"He has, and at a time when my boat had gone adrift, and I had no way to move a single thing which we could not carry two miles in our hands. That is the reason why I was so glad to see the 'Dragon' coming back to the point," replied Paul, looking at the skipper of the "Goldwing" with the deepest interest. "But the water is rather rough this afternoon out on the lake, and I am afraid I can't do much towards moving my mother and sister and all the furniture in that flatboat." "Then you mean to leave the cottage to be pitched into the lake?" added Dory. "I don't see that we can do anything else," replied Paul blankly. "It is about a quarter of a mile through the woods to the road, and Major Billcord will not allow a tree to be cut down. I could not move it if I had a hundred men to help me. I might take it to pieces, if I had time enough to do the job; but we have little time, and not much money." "Suppose we go on shore and take a look at the cottage," suggested Dory, who seemed to be doing some heavy thinking, though he did not hint that he knew of any remedy for the misfortunes of the Bristols. The tender was brought up to the gangway, and Dory went ashore in it, accompanied by Tuck Prince, while Paul took the "Dragon" back. The skipper walked up to the cottage, and Paul introduced him to his mother and sister. Dory had never seen Lily Bristol before, but he was perfectly willing to agree with the "speech of people," that she was the prettiest girl in the State of New York, and possibly in the State of Vermont. But she looked very sad, and so did her mother, and Dory said nothing to them about the mandate of the magnate. The visitor looked at the house, and got its approximate dimensions in his mind. He examined the foundations of the structure, and the land upon which it lay. He was thinking, but he said nothing. "Of course, Major Billcord knows very well that we cannot move the cottage without making a pathway for it through the grove," said Paul, who had observed the expression on Dory's face with the utmost interest. But he had not expected that the skipper of the "Goldwing" could do anything about moving the dwelling: the most he had hoped was that the visitor would volunteer to assist in the transportation of the furniture, or a portion of it, to some safe place, if such could be found. But Dory was provokingly silent, and did not hint at anything. When he had completed his examination of the premises, he walked towards the end of the point again. "I suppose you will agree with me that not a thing can be done," said Paul as he followed the skipper; and he began to be very much discouraged at the prospect. "I don't know whether anything can be done or not," replied Dory, musing. "I can't do anything myself, for I don't feel at liberty to act without the knowledge of my uncle, Captain Gildrock," replied Dory. "If you could move the cottage, have you any other place to put it?"