At once there was another row, in which not only the boys, but also Bill Goss and his wife, took a hand. In the end poor Dora was marched to the cabin and put under lock and key.

If the girl had been disheartened before, she was now absolutely downcast.

"They have me utterly in their power!" she moaned over and over again. "Heaven alone knows where they will take me!" And then she sank down on her knees and prayed that G.o.d might see her safely through her perils.

Her prayer seemed to calm her, and she felt that there was at least one Power that would never desert her.

"Poor, poor mamma, how I wish I knew what was happening to her!"

she murmured.

Slowly the hours went by. Mrs. Goss came and went, and Dora was even allowed to go on deck whenever no other boat was close at hand. Thus Martin Harris saw her; but, as we know, that meeting amounted to nothing.

It was Mrs. Goss who served the meals, and as Dora could not starve, she was compelled to eat what was set before her, the fare being anything but elaborate.

"Sorry, but we haven't got a hotel chef on board," observed Dan Baxter, as he came in during the supper hour. "But I'll try to get something better on board at New York."

"Do you mean to say you intend to take me away down to that city?" queried Dora.

"Humph! we are going further than that."

"And to where?"

"Wait and see."

"Are you afraid to tell me?"

"I don't think it would be a wise thing to do."

"We are just going to take a short ocean trip--" began Mumps, when Baxter stopped him.

"Don't talk so much--you'll spoil everything," remarked the bully.

"An ocean trip!" burst out Dora. "No! No! I do not wish to go on the ocean."

"As I said before, I think you'll go where the yacht goes."

"Does my mother know anything of this?"

"She knows you are away," grinned Mumps.

"You need not tell me that!" exclaimed Dora. "You are a mean, mean boy, so there!" And she turned on her heel and walked off.

She wished she had learned how to swim. They were running quite close to sh.o.r.e, and she felt that a good swimmer could gain land without much effort. Then a man came out from sh.o.r.e in a large flatboat.

"Help! Help!" she cried. "Save me, and I will reward you well!

They are carrying me away from home!"

"What's that?" called out the man, and Dora repeated her words before any of the others could stop her.

"All right, I'll do what I can for you," said the man, and running up beside the yacht, which had become caught in a sudden calm, he made fast with a boathook.

CHAPTER XIX

DORA TRIES TO ESCAPE

"Now we're in a pickle!" whispered Mumps. "That man may cause us a whole lot of trouble."

"You let me do the talking," answered Dan Baxter. "Help Goss get her back to the cabin."

"I won't go back!" screamed Dora. "Let me be!" And she ran for the rail.

But Mumps caught hold of her and dragged her back. Then Bill Goss approached, followed by his wife.

"You must go below, miss," said the sailor.

"Come, Nancy, give us a lift."

Poor Dora found herself at once surrounded and shoved back. She tried to call out again, but Mumps checked her with that ever-ready hand of his.

"Be careful!" shouted Baxter, for the benefit of the man on the flatboat. "Treat her with care, poor girl."

"All right," grinned Mumps. "Come, down you go," he went on, to Dora, and literally forced her down the companionway.

Once in the cabin she was left in Mrs. Goss' care. The door was locked, and Goss and Mumps went on deck to learn what Baxter was doing.

"What does this mean?" asked the man in the flatboat. He was a farmer, who had just been taking a load of hay across the stream.

"Oh, it's all right," answered Baxter carelessly. "That's my sister."

"Your sister?"

"Yes."

"What's the row?"

"No row at all--excepting that I am trying to get her back to the asylum."

"Is she crazy?"

"A little bit; but not near as bad as she used to be. She got out of the asylum in Brooklyn yesterday, and I've had my hands full trying to get her back. She imagines she is a sea captain and always runs off with my uncle's yacht."

"I see. That's putty bad for your family."

"Oh, yes; but we are getting used to it. Take care, we are going to swing around."