"Haul down the sail lively!" called Dory with energy, when the canvas began to thrash and beat about as though it was bound to tear itself into shreds. Under the direction of the skipper the sail was secured after a great deal of difficulty. Dory let her off again under the jib alone. This proved to be a decided change for the better. The Goldwing kept on a tolerably even keel, and drove ahead almost as fast as she did before. "She's doing a good deal better," said Thad, who began to breathe freer than he had since the boat went into the worst of it. "Why didn't we do that before?" "Because we were trying to keep out of the way of the Missisquoi before," replied Dory. But it was not baby play, even with nothing but the jib set. The mainsail had steadied the boat to some extent; but now she began to roll tremendously, and was not so readily controlled by the helm. The waves broke over her on the weather side, but she did not scoop up the water on the lee side. The Goldwing had taken in so much water that it was swashing about in the standing-room. Dory directed Nat to keep pumping. Dick Short was told to take a pail which belonged to the boat, and Corny was armed with a tin dipper. The members of the club were glad to have something to do, as almost any nervous person is; and they worked with tremendous zeal. In a short time the pump sucked, and not another dipperful of water could be taken up in the well. "Now we are all right," said Dory. "We can take it easy now." "We are almost over to Providence Island," added Corny. "We shall be in smooth water in ten minutes more." "But we are a long way from Burlington," suggested Thad. "At least a dozen miles," said the skipper. "Of course you know that we can't get there, fellows, without going outside of Colchester Point. All the rest of the way is quite as bad as, if not worse than, we have been having for the last twenty minutes." "Are we going right along to Burlington, Dory?" asked Thad in dismay at the information given by the skipper. "I think not at present," replied Dory. "But you have been through this once before to-day." "It wasn't half so bad as it is now," protested Corny. "It didn't begin to blow very hard until we got to Valcour's Island." "Did the Missisquoi make better weather of it than the Goldwing?" asked Dory. "The lake didn't begin to be as rough as it was a little while ago," replied Corny. "The steamer pitched tremendously, and we all had to pump after we got beyond Valcour's." "Do you see any thing of the Missisquoi?" asked Dory, who had been too busy to give any attention to the steamer. "I can just see her at the south of the island. She has not got off yet," replied Corny. "She is under the lee of the two islands; and they can be very comfortable on board of her for the rest of the day,--a great deal more comfortable than they would be out in the lake where we have been," added Dory.