"All aboard!" called Bert, and then, moving slowly at first, the ice-boat
glided away from the lumber wharf, skimming over the lake with the entire
Bobbsey family, not counting, of course, fat Dinah and her husband, who
stayed at home. Nor was Snoop, the black cat, along. Snap, the dog, ran a
little way, but when he found the ice-boat was going too fast for him, and
when he noticed that he was slipping too much, he gave a sort of good-bye
howl and went slowly back to shore.

"Isn't this great?" cried Bert, as he steered the ice-boat out into the
middle of the lake.

"Wonderful!" cried Nan, her hair flying in the wind and her cheeks almost
as red as roses. "I don't see how you made it, Bert."

"Well, it wasn't easy. How do you like it, Freddie?"

"All right. When can I steer?"

"Oh, maybe after a while," said Bert, with a laugh. "Say, we're going
fast, all right."

"Yes," agreed Mr. Bobbsey. "I think the wind is getting stronger instead
of dying out, Bert."

"It does seem so. Well, all the better. We won't have to walk back if it
keeps on this way. We can sail to the end of the lake and ride back."

"Are you sure you can manage the boat yourself?" asked Bert's father, "She
seems pretty big."