Read "Square and Compasses" by Oliver Optic online for free on Textopian. Full text with search, annotations, highlights, and AI-powered reading aids.
It was easier to decide that something should be done than it was to determine what to do. Mr. Jepson suggested the Sylph, but it would take some time to get up steam, and Dory thought she would not be the most convenient craft in a conflict with the barges. He was decidedly in favor of pursuing the marauders in the Goldwing.
In the smashing breeze on the lake she would sail nearly as fast as the steamer, and he could have her under way in five minutes. The schooner could follow the boats into shoal water, while the Sylph must have eight or nine feet, and if Tom Topover was smart, she might not be able to go within a mile of the barges.