“But was it around here?” Jack had questioned with interest.
“Somewhere in this vicinity, for the farm belonging to my great-grandfather was located not many miles from here.”
“I thought the Indians were here at that time.”
“So they were, but my great-grandfather had some Indian blood in his veins and was a frontiersman, and the red men did not molest him very much.”
“Haven’t you ever hunted for the pot of gold?”
“A great many times—years ago. But I at last gave it up as useless. More than likely the old well mentioned has fallen in and the tree rotted away, so the landmarks are all gone and nothing is left by which to locate the treasure.”
And there the talk had come to an end, but the boys had not forgotten about the pot of gold.
The race was on in earnest and the skates flashed brightly in the rays of the declining sun.
Pepper was in advance. Dale was slowly but surely crawling up to him.
“Go it, Imp! go it!” shrieked Jack, when he saw that he could not win.
Pepper did “go it,” and despite Dale’s effort to get ahead kept to the front. In the meantime Andy Snow also kept coming up, until he and Dale were tied for second place.
“Whoop, Pepper has won!” cried Stuffer Singleton, who was bringing up the rear. “Where are you, Andy?”
“Here I am!” answered the acrobatic pupil, and just then struck a crack in the ice, went down, and turned a handspring, coming to his feet again like a flash.
“Would yez look at that now!” burst out Joseph Hogan, as he stopped racing to look at Andy. “Sure an’ it’s in a circus you ought to be,” he continued.
“Say, Stuffer, why didn’t you try to win?” asked Andy, as he circled up to the stout youth. “Did you eat too much for dinner?”
“Eat too much!” snorted Stuffer. “With old Crabtree watching me? Not much! When I asked for more meat he wouldn’t let me have it. And I think I got the smallest dish of dessert, too!” grumbled the youth who was fond of good living.
“Pepper, you are all right,” said Jack, slapping his chum on the back. “That was well won!”
“And do I get the pie?” asked Pepper, with a smile.
“Certainly you do!” came from several of the others, who all loved the Imp. “But you have got to wait till we go to Cedarville.”
“Sure, an’ if he’ll be satisfied wid wan piece he’ll not have to wait at all, at all!” came from Hogan, with a twinkle in his eye.