ent on Clancy, "and I callate the old fizzy
stuff's the thing to do justice to this fe-lic-i-tous oc-ca-sion. Do I
hear the voice of my shipmates? Aye, aye, I hear them--and in accents
unmistakable. Well, here's a shoot--six quarts level--and a few pieces
of ice floating around on top. My soul, but don't it look fine and
rich? Have a look, everybody."

"Let's have a drink instead," hollered Parsons.

Clancy paid no attention to that. "Who was the lad in that Greek bunch
in the old days that they sank up to his neck in the lake--cold
sparkling water--and peaches and oranges and grapes floating on a
little raft close by--but him fixed so he couldn't bend his head down
to get a drink nor lift his head to take a bite of fruit--and hot
weather all the time, mind you. Lord, the thirst he raised after a
while! What was his--oh, yes, Tantalus--that's the lad, Tantalus--the
cold sparkling water. Man, the thirst he----"

"The thirst of Tantalus ain't a patch on the thirst I got. And this is
something better than cold sparkling water. That's you all over,
Tommie--joking at serious times," wailed Parsons.

"Is it as bad as that with you, Eddie? Well, let's forget Tantalus and
drink instead to the able-est, handsom-est, fast-est vessel that ever
weathered Eastern Point--to the Johnnie Duncan--and her skipper."

"And Mr. Duncan, Tommie--he's all right, too."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Duncan. And while we're at it, here's to the
whole blessed gang of us--skipper, owner and crew--we're all
corkers."

"Drive her, Tommie!" roared a dozen voices, and Tommie drove her for a
good pint before he set the cup down again.

It was a great celebration altogether. Wherever one of our gang was
there was an admiring crowd. Nobody but us was listened to. And the
questions we had to answer! And of course we were all willing enough
to talk. We must have told the story of the race over about twenty
times each. After a while, of course, some of our fellows, with all
the entertaining and admiration that was handed out to them, had to
put a touch or two to it. It was strong enough to tell the bare facts
of that race, I thought, but one or two had to give their imaginations
a chance. One man, a fisherman, one of those who had been on one of
the excursion boats, and so didn't see the race at all, came along
about two hours after the Duncan crew struck the Anchorage and
listened to Andie Howe for a while. And going away it was he who said,
"It must have