"Dat ish goot. Dat ish te pest vay—I shay petter to take to Leyden mit a poat!"
"Take a boat!" exclaimed Ben, in dismay—"why, man, our plan was to skate, not to be carried like little children——"
"Tuyfels!" retorted Jacob, "dat ish no little—no papies—to go for poat!"
The boys laughed, but exchanged uneasy glances. It would be great fun to jump on an ice-boat, if they had a chance; but to abandon so shamefully their grand undertaking—Who could think of such a thing?
An animated discussion arose at once.
Captain Peter brought his party to a halt.
"Boys," said he, "it strikes me that we should consult Jacob's wishes in this matter. He started the excursion, you know."
"Pooh!" sneered Carl, throwing a contemptuous glance at Jacob, "who's tired? We can rest all night at Leyden."
Ludwig and Lambert looked anxious and disappointed. It was no slight thing to lose the credit of having skated all the way from Broek to the Hague, and back again; but both agreed that Jacob should decide the question.
Good-natured, tired Jacob! He read the popular sentiment at a glance.