“Do I?” echoed Harry, quickly. “Unless I’m away off in my judgment, she’s bound to beat everything along the river. I never saw such fine lines; and best of all, I don’t think the builder has sacrificed anything in the way of staunchness to speed. Mark my word, Paul, she’s going to turn out a crackerjack!”
“I’m mighty glad to hear that, Harry!” declared Paul, “for a good many reasons. A fellow likes to have a clipper boat, you know, one that isn’t going to take dust from any other chap’s racer. And then, it would just give me heaps of fun if I could leave the old Glider far back in the lurch.”
“That’s Elmer’s iceboat, isn’t it?” asked Harry.
“Sure. He hasn’t had it out this winter, I understand, because for two years now it’s just run away from everything there was; and Elmer said he was tired of making circles around the rest of us. But three times now he’s asked me when I expected to get my new boat running; and as much as told me he was waiting to add it to the has-beens he’s beaten.”
“Well, don’t you believe he’s going to have an easy job walking away from this dandy thing on runners,” Harry observed. “I’m ready to say that you’ve got the very last word in iceboats here in the Lightning. And before another hour has passed you’ll feel that you made no mistake when you gave her that name. Now, if you’re ready, let’s make a start.”
Harry was anxious to be off. He had noticed that several boys and girls were heading toward them, having skated up from below. And in his present state of mind he would rather avoid meeting any of his school companions if it could be arranged.
“How about the wind?” asked Paul, as they started to take their places on the thin but strong planks of the iceboat, which had been padded with folded blankets, so as to make it more comfortable for those who had to stretch out at full length while managing the running craft.
“It seems to be everything we could want this morning,” Harry replied. “In fact, I don’t think there ever was a day here on the Conoque River better fitted for a try-out of a new iceboat than this same Saturday morning. And I’m glad now that I came with you, Paul.”
“Bully for you, Harry! That’s all I wanted to hear. And now, let’s cut loose before all those fellows get in our way.”
Longback, Socker Gales, and Misery Jones were among those coming full tilt for the spot where they had discovered the new boat on the river’s edge.