“Mr. Camp, one of the jewelers, says he thinks he knows this Avery, but he is not sure. The description is all right; but the name of the man he knew was Denting.” “A name among such fellows is easily changed.” “Of course. But then――hullo, whose boat is that?” Ford pointed to where a large sloop had just passed beyond a point of land just ahead. “I didn’t see much of her,” I replied. “She looked to me like the Catch Me.” “The Catch Me!” “Exactly. I might have been mistaken.” “Who can be on board?” “We’ll see when we round the point. Hold up. Now let her go. The wind is getting fresh and no mistake. There is the boat. What do you think of her?” I gave a long and searching look. “It is the Catch Me beyond a doubt,” I cried. “Who can it possibly be that is sailing her?” “There is only one man on board as far as I can see,” replied Ford. “It is Mr. Norton!” I ejaculated a moment later. CHAPTER XXI. A STORM ON THE LAKE. The announcement that the person in the other boat was the very one for whom we and the detectives were hunting, was so surprising that for a moment Ford could hardly believe it was a fact. “You are sure?” “Exactly. Don’t you remember that curious hat he wore?” “I do, now you speak of it. I wonder where he is bound?” “We’ll soon find out,” I replied decidedly. “Do you mean to follow him?” “Not only follow him, but catch him, Dan.” “You really mean it, though he is your uncle?” “I certainly do.” When I told Ford that I intended to follow Mr. Norton, and capture him if possible, I meant every word I said. The fact that the man posed as my uncle must have nothing to do with my feelings. He was a criminal, and must be handed over to the authorities. I let out the mainsail, and ran up the jib to its fullest. This sent us forging ahead, and we began to close up the distance that separated the two crafts. “I think we’ll overtake the Catch Me in a quarter of an hour,” I said, after I had done all I could to increase our speed. “We will if this breeze holds out, and he doesn’t trim the sails,” replied Ford. “He is carrying too much canvas.” “I suppose Mr. Norton is not much of a sailor, or he would run right away from us. The Catch Me is a far better boat than the Mary.” “Of course; but his lack of knowledge is to our benefit.” “I don’t like the looks of those clouds over there,” I went on, pointing over to the west. “That is a regular squall quarter.” “If we catch anything like that, it will be look out all around!” laughed my helper. In five minutes we were within hard hailing-distance of the other boat; and then Ford called out through his hands, using them as a speaking-trumpet,―― “Sloop ahoy!” There was no reply, and he repeated the call. “He doesn’t intend to answer,” I remarked. “But see, he is trimming his sails. He intends to get away if possible. I wonder if he recognizes us?”