gs, however. Walter looked at Nan
Sherwood and his lips moved.

"Are you afraid to drive Prince?" he asked.

"No," declared Nan, and reached for the reins. She had held the black
horse before. Besides, she had driven her Cousin Tom's pair of big
draught horses up in the Michigan woods, and Mr. Henry Sherwood's
half-wild roan ponies, as well. Her wrists were strong and supple, and
she was alert.

Walter passed the lines over and then kicked the robe out of the way.
Bess sat on the left side of the seat, clinging to the rail. She was
frightened--but more for the girl in the other sleigh, than because of
their own danger.

Walter Mason motioned to Bess to move over to Nan's side. The latter was
guiding Prince carefully, and the cutter crept up beside the bigger
vehicle. Only a couple of feet separated the two sleighs as Walter leaned
out from his own seat and shouted to Linda:

"Look this way! Look! Do exactly as I tell you!"

The girl turned her strained face toward him. The bigger sleigh swerved
and almost collided with the cutter.

"Now!" yelled Walter, excitedly. "Let go!"

He had seized Linda by the arm, clinging with his other hand to the rail
of the cutter-seat. She screamed--and so did Bess.

But Walter's grasp was strong, and, after all, Linda was not heavy. Her
hold was torn from the plume-staff, and she was half lifted, half
dragged, into the cutter.

Prince darted past the now laboring runaways. One of the latter slipped
on a smooth bit of ice and crashed to the roadway.

His mate went down with him and the sleigh was overturned. Had Linda
not been rescued as she was, her injury--perhaps her death--would have
been certain.

They stopped at the first drug store and a man held the head of the
excited black horse while Walter soothed and blanketed him. Then the boy
went inside, and into the prescription room, where Nan and Bess were
comforting their schoolmate.

"Oh, dear! oh, dear! I'd have been killed if it hadn't been for you,
Walter Mason," cried Linda, for once so thoroughly shaken out of her pose
that she acted and spoke naturally. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

"Say!" blurted out Walter. "You'd better thank Nan, here, too. I couldn't
have grabbed you if it hadn't been for her. She held Prince and guided
the sleigh."

"Oh, that's all right!" interjected Nan, at once very much embarrassed.
"Anybody would have done the same."

"'Tisn't so!" cried Bess. "I just held on and squealed."