r gets cold enough to keep boys off
smooth ice--young Smith, here--he was about twelve or fourteen years old
at that time--was out on the ice with his skates on, wrapped up in an
overcoat, a comforter over his ears and thick mittens on his hands,
skatin' around that pond with my boy Joe and other lads, all of them
thinkin' they was havin' the time of their lives. Mother, what was the
name of that poor family that lived over in the old Bobbins' house at
the time?"

"Andersons," said Mrs. Bishop.

"That's right; Andersons," continued the Boswell of my infantile
exploits. "Well, these Andersons were so poor they didn't have any
skates, but some of the boys had let them take a sled, and two of these
little Anderson kids were slidin' around on the ice and havin' all the
fun they could, even if they didn't have skates. I suppose their toes
was as cold and their noses as blue, and that's half of skatin' or
sleighin'."

"Smith, Joe, and the other skaters were on the southwest end of the pond
playin' 'pigeon goal,' and these poor Anderson kids were slidin' around
up at the other end where they would be out of the way. The wind was
blowin' pretty hard, and I suppose they were careless; anyhow a gust
struck them and swept them along into that air hole."

"They yelled as best they could, and some boys who were near them
hollered, and the boys who were skating heard them and came tearing
along to see what was the matter. Jack Smith, here, was fixing a strap
or somethin', and was the last one to get started. The whole bunch of
them were standin' 'round watching those poor Anderson kids drown, so
scared they didn't know what to do. The poor little tots were hanging
onto the sled right out in the middle of an open space about thirty
yards wide."

[Illustration: "Jack ... never stopped a second"]

"Jack, here, never stopped a second. He saw what was up as he came
skatin' along, and he legged it all the harder, and in he went--skates,
overcoat, comforter, mittens and all. It's no easy job swimmin' with
such an outfit, to say nothin' of rescuin' two half-drowned youngsters,
and I don't know how he did it, and I don't reckon you do either, Jack.
But anyhow, he got to them, paddled along to the edge of the ice, and
held on to them until the other boys pushed out boards and finally got
the whole caboodle of 'em up on solid ice."

"Bully for you, Smith!" exclaimed Chilvers, "didn't know it was in
you."

"Mr. Chilvers is jealous of