"I don't see that he can do anything for us, even if he does come near enough for you to hail him," added Mrs. Bristol, hardly less despondent than before.
"He can take some of our things on board his boat, and carry them to a place where they will be safe until we want them again."
Paul was quite hopeful that something would come of the visit of the "Goldwing" to the point, if she came there. Without stopping to argue the possibilities with his mother, he hastened to the shore. The "Goldwing" was headed down the lake, and, with all sail set, she was dashing over the waves at a tremendous high speed. She was towing a small boat astern of her, but Paul could not tell whether it was the "Dragon" or her usual tender.
The wind was exactly west, and the schooner was going free. When Paul saw her before, she was on the easterly side of the lake, where she got a better breeze than on the opposite side. He was satisfied that she headed for the vicinity of the point; for she would have started her sheets when she came up with Scotch Bonnet, if she had been bound directly down the lake.
Though she was approaching the point, it was by no means certain that she intended to make a landing there. The boat she was towing was astern of her, and Paul could not see it plainly, as the hull of the yacht obstructed his view. As on all occasions, he determined to do the best he could. Running back to the house, he borrowed a tablecloth of reddish hue, and fastened it to the oar. Elevating it as a signal to the "Goldwing," he held it in position at the very apex of the point.
Lily and her mother were not inclined to join him, for they did not feel in the mood to meet any young men, however civil they might be. They remained seated on the steps of the cottage; but they watched the sails of the yacht with as deep an interest as Paul did, for it was at least possible that the party on board of her might help them in their present dire emergency.
"She is headed for the point!" shouted Paul, when he had satisfied himself of the fact.
"I pray that a kind Providence has sent her to our relief," replied Mrs. Bristol.
Paul watched her with the most intense interest. When the "Goldwing" was within a quarter of a mile of the point, the party on board of her waved their handkerchiefs as a reply to Paul's signal. The hopes of the watcher on the shore ran high, but he could not yet see whether or not she had the "Dragon" in tow.
Sandy Point was a kind of double cape. It was shaped like a letter T. The cottage was on the northeast point, inside of which was Sandy Bay, where the Beech Hill students sometimes came to bathe. The other arm of the point extended to the southwest, and inside of it was the station of the boats belonging to the institute.