ground dropped away sharply in front of the
house, she knew he must not venture to attempt wading.

"Get a plank or Oily Dave's long table," she said, her manner more
dictatorial than before, for the unknown was so terribly slow in
his movements, and the water was still rising.

Mrs. Jenkin had commenced shouting again, but Katherine paid no
heed to her, for the unknown had appeared with a long, narrow
trestle table, which, resting one set of legs on the doorstep,
reached to the ice. But it was a perilous bridge, and Katherine
knew it; only there was no other way, so the peril had to be faced.

"Now run, only be ready to spring," she cried, trying to encourage
him.

"Easier said than done," he answered. "I can scarcely walk, much
less run."

"Then you must crawl; only please make haste. The ice is so rotten
that every minute I am fearing it will give way," she said. Then
dropping on her knees on the ice, regardless of the water which
washed over its surface, she tried to hold the edge of the table
steady for him to cross.

On he came, crawling slowly and painfully. He was so near to her
now that Katherine could hear his panting breath and see the look
of grim endurance on his drawn face. Mrs. Jenkin was shrieking in
a frantic manner, and then Katherine heard a shrill cry from Miles,
who was out of sight round the corner of the house. But the noise
conveyed no meaning to her. She had just stretched out her hand to
grasp that of the unknown, when there came a tremendous crash which
shot her off the ice and into the water. The shock which sent her
into the water, however, steadied the rickety bridge over which the
stranger was crawling by jamming the ice closer under it, and the
man, catching her as she took her plunge, held her fast, then
dragged her up beside him by sheer strength of arm.

[Illustration: The rescue of Jarvis Ferrars.]

"I am afraid you are rather wet," the stranger said in a tone of
rueful apology, keeping his clutch on Katherine as she struggled to
a kneeling posture.

Dashing the wet hair from her eyes, Katherine looked anxiously
round, fearing that their one way of escape had been cut off. A
huge fragment of ice had cannoned into her island and split off a
great portion. Plainly that was why Mrs. Jenkin had screamed so
shrilly, for she had seen what was coming and had tried to warn
her. There were other ice fragments about; huge blocks like
miniature bergs were bobbing and bow