"If you don't know any thing more, I am glad of it."
"I haven't the least idea what Mack means when he says he is in a bad scrape," he continued.
"He told you the truth; and he will probably get some years in the State prison for his share in the operations of last night."
"Is that so?" asked Ripples, apparently appalled at the intelligence. "Can you tell me what has become of Angy? None of these fellows seem to know."
"They don't know, and I shall not tell you just yet; though he is in just as bad a scrape as Mack. When was this club formed?" asked Dory.
"About a month ago. Angy was the leading spirit in getting it up. He said the rich fellows would find the money to pay the bills, and we should have a first-class time for two or three months on the lake. I put in fifty dollars to start the thing, and three or four of the fellows did the same."
"But how happened you to be separated from the others?" asked the skipper.
"Angy did not want the whole of us to come at first."
"Why not?" asked Dory, who was beginning to see through the business.
"I don't know. He said the vessel would not be ready, and he would write to us when she was fit to take us on board. He did write to us the other day, and told us to come to Ticonderoga yesterday, and then to come on to Westport if the La Motte was not there."
"No; and we were called at three o'clock this morning, and came to Westport. Our fellows were all as mad as hops when they did not find the schooner there. It was a horrible storm in the night, and I suppose that was the reason she was not there. A young fellow in a handsome little steamer came near the shore where we were waiting, and I hailed her. After some teasing, he consented to take us down the lake. When we saw the La Motte, we asked him to put us ashore on that point, which he did."
"How did you know it was the La Motte when you saw her?" asked Dory.
"By that signal," replied Ripples, pointing to what looked like a red handkerchief in the main rigging. "Angy told me that would be his signal."
"Did you tell the young fellow in the small steamer that you were looking for the La Motte?"
"For some reason, which he did not explain in his letter, Angy told us not to mention the name of the vessel, or to say any thing about her," replied Ripples. "We told the young man, who appeared to be in command of the steamer,--I believe she was called the Marian,--that we were going to camp out on Camp-Meeting Point; for we had all studied the charts of the lake."