as to where the money came
from to pay for the Goldwing."

Dory told all he felt at liberty to tell, but this did not satisfy his
uncle any more than it did his mother.

"A man doesn't give a boy over a hundred dollars without some very
strong motive; and your mother is not likely ever to know the nature of
this mysterious transaction," added the captain.

"I can't break my promise, uncle Royal," protested Dory.

"Some promises are better broken than kept."

Captain Gildrock's residence was about twenty miles up the lake on
Beaver River, where he had a large estate. Dory had never been there,
though he had seen it from the river. It was decided that Mrs. Dornwood
and Marian should go to Plattsburgh in the Sylph and then go home with
the captain, as Dory was to be away for three days.

After dinner Dory went on board of the Goldwing. He had seen and invited
the members of the Goldwing Club to go with him, and they were at the
wharf when he arrived. In a few minutes they were sailing down the
lake.

CHAPTER XXX.

CAPTAIN GILDROCK DILATES UPON HIS NOTABLE SCHEME.

The first thing Corny Minkfield did was to apologize for his conduct the
last day he had been on board of the Goldwing. He was afraid then that
Dory had been guilty of some offence which might get them all into a
scrape. The skipper accepted the apology, and they were as good friends
as ever.

"We are all invited up to Beech Hill," said Thad, when the difficulty
between the skipper and Corny had been healed.

"Where is Beech Hill?" asked Dory, who had never heard the name before.

"Don't you know the name of your uncle's place?" demanded Dick Short,
laughing.

"I never was there, and I never heard the name before."

"We are going up in the Sylph from Plattsburgh to-night. Captain
Gildrock is the bulliest man on the lake," said Nat Long.

"He has got something in his head," added Thad. "He treats us fellows
like lords."

"He asked my mother what I was going to do in the way of business; and
she told him she should get a place in a store for me as soon as I got
through school," said Corny. "You ought to have heard him talk then! He
said I was too much of a fellow to be a counter-jumper."

"What is he driving at, Corny?" asked Dory.

"I don't know: he didn't let on; but he has got something in his head."

The skipper found that his fellow-members of the club knew no more about
his scheme than he did himself. They had a very jolly time