They managed to, somehow, and then, with Dutch at the helm, and to manage the sail, they darted off.
Now, if the truth is to be told, Dutch knew about as much of how to manage an ice boat as a Hottentot would about running a locomotive, but the Randallite was not going to admit that.
“I can sure sail up the river, for the wind is blowing that way,” he reasoned with himself. “And if it doesn’t switch around, and blow us back again, we can walk, and I’ll tell the fellows something has busted.”
Soon the ice boat began to move faster and faster.
“How’s this?” demanded Dutch proudly.
“Fine!” cried Sid. “I never knew you could sail one of these things.”
“Oh, I don’t go about telling all I know,” remarked Dutch modestly.
“How do you steer?” asked Tom.
“Same as in a sailboat,” replied the helmsman. “When you want to go to the left you shove this handle over this way, and the opposite way to go to the right. See,” and he moved the tiller to one side.
Instantly there was a mix-up, the boat suddenly overturned and five figures sprawled out on the ice, while the craft turned around as if on a point, the sail banging in the wind.