The skipper followed him to the cottage, and Paul stated the case to his mother. She was willing to do anything her son thought best. She did not think it was necessary for Lily to go if Paul was to remain in charge of the house; but Dory thought she was a part of the story, and anticipated some hard questions from his uncle which she could answer better than any other person. Mrs. Bristol yielded the point, and in a few minutes they were ready for the trip.
The ladies were seated in the standing-room, and the Beech-Hillers were as polite as so many dancing-masters, "tinkers" though they were. A short distance from the shore the wind was still fresh; and in half an hour the "Goldwing" was in Beechwater, as the principal of the school generally called the lake.
Without waiting to moor the schooner, which he left in charge of Tuck Prince, Dory pulled the ladies to the new boat-house in the tender. They landed at the steps, and the skipper conducted them to Captain Gildrock's library. They were pleasantly welcomed by the principal, though they were entire strangers to him.
Dory stated that he had brought Mrs. Bristol and Miss Lily from Sandy Point, and he wished his uncle to hear the story they had to tell. He hinted that the visitors had better confine themselves to the facts in the case, without any comments; and, as Lily had been the principal and first actor in the drama, he thought she had better open the narrative.
Possibly Dory thought an account of the opening proceedings from the lips of so pretty a girl as Lily might have more influence with his bachelor uncle. The captain smiled graciously, and bowed encouragingly to the fair maiden. She began in a very straightforward way with the narrative, and Dory was glad the occasion permitted him to gaze at her without staring.
When she had completed her narrative, there was but little more for her mother to say. The principal asked a few questions, and then he was in possession of all the facts. He knew all about Major Billcord, and he had no difficulty in believing the simple and unadorned statement to which he had listened. Very likely he was as indignant as any Christian man would have been at the outrage of the magnate and his son, but he did not express himself in this direction.
When Mrs. Bristol and Lily had said all they had to say, the captain looked at Dory to see if he had anything to offer. Dory was not slow to take a hint, and he made quite an energetic speech of considerable length, setting forth his views of the situation.