The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-03-27
on THE ICE.


NtA aa1@s 4OHCFtu Dt Snafps
nights. No snow had fallen. There was
8 glare on Mendoza the like Of which
lad not been seen in years. From Madt
san shore to Governors Island, from
The Yahara to the meads Of Middleton,
the CLASSY plain reelected q winters
BUN BY day, the winter stars BY night
Skaters were in ~ecstasie& Yelling
curriers' swept imaginary obstacles from
the polished path of the whirling
stones, Varsity athletes played at
polo, pull away, eros tag, or skin the
devil as occasion prompted or fancy
wiIled- Proper youths giided about N
company with the fair co-eds and maid
ems from the town. SmaM boysswarmed
and played ct shinneE. The ice com
panies came. They fenced off large
acreage and began the harvest of the
crystal crop, leaving each succeeding
night q new expanse Of yawning black
mess, which, at each recurring dawn,
presented an innocent sheen of thin
skinned temptation whereon daredevil
townies and haUe-brained props Strihed
with destiny.
The sails Of Peg Wellington, pennant
slnner of the u~mpty-five regatta,
dropped in a melancholy way off the
foot of Francis street; and her owAers,
Carmichael, Sanbcrn and Denslow,
gathered about the fireplace in the long
room Of the Psi Epsilon lodgeOn Men
dota court and growled.
~Are you not going home for Christ
mas, tcolonel?' . asked Denslow.
~Not L I am going to stay right
here in this house, and DoOd' Mayne
and Bert Dorey are to stay with me;
and we will take care of Peggy for you
sc there is blow.
You see" he continued, with the en-
fhusiasm of an underclRssman, ''the
mother and sister are somewhere in
southern California, the father is in
Washington, and the paternal roof is
quite devoid of prospective Christmas
cheer. The pater, in a letter contain
ing a Christmas check, suggested that
it would be a commendable proceeding
If his beloved son would devote certain
regular hours of the short vacation to a
general polishing up ia Greek. The be-
loved son thinks he sees himself buck
ing out of term-time, he doesi"
Christmas races came on. The lodge
on Mendoza court Joined the neighbor-
ing chapter houses in prOclaiming that
silence which is said by long-suffering
residents of the classic neighborhood
TO be actually audible during vacation
time. Peg Wellington was anchored in
the ofing.
Al few days existence under the new
order Of things saw the library con
yerted into sort of Bohemian paradise.
In this retreat the three underclass-
men whiled away such hours as were
not spent aboard Peg Wellington. Here
the trio were to be found Oh the morn
ing Of the fifth day.
Hear the wind" cried White.
Won't the dainty Peggy go up in the
air today"
'How dark it grows said Mayne,
looking across the lake. "And what a
windl I hope it won't snow"
"Oh, it can't snow said Dorey.
In half an hour they were out on the
lake making ready the Peg Wellington.
The wind came bowling out from a
bank Of copper-colored clouds. 1t was
cold, and keen, and biting. The sun
had a ring. Things had a dirty, yellow
light on them. The sail tapped and
creaked in the gale as they stood the
yacht against it. Dorey crawled in.
Colonel" wrenched on the tiller. Wayne
caught the plank as she moved away,
and came back into the box.
''We1l wish we had some Of the fell
lows out on the runner plank to-day"
shouted Dorey, pressing his cap down
over his ears. "We'd better stop and
reef as it is, Dood.' She'll lift clear off
the ice when we get out towards the
Point and into the full sweep of this"
II can tell you one thing Colonel"
shouted, land that is that we don't go
out beyond the Point to jump that crack
to-day. We were only too lucky to
make it yesterday where it was only
&hree feet wide. 1t will spread in this
wind SO w can we jump it. Gee!
But we are spinningi"
The sun went under the mounting
clouds.
"No wind at ALL" scoffed Mayne.
1We are enough weight for Peg in this
puff. just what we needed to go with
the ice. If Carmichael and Sanborn
and Denslow and some Of the other
fellows were here we'd have to knock
under and give 'em the boat. We'd
better enjoy q good thing while we've
got it,"
They were running nearer to the
Point. The wind seemed to be gaining
fn velocity. 1t came in ftful sweeps.
The third runner came up in the air
with one Of them. and seemed inclined
70 stay there.
1T Is stronger out here. Dood,' I tel
you. We'd better go back, and scare
mp some fellows for ballast. And we'd
come up into it and reef right
whats the use Of reeiing in this
complained Wayne. We'll freeze
to death, and to no purpose. She'll
all this blow"
Az he spoke, a hard squal struck.
rhe runner went high, the sail lost the
and the three were nearly out on
the ice.
ease her off What did / tell you'll"
r