"Certainly not; it is a granny-knot: you must make nothing but square knots in a reef-point." Thad explained how to do it, telling them to make both ends come out on the same side of the loop, or bight. They had been trained, or some of the students had, in making the most useful knots; but they had the talent for forgetting, as most boys have. A second reef was put in the sail, in the same manner, on the top of the first one. The introductory lesson was finished, the anchor was weighed, and the Goldwing stood out into the lake. "There comes that schooner!" shouted Ash Burton. It was the La Motte, headed up the lake. CHAPTER XIX. THE PLAN THAT WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL. Just as soon as Dory dropped the painter of the tender into the water, the wind drove the boat away from the La Motte in the direction of the shore. Mackwith and Chuckworth, the two robbers who had appeared on the shore after their search in the woods for Angy, were too far off to notice it. "Now, we must not allow ourselves to be seen or heard," said Dory, as soon as he had let go the painter. "They will find the boat, and come on board." "But don't you think they will suspect that something is wrong for their side of the question?" asked Mr. Jepson. "Why should they think so?" asked Dory. "Since they left the schooner, she has been moved to her present position; and the boat in which Angy left the vessel is found on the beach." "They may not be able to account for what they see, but it does not follow that they will suspect any thing; though it will not make much difference if they do," replied Dory, shrugging his shoulders. "Of course, they will understand that the fellows they left on board have moved the schooner; but I am afraid they will suspect something when they find the boat on the beach," continued the machinist. "Perhaps they will; they have a perfect right to do so: but they have been up all night, and I don't believe they will be very sharp. Possibly they drank beer enough while they were on board of the La Motte to reduce them to the condition of the fellows in the steerage. But it is not so much of a question of what they will think, as of what they will do." "Well, their actions will be guided by their thoughts." "That is so; but they will be guided by their conclusions, and not by all the suspicions that come into their heads," argued Dory. "Of course, it is important for us to be able to foresee what they will do, so that we may be prepared for them." "Then, we must fathom their thoughts if we can." "They are standing on the beach just now." "And they are a quarter of a mile from us." "But they are moving this way, though very slowly." "I have no doubt they are about worn out, for they have been beating about the woods for an hour or more," said Dory, as he raised himself so as to see over the bulwarks of the schooner. "Of course, they must see the vessel."