ny idea of the
proposed adventure; had they known, the project would have been sternly
prohibited. It is possible that the young adventurers knew this and
kept the matter quiet.

But Doddy's faithful guardian had watched the boy steal off, to be met
by five or six others, and followed them at a distance. He did not
venture to join the party openly, fearing to be driven off
ignominiously, as he often had been before on other occasions. By the
time he reached them they had been some half-hour at the lake, and had
most of them ventured cautiously to try the bearing power of the ice.
The long frost had made this quite safe in most parts; but, unluckily,
the lads were not aware that there were other portions where rising
springs prevented the water from freezing much, if at all. As long as
they kept near to the place upon which they had first set foot all was
well; but security made them venturesome. They started a game of
shinty, and threw themselves into the sport with fervor.

Bildy, partly hidden behind the bushes which skirted the water, watched
the game with interest, his eyes on his beloved Doddy. Suddenly, while
he looked on, Doddy disappeared, and a shout of terror arose from the
other boys, who were too full of fear to do much toward helping the
unfortunate child, though one or two slid down prostrate and tried to
crawl to the hole into which Doddy had fallen, in order to help him out
with their sticks.

It remained for Bildy to come to their assistance. With a frightened
cry the man rushed over the ice to the spot, and regardless of the
cautions which the others shrilled at him, plunged into the water.
Doddy had fallen in where there was only very thin ice around the edge
of an open sheet of water. Luckily, it was shallow for a man, though
it covered the child. Bildy managed to seize the boy and rose up
gasping from the pool, holding Doddy aloft. He seated the frightened
child on his shoulder, and was able to keep half his own body out of
the water. Thus they remained till help came in the shape of one or
two farm-servants, who had been summoned by the screams of the boys.

It was not a difficult matter to get the two out of the water safely;
indeed, any one more sensible than poor Bildy could have lifted the
child onto thicker ice, after wading some paces in the water. Both
were shivering with cold and drenched with water, which froze on their
clothes during their hurried progress home to bed.