"Hurry up, Grandpop!" shouted one of the Tingley boys. "This expedition is about to start."
Blent scowled at the hilarious crowd. It was plain to be seen that any supply of milk of human kindness he may have had was long since soured.
Ruth caught Tom Cameron's eye and nodded to him. Helen's twin was a very good friend of the girl from the Red Mill and he quickly grasped her wish to speak with him alone.
In a minute he maneuvered so as to get into the stern with his sister's chum, and there Ruth whispered to him her fears and desires regarding Blent and Jerry Sheming.
"Say! we ought to help that fellow. See what he did for Jane Ann," said Tom. "And that old fellow looks so sour he sets my teeth on edge, anyway."
"He is going to do a very mean thing," declared Ruth, decidedly. "Jerry has done nothing wrong, I am sure."
"We must beat the old fellow."
"But how, Tom? They say he is all-powerful here at Logwood."
"Let me think. I'll be back again," replied Tom, as the boys called him to come up front.
The punt was already under way. Preston and his three men worked the craft out slowly into the drifting ice. The grinding of the cakes against the sides of the boat did not frighten any of the passengers—unless perhaps Mrs. Tingley herself. She felt responsible for the safety of this whole party of her daughter's school friends.