ably thought he
intended to adopt his suggestion, and wade to the beach. But the owner
of the Goldwing had no intention of "giving up the ship" in any such
manner. The sails hid Dory from the skipper, so that he could not see
what he was doing; and, while Pearl was waiting to hear the splash when
he went overboard, Dory grasped one of the stays, and climbed half way
to the mast-head before his persecutor discovered what he was about.

"What are you doing up there?" demanded Pearl fiercely. "What are you
about?"

"I want to see how far off the shore is," replied Dory, for the want of
something more sensible to say.

"Come down this instant, you young villain!" yelled Pearl, whose hope of
saving himself was thus endangered by the unexpected freak of the owner
of the boat.

"I think I can make myself very comfortable up here for a while,"
replied Dory, as he placed his feet on the foresail gaff, and passed his
arm around the topmast.

"If you don't come down, I will shoot you!" stormed Pearl angrily, as he
saw the two boats of the steamer coming nearer to him every moment.

Dory had the average aversion to being shot, and he did not like the
sound of the threat. He did not know whether or not Pearl had a pistol,
though it was not improbable that he had one. He looked at the
approaching boats. One of them was not thirty yards from the schooner,
and the officer could hardly have helped hearing the threat of the
skipper. The port boat had come near enough by this time to enable Dory
to see that his uncle was in the stern-sheets.

"Give way, my lads, with all your might!" said the officer of the nearer
boat, speaking with great energy, as though he meant to take a hand in
the business on board of the Goldwing.

"Are you coming down, Dory Dornwood?" demanded Pearl, as he stopped on
the forward deck of the schooner.

"I think I will come down," replied Dory, who had made up his mind not
to run the risk of being shot; but he was satisfied that one of the
boats would be alongside the Goldwing before he could reach the deck.
"But it isn't so easy to get down as it was to come up," he added,
making it as an excuse for the slow movement in coming down to the deck.
Dory descended with the utmost caution. He had gained time enough to
enable the starboard boat to reach the schooner, and this was all he
expected to accomplish by going aloft.

"Come, hurry up, Dory!" shouted the skipper, when he was about half way
to the deck