Before he could get to the shore, the rain ceased, and the mist cleared off from the surface of the water. Suddenly the hurricane seemed to subside. The clouds, which had been dense and black overhead, began to break. It ended, like all storms in this locality which come from the south, as abruptly as it begun.
The La Motte could be seen quite distinctly, for she was hardly a mile distant. The four robbers on board of her were hoisting the foresail, which looked as though it had been reefed; and they were evidently going in search of their lost chief. Dory was happy enough to smile, and he did smile; for he was out of the reach of any pursuers in a large vessel. The wind had greatly abated its violence; and Dory had been obliged to pull some distance from his former course, in order to make the creek. But the water was shallow around him, and the schooner could not come near the land.
The inlet was the mouth of a brook, and he pulled some distance into it. When he came to a good place to land, he leaped ashore, and hauled up the bow out of the water. Without a small boat, it was simply impossible for the crew of the La Motte to follow him, even if they succeeded in finding him.
Dory was tired enough to seat himself on a rock, and recover his exhausted powers. He had a prisoner, and a resolute one, and he must get him to the school in some manner. It was likely to be hard work. He took Angy's revolver from his pocket: he wiped the water off its barrels and stock. Then he examined the cartridges. They were metallic, and ought not to be affected by the water. Aiming at a small tree, he discharged one of the barrels, and found it went off as well as it would if it had not been in the water.
"That shooter served me a bad turn," said Angy. "I never knew it to miss before."
"It served me a good turn if you aimed at me when you tried to fire it," added Dory. "However, it seems to be in condition to be useful to me if I have occasion to use it."
Its present possessor put it back into his pocket. He resolved to manage his case so well that he would have no occasion to use such a deadly weapon, and he shuddered at the very thought of firing at a human being.
"You have got ahead of me, Dory," continued Angy, bestowing a searching look upon his captor. "Chuck ruined me when he threw that painter overboard."
"In a moral point of view, that act may be your salvation," added Dory.
"I don't think I care about hearing any Sunday-school talk on this subject," replied Angy, with a scornful look on his face. "The time has not yet come for my punishment."