Willmar tribune., 1900-03-07
CIRCULATION, Seneca said, and he

up circulation" Seneca said, and he
rose to his feet.
II say, fellows, I believe the wind has
changed!" he shouted.
The others got UP and all turned
their faces toward the direction of the
wind. Sure enough, instead of blowing
from the southwest, it seemed to have
shifted to the southeast.
IF this keeps up, it may blow us
ashore" Seneca said. ''I'll tell you
what let's DO. Let's make sail and
help our craft along"
How'll we do it?" Sidney asked.
"I'll show you. Unbutton your over
coats. Now, Bobby, you stand on one
side of me, and, Sidney, you stand on
the other. Now button your coat to
mine, same as I'm doing to Bobby's,"
and Seneca, suiting action to word, but
toned the buttonhole side of his over
coat to the button side of Bobby's.
When Sidney had done the same to
Seneca's the three overcoats were joined
together, and when the boys stood as
wide apart as the coats permitted, with
their backs to the wind, quite surface
was presented for the wind to blow
against.
"You'd better wrap the other sides
of your overcoats around you, and then
you won't feel the cold so much" Sem
eca said.
With his own ovrecoat spread wide
VT ha fo ho a
had taken the center position for that
reason, so that the others might get
some protection, even if he couldn't.
The strong wind was inclined to blow
them across the smooth floor of the ice
raft, but by digging their heels into
the ice they could retain their places.
They soon noticed that they were be-
ing borne along in northwesterly di-
rection. They did not move rapidly,
but still were making headway, and
their spirits rose at the success of their
scheme.
They drifted along in this manner
for about an hour, when their piece of
ice f1oated up against another to the
west of it.
By this time the wind had blown the
clouds away, and the moon was shining
brightly. Seneca looked at his watch
and saw that it was just midnight.
The ice foe against which they had
foated seemed to have drifted up
against others west of it, and the boys
decided they had better leave the one
they were on and make their way as far
toward shore as they could on the float
ing cakes. BY jumping from one cake
to another, they succeeded in getting
hundred yards nearer shore, and then
they came to another channel of water.
On one of the cakes they had crossed
the boys had noticed plank frozen into
the ice. Into the brain of the resource
full Seneca there now came an idea, and
he went back to get the plank. Wrench
| ing it loose from the ice, he returned to
the others.
| "Now we're going ashore on pro-
peller instead of on sailboat!" he
| cried.
Pushing the piece they were on away
from the cakes that had drifted against
it, Seneca proceeded to cut V in the
edge of the ice with his skate. Into the
rude socket thus formed he rested the
edge of the plank and began working it
backward and forward, the way boat
is sometimes propelled with a single
paddle. With Sidney on one side and
Seneca on the other, they could work
it quite vigorously, and they were de-
| lighted to see what good progress they
now made with their unwieldly craft.
By the end of another half hour they
had crossed the channel and foated up
against large ice field.
II believe it's the main ice!" cried
Seneca, as he jumped up and down on it
to test it.
The boys clapped on their skates and
sped toward the shore. It proved to be
the firm ice they were on, and in ten
minutes they were standing on the
shore not far from the Marine hospital.
They were in high spirits now, as
they trudged toward home. When
about two o'clock they appeared at
their homes, anxious hearts were re-
lieved and there was little disposition
to scold them for venturing too far out
on the ice. ,
But honest Seneca said to his mother:
"Mother, I guess you ought to punish
me in some way. I'm to blame. The
others wouldn't have gone so far if
hadn t."-Ledger Monthly.