THE GOLDWING ANCHORS FOR THE NIGHT.
As soon as the Goldwing was fairly in the river, Dory found the wind
was light compared with what it had been on the open lake. But the
skipper had made up his mind that his passenger should not be taken
out of the boat: his plan for another movement was ready.
“She is catching us, and I might as well make up my mind to go back to
Burlington in the Juniper;” for that was the name of the steam-launch.
“I believe Tim Lingerwell has that money in his pocket at this minute;
for he probably has had no chance to get rid of it,” said Mr. Millweed
in utter despondency.
“You can make up your mind any way you please; but, if you don’t want
to go with him, you needn’t. If you will do as I say, I will land you
in Burlington to-night,” replied Dory, as the yacht passed the narrow
neck of land between the river and Porter’s Bay.
“I will do just as you tell me, Dory; for I know you are capable of
doing big things.”
“It won’t be a very big thing, but we can dodge the Juniper a great
deal easier than you can go to bed without your supper. I shall make a
landing at the cross-cut. You will go on shore, and follow the path
until you get to the other side of the woods. Then take the other path
to the river, and strike it half a mile above the landing.”
“What is all that for?” asked Mr. Millweed, perplexed by the
instructions.
“You do just as I tell you, and ask no questions. I will be
responsible for the result.”
“All right: I will do so. But I might as well go home, for I shall be
half-way there when I get to the other side of the woods.”
“If you go home, Tim Lingerwell will find you there. He will think you
have gone home; and that is just what I want him to think,” said Dory,
as he made the landing at the cross-cut, which was a short way to
reach the northern outskirts of the town.
“I will do just what you say, Dory.”
“Very well; but don’t be in a hurry. Wait till the Juniper gets a
little nearer, so that Tim can see you. Then start off as though you
meant business.”
They had not long to wait, for the steam-launch had been gaining
rapidly on the yacht since they entered the river. When she was near
enough to enable those on board of her to see just what was done, Mr.
Millweed leaped ashore, and ran with all his might.
“Stop him! Don’t let him go!” shouted the helmsman of the Juniper. “He
is a thief! He has been stealing a large sum of money!”
“I am not a constable,” answered Dory quietly. “I pulled him out of
deep water, and brought him ashore. If you want him, you can take
him.”
Tim Lingerwell rang his bell, and the engine stopped. He ran her up to
the shore, carrying her bow line to a post, as he leaped upon the
bank.
“What did you let him go for?” demanded Tim, turning to Dory, who had
also landed.
“It’s none of my business where he goes,” replied Dory. “This is a
free country.”
“But I told you he had been stealing. Come, Greeze, we must catch him.
He lives up this way; and we shall find him at home, if we don’t catch
him before he gets there.”
The engineer abandoned his machine, and the two men started off on a
run in the direction taken by the fugitive. But Mr. Millweed had a
good start, and the wood concealed him from his pursuers.
As soon as they were out of sight, Dory took a survey of the Juniper.
He had often seen her before, though he had never been on board of
her; and he improved the present opportunity to do so. He made a more
careful examination of her than a mere inspection seemed to require.
Like Mr. Millweed, he had a theory. He looked into all the lockers,
and even examined the space under the ceiling as far as he could get
at it.
Just as he was beginning to think his theory was entirely at fault, he
drew out a large pocket-book, which seemed to be well filled with
something. He opened it, and found that it contained a large pile of
bank-bills. Mr. Millweed’s theory was correct: Tim Lingerwell had had
no opportunity to dispose of the money, and he had put it where he
supposed no mortal could possibly find it.
Mr. Bolingbroke Millweed’s honesty was demonstrated. Dory had been
right in trusting him. It was a great satisfaction to him to find that
he had judged his passenger correctly. But Tim Lingerwell was quite
as big a fool as Mr. Millweed; and the same might be truly said of any
person who commits a robbery.
Dory took the money from the pocket-book, and put it into his
hip-pocket. He put a portion of a newspaper into the place from which
he had taken the bills, so as to make the pocket-book look as it had
before its valuable contents had been removed. Then he placed it under
the ceiling precisely as he had found it. His business on board of the
Juniper was finished, and he hastened to get the Goldwing under way
again.
Mr. Millweed had faithfully followed his instructions, and was on the
bank of the river above the woods. The passenger leaped on board when
the bow touched the shore.
“Did you see them, Dory?” asked Mr. Millweed, greatly excited.
“Of course I saw them. They landed where you did, and started off at a
dead run after you. Lingerwell said you had gone home; and they expect
to find you there,” replied Dory, as he headed the yacht on her course
up the river again.
“They won’t find me there,” added the passenger, chuckling at the
success of Dory’s plan. “But won’t they find us at Beech Hill if you
go there?”
“It will be two hours before they get back to the Juniper again, and
then they won’t know where to look for you. We are all right.”
Dory did not go into Beech-Hill Creek, which led to the lake in the
rear of the mansion of Captain Gildrock, but continued on his course
till he came to the river-road, on which the estate was located. At
this point he made a landing; and, leaving his charge in the boat, he
hastened to the house.
Dory found his mother and sister in the garden. As briefly as he
could, he told the story of his passenger, and announced his intention
of going to Burlington at once. As he did so, they walked to the
house, where Mrs. Dornwood put up a heavy lunch for her son. The
skipper showed the money he had taken from the Juniper, to prove his
statement; but this was a secret she was not to reveal to any person
at present.
Mrs. Dornwood volunteered to call upon the Millweeds, and inform them
of the true state of the case; for the visit of Tim Lingerwell was
likely to give them much trouble and anxiety before the whole truth
came out.
With the large lunch-basket and his overcoat, Dory hastened back to
the place where he had left the Goldwing. He found his passenger in a
very nervous and troubled frame of mind, fearful that Tim Lingerwell
might pounce upon him while he was waiting for the skipper. He
re-assured him by his confident words, and they embarked without
losing a moment.
“It is a little more than an hour since we left the steamer; and
Lingerwell may see us as we go down the river, though I don’t think he
has got back yet,” said Dory, when the yacht was under way.
“Why not wait here until after the Juniper has started?” suggested Mr.
Millweed.
“We should have to wait all night, I think; for I don’t believe
Lingerwell will go back without you,” replied Dory.
“But you have to sail back to Burlington with the wind against you:
the Juniper will be sure to catch us,” added Mr. Millweed anxiously.
“I am willing to take the chances; and, whatever happens to us, I will
promise that you shall be all right when you have faced the music,”
answered Dory, keeping a sharp lookout ahead for the steam-launch.
“All right: you have carried me through so far, and I will trust you
to the end. You saved my life; and I shall never cease to be grateful
to you, even if you do nothing more for me,” said the passenger with
more feeling than he had before exhibited.
As the yacht approached the place where the fugitive had landed, Dory
saw that the Juniper was still there. As the skipper was obliged to
beat a portion of the distance down the river, he made a tack within
twenty feet of her.
“Hold on, there!” shouted a voice from her; but it was not that of
Lingerwell.
At the same moment a man rose from the bottom of the launch. He proved
to be Greeze, the engineer. The pilot had evidently sent him back to
attend to the boat.
“We will see you in Burlington,” replied Dory, with abundant good
nature, when he was satisfied that Lingerwell was not on board of her.
“We want that thief!” yelled Greeze.
“You will take him down to Burlington with you when you go.”
Doubtless this answer perplexed the engineer; but the yacht passed out
of hailing-distance, and no explanation was practicable. After going
around the bend of the river, the Goldwing could lay her course for
the lake, close-hauled.
“The engineer has left the boat again,” said Mr. Millweed, just before
the yacht reached the bend. “Where do you suppose he is going now?”
“He is going to find Lingerwell, and tell him that you have gone down
the river. But he may not find him for two hours. Of course he is
moving about looking for you. Very likely he will go to my uncle’s
house to inquire for me, though he will not be any the wiser for his
visit. But I feel as though it was about supper-time,” continued Dory,
as he consulted the watch his uncle had given him on his last
birthday. “It is quarter-past six.”
“I have the same sort of a feeling; for I had no dinner to-day, and
took my breakfast at six this morning,” added Mr. Millweed.
“Why didn’t you say so before? You might have been working your jaws
from the time we left the shore-road,” said Dory, as he handed the
lunch-basket to his passenger. “Help yourself, and I will feed as the
helm gives me time.”
Mr. Millweed showed that he had an appetite by the time the Goldwing
reached the lake. As the sun went down, the wind died out, though not
till the schooner had passed Split Rock.
“I am afraid we shall not get to Burlington to-night; for we can’t go
without wind,” said Dory, when the breeze had nearly deserted them.
“Then I am sure to be caught,” added the passenger.
“Not at all: don’t give it up.”
Dory kept the boat moving a mile farther; and then came to anchor
inside of Cedar Island, where the masts of the Goldwing could not be
seen from the lake. At the skipper’s suggestion, the passenger turned
in, and went to sleep.