Ready About by Oliver Optic

Dory Dornwood had seen the La Motte when she was lying in the river, and knew that a party from her had visited the school, though he had not been near them. He had passed the schooner in the barge, but without noticing the persons on board of her. Mr. Michael Angelo Spickles was the chief of the party, and the principal operator in the robbery at the office of the institution. But the prisoner knew nothing whatever about him.

The arm of Kingsland Bay where the marauders embarked was less than a quarter of a mile wide, and the water was almost as smooth as on a calm day. The bay itself did not average more than half a mile wide; and they were not likely to experience any rough weather within its limits, as they were a full mile from the open lake.