The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-06
Ths dMifhta aas Eaole Saturday oruno gauuaru sa4
AIfratta was sIkimming swiftly IN pur-
suit OF the Elf with Andy perched firm

! 1y Oh Tie Seat
/ The crowd cheered Justify and Andy
turned long enough to wave his hand
Then he gave his undivided attention
to the task that,lay before him That
1t was likely to prove stern and diff
cult one he quickly realized His con-
cepiion of the winds force had not
been exaggerated The speed of the ice
boat was something fearful and he
found that he had but slight control
over it at first he was content to
swing along on the track of the Elf,
which was more than quarter of q
mile ahead of him, and still speeding
| diagonally toward the opposite shore
| of the river. He could see Dick perched
on the rear end, but could not make
out what he was doing. A moment or
/ two later there was proof to show that
! the little fellow had been experiment
! ing with the sails. The Elf suddenly
swung about, and slipped straight
down mid-river for one hundred yards
! Port Treverton shore. Possibly these
movements were due to the vagaries of
! the wind, though Andy thought other
wise. He quickly hauled on the jio and
/ altered the Alfratta's course to that OF
/ the Elf
| His satisfaction vanished when he
| spied a reef Of out-cropping rocks be-
! tween the two boats. Their presence
| above the ice was due to the fact that
| the river had frozen when at low
! stage. The barrier extended clear from
| mid river to the Port Treverton shore.
and the Elf had been below it when
she tackled.
The only course open to Andy was to
circle around the rocks, so he at once
tackled toward them. But when he had
reached and passed their outermost
edge and was minded to tack in the op-
! posite direction such squirt of wind
came on that the jib-sail was helpless.
The Alfratta darted nearly across the
! remaining half of the river Then it
swung straight down stream, parallel
with the shore, and at distance from
it of several hundred feet.
For time Andy made no attempt to
alter his present course He was on
one side of the river, the Elf on the
other. Finally the other Goat came
tacking over rs far as mid-stream.
when it turned and kept parallel with
the Alfratta. Andy was undecided
what to do. He could see Dick waving
his cap at him.
''If tack across now," he reflected,
''I'll likely drop behind the Elf, and be
driven clear to the other shore before
can turn around. But if fool away
any time Dick may blunder into an air
hole. It's mighty awkward fix
He hesitated little longer, then al!
choice was suddenly taken out of his
hands. As he glanced down the broad
vista of glittering ice he saw something
that made his heart leap and his blood
turn chill. Half mile ahead, in mid
river, was great sheet of open, black
water The Elf was dashing straight
toward it
For moment Andy was sick with
despair. Then his resolve was taken.
He tugged madiy at the jib-sail, and to
his delight the Alfratta instantly
tackled outward 1t sped faster and
faster. The two boats were now trav-
cling on opposite sides of triangle.
Would they meet in time, or would
both find watery grave in the vast
air hole?
Andy knew that there was scarcely
a chance. Yet he did not finch in the
face of almost certain death. He
steered the Alfratta steadily on, deter
mined to save Dick or perish with
him.
Meanwhile the Elf encountered some
rough ice and fell little behind. This
made Andy's chances brighter. The
next minute was full of horror and
suspense The two iceboats rushed
lmadly on, one headed straight for the
air holes, the other striving to cross
above it. Dick saw the peril now, and
his shrill cries echoed far on the air.
Andy waved his hand cheerily. He
could see moving black specks over on
the Port Treverton shore.
Now the gap Of yawning black water
was just ahead. Nearer and nearer
swept the Elf Closer and closer came
the Alfratta The sides of the triangle
were rapidly dwindling to point.
Andy felt his heart rising to his throat.
He scanned the distance between the
two boats and thought that he saw .
Igleam of hope.
Dick" he shouted with all his
might, crawl up front Be ready for
me. If miss jump off. Do you under
stand?"
Dick nodded. Then he quickly |
obeyed orders. Now the critical mo-
ment was at hand. At distance of |
,ly-f I,.,r, l. ,~f b.
air-hole the Alfratta dashed obliquely |
across the bow of the Elf. There was
a crash and quiver, and that quickly. |
Andy snatched little Dick and dragged |
him from his place of peril.
The Elf swung about, and ground |
swiftly on. She plunged into the |
black water, and was sucked down by |
the swift current. The sails floated |
for moment and then disappeared.
The Alfratta barely cleared the fur
thermost edge of the air-hole. She |
tackled rapidly across the river with
her double burden, and five minutes
after she ground safely on the Port
Treverton shore, mile and half be-
low the village. Most of the crowd /
were on the spot, having run swiftly |
along the bank. There was great
cheering and applause, and Andy
blushed to find himself hero Ph,l
burst into tears when little Dick
jumped into his arms. Later on he
begged Andy's forgiveness, as did also
Jack and Frank.
There's nothing to forgive" said
Andy. 'Tm only sorry the Elf is lost
We can't have that race now. CHI
cago Tribune