Those in the forward part of the Thunderer had gone to the yacht, as they were the nearest to it; while those in the stern did not "give up the ship,"—not just then, though they did so a few moments later when they discovered that the wreck was floating towards the outlet. Ash Burton was the first to take this step, and the other two immediately followed him. There was plenty of room on board of the Goldwing for a dozen, and the shipwrecked party were not crowded.
"That's the end of the Thunderer!" exclaimed Sam Spottwood, as he shook the water from his garments, and tried to make himself as comfortable as possible. "It is lucky that she left us to shift for ourselves just here, instead of out in the middle of Lake Champlain."
"Can't we save her?" asked Tom Topover, who had been reduced by the disaster to the level of his companions.
"She isn't worth saving," replied Sam contemptuously. "She can never be made to stay on the top of the water, and I wouldn't give two cents for a boat that wants to burrow in the mud at the bottom."
"I don't think the Thunderer was a success," added Ash Burton, as he wrung out the sack coat he wore. "I shall not go into the shipbuilding business at present."
"But she was a good boat, and worked very well," insisted the late captain of the craft. "She sailed very well when she got the hang of it."
"Or when her skipper got the hang of it," suggested Ash.
Tom took no notice of this bit of sarcasm, and perhaps did not understand it. All the party proceeded to do what they could to get the burden of water out of their clothes. But it was a warm day in August, and they were not likely to suffer from their involuntary bath. The hot sun was rapidly restoring the garments to their former condition; and the rough crowd made light of the affair, for they were in the water half the time during the long vacation.
"We have lost our sail," said Sam Spottwood, who had no interest in the craft which was now half-way to the outlet of Beechwater.
"That's so, and we have lost all the work we put into that craft. However, I did not expect much of such a tub, and I am not much disappointed in the result of the first cruise. But here we are, and here we are likely to remain until some one from the school comes and takes us off."