The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge

  CHAPTER XIII

  IN A HARD BLOW

  "Are you girls warm enough?" asked Bert Bobbsey, as he and his cousinHarry started toward the frozen lake one afternoon, the day before theywere all to start for Snow Lodge.

  "If we aren't we will never be," answered Dorothy Minturn, who was Nan's"seashore cousin" as she called the visitor. "I've got on so many thingsthat it would be easier to roll along instead of walking," went onDorothy with a laugh.

  "Well, it's a good thing to be warm, for it will be cold on theice-boat; won't it, Bert?" asked Harry.

  "That's what it will. There's a good wind blowing, too. It's strongerthan I thought it was," and Bert bent to the blast as he walked alongwith the others.

  "Will there be any danger?" asked Dorothy, who was not used to theactivities of the Bobbseys.

  "Oh, don't worry!" cried Harry. "We'll look after you girls."

  "They think they will," murmured Nan looking at her cousin, "I guess Iknow almost as much about the _Ice Bird_ as Bert does."

  "Where is your ice-boat?" asked Harry of Bert, as they kept on along thepath that led to the lake.

  "Over in the next cove. I had her out the other day, and the wind diedout, leaving me there. Since then we've been so busy getting ready to goto Snow Lodge that I haven't had time to bring her back to the dock."

  "Will she be safe over there?"

  "I guess so--hardly anybody goes there in winter."

  The two cousins--Harry from the country and Dorothy from theseashore,--in each of which places the Bobbseys had spent part of thepreceding summer,--had followed soon after their letters, and had beenwarmly welcomed by Nan, Bert, Flossie and Freddie. The visitors wererather surprised to learn that the Bobbsey family was preparing to goaway for a winter vacation in the woods, but they were only too glad toaccept an invitation to go along.

  So it was arranged, and in another day the start to Mr. Carford's formerhome would be made. Mr. Bobbsey had a big sled gotten ready, there wereboxes, barrels and packages of provisions, Snow Lodge had been opened bya farmer living near there, who remained in it all night, keeping up thefires so that the long-deserted house would not be chilly, and all wasin readiness.

  The plans of Nan and Bert to go to Snow Lodge by means of skates and onthe ice-boat had been agreed to.

  Dorothy and Nan thought they would rather skate than go all the way onthe ice-boat, but Bert and Harry decided to keep to the ice craft allthe way.

  "And when you girls get tired of skating just wave your handkerchiefs,and we'll wait for you," said Bert.

  Now they were going to take a little trial sail on the _Ice Bird_ beforestarting off on the longer cruise.

  As the four walked around a point of land, and came within sight of theice-boat, tied to a stake in the ice of the cove, Harry uttered a cry.

  "Look!" he exclaimed to Bert, "someone is at your boat!"

  "That's right!" cried Bert, starting to run. Just then a figure skatedaway from the craft, and Bert breathed a sigh of relief.

  "I guess it was only someone taking a look at her," he said "Therearen't many on the lake."

  "We can't go very far," said Nan, as they neared the boat, "for mammasaid to be back early. We've got a great deal of packing to do yet."

  "We'll just take a little spin," replied Bert.

  They were soon on the ice-boat, gliding up and down the lake, which wasfrozen to a glassy smoothness.

  "If it's like this to-morrow it will be grand for skating!" exclaimedNan.

  "Yes, and fine for ice-boating, too," replied her brother. "We'll beatyou to Snow Lodge."

  "Well, you ought to," said Dorothy, "but we'll be warmer skating thanyou will be on the ice-boat."

  "Not when we take along all the fur robes I've got out for the trip,"replied Bert. "I didn't bring 'em this time, as it was too far to carry.But to-morrow Harry and I will be regular Eskimos."

  Back and forth on the lake sailed the _Ice Bird_ with the merry-heartedboys and girls. Bert did not go very far, as he noticed that the windwas growing much stronger and his boat, though sturdy and well-built,was not intended to weather a gale.

  "Well, I think we'd better start for home now," said Nan after about anhour's sailing. "Mamma will be expecting us."

  "All right," assented Bert. "Do you want to steer her, Harry?"

  "I'm afraid I don't know how," replied the country lad.

  "Oh, you'll soon learn. I'll be right beside you here, and tell you whatto do."

  "Don't upset, please, whatever you do," urged Dorothy.

  "I'll try not to," promised Harry.

  When they got out of the sheltered cove they felt the full force of thewind, and for a moment even Nan, who had been on the boat many times,felt a bit timid. The _Ice Bird_ tilted to one side, the left handrunner raising high in the air.

  "Oh!" screamed Dorothy. "We're going over!"

  "No, we're not! Sit still!" cried Bert, grasping the tiller, which Harrywas not holding just right. By turning the ice-boat to one side the winddid not strike it so hard, and the craft settled down on the levelagain.

  "There! That's better!" exclaimed Dorothy, who had grabbed hold of Nan.

  "Oh, that's nothing," said Nan. "Bert and I are used to that."

  But as the ice-boat proceeded it was evident that those on her were notgoing to have an easy time to get to the Bobbsey dock. The wind blewharder and harder, and the sail seemed ready to rip apart. It took bothBert and Harry to hold the rudder steady, and even then the tiller wasalmost torn from their grasp.

  Even Nan began to look a little frightened, and she did not laugh whenDorothy stretched out flat and held on to the side of the boat with allher strength.

  "I don't want to be blown away if I can help it," said Dorothy.

  Harder and harder blew the wind, sending the ice-boat along at greatspeed. In a few minutes more it would be at the dock, where Bert kept ittied.

  "If it blows this way to-morrow we won't be long getting to Snow Lodge,"cried Bert in Harry's ear. He had to shout to be heard above the howlingof the wind.

  "That's right," agreed the country boy. "The girls can never skate alongas fast as this."

  "We'll have to use less sail," went on Bert, "and then we won't go sofast."

  He and Harry shifted the rudder to steer closer to shore. Suddenly thewind came in a fierce gust. The ice-boat seemed about to turn completelyover. The two girls screamed, even Nan being frightened now.

  "Oh, what is it? What is it?" cried Dorothy.

  Then came a sharp crack. There was a sound as though a hundred pop-gunswere being fired, and the boat slackened speed.

  "Look!" cried Harry pointing ahead "Our sail has burst, Bert."

  "No, it's the sheet rope--the main rope that holds the sail fast-that'sbroken," replied Bert. "Lucky it did, too, or we might have gone over. Iwas going to let go of it."

  The ice-boat slid along a short distance, and then came to a stop. Thesail, no longer held in place so as to catch the wind, was blowing andflapping, making snapping sounds like a line of clothes in a heavy wind.

  "All right, girls, no danger now," called Bert, as he got out to makethe flapping sail fast again. As he looked at the end of the broken ropehe uttered a cry of surprise.

  "Look here!" he called to Harry, "this rope has been cut!"

  "Cut?"

  "Yes. Someone hacked it partly through with a knife, and the wind didthe rest."

  There was no doubt of it. The main rope had been partly severed, and thestrain of the hard blow had done the rest.

  "That fellow we saw near the ice-boat!" began Harry. "It must have beenhim! Who was he?"

  "Danny Rugg--if anybody," answered Bert. "I thought it looked like him.Probably he heard that we were going to use the boat to go to SnowLodge, and he wanted to make trouble for us. He's going to camp up therenear us, I hear."

  "Gracious!" cried Dorothy. "I hope he doesn't play any tricks like thatup there."

  "If he does I guess Harry and I can attend to him,"
cried Bert. "But, ina way, it's a good thing the rope did break or we might have upset. OnlyDanny, if he did it, had no idea of doing us a good turn. He just wantedto make trouble."

  "Can you fix it?" asked Nan of her brother.

  "Oh, yes, it can be spliced and will be stronger than ever. But I won'tdo it now. We can walk the rest of the way to the dock. The wind isblowing harder than ever, and we don't want any accidents."

  Indeed, the wind was blowing a gale now, and even with the sail down theice-boat went along at such a speed that it was all Harry and Bert coulddo to hold it.

  But finally it was gotten to the dock, and made fast, and while thegirls went on to the Bobbsey home to finish with their packing, Bert andHarry mended the broken rope.

  "I'll have to teach Danny Rugg a good lesson," said Bert to his cousin.

  "Yes, and I'll help you," returned Harry.