article in his hand, and fired their souls. They determined to be great Iron-Kings, — magnificent thought! They wanted to read in the newspapers, ‘If all the iron rails made at the Dunderbunk Works in the last six months were put together in a straight line, they would reach twice round our terraqueous globe and seventy-three miles two rails over.’ So on that poetic foundation they started the concern.”
Wade laughed. “But how did you happen to be with them?”
“Oh! my friend Damer sold them the land for the shop and took stock in payment. I came into the Board as his executor. Did I never tell you so before?”
“No.”
“Well, then, be informed that it was in Miss Damer’s behalf that you knocked down Friend Tarbox, and so got your skates for saving her property. It’s quite a romance already, Richard, my boy! and I suppose you feel immensely bored that you had to come down and meet us old chaps, instead of tumbling at her feet on the ice again to-day.”
“A tumble in this wet day would be a cold bath to romance.”
The Gulf Stream had sent up a warm spoil-sport rain that morning. It did not stop, but poured furiously the whole day.
From Cohoes to Spuyten Duyvil, on both sides of the river, all the skaters swore at the weather,
