Page:Boys of Columbia High on the Ice.djvu/185

Rh not to be tempted to hasten faster. He imagined that Lanky, in his impatience to get to the farmhouse the sooner, was only nagging him on for a purpose.

"We're getting there, all right," the eager one finally said, as, having crossed the narrow river by means of a bridge they once more headed north.

"Given five minutes more and we'll arrive. What are you craning your neck for, in that way, Lanky? Think you see smoke again?" demanded Frank, as he felt the other thrusting his head close to his shoulder.

"Oh! shucks! no. I just wanted to get the first squint of the house on the little hill," replied the other.

"He's even got his handkerchief ready to wave," asserted Ralph.

"Bless his innocent little heart, does he suppose that poor girl has been standing there all this time watching for his return?" jeered the driver.

"Have your fun, sillies," answered Lanky, composedly. "It doesn't feaze me one little bit. There, I can see a peak of the house, boys. It's all right."

"He speaks as though he might have been worried about whether the fire started up again after we left, and finished the job. No, the red-cheeked Dora still has a stout roof over her pretty head. And as