Page:Nid and Nod (IA nidnod00barb).pdf/158

 here that stone was being obtained for the work on which Mr. Starling's company was engaged. Spur-tracks ran from the railroad to the base of the high cliff, about two hundred yards distant, and from the railroad again to the stone-walled dock wherein the quarry company loaded to lighters for water transportation. The Basin was a favorite place for skating in winter, and Ned reminded the others of several episodes of three months back.

"Remember the time Elk Thurston tried to get ashore over there by the rushes?" asked Ned. "Every time he put his foot down the ice broke and let him through."

"And he got angrier and angrier," laughed Polly, "and tried to hurry and—"

"Fell flat," chuckled Laurie. "They told him the ice wouldn't hold him over there, but he always knows a little more than any one else. And, look, there's the old Pequot Queen over there yet. It's a wonder some one doesn't take her away or break her up or something."

"Nobody knows who she belongs to, I heard," said Bob. "The old ferry company went bust three or four years back, and the quarry company