to getting
over water, not even if the water's froze. Hey, Barzilla?"

Ebenezer came hopping over the ice towards us. He looked some surprised.

"Where's Phil?" he says.

Now, I'd clean forgot Phil and I guess Jonadab had, by the way he
colored up.

"Phil?" says he. "Phil? Oh, yes! We left him up the road a piece. Maybe
we'd better go after him now."

But old Dillaway had something to say.

"Cap'n," he says, looking round to make sure none of the comp'ny was
follering him out to the ice-boat. "I've wanted to speak to you afore,
but I haven't had the chance. You mustn't b'lieve too much of what Mr.
Catesby-Stuart says, nor you mustn't always do just what he suggests.
You see," he says, "he's a dreadful practical joker."

"Yes," says Jonadab, beginning to look sick. I didn't say nothing, but I
guess I looked the same way.

"Yes," said Ebenezer, kind of uneasy like; "Now, in that matter of Mrs.
Granby. I s'pose Phil put you up to asking her about her son's laundry.
Yes? Well, I thought so. You see, the fact is, her boy is a broker down
in Wall Street, and he's been caught making some of what they call 'wash
sales' of stock. It's against the rules of the Exchange to do that, and
the papers have been full of the row. You can see," says Dillaway, "how
the laundry question kind of stirred the old lady up. But, Lord! it must
have been funny," and he commenced to grin.

I looked at Jonadab, and he looked at me. I thought of Marm Granby, and
her being "dying to know us," and I thought of the lies about the "hod
of change" and all the rest, and I give you my word _I_ didn't grin, not
enough to show my wisdom teeth, anyhow. A crack in the ice an inch wide
would have held me, with room to spare; I know that.

"Hum!" grunts Jonadab, kind of dry and bitter, as if he'd been taking
wormwood tea; "_I_ see. He's been having a good time making durn fools
out of us."

"Well," says Ebenezer, "not exactly that, p'raps, but--"

And then along comes Archie and his crowd in the other ice-boat.

"Hi!" he yells. "Who sailed that boat of yours? He knew his business all
right. I never saw anything better. Phil--why, where IS Phil?"

I answered him. "Phil got out when we jibed," I says.

"Was THAT Phil?" he hollers, and then the three of 'em just roared.

"Oh, by Jove, you know!" says Archie, "that's the funniest thing I ever
saw. And on Phil, too! He'll never hear the last of it at the club--hey,
boys?" And then they just bellered