as a fountain, if we'd had time to stop and look at him. “For the land sakes, heave to!” I yelled, soon's I could get my breath. “You've spilled the skipper!” “Skipper be durned!” howls Jonadab, squeezing the tiller and keeping on the course; “We'll come back for him by and by. It's our business to win this race.” And, by ginger! we DID win it. The way Jonadab coaxed that cocked hat on runners over the ice was pretty--yes, sir, pretty! He nipped her close enough to the wind'ard, and he took advantage of every single chance. He always COULD sail; I'll say that for him. We walked up on Archie like he'd set down to rest, and passed him afore he was within a half mile of home. We run up abreast of Dillaway's, putting on all the fancy frills of a liner coming into port, and there was Ebenezer and a whole crowd of wedding company down by the landing. “Gosh!” says Jonadab, tugging at his whiskers: “'Twas Cape Cod against New York that time, and you can't beat the Cape when it comes to getting over water, not even if the water's froze. Hey, Barzilla?” Ebenezer came hopping over the ice towards us. He looked some surprised. “Where's Phil?” he says. Now, I'd clean forgot Phil and I guess Jonadab had, by the way he colored up. “Phil?” says he. “Phil? Oh, yes! We left him up the road a piece. Maybe we'd better go after him now.” But old Dillaway had something to say. “Cap'n,” he says, looking round to make sure none of the comp'ny was follering him out to the ice-boat. “I've wanted to speak to you afore, but I haven't had the chance. You mustn't b'lieve too much of what Mr. Catesby-Stuart says, nor you mustn't always do just what he suggests. You see,” he says, “he's a dreadful practical joker.” “Yes,” says Jonadab, beginning to look sick. I didn't say nothing, but I guess I looked the same way. “Yes,” said Ebenezer, kind of uneasy like; “Now, in that matter of Mrs. Granby. I s'pose Phil put you up to asking her about her son's laundry. Yes? Well, I thought so. You see, the fact is, her boy is a broker down in Wall Street, and he's been caught making some of what they call 'wash sales' of stock. It's against the rules of the Exchange to do that, and the papers have been full of the row. You can see,” says Dillaway, “how the laundry question kind of stirred the old lady up. But, Lord! it must have been funny,” and he commenced to grin. I looked at Jonadab, and he looked at me. I thought of Marm Granby, and her being “dying to know us,” and I thought of the lies about the “hod of change” and all the rest, and I give you my word _I_ didn't grin, not enough to show my wisdom teeth, anyhow. A crack in the ice an inch wide would have held me, with room to spare; I know that. “Hum!” grunts Jonadab, kind of dry and bitter, as if he'd been taking wormwood tea; “_I_ see. He's been having a good time making durn fools out of us.” “Well,” says Ebenezer, “not exactly that, p'raps, but--” And then along comes Archie and his crowd in the other ice-boat.