“Not walking away so fast now, are you?” questioned Pepper, cheerily.

“Just wait, we’ll beat you, see if we don’t!” growled Coulter.

“Swing the mainsail over!” cried Ritter.

His order was obeyed, and the Rosebud commenced to pick up again.  But the Skimmer kept on steadily, and at last, when the turning-point was reached, was several lengths ahead.

“Now for the homestretch!” cried Jack.

“I hope we win by about a mile!” was Andy’s wish.

The turning-point was a well-known rock, and the Skimmer came around this in fine style.  But, just as this was accomplished, Ritter allowed the Rosebud to swing around out of the proper course.

“Look out, you’ll run us down!” yelled Fred, in alarm.

“Clear the track!” yelled Ritter, angrily.  “Clear the track!”

“The clown!” muttered Jack.  “Does he want to run into us?”

Fred worked quickly, assisted by all the others and the Skimmer was thrown out of her course.  On rushed both of the iceboats and the Rosebud slid by the other with less than six inches to spare.

“Ritter, that wasn’t fair!” shouted Fred.  “I won’t race with a fellow who won’t sail fair!”

“You go to grass!  I don’t care about the race anyway!” howled the bully.

“You are beaten and you know it,” cried Pepper.

“In a regular race such actions would disqualify you,” was Jack’s comment.

“Oh, don’t preach!  I know what I am doing!” grumbled Ritter, and then he steered off in another direction and out of hearing.

“What a mean bully he is getting to be!” said Fred.  “It seems to me he is much worse than he was when I first came to the Hall.”

“He is slowly but surely losing his grip here and that is souring him,” answered Jack.  “Before he knows it he won’t have a friend in the world.  As it is, about the only fellow who is really friendly with him is Coulter.  Paxton doesn’t have much to do with him, and Mumps merely toadies to him the same as he toadies to Dan Baxter and some of the rest.”

“Where shall we go now?” asked Fred.

“Anywhere you please,” came from the others.

“Shall we take a run up to Point View?” and Fred looked quizzically at first one and then another of his friends.

“Might do that,” answered Jack.  “But the Lodge is shut up, you know; the Fords are at their city home for the winter.”

“Well, we can run up that way anyway,” said Pepper.  “One place is as good as another.”

The course of the iceboat was slightly changed, and in less than a quarter of an hour they swept up to the dock attached to Point View Lodge.  The sails were lowered and they went ashore to stretch their legs, for sitting on the iceboat rather cramped them.

“Might as well take a look around the Lodge while we are here,” suggested Jack.

“Is there a caretaker here?” asked Andy.