nk--anything will--happen?"

"Of course--lots of things will happen!" laughed Betty, Grace and Mollie
having gotten out of the boat to stroll about a bit. "We'll have a nice
walk home, and a good hot supper, and then we'll sit about the fireplace
and roast apples and marshmallows, and talk about this."

"That listens good," observed Will rather sarcastically, "but it may be
a long while before you're sitting before your own fireside, or we in
front of ours."

"Well, you don't need to make the announcement of that fact; do you?"
asked Allen, as he straightened out some of the running tackle of the
sail.

"So that's the way the wind lies; eh?" asked Will in a queer tone.
"What's the answer, old man?"

"Just this," replied Allen. "We may not be able to go on in the boat. I
thought this was only a snow squall, but it seems to be turning into a
regular blizzard. You know we can't glide over the ice when it's covered
with snow. We may have to walk back to camp, and it's no small stretch.
What I mean is that we've got to keep up the courage of the girls.
That's all."

He and Will and Frank were out of the boat now, fixing one of the ropes
that had gotten out of place, so Betty and Amy, who remained cuddled up
in the soft and warm robes, did not hear the talk.

"So that's the game--bluff?" asked Will.

"Somewhat--yes. I'm going to try to start off again, but I don't know
how far we'll get. Where's Grace and Mollie?"

"Hey--Grace!" cried Will, raising his voice. "We're going to start!"

"All right!" floated back the answer through the storm.

Soon the girls came running up to the ice boat. They had been racing
about, they said, to get warm, and Betty and Amy, sitting amid the furs
and blankets, rather wished they had done the same, for they were quite
chilly in spite of their coverings.

"I'm going to make a try for it," explained Allen. "We may not be able
to go far, for the snow is rather wet and heavy, and it may clog the
runners. But we'd better make a start, anyhow. It seems to be slackening
up a bit."

They piled into the ice boat, and the sail was hoisted. The _Spider_
darted off, after a moment's hesitation.

"Hurray!" cried Will. "We're moving."

"And that's about all," said Allen in a low voice. "Don't crow until
you're out of the woods. This snow is worse than I thought it was."

For a time the ice boat went along well, halting occasionally as masses
of snow clogged the runners. Then there came a j