied the officer.

"That makes over a hundred dollars," said Captain Gildrock, knitting his brow as though he did not like the looks of this fact. "Where did he get so much money, if he did not steal it?"

"That's the question, Captain Gildrock," interposed Pearl, who spoke for the first time since the narrative was begun. "When you have looked into the matter, you will find that he stole it."

"I don't know where he got it," Peppers proceeded. "That is none of my business. All I know is, that none of the money found upon Dory, and none that he had paid out, was the bills Moody lost."

"But have you no idea where my nephew got so much money?" asked the captain.

"I have not the remotest idea, Captain Gildrock. It don't concern me to know, and I make it a rule to mind my own business. But I did find some of Moody's money in Plattsburgh. One five with the stamp on it was paid for a pistol, and the other for the provisions taken on board of the Missisquoi. Both of them came from Hawlinshed."

"It is a lie!" exclaimed Pearl with an oath.

"Both of the shopkeepers are ready to swear to the identity of their man. Now, I shall take the liberty to do what I have not had an opportunity to do before. I shall search the prisoner. Before I do it I should like to have you look at these two bills, Captain Gildrock. They are the fives paid for the pistol and the provisions by Hawlinshed." And Peppers handed him the bank-notes.

"It will be an easy matter to identify these bills. In addition to the stamp on them, this is the first time they have ever been out of the bank," said the captain, after he had looked at the bills.

Pearl was furious when the officer, assisted by Moody, attempted to search him. Moody handled him very roughly, and he was forced to submit to the operation. Peppers took from a pocket inside of his vest a wallet, which was found to contain quite a roll of new bills. The detective spread a couple of them out on the top of the centre-board casing. The red stamp appeared upon them, and they were exactly like those in the hands of the captain.

"It is a plain case, and I have nothing more to say," said Captain Gildrock. "You have made out your case, and I shall not interfere with your taking your prisoner to Plattsburgh."

"I knew you would be satisfied when you heard the case," added Peppers, as he put the money he had taken from Pearl into his pocket-book, and returned it to his pocket.

"I am entirely satisfied, Mr. Peppers," replied Captain Gildrock, glancing at the sky, and giving a general survey to the horizon to the southward. "I see the wind is hauling to the southward, and it looks like bad weather."

"I noticed that it was calm a little while ago," answered Peppers. "Do you think we shall have a storm, sir?"

"We shall have a good deal of wind, and some rain before many hours, if not before dark. I have to go in at Plattsburgh on my way south; and, if you choose, you can take your prisoner on board of the Sylph," continued the captain.

"Thank you, sir: I should be very glad to return in your beautiful yacht, especially if it is going to blow," answered the detective.

"You may take them on board in your boat, Mr. Jepson. I will take Mr. Moody in mine," said Captain Gildrock. "Theodore, you will go in my boat."

Dory made no reply to this intimation. He was looking over Simms's Point out into the lake, where a fresh south-south-west wind was now rolling up the white-caps. The captain seated himself in the stern-sheets of the port boat. Moody assisted the officer in placing his prisoner in the starboard boat, and took his place with Captain Gildrock. Pearl, though very sulky and even ugly, offered no serious resistance to the transfer to the boat. With his arms handcuffed behind him, he took the seat in which Mr. Jepson placed him.

The starboard boat, having received her complement of passengers, shoved off; and her crew pulled for the steamer. The port boat was waiting for Dory, who was standing at the bow, behind the foresail. He had the boat-hook in his hand, but he did not indicate in what manner he intended to use it. The fresh breeze was beginning to blow in the Gut, though the Goldwing was sheltered from its full force by the land.

"I am waiting for you, Theodore," called Captain Gildrock.

"I am not going, sir," replied Dory in a mild, but very decided, tone.

"Not going? Didn't you hear me say that I came down here after you?" asked the captain, evidently much surprised at the boy's answer.

"I can't leave the boat here, sir. It is coming on to blow, and she will drift off," added Dory, struggling to suppress his emotion; for he expected a very unpleasant scene with his uncle now that the issue had been reached.

Captain Gildrock seemed to have no suspicion of the state of feeling to which his nephew had wrought himself up. He appeared to think that his invitation to go on board of the Sylph was enough, and the present attitude of the boy was clearly a surprise to him. It was plain that he had not thought of the schooner, for he was silent when Dory intimated that she was not in a safe position for heavy weather.

"You can furl her sails, and throw over her anchor," said he after a moment's consideration.

"I don't think the anchor will hold her, sir: the sand is as hard as a rock here."

"Isn't she aground?"

"She was aground, sir."

"I will run the boat ahead, and we will drag her farther up on the shoal, and carry the anchor to the shore. Then she will be all right; and you can come up after her in a few days," continued Captain Gildrock, as he directed his bowman to shove off from the Goldwing.

The sails of the schooner were beginning to thrash and bang about as they felt the increasing breeze. The boat had been aground at the bow; but, the moment she was relieved of the weight of the three men who had been on board of her when she grounded, she floated again. Dory had noticed this fact; and, taking the boat-hook, he had thrust it down into the sand, and held her. As the wind freshened, driving her off from the shore, his hold was not strong enough upon the bottom to keep her any longer. But it must be added that Dory did not wish to hold her any longer.

The moment the boat-hook tore out of the bottom, the schooner began to make sternway. Then the jib, the sheet of which was still fast, filled, and the Goldwing whirled around like a top. Then a gust of wind struck the sails, and threw them all over. Dory rushed to the helm, trimmed the sails, and headed the Goldwing across the bay.



CHAPTER XXVI.

DORY DORNWOOD MANOEUVRES TO ESCAPE.

"What are you about, Theodore?" shouted Captain Gildrock, as the Goldwing shot away, heeled down to her gunwale under the blast of the strong wind. "Come about, and run her on the beach."

Dory took no notice of this direction, but grasped the tiller with all his might; and with the short stick it was all he could do to hold her. He dropped the centre-board, and stood to the eastward, evidently to avoid the steam-yacht, which was now giving an occasional turn to her screw to avoid being driven out into the Gut. The starboard quarter-boat had just put the detective and his prisoner on board of her.

Captain Gildrock had put the other boat about; and the four oarsmen were straining their muscles, pulling in the direction the schooner had taken. Mr. Jepson saw what was going on; and, as soon as he had disposed of his passengers, he started his boat to the eastward, with the intention of cutting off the Goldwing as she came out of the bay.

The sky was obscured by piles of angry-looking clouds, and every thing looked like a southerly storm. The sun was now not more than half an hour high, but there would be about an hour more of daylight. The Goldwing was making at least eight miles an hour, and Dory was satisfied that Captain Gildrock's boat could not overtake him. He had headed it to the north-east, so as to take the shortest course; for the Goldwing must soon go to the north, or she would run ashore.

As soon as Dory noticed the change in the course of his uncle's boat, he began to haul in his sheets; for he saw that he was giving the boat the advantage of him, though it was not likely to gain enough to enable it to overhaul the schooner. The port boat was the only one from which he expected any interference. The skipper measured the distances very carefully with his eye. He calculated that he had to make half a mile to reach the point where the starboard boat would intercept him, if at all. Mr. Jepson's boat had to get over at least three-quarters of this distance.

Dory thought his chances were very good. At any rate, he determined to keep on his present course until he found himself mistaken. The Goldwing was tearing through the water at a tremendous rate. Since his passengers left her, she was trimmed down at the stern too much; but this did not interfere with her speed while she had a free wind.

The tiller was a great strain upon him, and it took all his strength to prevent the boat from coming up into the wind. There was certainly nothing like a lee helm in her present condition. As the wind increased in force the farther out he went from the sheltering shore, he was afraid he should not be able to hold her up to her course. If he let her broach to, and spilled the sails, he must certainly lose the race.

Taking the end of the sheet, which was considerably longer than was required, he took a turn with it around the end of the tiller. In this manner he was able to take the strain off his muscles in holding the boat; but at every gust of wind he had to put his helm up, and then let it off. He wanted the long tiller, but he could not leave the helm for a moment to get it.

The Goldwing occasionally dipped up the water over her lee wash-board; and, when she did this, it was necessary to "touch her up," or let her eat into the wind, as she would do if left to herself. The skipper was doing some bold and risky sailing, but he was determined to keep out of his uncle's hands if it were possible. He watched the starboard boat with the most intense interest. He had made up his mind that he had little to fear from her, even if she reached the point where the two courses of the boats met.

If Mr. Jepson put his boat in the course of the schooner, Dory did not see how he could help running over her. The collision would smash the quarter-boat, for it would strike her on the beam; while the schooner was not likely to be greatly harmed. She would strike with her bow, where she was least liable to injury.

As Dory continued on his course, he was satisfied that he was greatly outsailing the boat from which he expected trouble, if he had any. The water was getting rough, which impeded the speed of the quarter-boat, while it did not diminish that of the schooner. Five minutes later he was sure Mr. Jepson's boat would fall astern of him. He was confident of it, but he did not relax his care. The officer was urging his crew to increased exertions, but the oarsmen were evidently doing all they could.

The two craft were rapidly approaching each other. Dory realized that he should not have more than a boat's length to spare, but that was as good as a mile. He tried to keep cool, as his father had often told him he must do when there was any danger in a boat. His heart was in his mouth, and he tried in vain to swallow it; but it seemed to be too big for his throat.

"Hold on, Theodore!" shouted Mr. Jepson, when the two boats came within twenty feet of each other. "Your uncle wants you, and he won't do you any harm."

Dory kept his eyes on the sails of the Goldwing, and made no reply. He was not afraid that his uncle would hurt him. If this had been all, he would not have run away from him,—at least not before the danger menaced him.

"Hold on, Theodore!" repeated the officer of the starboard boat.

But Dory hauled the tiller up, and kept the sails full, though sundry buckets of water poured over the wash-board into the standing-room at this moment. The Goldwing dashed madly on her course, and the skipper did not even ease her off at this most exciting moment of the chase.

"Hold on! You will surely upset that boat," cried Mr. Jepson, who was no doubt greatly concerned about the fate of the boy who was doing this reckless sailing.

The moment of doubt on the part of the skipper had passed. The stern of the schooner was abreast of the bow of the quarter-boat, and her mission was a failure. Dory had cleared both of the boats; and now he had to contend with the steamer, if with any thing. She could follow him in perfect safety wherever he went. He could not outsail her; and, if he accomplished any thing more, he must get out of her way before she could pick up her boats, and get under way again.

The Sylph could not run into the shoal water where the boats were; and the crews would have to pull back to her against the strong wind, which amounted to half a gale. It was not more than half as bad as it was the day he crossed the lake with a reefed mainsail, and the bonnet off the jib; but then he was not on the open lake, where he could get the full benefit of all that was blowing.

Dory did not wait to see how long it would take for the steam-yacht to pick up her boats, or to see what she was going to do next. He held on his course to the north-east; and ten minutes more, at his present rate of speed, would take him through Eastern Cut into the eastern arm of the lake. He went to the southward and eastward of the red buoy. After he had passed it, he stole a glance at the Sylph. Her boats were close aboard of her, but she had not yet hoisted them up to the davits. When he had made his next mile, and the Goldwing was off Ladd's Point, he could not see her. He was confident that he was two miles ahead of her.

The schooner was under the lee of the Point; and Dory decided that he must, at all hazards, trim the boat, and get out the long tiller. The fifty-sixes which had been moved had not been put under the floor, and he got them ready for a hasty change of position. At a favorable moment he dropped the tiller into the comb well up, and rushed forward with one of the weights. He put it in its proper place, and then attended to the helm until the boat was again in condition to take care of herself for a moment.

By watching his opportunities, he conveyed the rest of the surplus ballast forward; and the schooner was again in good trim. With no little difficulty he removed the short tiller, and inserted the long one in its place in the rudder-head. Though he still used the tiller-rope he had brought into service, it was comparatively easy to steer the boat. He could now work her quicker than before, and more effectually counteract the sharp gusts of wind.

The Goldwing was now out of the Gut; and this arm of the lake, near the channel, between the two great islands, was from three to five miles wide. But she was now under the lee of the west shore, and she would not get the full strength of the blast until she had gone about two miles farther.

By this time Dory had fully made up his mind what to do. His programme for avoiding the Sylph was made out. His natural pride would not permit him to fall into his uncle's hands if it was possible, even at no little risk, to avoid such a catastrophe. He had ceased to wonder what his uncle wanted of him. Captain Gildrock had heard bad stories about him, and he seemed to be prepared to believe them all. He thought it probable that his uncle had heard of his discharge from the steamer, and very likely he had found a place for him. But he did not want his uncle to assist him. This was all he could surmise in regard to the present chase.

To the eastward of the Gut was St. Alban's Bay, which extended about three miles into the land, on the Vermont side of the lake. At the northerly entrance to this bay were three islands. Potter's Island, the largest of them, was over a mile in length. South-west of it, and about half a mile distant, was Ball Island. This island was three miles from Ladd's Point, off which the Goldwing was running with the wind on her beam.

Dory had decided to run across the lake in the direction of Ball Island. He intended to bring into use the tactics which had enabled him to beat the Missisquoi, though he did not expect her pilot to run her aground in any attempt to follow the schooner into shoal water. As well as he could estimate the speed of the Goldwing, she could make two miles to the steamer's three. He had two miles the start of her. When he reached Ball Island the steamer would be half a mile behind him.