had broken loose and started down stream. For, not always
did the ice sever at the point where they were working, but sometimes
above them; so that a sharp watch had to be kept against the danger of
being caught on an ice patch, and carried along with it.

Then, through the days of working thus at the field, and by the natural
wearing away with the spring thaw, the water gained its freedom more and
more; so that there was now a quarter of a mile of black open water
between the dam and the edge of the ice.

There came, then, a memorable afternoon, which had been preceded by a
day of rain, loosening up the bands of winter far and wide, raising the
water in the stream by the inrush of countless little brooks all along
its course; whereby the whole ice jam, and in some places, fields of
logs that had been stored shingle-fashion for the winter, creaked and
groaned and snapped, and the whole valley of the stream was filled with
the noise of the dissolution. Farmers and mill men eyed the scene with
some apprehension, and talked of freshet. Tim Reardon eyed it with
delight, forecasting days of warmth and fishing in store.

The boys from Benton were upon the stream, that afternoon, though they
knew, deep in their hearts, they had no business there; that it was
dangerous; that the whole ice field was shaky. They worked at the ice
with might and main, and cheered lustily when some great cake went
tumbling over the dam.

Then, of a sudden, there came a cry, that started somewhere on shore,
ran all along the banks of the stream and came down to the boys at their
play--a cry of alarm and warning. They looked about quickly. What was
the danger? Persons on shore were pointing far up stream. The next
instant, they discerned the whole great ice field, as far as they could
see, in motion; crumbling about the shores and heaving up into hummocks
here and there. Then they felt the ice beneath their feet moving. The
deliverance of the stream from winter was at hand. The ice was going
out.

The wild scramble for shore was a thing not to be forgotten. Some of the
boys had travelled away up beyond the vicinity of the dam, where the
logs were stored within a boom. It was perilous footing across these,
for the few moments that it took to regain the shore. The water opened
here and there, in which the logs churned and slipped dangerously.

It was every one for himself, then, and lucky to gain the bank without
bruises, or a ducking--or worse.