"The Gildrock and the Winooski are following us, and the fellows are putting in the heavy strokes," said Dory. "Are they gaining on us?" asked Dick. "I think not." The sea was very heavy ahead of the Marian, but the waves were not like those of the ocean. They were shorter and more "choppy." But the boats made tolerably good weather among them. In a smart sea, speed is desirable; and it is the element in the progress of the boat which insures safety. At such a time there are two forces acting, the propelling power of the boat and the action of the waves. In heavy weather there is a struggle between the two forces. In the case of the sailing craft, the waves had got the better of the boat. With the three barges, the advantage was on the side of the boats. They went ahead fast enough to keep the upper hand of the waves. CHAPTER XIII. THE DISASTER TO THE SILVER MOON. The stout students at the oars of the Marian drove the barge ahead, helped somewhat by the wind, so that the great billows seemed to have no effect upon her. In a few minutes she was in the midst of the heaviest of the waves. Sometimes she trembled and shook, but she did not yield sensibly to the power which was opposed to her. "I think that is Tom Bissell's boat," said Paul Bristol, who was watching the craft in trouble very attentively. "When I went to see my sister in Westport, about a month ago, she was sewing a full moon into a blue flag." "A full moon?" queried Dick. "It was a round piece of white stuff, and it looked like a full moon." "She has a burgee with a white circle on a blue ground," added Dick. "Then that must be Tom Bissell's boat?" "She is a sloop as big as the Goldwing," continued Paul. "Who is Tom Bissell?" asked the coxswain. "He runs a store in Westport, and his wife keeps a millinery shop in the same building. My sister worked for them," replied Paul. "Does he know how to handle a sailboat?" "He thinks he does, and most people believe he does." "Perhaps he does, and has met with some accident to his sail or rigging," added Dick. "I believe there are some ladies in the boat." "I shouldn't wonder, for his wife is as fond of sailing as he is; and sometimes he takes out the girls that work for them," said Paul. "The sloop is in the trough of the sea, rolling very badly. She is having a rough time of it," continued Dick, as the Marian came near enough for him to see the position of the craft. "I am very sure that is the Silver Moon," added Paul. "If it is, it looks like a wet moon, as Bates calls it, when he looks to the silvery orb for the state of the weather," said Dick.