"We must catch that boat!" cried Bert. "No telling what it will do to them
if it upsets. Come on! Run, everybody!"

He set off as fast as he could go, his father with him, while Mrs. Bobbsey
and Nan came along more slowly.

"I guess they want us to come back and get them," said Freddie. "They must
be tired. Well, I'll steer the boat back and we'll give them a ride. Won't
it be fun, Flossie?"

"Ye-yes, maybe. If you can do it."

"Do what?"

"Steer the ice-boat back."

"Of course I can do it!" cried Freddie. "I can squirt water from my fire
engine, can't I? And that isn't any harder than this."

Freddie did not know so much about ice-boats as he thought he did, and
when he had crawled back to the tiller, still held fast in a loop of the
rope, the small boy found it harder to move than he had expected. Flossie
stayed among the rugs and robes.

Freddie knew enough about boats to be sure that to steer one the tiller
ought to move from side to side. So, finding that the rope, which was fast
to the sail, was keeping the rudder handle from moving, he began to loosen
the coils.